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de Havilland F.3 Hornet |
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Name: Hornet F.3
Hornet Backgroundde Haviland Hornet: HornetWritten by: Greg Goebel There were a number of proposals for Mosquito derivatives. In November 1941, DH proposed the "DH.99", later redesignated the "DH.101", fast heavy bomber to the Air Ministry. The DH.101 was apparently something like a scaled-up Mosquito that was to be powered by twin Napier Sabre 24-cylinder inline engines, used on the Hawker Typhoon, driving contrarotating propellers. It was informally referred to as the "Sabre Mosquito". The DH.101 was to carry a 7,260 kilogram (16,000 pound) bomb load to Berlin at a top speed of 692 KPH (430 MPH). However, the Sabre development program was troubled and DH was told they would have to make do with the Griffon, Rolls-Royce's next-generation successor to the Merlin. The result did not have clear advantages over the existing Mosquito, and the idea was dropped in April 1942. The Air Ministry then tossed around the notion of an improved "DH.102 Mosquito II" with two-stage Merlins, but de Havilland couldn't come up with a design concept that was particularly exciting, and that line of investigation was dropped in turn at the end of 1942. However, during 1942, DH had begun a private investigation of a single-seat fighter based on the Mosquito. The "DH.103 Hornet", as it would be known, was intended for the Pacific theater, where the great ocean spaces made long range a requirement. De Havilland worked with Rolls-Royce to obtain a slim-profile version of the Merlin engine for the Hornet, and with a design for this engine in hand, de Havilland was able to show a mockup of the Hornet to the Ministry of Air Production in January 1943. The demonstration led to an order for two prototypes in June 1943 under Specification "12/43". The first prototype performed its initial flight on 28 July 1944, with Geoffrey de Havilland JR at the controls. The prototype was in the air only 13 months after the beginning of the detailed design effort. Performance exceeded predictions, with a top speed of 780 KPH (485 MPH) and a blazing climb rate of 1,370 meters (4,500 feet) per minute. A production order followed. As it emerged, the Hornet had an unmistakeable resemblance to the Mosquito, but was smaller and "sportier". The fuselage was built of wood in much the same way as the Mosquito, but the two-spar, one-piece, laminar-flow wing was of mixed construction, with a wood and metal internal structure, an undersurface of reinforced Alcad, and a birch-ply upper skin. The Hornet was the first aircraft to feature "wood bonded to metal" construction, using a new "Redux" adhesive. The Hornet was powered by twin Rolls-Royce Merlins, which unlike the Merlins fitted to the Mosquito were "handed", with a "Merlin 130" on one side and a "Merlin 131" on the other, both rated at 1,515 kW (2,030 HP) and fitted with Hydromatic four-blade variable-pitch propellers. The engine radiators were fitted in the leading edge of the wings inboard of the engines. Like the Mosquito, the Hornet had "taildragger" landing gear, with the main gear retracting back into the engine nacelles and a semi-retractable tailwheel. The fighter was armed with four 20 millimeter Hispano cannon, fitted under the nose. The pilot sat under a backwards-sliding bubble-type canopy. The second prototype and production aircraft were fitted for underwing stores, including two 909 liter (200 imperial gallon / 240 US gallon) drop tanks; or two 450 kilogram (1,000 pound) bombs; or eight 60-pounder RPs; or two 225 kilogram (500 pound) bombs and four RPs. Since the production aircraft were fitted with operational kit, they were heavier and so slower than the prototypes, but not by much, with a top speed of 760 KPH (472 MPH). Production of the fighter began at de Havilland's Hatfield plant in late 1944, with the first "Hornet F.1" machines delivered to RAF Boscombe Down for pre-service evaluation on 28 February 1945. A total of 60 production F.1s were built. Early production machines demonstrated some longitudinal instability, leading to the fit of a larger tailplane with a dorsal extension that was retrofitted to initial production. The dorsal extension was retained in all other Hornet variants. An unarmed photo-reconnaissance variant, the "Hornet PR.2", was considered, with three prototypes converted from F.1s and five evaluation aircraft built before a production order for 55 machines was cancelled. A "Fighter Mark 3" Hornet did reach full production, with 132 built. This version featured greater fuel capacity and a modified tailplane assembly. Production of the F.3 was switched to the de Havilland plant at Chester in 1948. The last Hornets were built with an F.52 camera vertically mounted in the rear fuselage, with a fuel tank downsized to accommodate it. These machines were designated "Fighter-Reconnaissance Mark 4 (FR.4)", and 12 were manufactured to end of production in 1951, after the delivery of a total of 211 Hornets. Most of the Mark 3s served in Malaya from 1950 to 1955 to deal with the Communist insurgency there. Their long endurance gave them substantial loiter time over target areas, and they extremely accurate in cannon, bomb, and rocket strikes. They were phased out with regrets in 1955 due to spares shortages. The Hornet was the last RAF piston-powered fighter to see operational service. DimensionsWing Span: 45.01 ft. / 13.72 M
Power & PerformancePowerplant(s): 2x Rolls Royce Merlin 130/131 V 12 piston engine
Armament4 x 20mm cannon, 2 x 1000 lb bombs or 8 rockets UsersUK |
