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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0023.PDF
JANUARY 13, 1921 THE DE' H. 14 DAY-BOMBER v 'v - 600 H.P. Rolls-Royce "Condor" Engine THE announcement recently of the formation of the de Havil- land Aircraft Co., Ltd., with offices and works at Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, Middlesex, was received with the greatest satisfaction by everyone who appreciated the exten- sive and excellent designing work done by Capt. de Havilland during the last seven years. It was equally indicative of a famous designer's belief in aviation, and of the fact that his services were not to be lost to the country. Since that an- nouncement first appeared, a few months ago, there has been great " busy-ness " at Stag Lane, and the first results of the activity are now beginning to take shape at the works, in the form of some new day-bombers and one commercial machine. The former, although new as regards actual construction, are really of fairly old design, the preliminary designs and estimates having been got out during the latter part of 1918. The D.H. 14, shown in the accompanying general arrange- ment drawings, was designed for long-distance day-bombing, and might, had the War continued a little longer, have given the good Berliners some pretty bad " strafing." As it was, however, she was too late for this particular purpose, although supported on bulkheads of multi-ply wood, very similar to those familiar from previous de Havilland types. A large nose radiator is fitted, provided with pivotted slats operated from the pilot's cockpit. By means of these slats the amount of cooling can be varied from the maximum of which the radiator is capable to entire blanketing when the slats cover the whole front of the radiator. The oil tank is mounted behind the aft end of the engine. The petrol tank is placed just aft of the rear engine bulkhead, and a feature of the petrol system is that the gravity tank forms the upper portion of the main tank, the fuselage being sufficiently deep to ensure an ample " head " of petrol to the carburettor. Normally petrol is fed direct to the carburettor by means of either or both of two independent pumps driven by small windmills projecting from the deck of the fuselage. Thus there are avail- able virtually three independent petrol feeds, two by pumps and one by gravity. Normally the gravity tank is only used for starting off and alighting, but a sufficient supply is carried in it to enable it to be used in case of emergency, as it contains enough fuel for more than half-an-hour's dviration. THE D.H. IA DAV-BOMBER 600 hf ROLLS ROVCE CONDOR ENGINE LENGTH . . 33' Hy2" SPAN 5O' 5" AREA OF WIWGS 618 Sq Ff THE DE H. 14 : General arrangement drawings the design was not cancelled. Owing to the exceptional conditions during the years following the War, and to the various readjustments of the Airco firm during recent months, the actual work of construction was much delayed, and it is not until now that the first of these machines is actually nearing completion. Having been designed for the new Rolls-Royce " Condor " engine, the D.H. 14 has also had to await the production of its power plant in a fairly final form, and with its great 600 h.p. engine it is now probably one of the highest-powered single- engined fighting machines in the world. As such it is there- fore ol more than usual interest, quite apart from the im- portance which always attaches to the work of a well-known designer. The Power Plant As already mentioned, the power plant consists of a Rolls- Royce " Condor " engine, of approximately 600 h.p. This engine, which bears a certain family resemblance to the famous R.R. " Eagle," is a twelve-cylindered Vee-type water- cooled engine, designed to supply in one unit somewhat greater power than that provided by the " Eagle." It is mounted on tubular bearers of generous dimensions, which are, in turn, Crew and Armament The de H. 14 is designed as a two-seater, with the pilot in the front seat, and a gunner behind him in a separate cock- pit. The pilot's armament, apart from the bombs, consists of a Vicker's gun placed on the port side, pointing along a groove in the deck fairing, and the projectiles just clearing the port camshaft of the engine. In this position the machine gun is well out of the way of the pilot, yet it is easily accessible. The gunner's cockpit is provided with the usual Scarff gun ring, and his field is improved by doing away with top bracing of the tail plane, this being accomplished, in the de H. 14, by tubular struts underneath. The pilot's cockpit is provided with a very large instrument board, on which are mounted all the usual instruments in such a way as to be easily readable. Perhaps the only instrument which calls for any special com- ment is the new Smith's petrol gauge. So far as could be ascertained, this instrument is a form of " U "-tube connected to a graduated dial on the instrument board. When it is desired to ascertain the amount of petrol in the tank, a few strokes on a small hand-pump bring the pointer to zero. If the pointer is then watched it will be seen to creep steadily up to a certain figure, which indicates the amount of fuel left. 3 ••;_•„:-•.• „ ... . v . . . - . <... . c 2 •.,./
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