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De Havilland Dragon Rapide

De Havilland Dragon Rapide

Overview

The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...

 short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s. Designed by the de Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...

 company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon
De Havilland Dragon
The de Havilland DH.84 Dragon was a successful small commercial aircraft designed and built by the de Havilland company.Following the commercial success of its single-engined De Havilland Fox Moth that had first flown in March 1932, that aircraft's original commercial operator Hillman's Airways...

, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the four-engined DH.86 Express
De Havilland Express
The de Havilland Express was a four-engined passenger aircraft from the 1930s manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:...

. It shared many common features with the larger aircraft including its tapered wings, streamlined fairings and the Gipsy Six
De Havilland Gipsy Six
The de Havilland Gipsy Six is a British six-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline piston engine developed for aircraft use in the 1930s. It was based on the cylinders of the four-cylinder Gipsy Major and went on to spawn a whole series of similar aero engines that were still in common use until the...

 engine, but it demonstrated none of the operational vices of the larger aircraft and went on to become perhaps the most successful British-built commercial passenger aircraft of the 1930s.

The prototype first flew on 17 April 1934 and 205 were built for owners all around the world before the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.
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Encyclopedia

The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...

 short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s. Designed by the de Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...

 company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon
De Havilland Dragon
The de Havilland DH.84 Dragon was a successful small commercial aircraft designed and built by the de Havilland company.Following the commercial success of its single-engined De Havilland Fox Moth that had first flown in March 1932, that aircraft's original commercial operator Hillman's Airways...

, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the four-engined DH.86 Express
De Havilland Express
The de Havilland Express was a four-engined passenger aircraft from the 1930s manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:...

. It shared many common features with the larger aircraft including its tapered wings, streamlined fairings and the Gipsy Six
De Havilland Gipsy Six
The de Havilland Gipsy Six is a British six-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline piston engine developed for aircraft use in the 1930s. It was based on the cylinders of the four-cylinder Gipsy Major and went on to spawn a whole series of similar aero engines that were still in common use until the...

 engine, but it demonstrated none of the operational vices of the larger aircraft and went on to become perhaps the most successful British-built commercial passenger aircraft of the 1930s.

Development and history


The prototype first flew on 17 April 1934 and 205 were built for owners all around the world before the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Originally designated the "Dragon Six" it was first marketed as "Dragon Rapide" although was later just called a "Rapide". With the fitting of improved trailing edge flaps from 1936, they were redesignated DH.89As.

One famous incident involving the use of a DH.89 was in July 1936 when a British MI6 intelligence agent, Hugh Pollard, flew Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde, commonly known as Francisco Franco , or simply Franco, was a military general and dictator of Spain from October 1936, and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975...

 in one from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...

 to Spanish Morocco
Spanish Morocco
Spanish Protectorate of Morocco was the area of Morocco under colonial rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence.-Territorial borders:...

, at the start of the military rebellion which began the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña...

.

At the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 many (Dragon) Rapides were impressed by the British armed forces and served under the name de Havilland Dominie. They were used for passenger duties and radio navigation training. Over 500 more were built specifically for military purposes, powered by improved Gipsy Queen engines
De Havilland Gipsy Queen
The de Havilland Gipsy Queen is an aero engine developed in 1935 by the de Havilland Engine Company. It was developed from the de Havilland Gipsy Six for military use.- Applications :*Breda Ba.44*Fiat G.46 bis and G.46-2*de Havilland DH.89...

, to bring total production to 731. Many survivors entered commercial service after the war, and 81 were still flying on the British register in 1958. Dominie production was by both de Havilland and Brush Coachworks Ltd, the latter making the greater proportion.

The DH.89 proved a very durable aircraft despite its relatively primitive plywood construction and many were still flying in the early 2000s. Several Rapides are still operational in the UK and several suppliers still offer pleasure flights in them. Two Rapides are still airworthy in New Zealand.

Variants


D.H.89 Dragon Six: Prototype.
D.H.89: Twin engined light transport biplane. First production version.

D.H.89A: Improved version, fitted with a landing light in the nose, modified wingtips and cabin heating.
D.H.89A Mk 4: One D.H. 89A aircraft, powered by two de Havilland Gipsy Queen 2 piston engines, fitted with constant speed propellers.
D.H.89A Mk 5: One D.H.89A aircraft, powered by two de Havilland Gipsy Queen 3 piston engines, fitted with variable-pitch propellers.
D.H.89A Mk 6: One D.H.89A aircraft fitted with Fairey X5 fixed-pitch propellers.
D.H.89M : Military transport version. Exported to Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...

 and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...

.
D.H. 89B Dominie Mk I: Radio and navigation training version.
D.H. 89 B Dominie Mk II: Communications and transport version.

Civil


  • Australian National Airways
    Australian National Airways
    Australian National Airways was Australia's predominant carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.-The Holyman Airways Period:On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.II VH-UEE Miss Launceston between Launceston, Tasmania and Flinders...

  • Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
    Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
    The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia is an air ambulance service for those living in the remote inland areas of Australia...


  • Varig
    Varig
    VRG Linhas Aéreas S.A., operating as VARIG , is a Brazilian airline owned by Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes based in São Paulo, Brazil. From the 1960s until the mid-2000s, it was Brazil's leading international airline...


Canada
  • Canadian Pacific
    Canadian Pacific Airlines
    Canadian Pacific Airlines, also called CP Air, was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. Based at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served Canadian and international routes until it was purchased and absorbed into Canadian Airlines.-Inception:In the...

  • Quebec Airways

  • Aero Oy operated two aircraft.

  • Air Iceland
    Air Iceland
    Air Iceland is a regional airline based in Reykjavík, Iceland. It operates scheduled services to domestic destinations and to Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Its main bases are Reykjavík Airport and Akureyri Airport...


  • Air India
    Air India
    {Infobox Airline|airline = Air India
    एअर इंडिया|logo = AI logo.gif|logo_size = 200|IATA = AI|ICAO = AIC|callsign = AIRINDIA|parent = NACIL...

  • Indian National Airways
  • Tata Airlines
    Tata Airlines
    Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. was founded by J. R. D. Tata in 1932 as Tata Sons. It was started as a mail service over the route Karachi to Bombay and on south to Madras.-The beginning:On 15 October 1932, J. R. D...


Iraq
  • Iraqi Airways
    Iraqi Airways
    Iraqi Airways Company, operating as Iraqi Airways , is the national carrier of Iraq, headquartered on the grounds of Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad. One of the oldest airlines in the Middle East, Iraqi Airways operates domestic and regional service...


  • Aer Lingus
    Aer Lingus
    Aer Lingus is the national flag carrier of Ireland. Headquartered at Dublin Airport, it operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America and northern Africa...

  • Aer Turas
    Aer Turas
    Aer Turas Teoranta was an Irish airline and later a freight operator based in Dublin, Ireland from 1962 until May 2003.-History:Aer Turas started operations in 1962 as an air taxi service from Ireland to the UK with a single de Havilland Dragon Rapide....

     operated one aircraft.

  • Middle East Airlines
    Middle East Airlines
    Middle East Airlines Air Liban , operating as Middle East Airlines , is the national flag-carrier airline of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut...


  • Borneo Airways
    Borneo Airways
    The first Borneo Airways Limited was absorbed by Malaysian Airways Limited in 1963.In 1997, the Borneo Airways was reborn after Royal Brunei Airlines decide to cease operation with Hornbill Skyways and set up a partnership of a new airline based in Malaysia named Borneo Airways...


  • KLM

  • National Airways Corporation
    National Airways Corporation
    National Airways Corporation was the national domestic airline of New Zealand from 1947 until 1978 when it amalgamated with New Zealand's international airline, Air New Zealand. The airline was headquartered in Wellington....

  • Cook Strait Airways Ltd

Palestine
  • Palestine Airways (British Mandate of Palestine)
  • Aviron
    Aviron flying school
    Aviron flying school was established in April, 1936 in Palestine under the British Mandate . The school was based in kibbutz Afikim, in Northern Israel.-History:...


  • Aerocarga Asociados ACA

Romania
  • LARES
    Tarom
    TAROM - Romanian Air Transport, commonly known simply as TAROM, is the flag carrier airline of Romania. The brand name TAROM is an acronym for . Its main base is the Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest...


Switzerland
  • Swissair
    Swissair
    Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland. It was formed of a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...


  • Air Charter Limited
    Air Charter Limited
    Air Charter was an early post-World War II private, independent British airline formed in 1947. The airline conducted regular trooping flights to Cyprus as well as worldwide passenger and freight charter flights from its bases at Southend Airport and Stansted...

  • Air Atlantique Classic Flight
    Air Atlantique Classic Flight
    The Air Atlantique Classic Flight has re-branded itself as ClassicFlight.com, but still retaining the Air Atlantique heritage by using the Air Atlantique name in its logo...

  • British European Airways
    British European Airways
    British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...

  • Classic Wings
  • British Westpoint
  • Crilly Airways Ltd
    Crilly Airways Ltd
    Crilly Airways Ltd was founded by entrepreneur Frederick Leo Crilly. The airline operated passenger services between several cities in England in the mid 1930's. The airline started with a capitalization of 12,000 pounds....

  • Hillmans Airways
  • Jersey Airways
    Jersey Airways
    Jersey Airways was an airline which operated air services from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways.-History:...

  • Lancashire Aircraft Corporation
  • Mayflower Air Services
  • Olley Air Services
  • Railway Air Services
    Railway Air Services
    Railway Air Services was a British airline formed in March 1934 by four railway companies and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up with Imperial's services....

  • Scillonia Airways
  • Scottish Airways
  • Sivewright Airways
  • Trans European Aviation
    Trans European Aviation
    Trans European Aviation was a British charter airline from 1960 to 1962.-History:The airline was formed in early 1960 to operate charters from London Gatwick Airport with two de Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft. Later in 1960 the company took over Air Condor which operated one Bristol Freighter...

  • Westward Airways (Lands End)

Yugoslavia:
  • Aeroput
    Aeroput
    ' was the national airline of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The airline ceased to existence during WWII, but was renewed after World War II under the new name Jugoslovenski Aero Transport and still flies today under the name Jat Airways .-End of Aeroput:Unlike other...


Military operators


  • Royal Australian Air Force
    Royal Australian Air Force
    The Royal Australian Air Force is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1912 as the Australian Flying Corps making it the second oldest air force in the world...


  • Belgian Air Force
    Belgian Air Force
    The Air Component, formerly the Belgian Air Force, is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces. The current commander is Major-General Claude Van de Voorde, appointed on 23 July 2009.-Early years:...

     (Seven operated from 1946)

Canada
  • Royal Canadian Air Force
    Royal Canadian Air Force
    The Royal Canadian Air Force was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Forces...

    • No. 418 Squadron RCAF

  • Finnish Air Force
    Finnish Air Force
    The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...


Nazi Germany
  • Luftwaffe
    Luftwaffe
    Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...

     operated captured aircraft.

Iran
  • Imperial Iranian Air Force

  • Israeli Air Force
    Israeli Air Force
    The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces...


Lithuania
  • Lithuanian Air Force
    Lithuanian Air Force
    Lithuanian Air Force or LAF is the military aviation branch of the Lithuanian armed forces. It is formed from professional military servicemen and non-military personnel. Units are located at Zokniai airport near the city Šiauliai.- History :...

     operated two D.H.89M aircraft.

  • Royal New Zealand Air Force
    Royal New Zealand Air Force
    The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zealand components of the British Royal Air Force, becoming an independent force in 1923, although many RNZAF aircrew continued to serve in the Royal Air Force until the end of the 1940s...

    • No. 4 Squadron RNZAF
      No. 4 Squadron RNZAF
      No. 4 Squadron RNZAF was a New Zealand patrol bomber unit in the South Pacific during World War II.-History:Due to activity by German surface raiders, the squadron was hurriedly formed in October 1940, initially equipped with a range of hurriedly converted civilian airliners, the twin engined de...

    • No. 42 Squadron RNZAF
      No. 42 Squadron RNZAF
      42 Squadron of the RNZAF was formed at Rongotai in December 1943 to provide a communications service around New Zealand, initially using impressed civilian types. It was briefly officially disbanded in 1946, but its aircraft continued with general purpose operations at RNZAF Base Ohakea...


Rhodesia
  • Royal Rhodesian Air Force
    Royal Rhodesian Air Force
    The Royal Rhodesian Air Force was the air arm of the British colonial state of Rhodesia. It existed between 1935 and 1980 under various names, and is now the Air Force of Zimbabwe.-History:...


South Africa
  • South African Air Force
    South African Air Force
    The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...


Spain
  • Spanish Air Force
    Spanish Air Force
    The Spanish Air Force is the air force of Spain. It is one of the 3 branches of the Spanish Armed Forces and has the mission of defending the sovereignty and independence of Spain, its territorial integrity and constitutional freedoms, within airspace of Spain and its territories as well as to...

     operated three D.H.89M.

  • Royal Air Force
    Royal Air Force
    The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...

    • No. 24 Squadron RAF
    • No. 173 Squadron RAF
    • No. 225 Squadron RAF
      No. 225 Squadron RAF
      No. 225 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 April 1918 at Alimini, Italy from part of No. 6 Wing RNAS, and was equipped with Sopwith Camels. The squadron disbanded on 18 December 1918....

    • No. 271 Squadron RAF
      No. 271 Squadron RAF
      No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was operational for two periods; a few brief months between 27 September 1918 and 9 December 1918 operating flying boats to protect shipping from German U-boats, and between 28 March 1940 and 1 December 1946 No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was...

    • No. 510 Squadron RAF
    • No. 526 Squadron RAF
    • No. 527 Squadron RAF
    • No. 614 Squadron RAF
  • Fleet Air Arm
    Fleet Air Arm
    The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters, as well as the Harrier GR7/GR9...


United States
  • United States Army Air Force

Popular culture


A de Havilland Dragon Rapide, the Sky Gypsy, appears in Out of Time
Out of Time (Torchwood)
"Out of Time" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 17 December 2006. It is the tenth episode of the first series.- Synopsis :...

, an episode of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...

 Science Fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...

 television series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme, created by Russell T Davies. It deals with the machinations and activities of the Cardiff branch of the fictional Torchwood Institute, who deal mainly with incidents involving extraterrestrials...

, in which one is accidentally flown through a "transcendental portal
Cardiff Rift
The Cardiff Rift is a fictional wormhole in the science fiction television series Doctor Who and Torchwood, one end of which is located in Cardiff Bay, Wales. The other end is apparently floating freely through spacetime, and matter and radiation can pass through the Rift, allowing extraterrestrial...

" and travels from 1953 over 50 years into its passengers future. Dragon Rapides appear in several films including The Maggie
The Maggie
The Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...

, The Captain's Paradise
The Captain's Paradise
The Captain's Paradise is a 1953 British comedy film starring Alec Guinness and directed by Anthony Kimmins. It is set in Gibraltar and northern Morocco, and on a ship that travels between them....

, Fathom, the 1995 film adaptation
Richard III (1995 film)
Richard III is a 1995 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Dame Maggie Smith, John Wood and Dominic West....

 of Shakespeare's Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591, depicting the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified as...

, and a 1986 Spanish film, Dragon rapide.http://www.janusmuseum.org/panabasis/oct07.htm#26oct

Specifications (Dragon Rapide)




See also



External links