De Havilland DH. 100 vampire stories
De Havilland DH. The 100 Vampire has two major differences in aviation history - she was the first jet to land on a mobile aircraft carrier (this was done in her Navy "Sea Vampire" prototype) and she was the first to enter service in the UK The jets are powered from a single turbojet engine - previous tests have installed all engines in pairs because of their inherently low output. Aside from its early accolades, the Vampire was the second British military aircraft to be powered entirely by jet technology (the Gloucester Meteor was the first).
Vampires has spawned a relatively new approach to jet fighter design that typically focuses on retrofitting existing propeller-driven aircraft and mounting the engines under the wings, away from the fuselage. Vampire eliminated these methods and integrated its engines into a central nacelle spanned by two fuselage "boom" structures. Despite arriving too late to participate in World War II, the Vampires enjoyed success in air forces throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East during the ensuing Cold War.
The design of the vampire began as early as 1942, but the system did not reach operational status until 1946, when the war in Germany ended in May 1945.
British aircraft engineer Major Frank Bernard Halford developed his H.1 engine (which would become the "Goblin" turbojet) with enough thrust that a single unit of this type could The body provides power if it is equipped with a short tailpipe to receive the energy output and minimize thrust loss. Halford merged resources with de Havilland Airways and DH. 99 Design was born. Department of Health.
The 99 features a double-arm fuselage structure with a central nacelle containing the cockpit, proposed quad-gun armament, powered retractable tricycle landing gear and jet engines. The skin was all metal, and a short center fuselage nacelle was used to provide short jet tube lengths. Following a review, Aircraft Production required that the aircraft be made of wood and metal, and de Havilland has been committed to this - she has accumulated a lot of mixed design practice with her award-winning propeller-driven DH. 98 Mosquito series.
This revision resulted in the new name "DH.100" in November 1941. British authorities were so interested that they ordered a pair of prototypes to the E. 6/41 specification and began detailed design work on a new aircraft known as the "Spider Crab" in mid-1942 . The prototype received the internal designation LZ548/G.
The first flight of the prototype took off from Hatfield on September 20, 1943, under the control of Geoffrey de Havilland, Jr. The plane is equipped with a Goblin 1 turbojet that produces 2,700 pounds of thrust.
De Havilland Jr. is the son of Jeffrey De Havilland Sr., founder of the de Havilland Company. Delays meant that the fighter would not be in production as an F.Mk I until 1945, when the first production version first flew. After the assessment is complete, DH.
100 men entered service (known as "Vampires"), and production was outsourced to British Electric to enable de Havilland's facilities to meet other more pressing wartime needs. As a result, most of the early Vampires were actually British electric products, with around 244 of the first Mk I fighters eventually delivered.
Vampire also branched into DH. 113 A dedicated night fighter equipped with radar, originally destined for Egypt, but was transferred to the Royal Air Force due to the arms ban of the British government. Vampires have been promoted to become increasingly important trainers in DH.
115 Vampire T. 11, Surprisingly, Vampire trainers served in the RAF until 1966. At its peak, the Vampire consisted of around 19 RAF squadrons around the world, eventually producing 3,268 prototypes of around 15 full variants for British, Commonwealth forces and export customers.
The finished Vampire is designed with a two-arm layout, with the cockpit located along with the engine in its central cabin. Air intakes were added to the wing roots, sucking in the de Havilland Goblin series turbojets, which were expelled through a ring at the rear of the nacelle. The outriggers extend from the chord center of the monoplane wing, which themselves are in the middle of the sides of the fuselage.
Each boom has a small area vertical tail and is connected by a large area horizontal stabilizer at the very end of the design. While the vampire is first and foremost a fighter, he ends up getting a second strike mission. Standard armament is centred on a 4 x 20mm Hispano Mk. V battery mounted on the lower front of the fuselage.
When storage is finally added, optional ammunition - up to 2,000 pounds - can be carried under the wings (or fuel tanks in their place). This also includes up to eight 3-inch 60-pound unguided rockets or two 500-pound bombs.
The F. Mk I fighter variant was followed by the F. Mk 3 fighter, which gained underwing hardpoints for external storage. Some modifications were also made to the fuselage to improve the longitudinal stability of the aircraft. The F. Mk 3 was subsequently put into service by the FB. The development of the Mk 5, a fighter-bomber structure further improved with a shorter but inherently more powerful wingspan for increased ordnance capabilities. Facebook.
The Mk 5 became the basis for the "maritime" FB. Mk20 and FB. The Royal Navy's Mk 21 "Sea Vampire". They feature improved storability and enhanced structure.
A Sea Vampire prototype made a carrier landing (HMS Ocean) on 3 December 1945 and sold the Royal Navy on the Vampire Line for their future carrier-based fighter needs. Facebook. The Mk 5 produced a similar FB. Mk 6 and FB. The Mk 50 is powered by various deHavilland Golbin and Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets.
Other vampire brands later became "one-off" development models or limited production examples.
FB. The MK 9 is a "tropical" vampire, adapted for harsh, high temperature operation, especially in the Middle East, including cockpit air conditioning. De Havilland halted production of about 326 of these planes. Other developments include a side-by-side night fighter in the NF form.
France received Mk 10 as NF. Mk 54. Ninety-five NF. The Mk 10 night fighters were produced for the RAF, which later sold these as refurbished units to the Indian Air Force in the 1950s. The T. Mk 11 trainer mimics the same side-by-side cockpit layout as the Sea Vampire T. Mk 22 series.
The Australian trainers are the T. Mk 33, T. Mk 34 and T. Mk 35 models. The two-seat export trainer Vampire is sold under the name T. Mk 5.
From the very beginning, vampires were deployed as part of the British Home Guard in the early days of the Cold War and as Britain's first line of defense against anticipated Soviet aggression. The vampire held that role until it was replaced by the upgraded Gloster Meteor F. Mk 8 series. The fighter has also been in service with the stockpiles of Commonwealth countries including Australia and Canada. In addition, vampires were eventually offered for export, with clients including countries in Europe and the Middle East. Vampire was eventually succeeded by DH in the de Havilland series.
112 "Venom" series, another two-armed jet-powered design by de Havilland.
Throughout the 1980s, the vampire series was in the skies around the world, a testament to its design and value. There wasn't much aviation in the post-war world, and France took over the local production of British vampires through the SNCASE in Marseille (Societe national des constructions aeronautiques du Sud-Est - or simply "Sud-Est") and dubbed their machine the SE 535 "Northwest wind".
Likewise, the Italian company Macchi produced about 80 of its own Vampires, and the Swiss company produced 178.
De Havilland DH. 100 Vampire Specs
Basic
Production
Roles
- Fighter
- Intercept
- Close Air Support (CAS)
- Naval/Navigation
- Education
Dimensions
9.37m
40.03 ft (12.2 m)
8.83 feet (2.69 m)
Weight
2,894 kg
10,494 lb (4,760 kg)
Performance
Performance
539 mph (868 km/h; 469 knots)
41,010 ft (12,500 m; 7.77 mi)
730 miles (1,175 km; 634 nmi)
4,300 ft/min (1,311 m/min)
Armor
4 x 20mm Hispano Mk. V guns under the forward fuselage.
8 x 3 inch 60 lb unguided high-explosive underwing missile.
2 x 500 lb conventional bombs or 2 x underwing fuel tanks.
External throwing/launching weapons up to 2,000 lbs.
Changes
F. Mk 1 - First production model to enter service; equipped with 2,700 lb. thrust Havilland Goblin engine.
F. Mk 3 - Underwing supplies; improved fuselage stability.
Facebook. Mk 5 - Multirole fighter-bomber variant; reduced wingspan; strengthened underwing stores.
Facebook. Mk 6 - Swiss export model
Facebook. Mk 9 - Tropical variant with integrated cockpit air conditioning.
Facebook. Mk 20 "Sea Vampire" - Naval modification model of FB. Mk5 model.
Facebook. Mk 21 Sea Vampire - Naval modification model based on FB. Mk5 model.
Facebook. Mk 50 - Variants with Goblin, Nene or Rolls-Royce engines.
S.E. 535 "Mistral" - French licensed production model of FB. Mk 50 export model.
NF. Mk 10 - Two side by side night fighter model.
NF. Mk 54 - Export model of the French NF night fighter. Model Mk10.
T. Mk 11 - Vampire Trainer Base Model
T. Mk 22 - Basic Sea Vampire Trainer Model
T. Mk 33 - Australian made trainer model
T. Mk 34 - Australian made trainer model
T. Mk 35 - Australian made trainer model
T. Mk 5 - De Havilland export derivative based on the Australian coach model.




