De Havilland DH 34

Building on commercial experience obtained with the D.H.18 and structural experience with the D.H.29, de Havilland began work on the de Havilland D.H.32, in 1921.

Plans for construction of the first aircraft (with the 268kW Rolls-Royce Eagle engine as its powerplant) had been announced, but since the main customers would be Instone and Daimler Hire, who were already using Napier Lion-powered D.H.18s, de Havilland, redesigned the aircraft to use that engine.

The first of 11 aircraft flew on 26 March 1922, and made an inaugural Croydon- Paris flight on 2 April. Daimler Hire eventually used six D.H.34s and Instone four, while one was sold to Dobrolet, the Russian airline. When Imperial Airways was formed in 1924 it took over seven D.H.34s and used them over the next two years before re-equipping with larger aircraft.

Some 8,000 flying hours were recorded by December 1922, less than nine months after the prototype's appearance, and over 160,000km flown without overhaul by the second Daimler aircraft. Six D.H.34s were lost in accidents, several of them fatal. An early stalling crash led to extensions being added to the top wing to increase its area, as the D.H.34B. The last four D.H.34s in UK service were scrapped in 1926.

Gallery

D.H.34
Engine: 1 x Napier Lion inline piston engine, 336kW
Take-off weight: 3266 kg / 7200 lb
Empty weight: 2075 kg / 4575 lb
Wingspan: 15.65 m / 51 ft 4 in
Length: 11.89 m / 39 ft 0 in
Height: 3.66 m / 12 ft 0 in
Wing area: 54.81 sq.m / 589.97 sq ft
Max. speed: 206 km/h / 128 mph
Cruise speed: 169 km/h / 105 mph
Range: 587 km / 365 miles
Seats: 10.