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British short-haul airliner produced 1946–1967 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, amongst other aircraft types, called for a British-designed short-haul feeder for airlines.[2]
DH.104 Dove | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Short-haul airliner |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | de Havilland |
Status | Limited service |
Number built | 544[1] |
History | |
Manufactured | 1946–1967 |
First flight | 25 September 1945 |
Developed into | de Havilland Heron de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover |
The Dove was a popular aircraft and is considered to be one of Britain's most successful postwar civil designs, with over 500 aircraft manufactured between 1946 and 1967. Several military variants were operated, such as the Devon by the Royal Air Force and the Sea Devon by the Royal Navy, and the type also saw service with a number of overseas military forces.
A longer four-engined development of the Dove, intended for use in the less developed areas of the world, was the Heron. A considerably re-designed three-engined variant of the Dove was built in Australia as the de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover.
The development team for the Dove was headed by Ronald Bishop,[2] the creator of the de Havilland Mosquito, a wartime fighter-bomber, and the de Havilland Comet, the first commercial jet aircraft in the world. It had been developed to meet the Type VB requirement issued by the Brabazon Committee.[3] In concept, the Dove was developed to be the replacement of the pre-war Dragon Rapide.[2] It was also required to be competitive with the large numbers of surplus military transports in the aftermath of the Second World War, such as the Douglas DC-3.[4] Unlike the Dragon Rapide, the Dove's structure was entirely metal.[5][6] It featured innovations including constant-speed propellers, flaps, and a retractable tricycle undercarriage.[7][2]
In 1946, aviation magazine Flight praised the qualities of the newly developed Dove, noting its "modernity" as well as the aircraft's load-carrying capacity, safe engine-failure performance, and positive maintenance features.[3] Considerable attention was paid to aspects of maintainability, many of the components being designed to be interchangeable and easy to remove or replace, such as the rudder, elevator, and power units; other areas include the mounting of the engines upon four quick-release pickup points, the routing of cables and piping, and the detachable wings and tail cone.[8] The extensive use of special Redux metal-bonding adhesives reduced the need for riveting during the manufacturing process, reducing overall weight and air-skin friction.[9]
While standard passenger versions of the Dove would carry between eight and eleven passengers, the cabin was designed to allow operators to convert between higher and lower density seating configurations.[10] Features such as a single aircraft lavatory and an aft luggage compartment could be removed to provide increased seating.[11] Various specialised models were produced for other roles, such as aerial survey, air ambulance, and flying classroom.[12] A strengthened cabin floor structure was used to enable concentrated freight loads to be carried as well.[10] The Dove could also serve as an executive transport, and in such a configuration it was capable of seating five passengers; the executive model proved to be popular with various overseas customers, particularly those in the United States.[5]
The crew typically consisted of a pilot and radio operator, although rapidly removable dual flight controls could be installed for a second flying crewmember.[3] A combination of large windows and a transparent perspex cabin roof provided a high level of visibility from the cockpit.[10][13] From a piloting perspective, the Dove was noted for possessing easy flying qualities and mild stall qualities.[14] A TKS anti-icing system was available for the Dove, involving an alcohol-based jelly delivered via porous metal strips embedded on the leading edges of the wings and tail.[13]
The Dove first flew on 25 September 1945.[2] In December 1946, the Dove entered service with Central African Airways.[6] Initial production of the Dove took place at de Havilland's Hatfield factory, but from 1951 the aircraft were built at the company's Broughton facility near Chester.[15] The final example of the type was delivered in 1967. Production of the Dove and its variants totalled 544 aircraft,[1] including two prototypes, 127 military-orientated Devons and 13 Sea Devons.
From 1946, large numbers were sold to scheduled and charter airlines around the world, replacing and supplementing the pre-war designed de Havilland Dragon Rapide and other older designs. The largest order for the Dove was placed by Argentina, which ultimately took delivery of 70 aircraft,[16] the majority of which were used by the Argentine Air Force. LAN Chile took delivery of twelve examples and these were operated from 1949 onwards until the aircraft were sold to several small regional airlines in the United States in 1954.[17][page needed]
In excess of 50 Doves were sold to various operators in the United States by Jack Riley, an overseas distributor for the type. De Havilland later assumed direct control of U.S. sales, but did not manage to match this early commercial success for the type.[18]
An early batch of 30 Devons was delivered to the Royal Air Force[19] and they were used as VIP and light transports for over 30 years. The Royal New Zealand Air Force acquired 30 Devons between 1948 and 1954, and these remained in service for VIP, crew-training and light transport duties into the 1970s.[17][page needed]
The Biafran Air Force operated a single Dove during the Nigerian Civil War; the aircraft was lost, to be subsequently found in 1970 on the premises of a school in Uli.[20] A second US-registered Riley Dove, N477PM delivered in 1967 to Port Harcourt from Switzerland, never reached Biafra because it was stopped by Algerian authorities.[20]
A Dove served as the first official aircraft of a Paraguayan head of state during the rule of Alfredo Stroessner. It was subsequently replaced by a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter.[21]
A few Doves and civilianised Devons remained in use in 2011 in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and elsewhere with small commercial firms and with private pilot owners.
Portuguese Angola
Portuguese Cape Verde
Portuguese Mozambique
Portuguese Timor
A de Havilland Dove featured prominently in the Gavin Lyall adventure novel Shooting Script. G-ARBH features in the 1962 film The Wrong Arm of the Law as the personal aeroplane of Peter Sellers' character Pearly Gates.
Near the beginning of the 1980 film Flash Gordon, travel agent Dale Arden and New York Jets quarterback Flash Gordon board a de Havilland Dove which subsequently crashes into a greenhouse adjacent to the secret laboratory of Dr. Hans Zarkov. The atmospheric disturbances that caused the crash were instigated by planet Mongo's ruler Ming the Merciless. The crash sequence was filmed using a 30-inch-long model Dove diving into a miniature landscape.[102]
In season 2, episode 9 of the British TV series The Crown, Prince Philip is portrayed as flying a de Havilland Dove.
Data from Flight International,[10] Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966–67,[103] Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1967–68[104]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
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