The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British
short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by
de Havilland. The design, which was a
monoplane successor to the pre-war
Dragon Rapidebiplane, came about from the
Brabazon Committee report which, amongst other aircraft types, called for a British-designed short-haul feeder for airlines.[2]
The Dove was a popular aircraft and is considered to be one of Britain's most successful postwar civil designs, with over 500 aircraft manufactured between 1946 and 1967. Several military variants were operated, such as the Devon by the
Royal Air Force and the Sea Devon by the
Royal Navy, and the type also saw service with a number of overseas military forces.
A longer four-engined development of the Dove, intended for use in the less developed areas of the world, was the
Heron. A considerably re-designed three-engined variant of the Dove was built in Australia as the
de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover.
In 1946, aviation magazine
Flight praised the qualities of the newly developed Dove, noting its "modernity" as well as the aircraft's load-carrying capacity, safe engine-failure performance, and positive maintenance features.[3] Considerable attention was paid to aspects of maintainability, many of the components being designed to be interchangeable and easy to remove or replace, such as the
rudder,
elevator, and power units; other areas include the mounting of the engines upon four quick-release pickup points, the routing of cables and piping, and the detachable wings and tail cone.[8] The extensive use of special
Redux metal-bonding
adhesives reduced the need for
riveting during the manufacturing process, reducing overall weight and air-skin
friction.[9]
While standard passenger versions of the Dove would carry between eight and eleven passengers, the cabin was designed to allow operators to convert between higher and lower density seating configurations.[10] Features such as a single
aircraft lavatory and an aft
luggage compartment could be removed to provide increased seating.[11] Various specialised models were produced for other roles, such as
aerial survey,
air ambulance, and flying
classroom.[12] A strengthened cabin floor structure was used to enable concentrated freight loads to be carried as well.[10] The Dove could also serve as an
executive transport, and in such a configuration it was capable of seating five passengers; the executive model proved to be popular with various overseas customers, particularly those in the United States.[5]
The crew typically consisted of a pilot and
radio operator, although rapidly removable dual
flight controls could be installed for a second flying crewmember.[3] A combination of large windows and a transparent
perspex cabin roof provided a high level of visibility from the cockpit.[10][13] From a piloting perspective, the Dove was noted for possessing easy flying qualities and mild
stall qualities.[14] A
TKSanti-icing system was available for the Dove, involving an
alcohol-based jelly delivered via porous metal strips embedded on the leading edges of the wings and tail.[13]
Operational service
The Dove first flew on 25 September 1945.[2] In December 1946, the Dove entered service with
Central African Airways.[6] Initial production of the Dove took place at de Havilland's
Hatfield factory, but from 1951 the aircraft were built at the company's
Broughton facility near
Chester.[15] The final example of the type was delivered in 1967. Production of the Dove and its variants totalled 544 aircraft,[1] including two prototypes, 127 military-orientated Devons and 13 Sea Devons.
From 1946, large numbers were sold to scheduled and charter airlines around the world, replacing and supplementing the pre-war designed
de Havilland Dragon Rapide and other older designs. The largest order for the Dove was placed by Argentina, which ultimately took delivery of 70 aircraft,[16] the majority of which were used by the
Argentine Air Force.
LAN Chile took delivery of twelve examples and these were operated from 1949 onwards until the aircraft were sold to several small regional airlines in the United States in 1954.[17][page needed]
In excess of 50 Doves were sold to various operators in the United States by Jack Riley, an overseas distributor for the type. De Havilland later assumed direct control of U.S. sales, but did not manage to match this early commercial success for the type.[18]
An early batch of 30 Devons was delivered to the
Royal Air Force[19] and they were used as VIP and light transports for over 30 years. The
Royal New Zealand Air Force acquired 30 Devons between 1948 and 1954, and these remained in service for VIP, crew-training and light transport duties into the 1970s.[17][page needed]
The
Biafran Air Force operated a single Dove during the
Nigerian Civil War; the aircraft was lost, to be subsequently found in 1970 on the premises of a school in
Uli.[20] A second US-registered Riley Dove, N477PM delivered in 1967 to
Port Harcourt from Switzerland, never reached Biafra because it was stopped by Algerian authorities.[20]
A few Doves and civilianised Devons remained in use in 2011 in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and elsewhere with small commercial firms and with private pilot owners.
Dove 1B : Dove Mk 1 aircraft, fitted with two 340 hp (250 kW) Gipsy Queen 70-4 piston engines.[19]
Dove 2 : Executive transport version, seating up to six passengers. Powered by two 330 hp (250 kW) Gipsy Queen 70-3 piston engines.[23]
Dove 2B : Dove Mk 2 aircraft, fitted with two 340 hp (250 kW) Gipsy Queen 70-4 piston engines.[19]
Dove 3 : Proposed high-altitude survey version. Not built.[19]
Dove 4 : Military transport and communications version.[19]
Devon C Mk 1 : Transport and communications version for the
RAF.[19]
Devon C Mk 2 : Transport and communications version for the RAF. Re-engined version of the Devon C Mk 1 fitted with revised cockpit and two 400 hp (300 kW) Gipsy Queen 175 piston engines.[24]
Sea Devon C Mk 20 : Transport and communications version for the
Royal Navy.[19]
Dove 5 : Uprated version of the Dove 1, seating up to 11 passengers, with two 380 hp (280 kW) Gipsy Queen 70 Mk2 piston engines.[25][19]
Dove 6 : Uprated version of the Dove 2, a six seat executive transport aircraft, powered by two 380 hp (280 kW) Gipsy Queen 70 Mk2 piston engines.[25][19]
Dove 6B : Stressed for operations at a maximum weight of 8,500 lb (3,900 kg).[26]
Dove 7 : Uprated version of the Dove 5, seating up to 11 passengers, fitted with two 400 hp (300 kW) Gipsy Queen 70 Mk3 piston engines and revised cockpit.[19]
Dove 8 : Uprated version of the six seat executive Dove 6, fitted with two 400 hp (300 kW) Gipsy Queen 70 Mk3 piston engines and revised cockpit.[19]
Dove 8A : Five seater version of the Dove 8 for the U.S. market.[25]
Dove Custom 800 : A customised version of the Dove, carried out by Horton and Horton in
Fort Worth,
Texas. Typically outfitted with removable
bulkheads, various custom interiors were available, including airliner-orientated configurations.[27]
Carstedt Jet Liner 600 : Conversions of the Dove, carried out by Carstedt Inc, of
Long Beach,
California, USA. The aircraft were fitted with two 605 hp (451 kW)
Garrett AiResearch TPE331turboprop engines. The
fuselage was lengthened by 87 in (2,200 mm) to accommodate 18 passengers.[28][29] Only six aircraft were converted before one aircraft was lost due to a mid-air structural failure.[30]
Riley Turbo Executive 400 / Riley Turbo-Exec 400 / Riley Dove 400 : Conversions of the Dove, carried out by
Riley Aeronautics Corp in the United States.[31][32] The aircraft were fitted with two 400 hp (300 kW)
Lycoming IO-720-A1A flat-eight piston engines. Riley conversions were fitted with a taller swept vertical fin and rudder but those retaining the standard DH fin were named Riley Dove 2 . During the late 1960s, Riley Aeronautics, at the
Executive Airport in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, did interior refitting work on both the De Havilland Dove and the Heron.
Biafran Air Force – One Riley-converted Riley 400 was abandoned at Port Harcourt by Bristow Helicopters at the outbreak of civil war in 1967 and seized by Biafran mercenaries.[44]
Irish Air Corps – 4, one series 1B in 1953, one series 5 in 1959, one series 7 in 1962, and series 8 modified for radio and radar calibration in 1970.[42]
Royal Jordanian Air Force – 6 – Two Series 1 transferred from Jordan National Airlines, two aircraft intended for Jordan National Airlines converted to Series 5 and transferred to air force, two new Series 7s delivered in 1965[42]
On 14 March 1949, a De Havilland DH.104 Dove 1 of
Union of Burma Airways, registration XY-ABO, crashed in the Gulf of Mottama (Martaban) en route from
Mingaladon Airport to
Moulmein (Mawlamyine) Airport . Lost 9 passengers and 2 crew (Capt P H Sparrow, pilot and L.A. Stephens, radio officer).[47]
On 15 October 1951, Dove VH-AQO operated by Airlines (WA) Ltd crashed near its destination,
Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia, on a flight from
Perth. All seven occupants were killed. The accident was eventually attributed to
fatigue cracking of the wing spar.[48]
On 12 November 1953, Argentine Air Force Dove T-82 crashed mid-air with
Junkers Ju 52 T-159 near Villa Mugueta, Santa Fe, Argentina; with no survivors. Among the 20 dead was Vice-commodore Gustavo Argentino Marambio, pioneer of Argentine flights to
Antarctica.[49][50]
On 1 December 1954, a Dove 2B VH-DHD of De Havilland Australia crashed at Narellan, near Camden, Australia. Reginald Adsett, a chief examiner of airmen for the Australian Civil Aviation Department was killed and two others seriously injured.[51]
On 13 April 1966,
Abdul Salam Arif, the
President of Iraq, was killed when the
Iraqi Air Force de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1, RF392, he was onboard crashed in southern Iraq. The loss of the aircraft was suspected to be due to sabotage by
Ba'athist elements within the Iraqi military.[53]
On 11 April 1968, Dove 1 Z-900 of the Egyptian Air Force was lost over the Sahara desert following instrument failure. The aircraft was not found until 1 June 1971, all nine occupants having died of starvation.[54]
On 28 January 1970,
TAG Airlines Flight 730 crashed over
Lake Erie after having suffered an inflight structural failure, killing all nine people aboard.[55]
On 6 May 1971,
Apache Airlines Flight 33 from Tucson, AZ to Phoenix, AZ crashed near Coolidge, AZ after suffering an inflight structural failure, killing all twelve people aboard.[56]
On 9 July 1983 a privately owned Dove, G-AMYP, suffered engine failure on takeoff at
Shoreham Airport, crashing into the banks of the
River Adur. The pilot and sole occupant,
Keith Wickenden, died on impact.[57]
On 3 December 1993, a Dove VH-DHD chartered dinner flight lost engine power during takeoff, resulting in the aircraft crashing into five houses in
Essendon, a suburb containing the original airport for
Melbourne Australia. There were no fatalities amongst either the ten occupants of the Dove nor anyone on the ground, but all aboard the aircraft and one pedestrian were taken to hospital.[58]
On 3 February 2006, New Zealand based Devon, ZK-UDO (ex-RNZAF Devon 21) suffered a hard landing at
RNZAF Base Ohakea due to an asymmetrical flap deployment on approach. All passengers and crew survived with only minor injuries; the aircraft was damaged beyond economical repair.
VH-ABM – Dove ? on static display at the rear of
Ballarat Aviation Museum in
Ballarat, Victoria sporting very faded Penguin Express livery, minus rear stabilisers and tail with much needing fixing.
Near the beginning of the 1980 film Flash Gordon, travel agent Dale Arden and New York Jets quarterback Flash Gordon board a de Havilland Dove which subsequently crashes into a greenhouse adjacent to the secret laboratory of Dr. Hans Zarkov. The atmospheric disturbances that caused the crash were instigated by planet Mongo's ruler Ming the Merciless. The crash sequence was filmed using a 30-inch-long model Dove diving into a miniature landscape.[102]
In season 2, episode 9 of the British TV series
The Crown,
Prince Philip is portrayed as flying a de Havilland Dove.
Specifications (Dove 7)
Data from Flight International,[10] Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966–67,[103] Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1967–68[104]
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Capacity: 8 passengers / 1,477 lb (670 kg) max payload