de Havilland D.H. 103 Hornet / Sea Hornet (true 1946!) - Printable Version

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de Havilland D.H. 103 Hornet / Sea Hornet (true 1946!) - Guest - 06.02.2007

de Havilland D.H. 103 Hornet


The beautiful lines of the de Havilland Hornet reveal the aircraft to be a blend of the basic design of the Mosquito with a slimmer fuselage. Armament was the standard four 20-mm cannon plus rockets or bombs.

History and notes;
The ultimate in twin piston-engined fighter design, the de Havilland Hornet started life as the D.H.103 private venture design for a long-range fighter to combat Japanese aircraft in the Pacific. Using new, low-frontal Merlin engines in very sleek nacelles, the design was eventually approved by the Ministry of Aircraft Production and Specification F.12/43 was written round it. The prototype Hornet flew on 28 July 1944 and a second prototype followed with provision for two 200-Imperial gallon (909-litre) drop tanks and pylons for 1,000 lb (454 kg) of bombs beneath the wings. A first batch of 60 was ordered, initial deliveries to the RAF beginning in 1945, but the first squadron deliveries were to No. 64 Squadron at Horsham St Faith in March 1946, replacing North American P-51 Mustangs. No. 19 Squadron at Church Fenton followed and other squadrons to use the Hornet included Nos. 41 and 65 in the UK and Nos. 33,45 and 80 in the Far East. The first 60 Hornets were F.ls, while the next 132 were F.3s, which featured a dorsal fin fillet and an increase in internal tankage from 360 to 540 Imperial gallons (1637 to 2455 litres). The last batch of 12 Hornets for the RAF, bringing the total to 204, were FR.4s, a fighter-reconnaissance version with an F.52 vertical camera. The Royal Navy maintained a weather eye on the Hornet as a possibility for carrier use in the Far East, and in 1946 three F.ls were converted by the Heston Aircraft Company. These were given folding wings, an arrester hook, catapult pick-up points and naval radar mountings. Long-stroke landing gear units were fitted. The first of these aircraft was flown on 19 April 1945 and the third, when flown, carried out deck landing trials aboard HMS Ocean. Results were satisfactory, and a production order was placed against specification N.5/44. A total of 77 single-seat Sea Hornet F.Mk 20s was built, plus 78 of a two-seat night fighter version designated NF.Mk21, all production and delivery of these aircraft being made after the end of World War II.

Specification;
Type: single-seat long-range fighter/fighter-bomber
Powerplant (F.3): two 2,030-hp (1514-kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin 133/134 inline piston engines
Performance: maximum speed 472 mph (760 km/h) at 22,000 ft (6705 m); service ceiling 37,500 ft (11 430 m); range 1,500 miles (2414 km) with two 100-Imperial gallon (455-litre) drop tanks Weights: empty 12,880 lb (5842 kg); maximum takeoff 20,900 lb (9480 kg)
Dimensions: span 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m); length 36 ft 8 in (11.18 m); height 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m); wing area 361 sq ft (33.54 m*)
Armament: four 20-mm cannon in nose, plus underwing racks for eight 60-lb (27-kg) rockets or up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs
Operators: RAF, RN

de Havilland Sea Hornet N.F.21

de havilland sea hornet N.F.21(VW 849)of No 809 squadron

The Sea Hornet N.F. 21, the only two-seat version of the Hornet, was produced to Spec. N. 21/45 and from 1949 to 1954 was the F.A.A.'s standard carrier-borne night-fighter. Its comprehensive radar equipment and the presence of a navigator also made it useful as a lead aircraft in a strike formation. As with the single-seat Sea Hornet, the night-fighter was first produced as a conversion of a Hornet I (PX 230), the modifications being carried out by Heston Aircraft Ltd. This aircraft first flew on 9 July 1946; it had the A.S.H. scanner in the nose and flame-damping exhausts, but the folding wings and long dorsal fin fillet did not appear until the second prototype-conversion (PX 239) was introduced. Production of the Sea Hornet N.F. 21 began with VV 430 and total output reached 79, the last aircraft (VZ 699) being completed on 3 November 1950. After prolonged tests with the Naval Air Fighting Development Unit and the Service Trials Unit at Ford, the Sea Hornet N.F. 21 entered first-line service with No. 809 Squadron at Culdrose on 20 January 1949. No. 809 Squadron was re-formed specially for the Sea Hornet night-fighter and, until re-equipped with Sea Venoms in 1954, was the only first-line squadron to use the type. Sea Hornet N.F. 21s first embarked with No. 809 Squadron in H.M.S. Vengeance in 1950 and formed part of the F.A.A.'s first All-Weather Air Group. The range of the N.F. 21 was well demonstrated in November 1950, when an aircraft of No. 809 Squadron flew from Gibraltar to Lee-on-Solent non-stop at an average speed of 330 m.p.h.
After their retirement from first-line duties, Sea Hornet N.F. 21s continued to serve on radar training duties with second-line squadrons for a number of years, one of the longest-lived examples being the first production aircraft (VV 430), which remained with No. 771 Fleet Requirements Unit at Hum until October 1955.




Specification;
Description: Two-seat carrier-borne night-fighter and all-weather strike-fighter. Wooden fuselage and composite plywood and light alloy wing.
Manufacturers; de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd., Hatfield and Chester.
Power Plant: Two 2,030-h.p. Rolls-Royce Merlin 134/135.
Dimensions: Span, 45 ft. Length, 37 ft. Height, 14 ft. Wing area, 361 sq ft.
Weights: Empty, 14,230 lb. Loaded, 19,530 lb.
Performance: Maximum speed, 430 m.p.h. at 22,000 ft.; 365 m.p.h. at sea level. Climb, 4,400 ft./min. Range, 1,500 miles. Service ceiling, 36,500 ft.
Armament: Four fixed 20-mm. guns forward and provision for eight 60-lb. rocket-projectiles or two 500-lb. or two 1,000-lb. bombs.

Note : the F.3. Hornet is only 2 mph slower than the Do335 & has considerable greater rate of climb than the do.

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- Krabat42 - 25.02.2008

Is anyone - by chance - working on a model for FB? I would like to fly that thing - would really fit into the 1946 category.

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- Guest - 25.02.2008

Ain't nothin like the real thing!

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- Krabat42 - 27.02.2008

Should be real La-7-Killer

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