De Havilland Tiger Moth

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de Havilland Tiger Moth
de Havilland DH 82A Tiger Moth, (N81DH)
Type	trainer
Manufacturer	de Havilland Aircraft
Designed by	Geoffrey de Havilland
Maiden flight	26 October 1931
Retired	1959
Status	Retired from military service, still in extensive civil use
Primary users	Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force RAAF See other military operators
Produced	1931-1944
Number built	8,868[1]
Developed from	de Havilland Gipsy Moth
Variants	Thruxton Jackaroo

The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth was a 1930s biplane designed by de Havilland and operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. It remained in service with the RAF until 1952 when many of the surplus aircraft entered civil operation that continues to this day.

Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 2.1 Postwar 3 Survivors 4 Variants 5 Operators 5.1 Military operators 6 Specifications (DH 82) 7 References 8 External links 9 Related content

[edit] Design and development

The Tiger Moth trainer prototype was derived from the de Havilland Gipsy Moth (DH 60). The main change to the DH Moth series was necessitated by an effort to improve access to the front cockpit since the training requirement specified that the front seat occupant had to be able to escape easily, even wearing a parachute.^[2] Access to the front cockpit of the Moth predecessors was restricted by the proximity of the aircraft's fuel tank directly above the front cockpit and the rear support struts for the upper wing. The solution adopted was to shift the upper wing forward but sweep the wings back to maintain the centre of lift.^[3] Other changes included a strengthened structure, fold-down doors on both sides of the cockpit and a revised exhaust.^[4] It was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy III 120 hp engine and first flew on 26 October 1931 with de Havilland Chief Test Pilot Hubert Broad at the controls.^[5] One distinctive characteristic of the Tiger Moth design is its differential aileron control setup. The ailerons (on the lower wing only) on a Tiger Moth barely travel down at all on the wing on the outside of the turn, while the aileron on the inside travels a large amount upwards... this is one of the ways the problem of adverse yaw can be counteracted in an aircraft's control design.

From the outset, the Tiger Moth proved to be an ideal trainer, simple and cheap to own and maintain, although control movements required a positive and sure hand as there was a slowness to control inputs. Some instructors preferred these flight characteristics because of the effect of "weeding" out the inept student pilot.^[6]

[edit] Operational history

The RAF ordered 35 dual-control Tiger Moth Is which were designated the DH 60T. A subsequent order was placed for 50 aircraft powered by the de Havilland Gipsy Major I engine (130hp) which was designated the DH 82A Tiger Moth II. The Tiger Moth entered service at the RAF Central Flying School in February 1932. By the start of the Second World War, the RAF had 500 of the aircraft and large numbers of civilian Tiger Moths were impressed to meet the demand for trainers.

With a British production run of over 7,000 Tiger Moths, a total of 4,005 Tiger Moth IIs were built during the war specifically for the RAF, nearly half being built by the Morris Motor Company.

The Tiger Moth became the foremost primary trainer throughout the Commonwealth and elsewhere. It was the principal type used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan where thousands of military pilots got their first taste of flight in this robust but forgiving little machine.

Canada manufactured 1523 of the DH 82C, which had a 145 hp D.H. Gypsy Major 1C engine and other modifications including a tail wheel replacing the original tail skid, a stronger undercarriage with wheels set farther forward and and enclosed cockpit with a sliding canopy necessitated by the northern climate.^[7]The de Havilland Canada operation also supplied 200 Tiger Moths to the USAAF, which designated them the PT-24. A further 151 were built in Norway, Sweden and Portugal while 2,949 Tiger Moths were built by other countries of the British Commonwealth.

A number of modified Tiger Moths were developed for special roles. A radio-controlled target tug version of the Tiger Moth II called the Queen Bee was built with nearly 300 in service at the start of the Second World War. The Fleet Air Arm operated small numbers of the Tiger Moth II, and the Queen Bee. In the aftermath of Britain's disastrous campaign in France, in August 1940, three proposals involved beach defence systems; 350 Tiger Moths were fitted with bomb racks to serve as light bombers. A more radical conversion involved the "paraslasher," a scythe-like blade fitted to a Tiger Moth and intended to cut parachutist's canopies as they descended to earth. Flight tests proved the idea, but it was not officially adopted. The Tiger Moth was also tested as a "human crop sprayer" intended to dispense "Paris Green" poisonous insecticide from powder dispensers located under the wings.^[8]

[edit] Postwar

In postwar use, surplus Tiger Moths were available for flying clubs and individuals. They proved to be inexpensive to operate and found enthusiastic reception in the civil market, taking on a variety of new roles including aerial advertiser, aerial ambulance, aerobatic performer, crop duster and glider tug.

After the invention of aerial topdressing in New Zealand, large numbers of ex-Royal New Zealand Air Force Tiger Moths made in that country were converted into agricultural aircraft. The front seat was replaced with a hopper to hold superphosphate for aerial topdressing. From the mid 1950s, these topdressers were replaced by more modern types such as the PAC Fletcher, and a large number of good flying condition New Zealand Tiger Moths then passed to enthusiasts.

Royal Navy Tiger Moths utilized as target tugs and "air experience" machines became the last military aircraft when the service purchased a batch of refurbished examples in 1956.^[9]

[edit] Survivors

Although numerous examples of the Tiger Moth are still flying today (an estimated 250^[10]), a number of aircraft have been preserved as museum displays at the Mosquito Aircraft Museum in England, the Polish Aviation Museum at the former Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport in Poland, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, amongst others.

[edit] Variants

• DH 60T Moth Trainer: Military training version of the De Havilland DH.60 Moth.
• DH 82 Tiger Moth: Two-seat primary trainer aircraft. Powered by a 120-hp (89-kW) De Havilland Gipsy III piston engine.
  • Tiger Moth Mk I: Two-seat primary training version for the RAF.
• DH 82A Tiger Moth: Two-seat primary trainer aircraft. Powered by a 130-hp (97-kW) De Havilland Gipsy Major piston engine.
  • Tiger Moth Mk II: Two-seat primary training version for the RAF.
• DH 82C Tiger Moth: Winterized or cold weather version for the RCAF. Fitted with sliding glass canopies and cockpit heating. Powered by a 108-kW (145-hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major piston engine; 1,523 built.
• PT-24 : Two-seat primary training version for the USAAF.
• DH 82B Queen Bee: Unmanned radio-controlled target drone. 380 built.
• Thruxton Jackaroo: Four-seat cabin biplane

[edit] Operators

[edit] Military operators

•  Australia: RAAF
•  Belgium
•  Brazil
•  Burma
•  Canada
•  Denmark
•  Egypt
•  India
•  Iran (Persia)
•  Iraq
•  New Zealand: RNZAF
•  Norway: RNoAF
•  Poland
•  Portugal
•  Rhodesia
•  Spain
•  South Africa: SAAF
•  Sweden
•  United Kingdom: RAF, Fleet Air Arm
•  Uruguay

[edit] Specifications (DH 82)

General characteristics

• Crew: 2, student & instructor
• Length: 23 ft 11 in (7.34 m)
• Wingspan: 29 ft 4 in (8.94 m)
• Height: 8 ft 9 in (2.68 m)
• Wing area: 239 ft² (22.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,115 lb (506 kg)
• Loaded weight: 1,825 lb (828 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× de Havilland Gipsy Major I inverted 4-cylinder inline , 130 hp (100 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 109 mph at 1,000 ft (175 km/h at 300 m)
• Range: 302 miles (486 km)
• Service ceiling: 13,600 ft (4,145 m)
• Rate of climb: 673 ft/min (205 m/min)

[edit] References

• Bain, Gordon. De Havilland: A Pictorial Tribute. London: AirLife, 1992. ISBN 1-85648-243-X.
• Bransom, Alan. The Tiger Moth Story, Fifth Edition. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing Ltd., 2005. ISBN 0-859791-03-3.
• Hotson, Fred. The De Havilland Canada Story. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. ISBN 0-9690703-2-2.
• McKay, Stuart. Tiger Moth. New York: Orion Books, 1998. ISBN 0-517-56864-0.

[edit] External links

• British Aircraft Directory: De Havilland Tiger Moth (D.H.82)
• Western Canada Aviation Museum: De Havilland Tiger Moth (D.H.82c)

[edit] Related content

Related development

de Havilland Gipsy Moth

Comparable aircraft

Boeing-Stearman Kaydet

Designation sequence

DH.77 - DH.80 - DH.81 - DH.82 - DH.83 - DH.84 - DH.85 - DH.87

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the RAF
• List of aircraft of the RAAF
• List of aircraft of the RNZAF

See also

• Thunderbird 6, a film which features the Tiger Moth prominently.