De Havilland Flamingo
The de Havilland DH95 Flamingo was a British passenger plane in mid wing design from 1938. During the Second World War it was used as a troop transport by the Royal Air Force.
History
The first flight took place on 22 December 1938. The prototype was then delivered to Jersey Airways in 1939 for testing purposes. He later became the RAF passed. The BOAC also ordered eight flamingos, because they did not get credit for the desired Douglas DC -5. A further five aircraft were subsequently to the RAF and to the RNAS. The BOAC later used her eight flamingos on routes to / from Cairo. Most flamingos were taken around 1950 from service and scrapped in 1954.
One aircraft was built as a troop transport DH.95 Hertfordshire. It had transported oval instead of rectangular cabin windows and could be up to 22 soldiers. This single machine crashed on October 23, 1940 with eleven people died. The reason were elevator disorders.
Construction
The aircraft was manufactured in all metal construction. The two pilots sat side by side and the radio operator directly behind it. The landing gear was retractable and adjustable propeller. The aircraft was similar to the Douglas DC -3 and Lockheed Electra. The first model had two 890 hp ( 660 kW) Bristol Perseus radial engines payable XIIc. Thus, it had an excellent performance and could take off with a full load already after 230 m.
Military user
- United Kingdom United Kingdom