Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Four-engine commercial airliner

Power Plant:

(DH.86A)

Four 149 kw (200 hp) de Havilland Gipsy Six Series I six-cylinder in-line air-cooled engines

Specifications:

History:

The de Havilland DH.86 (known as the Express Air Liner) was designed and built in four months in 1933 to meet a specification produced by the Australian Government for a fast, economical, ten-passenger airliner to serve the route from Australia to Singapore. De Havilland engineer Arthur E Hagg designed the aircraft as basically a larger DH.84 Dragon with four 149 kw (200 hp) Gipsy Six engines. Hudson Fysh of Qantas felt the DH.86 would give him a chance to win the Government contract for the Singapore – Brisbane section of the Empire Air Route and placed an order, as did Victor Holyman of Holyman Airways, to serve the Melbourne – Hobart, TAS section of the route. The type was originally designed for a single pilot in a narrow pointed nose but the Australian requirement was for two pilots, so the nose was re-designed.

The prototype (E.2, G-ACPL – c/n 2300) was flown by de Havilland test npilot Hubert Broad on 14 January 1934 at Stag Lane, Edgware in Middlesex. It, and the first three production aircraft, were for single pilot operation, but thereafter all production aircraft were two pilot operation.

Improved variantss were developed, including the DH.86A with larger brakes, larger tail wheel, and other improvements, the loaded weight increasing to 4,649 kg (10,250 lb). One E.2, which later became G-AJNB and SU-ABV (c/n 2342), had Gipsy Six Series II engines and variable pitch propellers, small auxiliary fins on the horizontal tail surfaces, and a loaded weight of 4,990 kg (11,000 lb).

Final variant was the DH.86B which had larger auxiliary fins, these being retro-fitted to DH.86As following investigations into the loss of a British Airways DH.86A G-ADYF (c/n 2347) at Gatwick in September 1936. When manufacture concluded in 1937, 62 examples of the DH.86 series had been produced.

Three were operated in New Zealand ZK-AEF (c/n 2330 – ‘Kotuku’), ZK-AEG (c/n 2331 – ‘Karaoro’) and ZK-AEH (c/n 2332) by Union Airways, operating between Palmerston North and Dunedin via Blenheim and Christchurch, commencing services on 15 January 1936. The company’s routes expanded when East Coast Airways was taken over on 1 July 1938.

At the outbreak of World War II the DH.86s were impressed into RNZAF service as NZ552, NZ553 and NZ554 and served with No 4 (GR) Squadron on coastal patrols, navigation and radio training duties, communications work, and later training. Due to damage occasioned during war service the three aircraft were built into one survivor at war’s end, this machine NZ553 returning to Union Airways as ZK-AHW but being finally retired in early 1947.

Fifteen DH.86s have appeared on the Australian Civil Aircraft Register and of these eight saw military service when impressed by the RAAF during World War II. These aircraft were: VH-UUA (c/n 2306 – ex G-ACWE) which served with Qantas Empire Airways from 22 January 1935 as ‘Adelaide’, later being sold to Tata Airlines on 14 September 1938 as VT-AKM. It then went to the Indian Air Force (HX789) and was written off in an accident at Cochim on 15 September 1942.

VH-USC (c/n 2307) served with Qantas as ‘Canberra’ from 13 October 1934 to 18 July 1938 when ownership was transferred to MacRobertson Miller Aviation Company. It was impressed by the RAAF as A31-5 on 24 September 1940 and returned to Qantas in May 1942. It crashed at Darwin, NT on 9 October 1944.

VH-USD (c/n 2308) served with Qantas as ‘Brisbane’ from 22 January 1935 to 9 August 1938 when it went to Tata Airlines as VT-AKZ. It later served with the Indian Air Force from June 1940 as AX800.

VH-USE (c/n 2309) was a Qantas aircraft and was delivered on 22 January 1935. Named ‘Sydney’, it was destroyed in at crash at Belmont, QLD on 20 February 1942.

VH-USF (c/n 2310) was a Qantas aircraft and was delivered on 7 January 1935 and named ‘Melbourne’. In 1938 it was operated by MacRobertson Miller Aviation Company and was impressed by the RAAF as A31-6 on 28 September 1940. It returned to Qantas in April 1942, and again went to MacRobertson Miller Aviation in May 1945 but was destroyed in a crash at Geraldton, WA on 24 June 1945.

VH-USG (c/n 2311) was for Qantas but was destroyed at Ilfracombe, QLD on its delivery flight on 15 November 1934. Qantas aircraft had fuel capacity increased to 832 litres (183 Imp gals).

VH-URT (c/n 2312) was first flown on 23 January 1935 and was delivered to Holyman’s Airways Pty Ltd as ‘Loina’. It crashed into the sea off Flinders Island on 2 October 1935.

VH-USW (c/n 2315) was registered to Holyman’s Airways in May 1935 as ‘Lepena’. The company changed its name to ANA on 1 November 1936. The aircraft was impressed by the RAAF as A31-4 on 13 September 1940. It returned to ANA in March 1942, and in May that year returned to the RAAF. It went to MacRobertson Miller Aviation Company in 1945 and was to be exported to Universal Flying Services but was not delivered.

VH-UUB (c/n 2326) was first flown on 23 September 1935 and was delivered to Holyman’s Airways as ‘Loila’. After the name changed in 1936 it remained with ANA until taken over by the RAAF as A31-3 on 13 September 1940. It was destroyed in a collision with a Beaufighter at Heliopolis in Egypt on 19 April 1942.

W R Carpenter & Company operated five DH.86s. VH-ADN (c/n 2313 – ex G-ACYF, VR-SBD) saw service from 6 June 1940 until impressed by the RAAF as A31-2 on 9 July 1940.

VH-UZX (c/n 2323 – ex T-ADEA, VR-SBC) operated from 17 July 1940 until impressed by the RAAF as A31-7 on 27 December 1940.

VH-UYU (c/n 2359) operated with W R Carpenter as ‘Carmania’ from 16 March 1938 to April 1938 when it was operated by Mandated Airlines. It was impressed by the RAAF on 25 June 1941 as A31-8 and was destroyed by enemy fire at LG138 (landing ground 138) near the Libyan border in the Middle East on 8 December 1941.

VH-UYY (c/n 2360) was delivered to W R Carpenter & Company on 12 April 1938 and was impressed by the RAAF as A31-1 on 8 January 1940, seeing service with No 36 Squadron.

VH-UYW (c/n 2361) was delivered to W R Carpenter & Company on 9 May 1938 but crashed off Sicacui, Papua New Guinea on 15 March 1940.

Three of the DH.86s impressed by the RAAF (A31-3, A31-7 and A31-8) operated in the Middle East with No 1 Air Ambulance Unit (AAU) alongside another DH.86, HK843 (c/n 2349 – ‘Demeter’ -ex-G-AEAP), this aircraft being burnt out at Pachino in Sicily on 23 July 1943.

The last surviving DH.86 was G-ACZP (c/n 2321) with the Hampshire Aero Club in the late 1950s, this aircraft being written off after the undercarriage collapsed at Madrid in Spain in 1958. During its life it had served with Railway Air Services, Skytravel Ltd, Lancashire Aircraft Corp and Silver City Airways.

A further DH.86B G-ADYH (c/n 2344) has an Australian connection. This aircraft, after service with West Coast Air Services in the United Kingdom during World War II, was sold to Australian, Warren Penny, in October 1947 and joined his fleet of aircraft used to fly immigrants to Australia. After one flight its operator, Intercontinental Air Tours, was refused permission to fly further immigrants to Australia and it remained at Mascot for some time until flown to Darwin where it was hangared for a period. It was damaged in an attempted take-off at Darwin, repaired and flown in May 1948 to Rangoon in Burma. It then went to Indonesia as RI-008. Eventually it was captured by Netherlands East Indies forces at Maguwo in  Java and was eventually broken up at Bandung in west Java in 1949.