de Havilland DH.104: British short-haul airliner

de Havilland DH.104 Dove

De Havilland DH.104 Mk.5 Dove (OE-BVM) at Technisches Museum in Vienna

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 Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, amongst other aircraft types, called for a British-designed short-haul feeder for airlines.

The Dove was a popular aircraft and is considered to be one of Britain’s most successful postwar civil vehicles, 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.

In concept, the Dove was developed to be the replacement of the pre-war Dragon Rapide. It was also required to be competitive with the large numbers of surplus military transports in the aftermath of the Second World War, such as the Douglas DC-3.

Variants

Dove 1: Light transport aircraft, seating up to 11 passengers. Powered by two 330 HP de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70-3 piston engines.
Dove 1B: Dove Mk 1 aircraft, fitted with two 340 HP Gipsy Queen 70-4 piston engines.
Dove 2: Executive transport version, seating up to six passengers. Powered by two 330 HP Gipsy Queen 70-3 piston engines.
Dove 4: Military transport and communications version.
Devon C: Transport and communications version for the RAF.
Sea Devon C Mk 20: Transport and communications version for the Royal Navy.
Dove 5: Uprated version of the Dove 1, seating up to 11 passengers, with two 380 HP Gipsy Queen 70 Mk2 piston engines.
Dove 6: Uprated version of the Dove 2, a six seat executive transport aircraft, powered by two 380 HP Gipsy Queen 70 Mk2 piston engines.
Dove 7: Uprated version of the Dove 5, fitted with two 400 HP Gipsy Queen 70 Mk3 piston engines and revised cockpit.
Dove 8: Uprated version of the Dove 6, fitted with two 400 HP Gipsy Queen 70 Mk3 piston engines and revised cockpit.
Carstedt Jet Liner 600: American conversions of the Dove. The aircraft were fitted with two 605 HP Garrett AiResearch TPE331 turboprop engines. The fuselage was lengthened by 87 in (2,200 mm) to accommodate 18 passengers.