https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airco_DH.10
The Airco DH.10 Amiens was a British twin-engined medium bomber designed and
built towards the end of the First World War. It served briefly postwar with the
RAF.
The DH.10 was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland to meet the requirements of Air
Board Specification A.2.b for a single- or twin-engined day bomber. It was a
development of the earlier Airco DH.3 bomber, which had flown in 1916, but had
been rejected by the War Office because of a belief that strategic bombing would
be ineffective and that twin engines were impracticable.
The first prototype flew on 4 March 1918, powered by two 230 hp (186 kW)
Siddeley Puma engines mounted as pushers. When evaluated by the RAF, the
performance of this prototype was well below expectation, reaching only 90 mph
(145 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,572 m) with the required bomb load, compared with the
specified 110 miles per hour (180 km/h). Owing to this poor performance, the
DH.10 was redesigned with more powerful engines in a tractor installation.
The second prototype, known as the Amiens Mark II was powered by two 360 hp (268
kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines and first flew in April 1918, showing greatly
superior performance and proving to be faster than the DH.9A while carrying
twice the bomb load. While shortages of the Eagle meant that the Amiens Mark II
could not be put into production, it proved the design of the definitive
aircraft, the Amiens Mark III, which was powered by the more readily available
395 hp (295 kW) Liberty 12 from America, as was the DH.9A. Following successful
evaluation, large orders were placed, with a total of 1,291 ordered.
Role
Bomber
Manufacturer
Airco
Designer
Geoffrey de Havilland
First flight
4 March 1918
Introduction
November 1918
Retired
1923
Primary user
Royal Air Force
Number built
258
First deliveries of DH.10s went to No. 104 Squadron RAF in November 1918, flying
a single bombing mission on 10 November 1918 before the Armistice ended the
First World War. Postwar, DH.10s equipped 120 Squadron, which used them to
operate an air mail service to the British Army of Occupation on the Rhine.
Amiens were also used by 97 Squadron (later renumbered 60 Squadron) which
deployed to India. It provided support to the Army on the North-West Frontier,
being used for bombing operations in the Third Anglo-Afghan war. DH.10s were
also used by 216 Squadron in Egypt, where they provided an air mail service
between Cairo and Baghdad, starting on 23 June 1921.
Variants
Amiens I Prototype powered by two pusher Puma engines.
Amiens II Prototype powered by two tractor Rolls-Royce Eagle engines.
Amiens III Main production variant, powered by Liberty 12 engines mounted midway
between wings, 221 built.
Amiens IIIA Modified Mark III with engines directly attached to lower wings, 32
built, also known as the DH.10A
Amiens IIIC Version powered by Rolls-Royce Eagle engines in case of shortages of
Liberty engines, five built, also known as the DH.10C.
Specifications (Amiens IIIA)
General characteristics
Crew: three
Length: 39 ft 7? in (12.08 m)
Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (19.97 m)
Height: 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Empty weight: 5,750 lb (2,614 kg)
Loaded weight: 8,500 lb (3,863 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 9,060 lb (4,118 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: 114 kn (131 mph, 211 km/h) at sea level
Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,800 m)
Power/mass: 0.094 hp/lb (0.15 kW/kg)
Climb to 10,000 ft: 11 min
Endurance: 6 hours
Armament
gunners cockpits
Up to 920 lb (417 kg) bombs carried internally
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