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]ATKSanti-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]
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.
Variants
editEarly production Dove 1 of Skyways in June 1948Dove G-OPLC in 2003
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]
Riley Dove with Lycoming engines and taller swept fin at Long Beach airport in 1987
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 CJ600F stretched cargo conversion of a Dove 1 fitted with TPE331 turboprops, at Dallas Addison in 1975
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 AirportinFort 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 AirporttoMoulmein (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.
Aircraft on display
editDove 1 on display at the Museo Nacional de Aeronautica de Argentina
VH-ABM – Dove ? on static display at the rear of Ballarat Aviation MuseuminBallarat, 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.
Australia
Bahrain
Belgium
Burma
Chile
Denmark
Gambia
Germany
Ghana
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Japan
Kenya, 
Uganda, 
Tanganyika and 
Zanzibar
Netherlands
Nigeria
Southern Rhodesia
Portugal
Sierra Leone
Sudan
United Kingdom
United States
Yugoslavia
Argentina
Belgian Congo
Biafra
Brazil
Ceylon
Egypt
Ethiopia
Iraq
Ireland
Jordan
Katanga
Kuwait
Kingdom of Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
New Zealand
Pakistan
Paraguay
South Africa
Sweden
Venezuela
