Royal Aircraft Factory D.H.5

E888442

The Royal Aircraft Factory D.H.5 was a British single-seat biplane fighter of World War I, notable for its unusual backward-staggered wings designed to improve pilot visibility.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War I military aircraft
biplane
fighter aircraft
single-seat aircraft
aircraftCategory military aircraft
armament 1 × forward-firing .303 in Vickers machine gun
cockpitPosition far forward under upper wing leading edge
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
crew 1
designer Geoffrey de Havilland NERFINISHED
enginePower 110 hp
engineType piston engine
enteredFrontlineService mid-1917
enteredServiceWith Royal Flying Corps NERFINISHED
era 1910s
firstFlight 1916
fuselageConstruction wooden structure with fabric covering
introduced 1917
landingGearType fixed tailskid landing gear
manufacturer Royal Aircraft Factory NERFINISHED
maximumSpeed about 109 mph
about 175 km/h
notableFeature backward-staggered wings
improved forward visibility for pilot
numberBuilt about 550
performanceAssessment inferior high-altitude performance compared to contemporaries
powerplant Hispano-Suiza 8Aa V-8 engine NERFINISHED
primaryRole fighter
primaryTheatreOfOperation Western Front GENERATED
productionStatus mass-produced
propellerConfiguration single tractor propeller
replacedBy Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 NERFINISHED
Sopwith Camel NERFINISHED
retired 1918
role ground-attack aircraft
serviceArm Royal Flying Corps NERFINISHED
serviceBranch British Army
status retired
successor Airco DH.5-based designs did not follow; type was a dead end
survivingExamples no complete original airframes known to survive
tailConfiguration conventional tailplane and fin
usedBy Australian Flying Corps NERFINISHED
Royal Flying Corps NERFINISHED
usedInBattle Battle of Cambrai NERFINISHED
usedInConflict World War I
visibilityCharacteristic good forward and upward visibility
wingConfiguration biplane with backward stagger
wingStagger negative stagger

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

No. 2 Squadron AFC aircraftOperated Royal Aircraft Factory D.H.5