Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Two-seat military bomber biplane

Power Plant:

One 280 kw (375 hp) Rolls Royce Eagle VIII twelve-cylinder VEE liquid-cooled engine

Specifications:

Armament:

One 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine-gun firing forward; two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis machine-guns in rear cockpit; provision to carry two 104 kg (230 lb) or four 51 kg (112 lb) bombs or depth charges

History:

The de Havilland DH.4 was produced in prototype form by the Aircraft Manufacturing Company [Airco] of Hendon in Greater London in 1916, this aircraft (3696) making its first flight in mid August 1916 at Hendon and unusually having dual controls. Aimed specifically at the bomber role, designer of the project was Geoffrey de Havilland. It was originally intended to have a 119 kw (160 hp) Beardmore engine but the prototype had the 172 kw (230 hp) BHP six-cylinder engine (later known as the Siddeley Puma).

The type soon went into production with the Rolls Royce Eagle, a 12-cylinder unit producing 280 kw (375 hp). Production machines were fitted with a variety of engines, including the 298 kw (400 hp) Liberty, 194 kw (260 hp) Fiat A-120, 186 kw (250 hp) Rolls Royce Falcon, and  149 kw (200 hp) RAF 3a.

The type served with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). One (A8032) flown by Major E Cadbury and Capt R Leckie shot down Zeppelin L.70 in flames on 5 August 1918; and on 12 August a flight of four DH.4s of No 217 Squadron sank the German submarine UB-12, one aircraft hitting the submarine with two 104 kw (230 lb) bombs.

The fuselage was constructed of wood with fabric covering to the rear; but many had plywood covering to the sides as far aft as the rear gunner’s position, this rendering internal wire bracing unnecessary. It was produced for the RFC and the RNAS on a large scale, and was used in both the bomber and fighter/reconnaissance roles. Operations with it began in France in April 1917 with No 55 Squadron RFC.

As DH.4s were built the aircraft were fitted with whatever engine of those mentioned was available, due to inadequate supplies of any particular type.  At one stage 40 DH.4s with Fiat A-12 engines were built for Russia but the October 1917 Revolution prevented their delivery and they were used instead by the RFC in 1918. Fitted with the Rolls Royce Eagle VIII, the DH.4 proved it could outperform many German fighters of the day and was popular with its crews.

The DH.4 was selected for mass production in the USA, these aircraft being fitted with the 298 kw (400 hp) Liberty 12-cylinder VEE 27 litre liquid-cooled engine. Orders for 10,013 were placed and 4,846 had been delivered by 31 December 1918 when outstanding contracts were cancelled. It remained in American service for many years, long after it had disappeared from RAF units. Construction in the US was by the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company, the Fisher Body Corporation, and Standard Aircraft Corporation.

After World War I many of those in France were stacked and burned as not worth the expense of sending them back to the UK. Others were shipped to the US to join stockpiles of crates of aircraft already in storage. The last examples of the type were withdrawn in 1932. They became popular with civil operators, were used by airlines and for barnstorming, and many were supplied to foreign air forces.

The DH.4 was used by Australian and New Zealand crews during the Great War and was also popular with the crews. A number were bought from the manufacturers for units serving in Europe by donations by the public, these becoming known as ‘Australian Air Squadrons Presentation Aircraft’ and had the names of the donors name painted on the sides of the aircraft. These included A7483 presented by F J White and Family of Armidale, NSW and had ‘F J White, Saumarez and Baldblair’ on the aircraft; A7488 by the NSW Government; and B2105 in 1918 presented to the RAF by North Queensland Graziers. The DH.4 did not serve with the Australian Flying Corps and the Presentation Aircraft either served with the Royal Flying Corps or the Royal Naval Air Service.

It is known Australian aviator H J ‘Bert’ Hinkler, whilst serving with the RNAS, operated the DH.4 in the bombing role. Sidney Cotton was also involved with the DH.4, putting forward plans with long-range DH.4s to bomb Berlin. This plan did not come to fruition but he had two aircraft modified with long-range tanks (A7457 and A7459) for a reconnaissance of Kiel Canal, the aircraft having an endurance of 14 hours. However, this operation also did not occur and the aircraft was used for anti-Zeppelin patrols fitted with two Lewis machine-guns firing upwards with tracer and incendiary bullets.

A few examples were brought to this region and operators included Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (Qantas). G-AUBZ (ex F2682) was first registered to Ray Parer on 28 June 1921 but went to Qantas in March the following year. It was used on the company’s routes in Queensland for some time. It later went to Matthews Aviation of Essendon, VIV. It became VH-UBZ and was sold to Pioneer Aviation Services Pty Ltd in 1934. Later it went to Mrs A McKeown of Brunswick, VIC and Aerat Passenger Flying Pty Ltd of Essendon in 1936. It was struck off the register in November 1940.

Another G-AUCM (ex F2691) was registered to C J de Garis of Melbourne, VIC on 28 June 1921. It was sold to Larkin Aircraft Supply Company in August 1922 and named ‘Scrub Bird’. It was sold to Bulolo Goldfields Aeroplane Service Ltd in January 1927, and in June 1929 it was taken over by The Morlae Airline of Lae, Papua New Guinea. It was stuck off the register in July 1930. It was constantly plagued by problems and, due to lack of spares, was retired.

Two examples (A7893 and A7929) were supplied to the RNZAF as part of the Imperial Gift in August 1919. This gift was an offer by Great Britain to supply aeroplanes and equipment to the Dominions in 1919 to establish air forces. They were used in the advanced training role from 1919 to 1929. They were retired from service on 1 April 1929 and burnt at Wigram.

A couple of DH.4s have survived. Examples have been placed on display at the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base at Dayton, Ohio and the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Washington DC. Two reproductions have been built in Washington for the Fantasy of Flight Museum in Polk City, Florida.

In 2006 an American-built DH.4 (AS63786) was imported to Omaka in New Zealand and placed on display in the Aviation Heritage Centre. In late 2014 The Vintage Aviator Limited (TVAL) at Wellington, NZ completed a reproduction of a DH.4, this aircraft becoming ZK-DHA² (c/n 100) registered on 20 October, making its first flight on 9 November. The aircraft has been finished in the markings of the 50th Aero Squadron, American Expeditionary Force. This unit made its first combat mission on 12 September 1918 in support of the 83rd and 90th Infantry Divisions during the Saint-Mihiel offensive in north-east France. It mainly flew on general surveillance of enemy forces, using both visual and photographic reconnaissance.

The DH.4 was popular in the United States, with 4,000 examples being completed, whereas only 1,449 were built in the United Kingdom. The last aircraft in service with the US Army was a DH.4M with a welded steel tube fuselage, this aircraft being retired in 1932.