| de Havilland Flamingo |  | | Description | | Role | Passenger transport; Military communications | | Crew | 3 | | First flight | December 22, 1938 | | Entered service | July 15, 1939 | | Manufacturer | de Havilland | | Dimensions | | Length | 50 ft 7 in | 15.4 m | | Wingspan | 70 ft 0 in | 21.4 m | | Height | 15 ft 3 in | 4.7 m | | Wing area | 651 ft² | 60.5 m² | | Weights | | Empty | 12,020 lb | 5,450 kg | | Loaded | 17,600 lb | 7,980 kg | | Maximum takeoff | lb | kg | | Capacity | 17 passengers | | Powerplant | | Engine | 2 × Bristol Perseus XVI | | Power (each) | 930 hp | 690 kW | | Performance | | Maximum speed | 239 mph @ 6,500 ft | 385 km/h @ 1,980 m | | Range | 1,345 miles | 2,160 km | | Ferry range | km | miles | | Service ceiling | 20,900 ft | 6,370 m | | Rate of climb | 1,470 ft/min | 450 m/min | | Avionics | | Avionics | Sperry Automatic Pilot |
The de Havilland DH.95 Flamingo was a high-wing monoplane passenger airliner of the World War II period, also used by the RAF as a troop-carrier and for general communications duties.
The metal framework was mostly metal covered with control surface fabric covered. Two pilots were seated side-by-side with a radio operator behind them in the cockpit. It featured a retractable undercarriage, slotted flaps and variable pitch propellers, and was considered a highly promising sales prospect for the de Havilland company capable of competing with the American Douglas DC-3 and Lockheed L-10 Electra.
Initial models were fitted with 890 hp (660 kW) Perseus engines, and even with these performance was excellent - take off at maximum weight in 750 ft (230 m) and able to maintain height or climb at 120 mph (190 km/h) on a single engine.
The prototype was delivered to Jersey Airways for evaulation and became the first revenue-earning Flamingo in 1939. It was later transferred to RAF duties. A further order from Jersey was frustrated by the outbreak of was, but with BOAC denied the credit needed to buy the Douglas DC-5 it ordered 8 Flamingos instead. A further 5 were delivered to the RAF and one to the RNAS. Flamingos were mostly withdrawn from service by 1950 - the last was scrapped in 1954,
A single military transport variant was built to specification 19/39 under the name de Havilland DH.95 Hertfordshire. It had oval cabin windows instead of rectangular ones, and seating for 22 paratroops. A proposed order for 40 was cancelled to leave de Havillands free to produce Tiger Moth trainers. The sole Hertfordshire crashed with the loss of 11 lives at Mill Hill, Hertfordshire in October 23, 1940, apparently because of elevator jamming.
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