Airco DH.1

DH.1
Prototype DH.1A
Role	Two-seat fighter / General-purpose aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Airco
Designer	Geoffrey de Havilland
First flight	1915
Introduction	1915
Retired	1918
Primary user	Royal Flying Corps
Number built	100

The Airco DH.1 was an early military biplane of typical "Farman" pattern flown by Britain's Royal Flying Corps during World War I. By the time the powerplant for which it was designed was sufficiently plentiful it was obsolete as an operational aircraft, and apart from a few examples sent to the Middle East it served as a trainer and Home Defence fighter.

Geoffrey de Havilland was one of the pioneering designers at the Royal Aircraft Factory and was partially or wholly responsible for most prewar "Factory" designs. When he left to become chief designer at The Aircraft Manufacturing Company (Airco) in 1914, his first design was strongly reminiscent of the F.E.2, one of the last designs on which he had worked at the Royal Aircraft Factory.

Like the F.E.2, the DH.1 was of pusher configuration, accommodating its pilot and observer in two open tandem cockpits in the nose. The observer's cockpit was stepped down below the pilot's and equipped with a machine gun. The wings were of typical fabric-covered, two-bay, unstaggered, unswept, equal span design, while the stabiliser and rudder were carried on the end of two long, open-framework booms. The type, like the F.E.2b, was designed for the water-cooled Beardmore 120 hp (89 kW) inline engine. However, all available Beardmore engines were required for F.E.2b and R.E.5 production, so the air-cooled Renault 70 hp (52 kW) V8 engine was installed instead.

The prototype was fitted with aerofoils attached to the side of the nacelle which could be rotated through 90 degrees to act as air brakes, an unusual feature for the time, although they were soon removed. It had a fixed conventional landing gear with the mainwheels carried on V-struts, using coil springs and oleos for the suspension.

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