de Havilland Dove
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|de Havilland Dove|
|National origin||United Kingdom|
|First flight||25 September 1945|
|Produced||1946 - 1967|
|Developed into||de Havilland Heron
de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. It was a monoplane successor to the prewar de Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane. The design came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, amongst other aircraft types, called for a British-designed short-haul feeder for airlines.
The Dove was a popular aircraft and is considered to be one of Britain's most successful postwar civil designs, in excess of 500 aircraft being manufactured between 1946 and 1967. Several military variants were operated, such as the Devon by the Royal Air Force, 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 de Havilland Heron. A considerably re-designed three-engined variant of the Dove was built in Australia as the de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover.
Development and design
The development team for the Dove was headed by Ronald Eric Bishop, 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. In concept, the Dove was developed to be the replacement of the prewar de Havilland Dragon Rapide. 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. Unlike the Dragon Rapide, the Dove made use of a structure entirely of metal. It also featured other innovations of the time, including constant-speed propellers, flaps, and a retractable tricycle undercarriage.
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. 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 detachable wings and tail cone. 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.
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. Features such as a single aircraft lavatory and an aft luggage compartment could be removed to provide for increased seating capacity. Various specialised models were produced for other roles, such as aerial survey, air ambulance, and flying classroom. A strengthened cabin floor structure was used to enable concentrated freight loads to be carried as well. The Dove could also serve as a dedicated executive transport, and in such a configuration it was capable of seating a total of five passengers; the executive model proved to be popular with various overseas customers, particularly those in the United States.
The crew typically consisted of a pilot and radio operator. However, rapidly removable dual flight controls could be installed for a second flying crewmember instead. A combination of large windows and a transparent perspex cabin roof provided a high level of visibility from the cockpit. From a piloting perspective, the Dove was observed for possessing easy flying qualities and mild stall qualities. 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.
In September 1945, the first Dove conducted its maiden flight; in December 1946, the first in-service flight for Central African Airways took place. Production of the Dove and its variants totalled 542 units, including 127 military-orientated Devons and 13 Sea Devons. The first deliveries to customers took place in Summer 1946, while the final example of the type was delivered in 1967. Initial production of the Dove was performed at de Havilland's Hatfield factory, but from the early 1950s onwards, the majority of aircraft were built at the company's Broughton facility near Chester.
The Dove first flew on 25 September 1945. From summer 1946 large numbers were sold to scheduled and charter airlines around the world, replacing and supplementing the prewar 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, the majority of which were used by the Argentine Air Force.[page needed] 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.[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, however did not manage to match this early commercial success for the type.
An initial batch of 30 Devons was delivered to the Royal Air Force, these aircraft 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.[page needed]
The Biafran Air Force operated a single Dove during the Nigerian Civil War, the aircraft was lost and subsequently found in 1970 on the premises of a school in Uli. 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.
A few Doves and civilianised Devons remain in use in 2011 in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and elsewhere with small commercial firms and with private pilot owners.
- Dove 1 : Light transport aircraft, seating up to 11-passengers. Powered by two 340 hp (254 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70-4 piston engines.
- Dove 1B : Dove Mk 1 aircraft, fitted with two 380 hp (283 kW) Gipsy Queen 70-2 piston engines.
- Dove 2 : Executive transport version, seating up to six passengers. Powered by two 340 hp (254 kW) Gipsy Queen piston engines.
- Dove 2B : Dove Mk 2 aircraft, fitted with two 380 hp (283 kW) Gipsy Queen 70-2 piston engines.
- Dove 3 : Proposed high-altitude survey version. Not built.
- Dove 4 : Military transport and communications version.
- Dove 5 : The Dove 5 was powered by more powerful engines. The aircraft was fitted with two 380-hp (283-kW) Gipsy Queen 70-2 piston engines.
- Dove 6 : Executive transport aircraft. Uprated version of the Dove 2, powered by two 380 hp (283 kW) Gipsy Queen 70-2 piston engines.
- Dove 6B : Stressed for operations at a maximum weight of 8,500 lb (3,856 kg).
- Dove 7 : Uprated version of the Dove 1, fitted with two 400 hp (298 kW) Gipsy Queen 70-3 piston engines.
- Dove 8 : Uprated version of the Dove 2, fitted with two 400 hp (298 kW) Gipsy Queen 70-3 piston engines.
- Dove 8A : Five seater version of the Dove 8 for the U.S. market.
- Dove Custom 800 : A customised version of the Dove, carried out by Horton and Horton in Fort Worth, Texas. Typically outfitted with removable bulkheads, various custom interiors were available, including airliner-orientated configurations.
- Carstedt Jet Liner 600 : Conversions of the Dove, carried out by Carstedt Inc, of Long Beach, California, USA. The aircraft were fitted with two 605 ehp (451 kW) Garrett AiResearch TPE331 turboprop engines. The fuselage was lengthened by 87 inches to accommodate 18 passengers.
- Riley Turbo Executive 400 / Riley Turbo-Exec 400 / Riley Dove 400 : Conversions of the Dove, carried out by Riley Aeronautics Corp in the United States. The aircraft were fitted with two 400 hp (298 kW) Lycoming IO-720-A1A flat-eight piston engines. Some of the Riley conversions were fitted with a taller swept vertical fin and rudder. During the late 1960s, Riley Aeronautics, located at the Executive Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, did interior refitting work on both the De Havilland Dove and the Heron.
- Airlines of Western Australia
- Bay of Plenty Airlines
- MacRobertson Miller Airlines
- Mandated Airlines
- Northern Territory Medical Service
- Royal Flying Doctor Service
- Southern Airlines
- AERANGOL - Aeronaves de Angola
- ETASA - Empresa de Transportes Aéreos do Sul de Angola
- SATAL - Sociedade Anónima de Transportes Aéreos
Portuguese Cape Verde
- Airviews Ltd
- BOAC (for training and communications)
- Bristow Helicopters
- British Midland
- British Westpoint Airlines
- Channel Airways (scheduled services)
- Dan-Air (scheduled services)
- Hunting-Clan Air Transport
- Macedonian Aviation
- Melba Airways
- Morton Air Services
- Olley Air Services
- Silver City Airways
- CAA Flying Unit
- Air Wisconsin
- Apache Airlines
- Catalina Airlines
- Golden Isles Airlines
- Gulf Coast Airways
- Midwest Air Charter
- National Test Pilot School
- Superior Airlines
- TAG Airlines
- Biafran Air Force - One Riley-converted Riley 400 was abandoned at Port Harcourt by Bristow Helicopters at the outbreak of civil war in 1967 and seized by Biafran mercenaries.
- Irish Air Corps - 4, one series 1B in 1953, one series 5 in 1959, one series 7 in 1962, and series 8 modified for radio and radar calibration in 1970.
- Imperial Ethiopian Air Force - 3, two former Ethiopian government series 1 transferred to air force in 1952 and one new series 7 in 1965.
- Royal Iraqi Air Force - 7 - One Series 1 for the Royal Flight delivered in 1947 followed by six Series 1 in 1948.
- Royal Flight
- No. 3 Transport Squadron
- Royal Jordanian Air Force - 6 - Two Series 1 transferred from Jordan National Airlines, two aircraft intended for Jordan National Airlines converted to Series 5 and transferred to air force, two new Series 7s delivered in 1965
- Royal Flight
- Lebanese Air Force - One series 1 delivered in 1951, a further aircraft on order was not delivered.
- Royal Malaysian Air Force- 5 - Three series 8 delivered in 1061 followed by two former RNZAF Devon C.1s delivered in 1968
- Pakistan Air Force - Two, one former Government of Sind series 1 used until 1962, a new VIP series 2 delivered in 1949.
- No. 12 Squadron
- Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment
- Empire Test Pilots' School
- Royal Aircraft Establishment
- Royal Air Force- 30 series 4 aircraft as the Devon C.1 from 1948.
- No. 21 Squadron RAF
- No. 26 Squadron RAF
- No. 31 Squadron RAF
- No. 32 Squadron RAF
- No. 60 Squadron RAF
- No. 207 Squadron RAF
- Bomber Command Communications Squadron
- Coastal Command Communication Squadron
- Maintenance Command Communications Squadron
- Metropolitan Communications Squadron
- Northern Communications Squadron
- Queen's Flight
- Southern Communications Squadron
- Technical Training Command Communications Flight
- Western Communications Squadron
- Royal Radar Establishment at Pershore
- Fleet Air Arm - Ten former civil aircraft delivered in 1955 as the Sea Devon C.20, later another three were bought.
Aircraft on display
- F-12 of the Argentine Air Force is on display at the Museo Nacional de Aeronautica de Argentina (National Aeronautics Museum), Moron Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Aircraft with tail number HW-201 is on display at the HAL Aerospace Museum at Bengaluru, India.
- South Africa
- ZS-BCC a Dove 6 of South African Airways is on display at the South African Airways Museum, Rand Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa.
- United Kingdom
- D-IFSB a Dove 8 is on display at the De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, London Colney, England.
- G-AHRI a Dove 1 is on display in Iraqi Petroleum markings at the Newark Air Museum, Newark-upon-Trent, England.
- G-ALCU a Dove 1 is on display as G-ALVD in Dunlop markings at the Midland Air Museum, Coventry, England.
- G-ALFU a Dove 6 formerly of the Civil Aviation Flying Unit is on display at Duxford Aerodrome, England.
- G-ANOV a Dove 6 is on display at the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune, Scotland.
- G-ANUW a Dove 6 is on display at the Aeropark at East Midlands Airport, England.
- G-AREA a Dove 8 in British Aerospace markings is on display at the De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, London Colney, England.
- VP967 a Devon C.2 in Royal Air Force markings is on display at the Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, England.
Accidents and incidents
- On 13 May 1948, a Dove 1 G-AJOU of Skyways Limited crashed near Privas, France, all four of the people on board killed, including the Earl Fitzwilliam and Kathleen Cavendish, the second daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy.
- On 14 March 1949, a De Havilland DH.104 Dove 1 of Union of Burma Airways, registration XY-ABO, crashed in Gulf of Mottama (Martaban) en route from Mingaladon Airport to Moulmein (Mawlamyine) Airport. Lost 9 passengers and 2 crew (Capt P H Sparrow, Pilot and L.A. Stephens, Radio officer).
- On 15 October 1951, Dove VH-AQO operated by Airlines (WA) Ltd crashed near its destination, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, on a flight from Perth. All seven occupants were killed. The accident was eventually attributed to fatigue cracking of the wing spar.
- On 12 November 1953, Argentine Air Force Dove T-82 crashed mid-air with Junkers Ju-52 T-159 near Villa Mugueta, Santa Fe, Argentina; with no survivors. Among the 20 dead was Vicecommodore Gustavo Argentino Marambio, pioneer of Argentine flights to Antarctica.
- On 1 December 1954, a Dove 2B VH-DHD of De Havilland Australia crashed at Narellan, near Camden, Australia. Reginald Adsett, a chief examiner of airman for the Australian Civil Aviation Department was killed. Two other were seriously injured.
- On 15 January 1958, Dove G-AOCE of Channel Airways crashed on approach to Ferryfield Airfield, Lydd, Kent, United Kingdom, both engines having stopped due to fuel starvation due to fuel mismanagement. All seven people on board survived.
- On 13 April 1966, Abdul Salam Arif, the President of Iraq, was killed when the Iraqi Air Force de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1, RF392, he was onboard crashed in southern Iraq. The loss of the aircraft was suspected to be due to sabotage by Ba'athist elements within the Iraqi military.
- On 11 April 1968, Dove 1 Z-900 of the Egyptian Air Force was lost over the Sahara desert following instrument failure. The aircraft was not found until 1 June 1971, all nine occupants had died of starvation.
- On 28 January 1970, TAG Airlines Flight 730 crashed over Lake Erie after having suffered an inflight structural failure, killing all nine people aboard.
- On 9 July 1983 a privately owned Dove, G-AMYP, suffered engine failure on takeoff at Shoreham Airport, crashing into the banks of the River Adur. The pilot and sole occupant, Keith Wickenden, died on impact.
- On 3 December 1993, a Dove VH-DHD chartered dinner flight lost engine power during takeoff, resulting in the aircraft crashing into five houses in Essendon - a suburb containing the original airport for Melbourne Australia. There were no fatalities amongst either the ten occupants of the Dove nor anyone on the ground, but all aboard the aircraft and one pedestrian were taken to hospital.
- On 3 February 2006, New Zealand based Devon, ZK-UDO (ex-RNZAF Devon 21) suffered a hard landing at RNZAF Base Ohakea due to an asymmetrical flap deployment on approach. All passengers and crew survived with only minor injuries; the aircraft was damaged beyond economical repair.
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.
Specifications (Dove 7)
- Crew: two
- Capacity: eight passengers
- Length: 39 ft 3 in (11.96 m)
- Wingspan: 57 ft 0 in (17.40 m)
- Height: 13 ft 4 in (4.06 m)
- Wing area: 335 sq ft (31.1 m²)
- Empty weight: 6,325 lb (2,869 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 8,950 lb (4,060 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70 Mk 3 6-cylinder in-line inverted air-cooled engine, 400 bhp (289 kW) each
- Maximum speed: 230 mph (200 knots, 370 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 187 mph (163 knots, 301 km/h) at 8,000 ft (2,440 m) (econ cruise)
- Stall speed: 74 mph (64 knots, 119 km/h)
- Range: 880 mi (765 nm, 1,415 km)
- Service ceiling: 21,700 ft (6,610 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,135 ft/min (5.8 m/s)
- Related development
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- "Abdel-Rahman Aref, 91, Former Iraqi President, Is Dead." The New York Times, 25 August 2007.
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