Fly Past

122 FLYPAST May 2018

MANUFACTURERS DE HAVILLAND

(DHC) designed a two-seat basic
trainer, the Chipmunk, which first
flew on May 22, 1946. The Royal
Canadian Air Force took 158, but
in 1949 the British-based parent
company hit the jackpot with an
order from the RAF to replace the
Tiger Moth. With export orders and
a small number of civilian deliveries,
UK-manufactured Chipmunks
reached a very neat 1,000 units.
On August 16, 1947 DHC flew the
first of what is regarded as the
ultimate ‘bush plane’, the Beaver.

At Hatfield, there were high hopes

of emulating the success of the

anglicised Chipmunk with a British

production line of Beavers – but the

Series 2 demonstrator, imported

in 1953 and powered by a 550hp

(410kW) Alvis Leonides radial,

attracted no orders.

There was a consolation prize

when the British Army Air Corps

ordered the type. Although built

in Canada, the 46 aircraft were

assembled and fitted out at

Hawarden between 1961 and 1967.

Triumph and

tragedy

Determined to re-enter the airliner

market after the war, DH bravely

took the massive leap to create

the world’s first jetliner to enter

production, the Comet. Interest

from airlines was intense: the firm

was in the vanguard of a potentially

massive marketplace.

John Cunningham captained the

maiden flight of the prototype,

G-ALVG, on July 27, 1940. Powered

by four DH Ghost 50s, the aircraft

was a humble 36-seater, but there

was potential to ‘grow’ the airframe

and, later, the Comet 2 would adopt

the more powerful Rolls-Royce

Avon 500 engine.

British Overseas Airways

Corporation (BOAC) took the first

ever fare-paying passengers on

a scheduled jetliner service in

Comet 1A G-ALYP on May 2, 1952.

The Hatfield production line was

swelling, including exports for

Canada and France.

On January 10, 1954 BOAC Comet

1 Yoke-Papa disappeared off Elba,

Italy, with the loss of all on board.

This was tragedy enough, but 88

days later another, G-ALYY, crashed

into the sea off Naples.

With a salvage operation

under way the Royal Aircraft

Establishment (RAE) went on

full alert: Britain’s world-beating

jetliner was under intense

scrutiny. A massive and fast-paced

investigation brought together

two elements at Farnborough: the

resident Accidents Investigation

Branch and the RAE’s Structures

Department worked to find the

cause and, if possible, cure it.

On April 14, just four days after

G-ALYY had plunged into the

Mediterranean, sister ship G-ALYS

touched down at Farnborough to

start ‘live’, ground-based trials.

The prototype Comet, G-ALVG,

was already on site and was

quickly used for metal

fatigue experimentation.

“Determined to re-enter the airliner

market after the war, DH bravely

took the massive leap to create

the world’s fi rst jetliner to enter

production, the Comet”

Canadian-built Beaver G-ANAR was converted

to a Series 2 for use as a demonstrator. For

publicity, it took off from the apron in front

of the main assembly hall at Hatfi eld in the

summer of 1953. DE HAVILLAND

The fi rst Comet C.2 for the RAF was not completed but used instead for pressure testing in a

tank at Hatfi eld in late 1955. HAWKER SIDDELEY

The fi rst of a handful of Chipmunk Mk.2 crop-sprayer conversions, G-APMN, demonstrating to

the press in 1958. DE HAVILLAND

The second prototype Comet 1, G-ALZK, was used by BOAC for route proving in 1951. Note the large
single-wheeled main undercarriage; production
examples had multi-wheeled
bogies.