de Havilland DH.91 Albatross
de Havilland Aircraft Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1937 · airliner
The de Havilland DH.91 Albatross was an elegant, all-wood four-engined airliner built for fast transatlantic and European mail and passenger routes.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 4 × piston, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | sleek all-wood streamlined fuselage with a tapered low wing |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- sleek all-wood streamlined fuselage with a tapered low wing
- four inline piston engines faired into smooth wing-mounted nacelles
- elegant, cigar-shaped nose with minimal drag protrusions
Its slim, tapered fuselage and beautifully streamlined lines, with four smoothly cowled inline engines faired into a tapered low wing, make it one of the most elegant pre-war airliners.
Specifications
- The de Havilland DH.91 Albatross has a length of 21.83 m (72 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 32.01 m (105 ft).
- Typical crew: 2-4.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
First flown in 1937, the Albatross used de Havilland's plywood-and-balsa monocoque construction to achieve a remarkably clean, low-drag shape, but its wooden structure and complex engines limited it to a small production run.
Variants
Built in both a mail-carrying version for Imperial Airways and a passenger version, only seven Albatrosses were completed.
Where you'll see it
It flew UK-to-Europe passenger and mail services with Imperial Airways just before the Second World War, after which the surviving aircraft were quickly retired.
Related aircraft
- de Havilland T.K.4
- de Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
- De Havilland T.K.2
- de Havilland DH.88 Comet
- Aero A.304
- Junkers Ju 90
- Bloch MB.220
- Boeing 307 Stratoliner
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