De Havilland |
DH-100 Vampire |
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Photo: Robert
Deering 4/9/2019 Technik Museum Speyer, Germany |
The de Havilland Vampire is
a British jet fighter developed and manufactured by
the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet
fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster
Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet
engine. Work on the Vampire commenced
during 1941 in the midst of the Second World War; it was
initially intended as an experimental aircraft, albeit
one that was suitable for combat, that harnessed the
groundbreaking innovation of jet propulsion. Out of the
company's design studies, it was quickly decided to
settle on a single-engine, twin-boom aircraft, powered
by the Halford H.1 turbojet engine (later produced as
the "Goblin"). Aside from its propulsion system and
twin-boom configuration, it was a relatively
conventional aircraft. Despite being originally ordered
as an experimental aircraft only, during May 1944, it
was decided to mass-produce the aircraft as
an interceptor for the Royal Air Force (RAF). During
1946, the first production Vampire entered operational
service with the RAF, only months after the conflict had
come to an end. The Vampire quickly proved to be
an effective aircraft and was adopted as a replacement
for many wartime piston-engined fighter aircraft. During
its early service, it was recognized for accomplishing
several aviation firsts and various records, such as
being the first jet aircraft to traverse the Atlantic
Ocean. The Vampire remained in front-line service with
the RAF up until 1953; after this date, it was
progressively reassigned to various secondary roles,
such as ground attack missions and pilot training
operations, for which specialist variants of the type
were produced. During 1966, the Vampire was officially
retired by the RAF, having been withdrawn from its final
role as an advanced trainer after having been replaced
by the Folland Gnat. The Royal Navy had also adopted the
type as the Sea Vampire, a navalized variant
suitable for operations from its aircraft carriers. It
was the service's first jet fighter. The Vampire had been exported to a wide variety of nations and was operated across a plethora of theatres and climates across the world. Several countries deployed the type in combat during several conflicts, including the Suez Crisis, the Malayan Emergency, and the Rhodesian Bush War. By the end of production, almost 3,300 Vampires had been manufactured, a quarter of these having been manufactured under license in several other countries. In addition, de Havilland pursued the further development of the type; major derivatives produced include the DH.115, a dedicated dual-seat trainer, and the more advanced DH.112 Venom, a refined variant furnished with a swept wing (instead of the straight wing of the Vampire) and orientated towards conducting ground attack and night fighter operations. Source: Wikipedia |
1959 DOD Aircraft Recognition Page |