Aeroplane September 2017

(Brent) #1
84 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE SEPTEMBER 2017

DEVELOPMENT DE HAVILLAND DRAGON


DRAGON II


Sixty-two Dragons were built
before de Havilland improved
the design in production. It
introduced a number of
enhancements, visually
evident by way of the
individually framed windows
and faired-in undercarriage
struts. These strengthened the
design and improved the
type’s capability and cost-
efficiency, its key selling-point.
The changes added another
5mph to the top speed and
allowed for a 250lb rise in
baggage capacity. More
importantly, however, they
increased the range of the
aircraft by 85 miles. There
were 53 of these later Dragons
built, from September 1933.
They were known
retrospectively as the Dragon
II, although this does not
feature in the paperwork of
the time, the variant simply
being called the ‘improved
Dragon’.
Stag Lane’s aerodrome
licence was cancelled in
January 1934, so all
production was moved to
Hatfield, where the remaining
British-built Dragons first flew
from. The decline of the
Dragon’s production run can
be ascribed in part to other de
Havilland types capturing
some of its market, notably
the faster DH89 Dragon
Rapide and the executive
DH90 Dragonfly, both of which
the company’s salesmen
preferred to sell for their
notably higher performance ABOVE: de Havilland Australia Dragon production in full swing during 1942. THE COLLEC TION VIA G. GOODALL AND R. JAHNE

ABOVE: The second Dragon II, G-ACKU — here fitted with a small
nose probe for test purposes — competed in the Oases Circuit Race
in November 1933. AEROPLANE

— and, importantly in financial
terms, because they were
more expensive.
The pace of aeronautical
development is amply
illustrated by the appearance
of the DH89 Dragon Six, soon
renamed Dragon Rapide, in


  1. The prototype flew in
    April of that year, less than two
    years after the Dragon’s first
    flight. The Rapide was an
    improved, refined Dragon, but
    not a direct development, as it
    owed more to the DH86
    Express four-engine airliner
    that came between the two,
    and which contributed to the
    Rapide’s detailing and
    configuration. Like the Dragon
    II, the Rapide benefited from
    better streamlining, and for


many users it effectively
replaced the Dragon. During
1934, de Havilland advertised
the Rapide “for high-speed
transport”, whereas by
contrast the Dragon was
offered “for air route
development”. No wonder the
DH84 was quickly eclipsed by
faster, more exciting types.
The day of the utilitarian
Dragon, used by low-cost
operators like Edward Hillman,
was a very brief one.

AUSTRALIAN
PRODUCTION

The Dragon was to see a
resurgence. When the Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF)
had an urgent need for locally
built radio trainers, resulting
from supply problems due to
the pressure on UK
manufacturers and Japan’s
entry into the war, the DH84
Dragon was chosen. This
might seem counterintuitive at
first, as the DH89 had already
been put into production and
service in the UK as a radio
trainer, the Dominie. But the
DH82 Tiger Moth was in
production in Sydney, built by
de Havilland Australia (DHA)
with locally made Gipsy Major
engines from General Motors
Holden in Melbourne.
These Australian production
Dragons were utility versions
with unframed windows,
similar to the first production-

standard Dragons. The first
example was built in a storage
area of Grace Brothers’
department store in central
Sydney, and they were
thereafter manufactured at
DHA’s Mascot plant (not, as
sometimes reported, at
Bankstown) at a cost of
Au£6,000 each.
Between January 1940 and
March 1941, the RAAF had
already impressed seven
Dragon and four Dragon II
airliners that were in Australia,
so the first locally produced
version was serialled A34-12. It
flew on 29 September 1942.
After 87 DHA Dragons had
been completed, production
ended in June 1943, and a
further order was cancelled. As
well as their original role of
radio training, they were used
for communications, rescue,
and air ambulance roles (with
No 2 Air Ambulance Unit), and
by multiple squadrons and
flights. By June 1946 the
remaining 56 aircraft had been
sold to civil operators,
including the Royal Flying
Doctor Service, who were
desperate for any aircraft that
could fill the transport or
airliner roles successfully.
The last of the 87 DHA-built
machines brought to a final
close a production run that
had previously seen 62
early-model Dragons and 53
Dragon IIs being built in the
UK.

81-94_AM_DATABASE-Sept17_cc C.indd 84 31/07/2017 11:12

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