DeHavilland

Dehavilland DH-2 by Revell. 1/72nd scale injection

On March 9, 1915 de Havilland drafted the preliminary outline of an aircraft needed to meet the military needs for a fast gun carrying machine with a good forward field of fire. Without reliable synchronized interrupter gear, the pusher design was the only alternative.

The No. 24 Squadron led by Captain Lanoe Hawker arrived in France in January 1916 and were stationed on the Somme front. The DH-2 played a major role in the demise of the Fokker Eindecker but its life was short lived. The DH-2 had its heyday in the summer of 1916 but the new German planes were causing more and more casualties among the British pilots. The final blow came with the death of Lanoe Hawker on Nov 23, 1916 at the hands of the then unknown pilot, Ltn. Manfred von Richthofen.

As far as I can tell, this is the first model of my collection, built in 1980. The model is hand painted, the prop is the two blade prop of the Revell kit and there is no interior. It seems I did move the fuel tank over and changed it shape. It appears to be made with balsa wood. Of course, I had to add a mustache to the pilot. A rather dapper looking gentleman if I say so myself. The kit is showing signs of wear and tear but note the rigging is as tight as when I first installed it. The kit represents an aircraft of No. 24 Squadron A Flight.

The kit came home in 2010 for a face lift. Wheels were painted grey, machine gun and magazines were painted steel and the model was gloss coated with future. Other than that, the model is as I built it many years ago.

De Havilland DH-2 by Revell. 1/72nd scale injection mold.

The DH-2 was designed by Geoffry de Havilland, the prototype flying in the summer of 1915. The lack of a suitable and reliable synchronized interrupter gear lead to the pusher design. This model represents an aircraft flown by No. 24 Squadron, A Flight.

This kit was built in 1999, 19 years after the above kit was built. Since this time, my skills have increased, my research material library has expanded but it is the same kit as in 1980. An interior has been added, a four bladed prop was installed and the rigging has been enhanced. No attempts were made to correct any inaccuracies in the kit.

De Havilland DH-5 by Merlin Models 1/72 scale Short Run Injection Mold.

The DH-5 was designed by Capt. Geoffry de Havilland in which he attempted to retain the all around forward vision of the DH-2. He did this with a backwards wing stagger of 27". It's performance suffered as a fighter but the DH5 found a niche as a ground attack aircraft. It was withdrawn from service by Jan 1918.

This model represents a DH5 of 64 Squadron RFC, France, 1917.

De Havilland DH-5 by Pegasus Models 1/72 scale Short Run Injection Mold.

This model depictes a DH-5 used by the 24th Squadron during the summer of 1917. B359 was eventually allocated to a training squadron, and the color scheme is contemporary to this time spent at Hendon AAP.

De Havilland DH-4 by Airfix 1/72 scale Injection Mold.

The protoype of the DH4 was completed in the summer of 1916, designed by Captain (later Sir) Geoffry de Havilland. The engine was a water-cooler, six cylinder in-line designed by F. B. Halford. The first flight was August 1916 and production started in early 1917. No. 55 Squadron was the first R.F.C. unit to be equiped with the DH-4 and that unit flew to France on March 6, 1917.

The DH-4 was used through out the war and its greatest success was as a high-performance day bomber. During its career, at least 10 different engines were used with varying levels of success. After the war, the DH-4 was quickly phased out of R.F.C service. However, other countries had the plane in service until the late 1920's.

This color scheme depicits two special DH-4's that were outfitted from a aerial photograpy mission of the German naval bases west of the Kiel Canal. Extra fuel tanks were fitted that would give the aircraft 14 hours of flight time. They were also given the special camouflage of matt fawn and sky blue. In August 1917, the two planes were to fly across the North Sea, photograph their objectives,and land at Dunkerque. The mission was cancelled and the two planes remained at Great Yarmouth for anti-airship operation. It was at this time the two Lewis guns were installed on the upper wing.

The kit was built out of the box with no modifications with the exception of the two Lewis guns and the exhaust. The blue is hand painted. This kit was built shortly after Airfix re-released it in the 1990's. One would be hard pressed to find a kit that is easier to build out of the box but the potential for modifications are many.

De Havilland DH-9 Conversion by Blue Rider Models , 1/72 scale

The Airco DH-9 entered service with the Royal Flying Corps in December 1917. Problems with its Siddeley Puma powerplant meant that the DH-9's performance was inferior to that of the earlier DH-4. Despite this, more than 4000 DH-9's were built. The DH-9 was widely used during the 1920's and 1930's by many of the smaller air forces, including those of Poland, Spain and Ireland.

The conversion consists of a short run injection molded fuselage, metal parts and decals. It was a joint effort in 1988 between John Adams, David Archer, Hans Bertels, Joe Chubbock, Bruce Dennis, Chris Gannon and Ray Rimell.

After detailing the fuselage, all of the Airfix DH-4 parts are used. There was minor sanding to mute some of the wing rib detail. The ribs were removed from the bottom of the wing. It is a very easy conversion.

The model depicts DH-9 Serial No. B7620, 211 Squadron RAF, Netherlands, June 1918.