| De Havilland Propellors. | BAE SYSTEMS |
The Propellor Division produced most of the propellors for British aircraft in the Second World War. Working with so many manufacturers, engines and configurations expanded their interest into other aspects of dynamic research. As the Cold-War progressed, the Propellor Division developed guided missiles: the Firestreak, an infra-red air-to-air missile, and the still-born ICBM, Blue Streak. Blue Streak eventually became the first stage of the European space rocket.
The range of aircraft produced in the 1950s was similarly diverse. Thirteen different types were produced:
At home, for the civil market, the DH-104 Dove, a twin-engined light transport or executive aircraft; the DH-114 Heron, a four-engined light transport;
the Airspeed AS-57 Ambassador, a 47-seat, twin-engined airliner; and the world’s first jet airliner, the DH-106 Comet. For military use, the DH-98 Mosquito remained in production until 1950; the beautiful DH-103 Hornet was fastest twin piston-engined fighter to see service; the DH-100 Vampire was Europe’s first front-line jet fighter, and also the first jet aircraft in the world to land on an aircraft carrier. The DH-112 Venom was a more powerful derivative, using the DH-Ghost engine. Finally, the super-sonic, twin-engined DH-110 Vixen became the Royal Navy’s all-weather fighter.
Factories in Canada and Australia, which had churned out Mosquitos during the war, and were upgraded with full design and development capability. The DH-C1 Chipmunk was a basic trainer with roots in the original Moth; the DH-C2 Beaver was tough, short take-off and landing transport that became popular with both the Canadian and US military. Also the larger DH-C3 Otter. These inspired a range of STOL aircraft that are still in production today. In Australia, a special three-engined transport was produced for flying doctors, called the DH-A1 Drover.
| Control tower and test hanger, Hatfield. | BAE SYSTEMS |
This web-site, DH-Aircraft, is about these aircraft, and about providing accurate computer models for the flight-simulator, X-Plane.