Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Two seat training biplane

Power Plant:

One 67 kw (90 hp) Royal Aircraft Factory 1A eight-cylinder VEE air-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

In 1916 the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) required a trainer and to meet this requirement Geoffrey de Havilland designed the DH.6, a biplane of simple construction, easy to produce, easy to fly and maintain, and easy to repair. Three engines were available, the 67 kw (90 hp) RAF 1a; the 67 kw (90 hp) Curtiss OX-5; and the 60 kw (80 hp) Renault. Production began in January 1917 and the type was widely used at training aerodromes in the United Kingdom, in the Middle East, and in Australia.

Towards the end of the Great War the type was used for maritime patrol hunting submarines, the latter being of necessity because of the amount of shipping being lost in early 1918. In fact, some 34 Coastal Flights operated the type in this role. Modifications were made during its life to increase performance, but it could not carry an observer and a bomb load at the same time. It was so docile, some instructors were of the opinion that it was too safe, even for an elementary trainer.

Manufacturers included The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Ltd at Hendon; Grahame-White Aviation Company Ltd at Hendon in Greater London; Gloucestershire Aircraft Company Ltd at Cheltenham; Harland & Wolff Ltd at Belfast in Northern Ireland; Kingsbury Aviation Company at Kingsbury in north-west London; Morgan & Company at Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire; Ransome, Sims & Jeffries at Ipswich in Suffolk; and Savage Ltd at Stroud in Gloucestershire. A total of 2,282 was constructed.

Fourteen examples of the DH.6 were recorded as having been destined to come to this region but, due to paucity of records, it has been difficult to research their operational histories. The Central Flying School at Point Cook, VIC ordered eight on 20 March 1918 but two (B2801 and C9375) were lost in transit on board the ‘SS Barunga’ when that vessel sank on the journey to Australia on 15 July 1918.

The others (including B2802 to B2804 and B9374) were based at Point Cook, VIC. On 5 August 1918 the first was erected and test flown. The other six were shipped on board the ‘SS Gilgai’, ‘SS Calulu’ and ‘SS Carpentaria’. Two more were received on board the ‘SS Ayrshire’. B2801 to B2804 were part of a batch built by Airco at Hendon; whereas C9371 to C9374 were built by Gloucestershire Aircraft at Cheltenham.

After the Armistice the DH.6s were disposed of but had an interesting history. B2802, after service with the Central Flying School (CFS) at Point Cook, was sold to William Robinson (Aeroplanes) Ltd of Grafton, NSW as G-AUBH and was leased to T H Barkell of Sydney, NSW. It force landed at Cronulla, NSW on 31 December 1922, hitting a fence, being badly damaged, and was written off.

B2803 was sold to Aerial Company Ltd of Perth, WA on 22 March 1919 as G-AUBO (c/n 642). On 28 June 1921 ownership was transferred to Mr F O’Dea at Bathurst, NSW. It was sold to S L Tyler of North Sydney on 2 March 1925; and N C Marconi and A G Dignum, trading as Eagle Aviation Service of Brisbane, QLD on 15 November 1926, but crashed at Maroochydore, QLD on take-off from a beach on 27 January 1927.

B2804 went to No 2 MD, NSW on 26 August 1919 for the First Peace Loan. It was advertised for tender in December 1919 but was not sold, and was again advertised in August 1920 along with a RAF FE.2b. Around this time a DH.6 was noted in Sydney with a Mr G H Potts. It was entered in the NSW Aerial Derby on 27 November 1920 and flown by D R Williams. It was allocated registration G-AUBU but it was never taken up. On 15 December 1921 a DH.6 was offered for auction in Sydney and it was probably this machine. This aircraft was fitted with a 67 kw (90 hp) RAF engine. It may be it was this machine which crashed at Neutral Bay, Sydney, prior to taking up its registration.

One (C1972) was sold to Aeroflight on 22 July 1919 and became G-AUDO to C D Pratt of Geelong, VIC on 28 December 1921. This aircraft arrived in Melbourne, VIC and was assembled on the Central Pier of Victor Dock, Mr Pratt later flying the aircraft off the wharf to the Port Melbourne Aerodrome. Ownership was transferred to Amsco and then L F Pratt of Geelong on 22 June 1927. Ownership was again  transferred to K R M Farmer of Malvern, VIC on 13 January 1928. It then came under the ownership of D H Jenkins of Caulfield, VIC on 5 March 1928 and was struck off the register on 30 September that year, having been wrecked in a storm at Kaniva, VIC.

C9372 went to A Flight, No 1 House Training Squadron. Sold by the Central Flying School to Aerial Transport Company of South Australia Ltd [some records have indicated it was sold to C W B Loftus but he was the pilot employed to deliver the aircraft]. It was collected at Point Cook, VIC and on 10 December 1919, on take-off from Hamilton, VIC it hit a large tree. Damage was extensive, it was never registered and it was abandoned in about July 1920.

C9373, after CFS service, was operated as a ‘Billboard’, like the example below, being operated on joyriding around the country by Aeroflights. Aerial Company Ltd used the aircraft for barnstorming and for delivering parcels to Goulburn, NSW on 5 November 1919 for Sydney store David Jones Ltd, the first aircraft used for commercial air freight carriage in Australia. It ended up with Morris Air Services but suffered an accident at Newstead, QLD on 24 April 1921.

C9374 also operated with A Flight, No 1 House Training Squadron. It was sold and operated with W H Treloar, then H T Shaw and R Ross at Fishermens Bend, VIC. It was a flying ‘Billboard’ and was flown from Melbourne to Bendigo, VIC on 9 August 1919. It was used for joyriding and advertising, operating from near the railway line. In a period of ten weeks from 11 August to 28 October it made a tour of the Echuca, Deniliquin and Hay districts in the southern New South Wales and northern Victoria regions, covering over 4,826 km (3,000 miles). During a period of less than two years it was flown some 25,587 km (15,278 miles) and carried 1,611 passengers. It became G-AUBW on 28 June 1921 with Shaw-Ross Engineering & Aviation Company of Port Melbourne but crashed into a tree at Metung, VIC on 11 January 1927. The registration lapsed on 27 June 1931, and it was destroyed in a hangar fire at Essendon, VIC on 7 August 1931.

One example G-AUDS (ex B3858) was imported in March 1920 by Edgar W Percival, an Australian who later founded Percival Aircraft in the United Kingdom. It was sold to Mr T Lynn of Orange, NSW on 27 July 1922. This aircraft, fitted with a Renault engine, was destroyed in a crash and subsequent fire at Orange on 29 April 1925.

Another DH.6 G-AUEA (c/n 2 – ex C7625) was imported for the Pratt Bros Aircraft Manufacturing & Supply Company, being registered to  P J and C D Pratt. They joined up with Mr L Clark, a New Zealander, to form a partnership to operate aircraft.  They also obtained an Avro 504K (G-AUCJ), a Sopwith Pup (G-AUCK) and, it seems probable, two other DH.6s from RAF disposals in Egypt. In January 1920, as the Aircraft Manufacturing Supply Company of Australia based at Geelong, VIC, also trading as Geelong Air Services, they commenced operations. The registration was transferred to Geelong Air Services on 5 April 1923, which operated two DH.6s, being G-AUDO (ex C1972) and G-AUEA, the latter named ‘Spirit of Essendon’, for joy-riding work and occasional charters.

G-AUEA was sold to K R Brown of Bendigo on 3 April 1929; and T B Sissons of Bendigo on 11 June 1930. It became VH-UEA on 31 August 1930 but crashed at Mooroopna, VIC on 25 October 1930.

One other machine, the identity of which is not known, was with A M Webb at some stage. Its ultimate fate is also not known but its remains ended up with Sylvander & Sons.  Some references have referred to this aircraft as having been built up from a store of spare parts.

The DH.6 also saw service in New Zealand. One was imported in 1920 by the Walsh Brothers Flying School, this concern operating from near Auckland. This aircraft made its first flight on 31 July 1920 with Captain Russell at the controls. This machine was obtained from RAF storage and was used for a period on barnstorming operations, flying from Dannevirke to the site of what is now the Palmerston North airport. Photographs of the aircraft do not reveal its identity, and its history prior to commencing New Zealand operations is not known. It is, however, known it flew on 22 February 1920 in Auckland, was damaged in a gale at the Hutt Park Raceway on the night of 25 August 1920, and never flew again.