Airco de Havilland D.H. 2 by Eduard

1/72 scale
Kit No. 7048
Cost: $29.99
Decals: Two versions – both British Royal Flying Corps
Comments: Highly detailed cockpit and rotary pusher engine; paint masks for fuselage tub, propeller, and wheels; rigging diagram included

History

The de Havilland D.H. 2 was a rugged and successful, if small, single-seat British “pusher” fighting scout of World War I — its 100-hp radial engine was mounted not on its nose, but behind its shortened fuselage, so short it was referred to as a nacelle. While manufactured by Airco, the Aircraft Manufacturing Company of Great Britain, it was known by the name of its designer Geoffrey de Havilland. De Havilland designed a series of remarkably good aeroplanes — at a time when most aircraft were considered at best, flimsy kites, and at worst, flying coffins — several of which made significant contributions to the Allies’ efforts to achieve air supremacy during the Great War. According to Classic WWI Aircraft Profiles, Vol. 1, “[t]hese aircraft earned for their designer the unique compliment of being known by his name rather than that of the manufacturer. ‘Airco’ seldom prefaced the numerical D.H. designations.

Anonymous Predecessor

De Havilland designed the D.H. 2 with the objective of giving the pilot effective forward-firing armament, mounting the engine in the rear and a Lewis machine gun directly in front of the pilot in his single bay cockpit on a flexible mount. It retained the “pusher” design of the earlier D.H. 1, which appeared in January 1915 but had an abortive production run. The D.H.1 was a larger two-seat scout-fighter design also intended for reconnaissance and fighting. Its forward cockpit was occupied by the observer-gunner, who had a clear view to fire his machine gun. The pilot sat in the second cockpit behind him. Powered by a 70-hp Renault engine, it had a tail supported by twin booms, but the D.H.1 was designed for a more powerful engine, the 120-hp Beardmore. The problem was, the Royal Flying Corps had laid claim to every available Beardmore for other purposes, delaying the D.H.1’s production to the point that by the time the engines became available, Airco was busy with other designs, so relatively few examples of the D.H.1 were built by Savages of Kings Lynn under sub-contract. A few went overseas, but they mostly filled the ranks of Home Defence squadrons and otherwise faded into obscurity — until revived in a scaled-down version as the D.H.2.

Changing Technology

The D.H.2 was designed at a time when the interrupter gear, which allowed machine guns to fire safely through the arc of a propeller, allowing effective and deadly fire from guns mounted in the forward fuselage, had yet to appear in fighter aircraft of any combatants on the Western Front; some French pilots were still risking their lives with Roland Garros’ solution of nailing metal plates to propellers so that the latter would not be shot off by fuselage-mounted machine guns. De Havilland’s approach of placing the engine well behind any machine gun allowed the pilot an unrestricted arc of fire. In any event, the Germans were first with the interrupter gear with the Fokker monoplane — which appeared on the Western Front just as the D.H. 2 was completing its flight trials in July 1915. The Fokkers wreaked havoc for the remainder of 1915 and into the following year, for during that period most Allied scout-fighters could not match its ability to effectively lay gunfire on an airborne target.

Into Action in France

The first D.H. 2 arrived in France in December 1915. For a pusher, it was remarkably neat and compact, and had great structural strength, even with the fragile-looking twin tail booms inherited from the D.H.1. The standard powerplant was the 100-hp Gnome Monosoupape rotary, but some versions had the 110-hp Le Rhone. The first unit to receive the D.H.2 was No. 24 Squadron, commanded by Major Lanoe George Hawker, V.C. No. 24 had just been formed in September 1915, and was fully equipped with the new pusher fighters by mid-December. Prior to the D.H.2’s arrival in France, most if not all fighters had been two-seaters. No. 24 Squadron was the first to go into action with single-seat machines when it flew 12 of them into St. Omer, France from its home aerodrome at Hounslow, England on Feb. 7, 1916. Two other squadrons followed, No. 29 on March 25, and No. 32 on May 28, 1916. A D.H.2 piloted by Lt. Tidmarsh was the first to down an enemy aircraft on May 2, 1916.

“Spinning Incinerator”

The D.H.2 would prove more pleasant to fly than any other contemporary pusher scout, but initially it was not popular with pilots. It was extremely sensitive on the controls, a characteristic of great value in combat, but in an aeroplane with a small speed range, could cause the machine to go into a spin easily. Until pilots understood this, several casualties resulted from the D.H.2s lightness on the controls and propensity to spin. In one such accident, a D.H.2 had caught fire while spinning, and was thereafter known by the grim sobriquet, the “Spinning Incinerator.”

The D.H.2’s heyday would be all of 1916 until the arrival of Spring 1917. At first pilots made use of the flexible mount of the Lewis gun, for when the D.H. 2 was designed, the technique of using a fixed gun and aiming the entire airplane at the target was not fully accepted in Britain, although French pilots had successfully demonstrated it. The prototype D.H. 2 didn’t even have a central mount for what was a semi-free weapon, using instead a movable bracket on either side of the cockpit in line with the windscreen. Incredibly, pilots were expected to aim and fire the Lewis gun in the middle of combat maneuvers. Pilots soon adopted the technique of aiming the whole airplane at the target, and rarely made use of the Lewis gun’s flexibility in combat.

D.H.2’s proved their value during the Battle of the Somme; On July 1, 1916, Major L.W.B. Rees, commander of No. 32 Squadron, fought an engagement against great odds as the battle opened. Rees saw from a distance a formation of enemy bombers kill one of his pilots, Lt. J.C. Simpson, who had single-handedly attacked them. Rees immediately attacked, forced two of the bombers down, and managed to break up the enemy formation and cause them to abandon the raid. Although wounded in the thigh, it was not until he ran out of ammunition that he abandoned the fight. Major Rees was awarded the Victoria Cross for his action that day.  No. 24 Squadron developed a reputation for fighting against great odds. On September 15, 1916, three D.H.2’s attacked 17 enemy aircraft near Morval, shot down two and scattered the remainder.  On October 26, five D.H.2’s fought 20 German single-seat fighters near Bapaume. Most of the enemy machines were Halberstadts, which could outrun and outclimb the British — but unlike the Halberstadt, the D.H.2’s did not lose altitude while turning, and were able to outfight the Germans. While 1916 proved to be a heyday for the D.H.2, by the autumn of that year, it was being outclassed by the Halberstadt and Albatros scouts, and it was clear that its days were numbered. Throughout the winter, the D.H.2’s fought on, but with mounting losses. By March 1917, newer replacement aircraft such as Neiuport Scouts began to appear.

But before it exited the scene, the D.H.2 played a role in the death of one of the leading German aces, Oswald Boelcke, who had 40 victories to his credit. On October 8, 1916, Boelcke was leading a flight of six Albatros D.I’s to attack two D.H.2’s of C Flight, No. 24 Squadron, flown by Lt. A.G. Knight and Second Lieutenant A.E. McKay. Boelcke and one of his pilots, Erwin Bohme, dove to attack Knight at the same time, and Bohme’s undercarriage struck Boelcke’s upper wing as Boelcke dropped away from the flight. At first it looked as if Boelcke had his Albatros under control, but the wings broke away and Boelcke went down to his death. One of Boelcke’s pilots that day was Manfred von Richtofen, who succeeded to command of Jagdstaffel 2. Less than a month after Boelcke’s death, von Richtofen would exact a price for the death of his leader by killing Major Lanoe George Hawker, No. 24 Squadron’s commanding officer, after one of the longest dogfights of the war.

As D.H.2’s were withdrawn from front-line service in France, some were sent to the Middle East, and a few ended up in Home Defence Squadrons. One such machine piloted by Captain R.H.M.S. Sandby brought down Zeppelin L48 over Therberton in the early morning hours of July 17, 1917. This was impressive for a fighter that was being phased out of combat operations, for Zeppelins proved a scourge at this point in the war; although large and slow, they often conducted bombing raids over Britain with impunity, since they could reach altitudes that it was diffiicult for many British fighters to reach in time for effective interception. The D.H.2 earned a place in history as a rugged, effective fighter that saw its dominance arrive and begin to wane within a few frenetic months on the Western Front in 1916, due to the rapid, ongoing improvements in combat during the war.

The Kit

One’s first impression of Eduard’s Airco D.H. 2 upon opening the box is, “Where’s the fuselage?” There are only two sprues, and at first glance the fuselage is nowhere in evidence. Then you remember that the D.H. 2’s fuselage was about a third as large as that of conventional aircraft of its day, and you are after all looking at it in 1/72 scale. Consulting the directions, you realize that the fuselage is indeed present. It is more of a tub, or “fuselagette”, but it’s there. Eduard’s de Havilland D.H. 2 is injection molded in khaki plastic and consists of 65 parts arranged on two sprues. The part forming the top of the dimunitive nacelle for the cockpit is a mere 3.5mm long — about an inch and a half, fairly small even in this scale. The upper and lower wings from their broadest points both measure 12mm in span, or nearly 5 inches.

The wings, rudder and horizontal tail each bear delicate stressed fabric effects, and it is most subtle on the rudder, a single piece with a detailed tail skid attached. The sides of the cockpit tub have interior sidewalls featuring a surprising amount of raised detail, showing the internal cage structure and at least one instrument. Each cockpit tub side has two struts molded to it as a single piece, and these struts attach to the upper wing. Great care will have to be taken in removing the skeletal twin boom parts from the sprue without breaking them, possibly involving a very slow action with a hobby saw. The cockpit floor features raised detail, and is augmented by a separate seat, control yoke, and a single bar for the rudder control. Tiny as they are, there is a choice between two instrument panels, complemented by decals for each version. Both panels feature raised detail for the instrument dials. The cockpit assembly is completed by a rear firewall.

When you attach the upper wings, there are an additional eight struts connecting it to the lower wing, and the struts have curved trailing edges so that there is only one correct position in which to cement them. There is a teardrop slipper tank that is cemented to the center upper wing; hopefully this was for oil rather than fuel, as it looks as if it presented a tempting target. The main landing gear consist of five parts and look like a pleasant, easy assembly task. There is a choice of two-bladed or four-bladed propellers for the rotary pusher engine, which has fairly good detail for the scale, as does the detailed Lewis gun for the forward cockpit. The kit features rigging diagrams, considerately broken into five separate illustrations so as not to bewilder the modeler.

In a rare addition, there is a paint guide for the propeller and wheels, with at least four different paint schemes for the latter. Painting both propeller and wheels entail the use of masks, which are provided. Masks and a paint guide are also provided for the cockpit nacelle, suggesting a scheme of clear doped linen for the fabric-covered portion, and what will likely be Admiralty Grey for the nose and upper portions — although this differs from the color plates showing paint schemes for the two versions for which markings are provided.

The kit markings are bright with realistic color and completely in register; there are even decals depicting the stitching along the surface of the cockpit nacelle. Markings are provided for two versions: the first depicts a machine of No. 32 Squadron serving in France in 1916, and features a paint scheme of what is identified simply as “green” over clear doped linen, with grey nose and upper surfaces for the cockpit nacelle. The second is for a machine of No. 14 Squadron serving in Palestine in 1917, and features a paint scheme of clear doped linen overall, again with grey nose and upper surfaces for the cockpit nacelle. Colors are linked to the Gunze Sangyo line only.

Conclusion

This is an excellent and highly detailed kit of the D.H. 2. Highly recommended.

Reference

• Classic World War I Aircraft Profiles, Vol. 1, by Terry C. Treadwell and Edward Shacklady; Copyright 2002 Cerberus Publishing Limited; Bristol, England