De Havilland Swallow

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The first DH. 108 built - TG283. The torpedo-shaped objects on the wing tips are containers for anti-spin parachutes

The de Havilland DH.108 "Swallow" was an experimental aircraft designed in October 1945. A flying wing, it was designed to evaluate swept-wing handling characteristics at subsonic speeds.

Contents

1 Development
2 Specifications (DH.108 3rd prototype)

2.1 General characteristics
2.2 Performance

3 References
4 Related content

Development

The first DH.108 prototype, TG283, utilizing the de Havilland Vampire fuselage and a 43° swept wing flew on May 15, 1946. It was capable of only 280 mph (451 km/h) and was lost in a crash on May 1, 1950. The second prototype, TG306, with a 45° swept wing with automatic leading-edge slats and a de Havilland Goblin 3 turbojet flew in June 1946. It was expected to break the air speed record of the day, 616 mph (991 km/h). Unfortunately, on September 27, 1946, the airframe suffered a catastrophic structural failure at Mach 0.9. Pilot Geoffrey de Havilland Jr, son of de Havilland owner-designer Geoffrey de Havilland was killed in the accident. VW120, the third and final prototype with a more pointed nose and aerodynamic canopy first flew on July 24, 1947. On April 12, 1948 this aircraft established a new world speed record on a 100 km (62 mi) circuit of 974.02 km/h (604.98 mph). Then, on September 9, 1948 it exceeded the speed of sound in a shallow dive from 12,195 m (40,000) ft to 9,145 m (30,000) ft. The first British aircraft to exceed Mach 1, the DH.108 was also the first jet-powered aircraft in the world to do so, as the earlier Bell X-1 and Douglas Skyrocket were rocket-powered. The third prototype was also lost in a crash.

Specifications (DH.108 3rd prototype)

General characteristics

Crew: One
Length: 8.17 m (26 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 11.89 m (39 ft 0 in)
Height: 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 30.47 m² (327.86 ft²)
Loaded weight: 4,064 kg (8,940 lb)
Powerplant: 1x de Havilland Goblin 4, 16.67 kN (3,738 lbf) thrust

Performance

Maximum speed: 1,090 km/h (677 mph)
Service ceiling: 10,800 m (35,425 ft)
Wing loading: 133 kg/m² (27 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.42

References