de Havilland Dragon Rapide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Hav...cond_World_War

The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner
developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of
accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite
its relatively primitive plywood construction.

Developed during the early 1930s, the Dragon Rapide was essentially a smaller,
twin-engined version of the four-engined DH.86 Express, and shared a number of
common features, such as its tapered wings, streamlined fairings and Gipsy Six
engines. First named the "Dragon Six", the type was marketed as "Dragon Rapide"
and later simply known as the "Rapide". Upon its introduction in summer 1934, it
proved to be a popular aircraft with airlines and private civil operators alike,
attaining considerable foreign sales in addition to its domestic use.

Upon the outbreak of the World War II, many of the civil Rapides were impressed
into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy. Referred to in
military service by the name de Havilland Dominie, the type was employed for
radio and navigation training, passenger transport and communications missions;
hundreds of additional Dominies were also constructed during the war. Other
Rapides continued to be operated by British airlines throughout the war under
the auspices of the Associated Airways Joint Committee (AAJC). Postwar, many
military aircraft were returned to civilian service. Shortly after the end of
the Second World War, de Havilland introduced a Dragon Rapide replacement, the
de Havilland Dove.

In response to the issuing of Specification G.18/35 by the British Air Ministry,
de Havilland decided to design and produce a single prototype of a modified
Rapide for undertaking coastal reconnaissance. Trials using the prototype,
K4772, were performed between April and June 1935 at RAF Martlesham Heath and
RAF Gosport. However, it ultimately lost out to its rival, the Avro Anson. K4772
was later used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in automatic landing
trials before being broken down for spares. Work on a militarised version of the
Rapide was not wasted as multiple sales were soon completed with other military
customers, the first of which being to the Spanish government in December 1935.

Sensing demand for the type, de Havilland continued to modify the Rapide's
design following its entry to service, creating both refinements and entirely
new derivatives as a result. Aiming to produce a faster version of the Rapide, a
smaller, lighter and externally cleaner version, designated as the DH.90
Dragonfly, emerged; first flying in August 1935, the DH.90 failed to achieve a
similar rate of sales to the Rapide and production was terminated in 1938 after
67 aircraft had been completed. In November 1935, the 60th airframe to be
produced, G-ADWZ, was modified and used by de Havilland as a trials aircraft.
Fitted with elongated rear windows, cabin heating, thickened wing tips, and a
strengthened airframe to allow for an elevated gross weight of 5,500 lb, G-ADWZ
later participated in trials at Martlesham Heath, after which the higher gross
weight was cleared for service.

In response to the announcement of an air race between Britain and Johannesburg,
South Africa, de Havilland's design team produced a specialised variant of the
Rapid, designated as the DH.92 Dolphin. This one-off derivative featured a
retractable undercarriage, an expanded wingspan of 53 ft 7 in, a modified nose
section, and an increased all-up weight of 6,600 lb; however, flight tests in
August 1936 revealed there to be no performance improvement over the standard
Rapide, leading to the sole Dolphin being scrapped months later.


Role
Short-haul airliner

Manufacturer
de Havilland

First flight
17 April 1934

Primary user
Royal Air Force

Number built
727

At the start of Second World War on 3 September 1939, all British civil
transport aircraft were requisitioned by the Ministry of Aircraft Production. A
number of Dragon Rapides were used to provide internal flights under the control
of National Air Communications (NAC). Perhaps one of the most significant early
uses of the Rapide during the war occurred during the crucial weeks of May–June
1940, in which the Battle of France occurred; Rapides of No. 24 Squadron acted
as aerial couriers between Britain and France; out of 24 aircraft, 10 Rapides
were lost during this intense period of fighting.

Following the closure of the NAC network, Dragon Rapides continued to fly for
British airlines during the war as part of the Associated Airways Joint
Committee (AAJC). Upon the outbreak of war, all civil services had been halted;
however, some routes were progressively returned to operation as and when they
were deemed of value to the war effort or found to be in the national interest.
The AAJC co-ordinated the majority of UK's wartime scheduled services, which
were entirely operated on over-water routes.

Other Dragon Rapides were impressed into service with the British armed forces
as communications aircraft and training aircraft; Australian Rapides were also
impressed by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Furthermore, while the final production Rapide was completed in November 1941,
de Havilland instead produced the military-orientated Dominie variant
exclusively. Over 500 additional Dominies were manufactured for military use,
powered by improved Gipsy Queen engines; by the end of production in July 1946,
a total of 727 aircraft (both Rapides and Dominies combined) had been
manufactured. During the war, Dominie production was performed by de Havilland
and Brush Coachworks Ltd, the latter being responsible for the greater
proportion of the work. The Dominies were mainly used by the Royal Air Force
(RAF) and Royal Navy for radio and navigation training. Other duties they were
used for included passenger and communications missions.

Throughout the course of the war, civilian Rapides were progressively replaced
by Dominies as the type became available in greater quantities. Rapides were
either dispatched to perform passenger operations or occasionally converted for
other purposes, such as Air Ambulances; by the end of the conflict, only a total
of nine impressed Rapides were restored to their civilian registrations;
however, these were joined by many Dominies which had been deemed to be surplus
to requirements.

In order to better distinguish between the different standards of Rapides
available in the post-war environment, de Havilland established a basic mark
number system. Mk 1 aircraft were those constructed pre-war, while Mk 2 and Mk 3
Rapides were ex-military conversions to a six-passenger cabin and
eight-passenger cabin respectively. Those Rapides that were re-engined with a
pair of de Havilland Gipsy Queen engines, giving the aircraft an increased
all-up weight to 6,000 lb along with improved climb, cruise speed and single
engine performance, were referred to as Mk 4s.

By 1966, use of the Rapide had gone into decline and several formerly large
operators had phased out the type completely. Due to the declining stocks of
spare components available, individual Rapides were commonly being broken up in
order to scavenge parts to maintain other active aircraft. Regardless, demand
for such an aircraft was still relatively strong at this time, according to
Moss.

The DH.89 proved an economical and durable aircraft, despite its relatively
primitive plywood construction and many were still flying in the early 2000s.
Several Dragon Rapides are operational in the UK, while multiple operators,
including Classic Wings and Plane Heritage, offer pleasure flights in them to
the general public. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, de Havilland
introduced a Dragon Rapide replacement, the de Havilland Dove.

Specifications (Dragon Rapide)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 8 passengers
Length: 34 ft 6 in (10.5 m)
Wingspan: 48 ft 0 in (14.6 m)
Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.1 m)
Wing area: 340 ft² (32 m²)
Empty weight: 3,230 lb (1,460 kg)
Loaded weight: 5,500 lb (2,490 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × de Havilland Gipsy Six inline engine, 200 hp (149 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 157 mph (136 kn, 253 km/h) at 1,000 ft (305 m)
Range: 573 mi (498 nmi, 920 km)
Service ceiling: 16,700 ft (5,090 m)
Rate of climb: 867 ft/min (4.3 m/s)
Wing loading: 16 lb/ft² (79 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.073 hp/lb (120 W/kg)




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