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Aircraft Manufacturing Company Ltd / Airco DH 3
Under the designation Airco D.H.3, Geoffrey de Havilland designed a large two-bay biplane that was intended to fulfil a bombing role. With folding wings in order to save hangar space, and a conventional tail-skid landing gear complemented by two wheels beneath the fuselage nose, extending well forward of the main wheels, to prevent it from bumping on the ground. Two Beardmore engines were mounted between the wings, directly above the main landing gear, and each drove a pusher propeller mounted on an extension shaft to clear the trailing edge of the wing. Accommodation was provided for a crew of three, the pilot in an open cockpit just forward of the wings, and the two gunners in individual cockpits, one in the nose forward of the pilot, and the other just aft of the wings. A second prototype was built with more powerful Beardmome engines, each of 119 kW (160 hp), and with cutouts in the wing trailing edges in the area of the propellers so that the extended drive-shafts could be eliminated. This was designated D.H.3A, and almost immediately the War Office ordered 50. The order was later cancelled.
Neither of these aircraft was to enter production and both were reportedly scrapped within 12 months without seeing service use.
Engine: 2 x Beardmore, 120 hp
Wingspan: 60 ft 10 in / 18.4 m
Length: 36 ft 10 in / 11.2 m
Height: 14 ft 6 in / 4.4 m
Empty weight: 3980 lb / 1805 kg
Loaded weight: 5810 lb / 2635 kg
Max speed: 95 mph / 148 kph
Ceiling: 14,000 ft / 4270 m
Endurance: 8 hr
Armament: 2 x .303 Lewis mg
Bombload: 680 lb
Airco DH.3a
Engine: 2 x Beardmore, 160 hp
Wingspan: 60 ft 10 in / 18.4 m
Length: 36 ft 10 in / 11.2 m
Height: 14 ft 6 in / 4.4 m
Empty weight: 3980 lb / 1805 kg
Loaded weight: 5810 lb / 2635 kg
Max speed: 95 mph / 148 kph
Ceiling: 14,000 ft / 4270 m
Endurance: 8 hr
Armament: 2 x .303 Lewis mg
Bombload: 680 lb
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