Britain - 1915 AIRCO D.H.2

Serendipity

Airco D.H.2 - 1915

Today was one of those days where a string of events come together in unforeseen ways. I had been working on the profile of an AIRCO de Havilland D.H.2 for today's post when I received an email concerning the same aircraft I was drawing. It felt like being in the groove.

The D.H.2 biplane was Geoffrey de Havilland's second design for the Aircraft Manufacturing Company. This highly successful pusher had good maneuverability with an excellent rate of climb. Mounting the engine to the rear of the fuselage permitted the use of a fixed, forward-firing machine gun before the advent of the synchronous machine gun.

Superior to the Fokker E.III, the D.H.2 helped end the "Fokker Scourge." Well past its prime and almost two years after its introduction, some squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps were still equipped with D.H.2s.

References

1. From Wikipedia Airco DH.2, "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airco_DH.2"
2. Bruce, J.M. "Warplanes of the First World War - Fighters Volume One". London: MacDonald & Co., 1965.
3. >Cheesman, E.F., ed. "Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War". Herts, UK: Harleyford, 1960.
4. Goulding, James. Interceptor: RAF "Single Seat Multi-Gun Fighters". London: Ian Allen Ltd., 1986. ISBN 0-7110-1583-X.
5. Jackson, A.J. "De Havilland Aircraft since 1909". London: Putnam, Third edition, 1987. ISBN 0 85177 802 X.
6. Mason, Francis K. "The British Fighter since 1912". Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
7. Raleigh, Walter. "The War In The Air: Being the Story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force, Vol I". Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, First edition 1922, 2002 (reprint). ISBN 978-1843424123.
8. Sharpe, Michael. "Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes". London: Friedman/Fairfax Books, 2000. ISBN 1-58663-300-7.