de Havilland DH.42 Dormouse

de Havilland · United Kingdom · first flew 1923 · reconnaissance aircraft

The de Havilland DH.42 Dormouse and its DH.42A Dingo variants were two-seat single-engined biplanes designed for fighter-reconnaissance and army cooperation roles.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	8.61 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Two-bay biplane with unswept, constant-chord wings
Lower wing slightly smaller in span and about 73 per cent of the upper chord
Oval cut-out in the upper wing for the pilot's upward vision, and a V-shaped notch for the gunner

The structure was wood with fabric on wings and empennage and thin plywood on the fuselage, and the vertical tail had the characteristic de Havilland shape.

Specifications

The de Havilland DH.42 Dormouse has a length of 8.61 m (28 ft).
It has a wingspan of 12.5 m (41 ft).
Its maximum speed is 206 km/h (128 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The Dormouse was built to Air Ministry specification 22/22 as a two-seat reconnaissance fighter. It first flew from Stag Lane on 25 July 1923 with a 360 hp Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar II radial.

Variants

The Dingo I and II were built to specification 8/24; one Dormouse and two Dingos were built. The Dormouse later received an uprated 420 hp Jaguar IV.

Where you'll see it

The Dormouse served at RAE Farnborough with the Wireless and Photographic Flight on experimental radio work from March to December 1925, when it was written off. The Dingo I crashed in June 1924 and the Dingo II went to Farnborough in November 1926.

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