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De Havilland Dove

DH.104 Dove

Picture - de Havilland Dove

Role: short-haul airliner
Manufacturer: de Havilland
First flight: 25 September 1945
Number built: 542
Variants: de Havilland Heron

The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs. The design came about from the Brabazon Committee report which called for a British designed short-haul feeder for airlines.

Production

Production of the Dove and its variants totalled 542 including 127 military Devon C.2s and 13 Sea Devons, the last example being delivered in 1967.

Service

The Dove first flew on 25 September 1945.

Variants

Picture - de Havilland Dove

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 communication version.
Devon C Mk 1: Transport and communication version for the RAF.
Devon C Mk 2: Transport and communications version for the RAF. Re-engined version of the Devon C Mk 1.
Sea Devon C Mk 20: Transport and communications version for the Royal Navy.
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 8,500lb (3856kg).

Picture - Riley Dove with Lycoming engines and taller swept fin at Long Beach airport in April 1987

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. The Dove Custom 600 was an American designation of the Dove 8A.
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 to accommodate 18 passengers.

Riley Turbo Executive 400: Conversions of the Dove, carried out by Riley Aircraft in the USA. 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.

Operators

Picture - de Havilland Devon

Civil operators

Australia

Airlines of Western Australia

Belgium

SABENA

Burma

Union of Burma Airways

Chile

LAN-Chile

Picture - Dove 6A belonging to the National Test Pilot School departs the Mojave Airport

Gambia

West African Airways Corporation

Germany

LTU

Ghana

West African Airways Corporation

India

Airways
Government of Madras

Iraq

Iraq Petroleum Company

Japan

Nippon Helicopter and Aeroplane
Far East Airlines

Nigeria

West African Airways Corporation

Rhodesia

Central African Airways

Sierra Leone

West African Airways Corporation

South Africa

Comair (South Africa) operated 2 aircraft.
South African Airways

Sudan

Sudan Airways

United Kingdom

BOAC (for training and communications)
Bristow Helicopters
British Midlands
British Westpoint Airlines
Channel Airways (scheduled services)
Dan-Air (scheduled services)
Hunting-Clan Air Transport
Morton Air Services
Olley Air Services
Silver City Airways
CAA Flying Unit

United States

Air Wisconsin
Apache Airlines
National Test Pilot School

Military operators

Argentina

Argentine Coast Guard [1]

Belgian Congo

Force Publique

Biafra

Biafran Air Force

Brazil Ceylon

Royal Ceylon Air Force

Egypt Ireland

Irish Air Corps

Ethiopia

Ethiopian Air Force

India

Indian Air Force

Iraq Jordan

Royal Jordanian Air Force

Lebanon

Lebanese Air Force

Malaysia

Royal Malaysian Air Force

New Zealand

Royal New Zealand Air Force
No. 42 Squadron RNZAF

Pakistan

Pakistan Air Force

Paraguay

Paraguayan Air Force

South Africa

South African Air Force

Sweden

Royal Swedish Air Force

United Kingdom

Royal Air Force
No. 21 Squadron RAF
No. 26 Squadron RAF
No. 31 Squadron RAF
No. 32 Squadron RAF
No. 60 Squadron RAF
No. 207 Squadron RAF
Fleet Air Arm

Specifications (Dove 5)

Picture - de Havilland Dove Srs 5

Data from Jane's

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Capacity: 8 passengers
Length: 39 ft 3 in (11.96 m)
Wingspan: 57 ft (17.37 m)
Height: 13 ft 4 in (4.06 m)
Wing area: 335 sq ft (31.1 m²)
Empty weight: 5,725 lb (2,600 kg)
Loaded weight: 8,800 lb (4,000 kg)
Powerplant: 2x— de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70 Mk.2 geared, supercharged 6-cylinder in-line inverted air-cooled engine, 380 bhp (283 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 202 mph at 8,000 ft (325 km/h at 2,400 m)
Range: 1,070 mi (1,720 km)
Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
Rate of climb: 920 ft/min (4.7 m/s)

Related development

de Havilland Heron
de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover

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Source: WikiPedia