Airco DH.5

The Airco DH.5 tried unsuccessfully to mesh very distinct facets of other previous de Havilland designs.

With the view afforded the pilots of the DH.2, famed aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland set out to create a similar, yet more than capable in terms of performance, off-shoot in the form of the DH.5. The end result would be de Havilland's worst design of the first world war - not highly regarded by either the pilots charged with flying her let alone historians of the conflict.

The Airco DH.5 biplane scout was unique in many facets of her design. Ideally, visual acuity was key in the observation role or dogfighting - spotting your enemy first definitely had it's advantages. As such, the DH.5 placed a great deal of emphasis on the position of the pilot's seating, that being a somewhat unobstructed view towards the front of the fuselage, to the rear and atop the 110hp Le Rhone engine. In a bit of design ingenuity, the top portion of this biplane design was built with a backward stagger, offsetting the top wing assembly from the lower wing assembly. This forced the use of backward leaning struts as a result, though it did provide the pilot a completely unfettered veiw from the front, sides and above. The DH.5 was armed with twin 7.62mm machine guns of the Lewis type. These were mounted forward of the pilot, just above the engine placement, and fired through a two-blade propeller system.

As unique was the DH.5 design was trying to be, the system had a less-than-stellar performance record. The mere appearance of the aircraft to pilots use to traditional biplane design was enough to put off most. The stigma against the DH.5 was so much so in fact that the aircraft earned a reputation for instability without it being proven. Couple that with the fact that the aircraft required a vast deal of knowledge and experience to be able to handle effectively in a firefight and the DH.5 was in operational service for no longer than 8 months on any front. By 1918, the DH.5 was no longer an option.