Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Military long-range bomber / commercial transport biplane

Power Plant:

One 172 kw (230 hp) Siddeley Puma six-cylinder in-line liquid-cooled engine

Specifications:

Armament:

One fixed forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine-gun; one or two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis machine-guns in rear cockpit; one 104 kg (230 lb) or two 51 kg (112 lb) bombs

History:

In 1916 Captain Geoffrey de Havilland designed the DH.9 for Aircraft Manufacturing Ltd as a successor to the DH.4. The prototype was actually a converted DH.4 (A7559), and was flown for the first time at Hendon in Greater London, UK, in June 1917. The flying surfaces and the tail unit were similar to its predecessor but a completely new fuselage design was used.

Originally built as a bomber for World War I, the DH.9 has probably been best remembered for its role as a civil transport aircraft. In the military role problems were experienced with the 172 kw (230 hp) BHP six-cylinder engine that was installed, although some had a 186 kw (250 hp) Fiat engine. DH.9s were flown by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in Italy, Macedonia, Palestine and the Dardenelles.

After World War I large numbers were converted for civil use throughout the world. Early conversions to civil guise involved the installation of a second seat in the front cockpit, these becoming known as the DH.9B. Early conversions had open cockpits, which meant the passengers had to wear a helmet, goggles, and flying clothes. Later, enclosed rear cockpits were devised for two passengers.

Further modifications included the wings being swept back to compensate for aft movement of the centre of gravity, the rear cockpit being extended to permit the carriage of light freight or a third passenger. These conversions became known as the DH.9C. A number of DH.9Cs operated in this region, most fitted with the Siddeley Puma engine. In 1925 it was proposed that the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company in Victoria, Australia would manufacture the DH.9 but this plan did not reach fruition.

In 1922, two DH.9Cs G-AUED (c/n 86 and G-AUEF (c/n 87) were obtained by Qantas for the Charleville – Cloncurry route in Queensland. Later they were joined by G-AUFM ‘Ion’, which was built entirely by Qantas staff at Longreach, QLD, using a DH.9 fuselage and DH.50 mainplanes and controls. The pilot’s cockpit was located behind the cabin. At least 15 examples of the DH.9 series saw civil service in Australia.

Following the type’s retirement a number were sold to Aero Clubs, these being VH-UMM (ex A6-19) to the Aero Club of South Australia, VH-UMB (ex A6-11) to the Australian Aero Club, Victorian Section, VH-UMT (ex A6-9) to the Aero Club of New South Wales, and VH-UML (ex A6-21) to the Australian Aero Club, Queensland Section.

In addition to the three Qantas aircraft mentioned, DH.9s included: VH-UJA (c/n H9276 – ‘The Lady Peggy’) which force landed in the sea off Salamau, PNG on 2 November 1929; VH-UKI (ex G-EAQM, F1287) which crashed at Port Moresby, PNG on 13 July 1929; VH-UFB (c/n 853) which crashed north of Wau, PNG in the Bulolo River on 3 March 1928; VH-UFS (c/n H9340) which was retired in September 1934; VH-UHT which crashed at Kadina, SA; VH-UMB (c/n D3017) which was modified to four-seat configuration in 1930, and was retired in September 1932; VH-UML (c/n D3220) which crashed at Archerfield, QLD on 24 July 1932; VH-UMM (ex A6-19) which was retired in January 1932; VH-UMT (ex D3189, VH-UMK[ntu], A6-9, D3189) which was retired in May 1931; VH-UEG (ex A6-5) used by the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of Defence (CAB), was leased to Larkin Aircraft Supply Company, a subsidiary of Australian Aerial Services operating mail services between Adelaide and Melbourne, and was returned to the RAAF in December 1924.

VH-UEH (ex A6-4) was also used by the Civil Aviation Branch. It crashed at Gunning, NSW in October 1924, was repaired and was returned to the RAAF and VH-UEG (ex A6-5) were ex-RAAF machines and were only registered for a few months.

Other operators included Commercial Aviation Company, MacRobertson Miller Aviation, Matthews Aviation, Morlae Airlines, Bulolo Goldfields Aeroplane Services, Pacific Aerial Transport, Skyways Ltd, Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of Defence, Australian Aero Club, Aero Club of South Australia, etc.

In 1925 H C ‘Horrie’ Miller, one of the founders of MacRobertson Miller Airlines, who owned DH.9 G-AUEU, became the first, and probably the only, person to join the Australian Air Force as a flying officer, arriving with his own aircraft, which he then tried to sell to the Air Force. However, despite the “excellent condition” of the machine a sale was not forthcoming. He converted G-AUEU to DH.9C standard. Miller’s aircraft crashed at Port Pirie, SA in 1928 and he obtained G-AUHT as a replacement. It was in this aircraft he won the £1,000 ($2,000) first prize in the handicap section of the 3,540 km (2,200 miles) Western Australian Centenary Air Race from Sydney to Perth in September 1929.

One of the longest distances flown by this type was from Hounslow in west London, UK, to Darwin, NT. Raymond J Parer and J C McIntosh, flying G-EAQM, left the United Kingdom on 8 January 1920 and covered the distance in 206 days. This was the first England to Australia flight by a single-engine aircraft. This machine was stored for many years at Bathurst, NSW, Parer’s old home town. Eventually it was obtained by the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, ACT and taken to Duntroon to be restored.

Restoration was extensive and had been in progress for two years when, late in 1986, a motor vehicle travelling on a nearby road crashed into the building, where the restoration was taking place, causing extensive damage to the aircraft. The restoration work continued and for some years the aircraft was stored dismantled in the Memorial’s Treloar annexe in the suburb of Mitchell.

Raymond Parer and his brother were known for operating aircraft in Papua New Guinea in the 1920s and reports abound of him using the parts from two DH.9s to build a new aircraft, this becoming known affectionately as his de Havilland DH.18.

During World War I Australia contributed to the purchase of aircraft for the RFC and, in recognition the British Government presented Australia in 1920 with 128 aircraft, which became known as the Imperial Gift and included both DH.9s and DH.9As. A few were taken on charge by No 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook, VIC, many being re-conditioned by contractors. Others were attached to No 1 Aircraft Depot (AD) and Nos 1 and 3 Squadrons.

The DH.9 was used for a variety of purposes, a couple being fitted with floats, and one being modified to carry out tests with Handley Page slots. Another, which became known as the DH.9J, was fitted with a 257 kw (345 hp) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engine and was fitted with an oleo undercarriage.

Twenty-eight examples of the DH.9 saw service with the RAAF (serials A6-1 to A6-28), serving with No 3 Squadron and No 1 Flying Training School. With a view to investigating the practicability of interstate night flying, Sqdn Ldr Hepburn and Sqdn Ldr Wrigley flew a DH.9 from Richmond, west of Sydney, to Point Cook in Melbourne on the evening of 27 / 28 November 1926.

During the visit to Australia in April 1927 by the Duke and Duchess of York the RAAF provided a number of escort aircraft and, on one of these occasions over South Melbourne, A6-5 and A6-28 collided and crashed.

The de Havilland DH.9 also saw service in New Zealand for many years, nine being delivered during 1920 as part of the Imperial Gift. These initially operated with their RAF serials, the prefix letter being deleted. Three (serials D3136, D3139 and H5636) saw service with the RNZAF from 1921 to 1930; three served with the NZ Flying School in Auckland (F1252, H5546 and H5641); three operated with the Canterbury Aviation Company at Christchurch; and three operated with NZ Aero Transport Company at Timaru.

Registrations were eventually allotted to some of these aircraft, H5636 becoming G-NZAD, H5627 becoming G-NZAE, D3136 becoming G-NZAH, D3139 becoming G-NZAM, and H5672 becoming G-NZAQ. G-NZAH performed the first flight ever made between Gisborne and Auckland and G-NZAM made the first direct flight from Invercargill to Auckland.

Survivors of the DH.9 and DH.9A series include 2005/ZS-AOI at the South African National War Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa; F1258 at the Musee de l’Air, Paris, France; and F1010 at the RAF Museum at Hendon, Greater London.

Two examples which had been part of the Imperial Gift to India were located in elephant stables in Rajasthan, India in 2000 and were recovered to the United Kingdom for restoration. The first of these, (E8894 – G-CDLI) after restoration work, had engine runs of its Siddeley Puma engine in September 2015 at the Retrotec Workshop in East Sussex before making its first flight tests in mid 2016. The second aircraft, (D5649) after restoration to static display standard, was placed on display at Duxford in Cambridgeshire in April 2007.