de Havilland Flamingo

DH.95 Flamingo
de Havilland Flamingo c. 1943
Role	Airliner Troop carrier Communications aircraft
Manufacturer	de Havilland
First flight	22 December 1938
Introduction	15 July 1939
Retired	1950
Primary users	Royal Air Force BOAC
Number built	14

The British de Havilland DH.95 Flamingo was a high-wing, twin-engined monoplane passenger airliner of the Second World War period, also used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a troop-carrier and for general communications duties.

Design and development

The Flamingo was designed by de Havilland, led by their chief designer, as a twin-engined civil airliner. It was the first all-metal aircraft built by de Havilland. The metal framework was mostly metal-covered with fabric covered control surfaces. Two pilots were seated side-by-side with a radio operator behind them in the cockpit, with the cabin accommodating 12-17 passengers. It featured a retractable undercarriage, slotted flaps and variable pitch propellers, and was considered a highly promising sales prospect for the de Havilland company capable of competing with the American Douglas DC-3 and Lockheed Model 10 Electra.

The first prototype flew on 22 December 1938,^[1] powered by 890 hp (660 kW) Bristol Perseus engines. With these, performance was excellent with a takeoff at maximum weight in 750 ft (230 m) and the ability to maintain height or climb at 120 mph (190 km/h) on a single engine. Testing was successful, with the Flamingo being granted a certificate of airworthiness on 30 June 1939,^[2] with an initial production run of twenty aircraft being laid down.^[3]

Operational service

DH.95 Flamingo G-AFYH of British Air Transport at Redhill airfield, Surrey, in June 1953

The prototype was delivered to Jersey Airways in 1939 for evaluation and became the first revenue-earning Flamingo. It was later transferred to RAF duties. A further order from Jersey was frustrated by the outbreak of war, but with BOAC denied the credit needed to buy the Douglas DC-5 it ordered eight Flamingoes instead. The BOAC Flamingoes were based in the Middle East throughout the war. A further five aircraft were delivered to the RAF and one to the Fleet Air Arm. Flamingoes were mostly withdrawn from service by 1950, the last was scrapped in 1954.

A single military transport variant was built to Specification 19/39 as the DH.95 Hertfordshire. It had oval cabin windows instead of rectangular ones, and seating for 22 paratroopers. A proposed order for 40 was cancelled to leave de Havillands free to produce Tiger Moth trainers. The sole Hertfordshire crashed with the loss of 11 lives at Mill Hill, Hertfordshire on 23 October 1940, apparently due to jamming of the elevator.

DH 95 in RAF service

Production

• Flamingo to Specification 21/39 for use by the King's Flight (VIP transport) - two
• Flamingo to Specification 20/39 for use by No. 24 Squadron RAF as communications aircraft - one
• Flamingo civilian specification - 11, three for No. 24 Sqdn and FAA, remainder to BOAC

Operators

Military operators

 United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force
  • No. 24 Squadron RAF
• Fleet Air Arm

Civilian operators

 United Kingdom

• BOAC
• British Air Transport
• Jersey Airways

Specifications (de Havilland Flamingo)

Data from De Havilland Aircraft since 1909^[4]

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Capacity: 17 passengers
• Length: 51 ft 7 in (15.73 m)
• Wingspan: 70 ft 0 in (21.34 m)
• Height: 15 ft 3 in (4.65 m)
• Wing area: 651 ft² (60.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 11,325 lb (5,148 kg)
• Loaded weight: 18,000 lb (8,182 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Perseus XVI radial piston, 930 hp (690 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 243 mph (211 knots, 391 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 204 mph (177 knots, 328 km/h)
• Range: 1,345 mi (1,170 nmi, 2,165 km)
• Service ceiling: 20,900 ft (6,370 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,470 ft/min (7.5 m/s)

Avionics

• Sperry Automatic Pilot

See also

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the RAF
  

References

Notes

1. ^ Jackson 1987, p. 399.
2. ^ Green and Swanborough 1986, p. 4.
3. ^ Green and Swanborough 1986, p. 5.
4. ^ Jackson 1987, p. 403.

Bibliography

• Bain, Gordon. De Havilland: A Pictorial Tribute. London: AirLife, 1992. ISBN 1-85648-243-X.
• Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "De Havilland's War Orphan." Air Enthusiast. Number 30, March-June 1996, pp. 1—10. Bromley, Kent, UK: Pilot Press.
• Jackson, A.J. De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam, Third edition 1987. ISBN 0-85177-802-X.