The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...

developed and produced by British aircraft company

de Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...

. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its outdated plywood construction. Developed during the early 1930s, the Dragon Rapide was essentially a smaller, twin-engined version of the four-engined DH.86 Express, and shared a number of common features, such as its tapered wings, streamlined fairings and

Gipsy Six The de Havilland Gipsy Six is a British six-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline piston engine developed by the de Havilland Engine Company for aircraft use in the 1930s. It was based on the cylinders of the four-cylinder Gipsy Major and ...

engines. First named the "Dragon Six", the type was marketed as "Dragon Rapide" and later simply known as the "Rapide". Upon its introduction in summer 1934, it proved to be a popular aircraft with airlines and private civil operators alike, attaining considerable foreign sales in addition to its domestic use. Upon the outbreak of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, many of the civil Rapides were pressed into service with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Referred to in military service by the name de Havilland Dominie, the type was employed for radio and navigation training, passenger transport and communications missions. British training aircraft had names with educational associations, and

dominie Dominie ( Wiktionary definition) is a Scots language and Scottish English term for a Scottish schoolmaster usually of the Church of Scotland and also a term used in the US for a minister or pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church. Origin It comes ...

is a Scots term for a school teacher. Hundreds of additional Dominies were also constructed during the war. Other Rapides continued to be operated by British airlines throughout the war under the auspices of the Associated Airways Joint Committee (AAJC). Postwar, many military aircraft were returned to civilian service. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, de Havilland introduced a Dragon Rapide replacement, the

de Havilland Dove The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, a ...

Design and development

Origins

During summer 1933, the

aircraft company commenced work upon an aircraft to meet an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n requirement, producing a four-engined faster passenger aircraft capable of seating ten passengers, the DH.86 Dragon Express. An important feature of the DH.86 was the newly developed and powerful

engine, a six-cylinder variant of the four cylinder Gipsy Major engine. The DH.86 would serve as the a key starting point for the later DH.89. During late 1933, a team at de Havilland, led by aircraft designer

Arthur Ernest Hagg Arthur Ernest Hagg (1888 – 21 January 1985) was a British aircraft and boat designer. He was born in Brighton and educated in Bournemouth. He started work for Airco in 1915, aged 27, and worked as a draftsman on the DH4 in 1916. He transf ...

, began working on a new design, intended to be a faster and more comfortable successor to the earlier DH.84 Dragon. The new aircraft was, in effect, a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the four-engined DH.86 Express. It shared many common features with the earlier DH.86 Express, including its tapered wings, streamlined fairings and fuselage, as well as the same Gipsy Six engines. However, the DH.89 demonstrated none of the operational vices of the Express. On 17 April 1934, the prototype conducted its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...

Hatfield Aerodrome Hatfield Aerodrome was a private airfield and aircraft factory located in the English town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s. Early history Geoffrey de Havilland, pioneering aircraft desig ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. Flown by senior de Havilland test pilot H.S. Broad, it was powered by a pair of Gypsy Six engines. Even prior to the prototype's first flight, plans to proceed with serial production of DH.89 had already received the go-ahead from management. During May 1934, airworthiness trials commenced at

RAF Martlesham Heath Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development o ...

using the prototype; during one such flight, upon attaining a speed of roughly , the tip of the aircraft's nose buckled. In response to this event, a maximum permissible speed of was implemented for all DH89s. Upon the conclusion of trials, the prototype was sold. By November 1934, series production of the Rapide had reached full swing. Originally referred to as the "Dragon Six", the aircraft was first marketed as the "Dragon Rapide", although the type later came to be popularly referred to as simply the "Rapide". Prior to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 205 aircraft were manufactured for airlines and other private owners all around the world. The Rapide is perhaps the most successful British-built short-haul commercial passenger aircraft to be produced during the 1930s.

Further development

In response to the issuing of Specification G.18/35 by the British

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

, de Havilland decided to design and produce a single prototype of a modified Rapide for undertaking coastal reconnaissance. Trials using the prototype, ''K4772'', were performed between April and June 1935 at RAF Martlesham Heath and

RAF Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a population of 81,952. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the west ...

. However, it ultimately lost out to its rival, the

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), R ...

. K4772 was later used by the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

(RAE) in automatic landing trials before being broken down for spares. Work on a militarised version of the Rapide was not wasted as multiple sales were soon completed with other military customers, the first of which being to the Spanish government in December 1935. Sensing demand for the type, de Havilland continued to modify the Rapide's design following its entry to service, creating both refinements and entirely new derivatives as a result. Aiming to produce a faster version of the Rapide, a smaller, lighter and externally cleaner version, designated as the DH.90 Dragonfly, emerged; first flying in August 1935, the DH.90 failed to achieve a similar rate of sales to the Rapide and production was terminated in 1938 after 67 aircraft had been completed. In November 1935, the 60th airframe to be produced, ''G-ADWZ'', was modified and used by de Havilland as a trials aircraft. Fitted with elongated rear windows, cabin heating, thickened wing tips, and a strengthened airframe to allow for an elevated gross weight of , G-ADWZ later participated in trials at Martlesham Heath, after which the higher gross weight was cleared for service. In response to the announcement of an air race between Britain and

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, de Havilland's design team produced a specialised variant of the Rapid, designated as the DH.92 Dolphin. This one-off derivative featured a retractable

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

, an expanded wingspan of , a modified nose section, and an increased all-up weight of ; however, flight tests in August 1936 revealed there to be no performance improvement over the standard Rapide, leading to the sole Dolphin being scrapped months later. In November 1936, in response to suggestions that the addition of

flap Flap may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film * Flap, a boss character in the arcade game '' Gaiapolis'' * Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland'' Biology and h ...

s would aid in landing, a single Rapide was modified in order to explore their functionality. Based on this performance, in February 1937, de Havilland announced that flaps would be fitted to all production aircraft from that year onwards, while other improvements such as a downwards-facing recognition light and metal propellers could be fitted as options. From 1937, to signify the fitting of improved

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

flaps, aircraft thus equipped were accordingly re-designated as ''DH.89A''; earlier-built Rapides were commonly retrofitted to this standard during their service life as well.

Operational history

Prewar operations

During July 1934, the first production Rapide, ''G-ACPM'', performed the type's public debut at Hatfield with its entry into the 1934

King's Cup Race The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association. The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...

. While having achieved an average speed of 158 MPH, G-ACPM had to be withdrawn from the race during Heat 9 of Round 2 when the wing sustained damage caused by

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

while flying over

Waddington, Lincolnshire Waddington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated approximately south of Lincoln on the A607 Grantham Road. The village is known for its association with RAF Waddington. At the 2001 ...

. Another purpose-built Rapide, ''ZK'-ACO'', was entered into the 1934

MacRobertson Air Race The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race (also known as the London to Melbourne Air Race) took place in October 1934 in aviation, 1934 as part of the 1934 Centenary of Melbourne, Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race was devised by the Lord Mayor o ...

; fitted with three additional fuel tanks within the fuselage to extend the aircraft's range to 1,000 miles, the aircraft, flown by Squadron Leader J.D. Hewett and Mr C.E. Kay, took sixth place in the handicap race and fifth place in the speed race. In the summer of 1934, the type entered service with UK-based airlines, with Hillman Airways Ltd being first to take delivery in July. The

Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...

was another early company to purchase the Rapide; used for quick communications purposes between individual oil fields spread out over vast distances, the aircraft quickly became popular in the oil industry, with the

Iraq Petroleum Company The Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), formerly known as the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC), is an oil company that had a virtual monopoly on all oil exploration and production in Iraq between 1925 and 1961. It was jointly owned by some of the world ...

and the

Asiatic Petroleum Company Asiatic Petroleum Company (APC) was a joint venture between the Shell and Royal Dutch oil companies founded in 1903. It operated in Asia in the early 20th century. The corporate headquarters were on The Bund in Shanghai, China. The division teste ...

also procuring their own Rapides. From August 1934,

Railway Air Services Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by the Big Four railway companies (the GWR, LMS, LNER and SR) and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking ...

(RAS) operated a fleet of Dragon Rapides on routes linking London, the north of England and on to Northern Ireland and Scotland. The RAS DH.89s were named after places on the network, for example "Star of Lancashire".

Isle of Man Air Services Isle of Man Air Services Ltd (IoMAS) was a small airline, based at Ronaldsway Airport Isle of Man, which operated scheduled flights to the English and Scottish mainland between formation in September 1937 and nationalisation in January 1947. H ...

operated a fleet of Rapides on scheduled services from

Ronaldsway Airport Ronaldsway () is a settlement in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown, Isle of Man, Castletown. Features It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and histo ...

near Castletown to airports in north-west England including Blackpool, Liverpool and Manchester. Some of its aircraft had been transferred to it after operation by Railway Air Services. During late 1935, the first of an initial batch of 16 Rapides were shipped to the manufacturer's Canadian branch,

de Havilland Canada De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (DHC) is a Canadian aircraft manufacturer that has produced numerous aircraft models since its inception including the popular De Havilland Canada Dash 8, Dash 8. The company's primary facilities were loca ...

, for modification and re-sale purposes. Canadian aircraft received various changes, including an extended dorsal

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

and a modified undercarriage arrangement, allowing for either wheels, skis, or floats to be interchangeably installed, dependent upon usage and weather conditions. The sole Canadian prototype, ''CF-AEO'', was sold onto

Quebec Airways Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian ...

in June 1935. Further Rapides were delivered to other customers in Canada, such as

Canadian Airways Canadian Airways Limited was a Canadian regional passenger and freight air service based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following ...

, who used it on their West Coast and maritime routes. On 30 January 1942, the majority of major Canadian operators were amalgamated into

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia, ...

, who continued to use the type. Further Canadian sales of the Rapide would occur both during and after the end of the

. During 1938, British operator Airwork Limited placed an initial order for nine Rapides to serve as navigation trainers. The order had been motivated by policy changes within the British Air Ministry, which sought to expand this capability. Repeat orders were placed by Airwork in the lead up to the Second World War, upon which point the firm's fleet of Rapides were all taken on by the

(RAF). Edward,

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

(later

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

), owned a single Dragon Rapide (''G-ADDD''), which he frequently used for carrying out his royal duties. He flew this aircraft to London on his accession as king in 1936, making him the first British monarch to fly. In July 1936 a pair of British

SIS Sis or SIS may refer to: People *Michael Sis (born 1960), American Catholic bishop Places * Sis (ancient city), historical town in modern-day Turkey, served as the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. * Kozan, Adana, the current name ...

agents, Cecil Bebb and Major Hugh Pollard, flew

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

in Rapide ''G-ACYR'' from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Spanish Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...

, at the start of the military rebellion which began the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. The aircraft involved has since been placed on public display in the Museo del Aire,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain.

Second World War

At the start of

on 3 September 1939, all British civil transport aircraft were requisitioned by the

Ministry of Aircraft Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

. A number of Dragon Rapides were used to provide internal flights under the control of National Air Communications (NAC). Perhaps one of the most significant early uses of the Rapide during the war occurred during the crucial weeks of May–June 1940, in which the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

occurred; Rapides of No. 24 Squadron acted as aerial

courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

s between Britain and France; out of 24 aircraft, 10 Rapides were lost during this intense period of fighting. Following the closure of the NAC network, Dragon Rapides continued to fly for British airlines during the war as part of the Associated Airways Joint Committee (AAJC). Upon the outbreak of war, all civil services had been halted; however, some routes were progressively returned to operation as and when they were deemed of value to the war effort or found to be in the national interest. The AAJC co-ordinated the majority of UK's wartime scheduled services, which were entirely operated on over-water routes. Other Dragon Rapides were pressed into service with the British armed forces as communications aircraft and training aircraft; Australian Rapides were also requisitioned by the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF). Furthermore, while the final production Rapide was completed in November 1941, de Havilland instead produced the military-orientated Dominie variant exclusively. Over 500 additional Dominies were manufactured for military use, powered by improved Gipsy Queen engines; by the end of production in July 1946, a total of 727 aircraft (both Rapides and Dominies combined) had been manufactured. During the war, Dominie production was performed by de Havilland and Brush Coachworks Ltd, the latter being responsible for the greater proportion of the work. The Dominies were mainly used by the

(RAF) and

for radio and navigation training. Other duties they were used for included passenger and communications missions.

Throughout the course of the war, civilian Rapides were progressively replaced by Dominies as the type became available in greater quantities. Rapides were either dispatched to perform passenger operations or occasionally converted for other purposes, such as

Air Ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...

s; by the end of the conflict, only a total of nine requisitioned Rapides were restored to their civilian registrations. These were joined by many Dominies which had been deemed to be surplus to requirements.

Postwar operations

Postwar, the Dominie continued to be used for some time by Royal Naval air station flights as communications aircraft. By 1960, the Royal Navy still had a fleet of 14 Dominies, although under normal circumstances only three would be actively used at any one point in time, while the others were stored at

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The last of the Royal Navy's Dominies had been phased out of service during 1963; thirteen aircraft were subsequently sold on via public tender, a number of which having been converted to civil Rapide configurations. Many ex-RAF survivors had quickly entered commercial service after the end of the conflict; according to aviation author Peter W. Moss, a typical Dominie-to-Rapide conversion performed by de Havilland involved the repainting of the exterior (replacing the wartime

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

scheme) and the installation of

sound proofing Soundproofing is any means of impeding sound propagation. There are several methods employed including increasing the distance between the source and receiver, decoupling, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound waves, ...

, upholstered seats and a new décor within the cabin area. Additionally, various third party companies offered and performed their own conversion schemes, including Field Aircraft Services, Airwork Limited, Air Enterprises, W.A. Rollason Limited and the

Lancashire Aircraft Corporation Lancashire Aircraft Corporation was a major British charter airline after World War II. Its founding father was Eric Rylands. It played an important role in the Berlin Blockade#Start of the Berlin Airlift, Berlin Airlift. It also flew scheduled ...

(LAC). By 1958, 81 examples were recorded as still flying on the British register. In the Netherlands, airline

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

, keen to restart operations, set about procuring a handful of Rapides even prior to the end of the war, commencing the first of its re-launched services during September 1945. Various British airlines also became prolific users of the type;

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The ...

(BEA), formed on 1 January 1946, took order 39 Rapides during February 1947. BEA used many across its fledgling network, later focusing upon services within the Scottish,

Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point, and has the souther ...

, and

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

while gradually selling on displaced and excess aircraft via Airwork. Small independent British airlines that chose to resist pressure from the British government to

merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

into BEA also commonly operated the Rapide. In order to better distinguish between the different standards of Rapides available in the post-war environment, de Havilland established a basic mark number system. Mk 1 aircraft were those constructed pre-war, while Mk 2 and Mk 3 Rapides were ex-military conversions to a six-passenger cabin and eight-passenger cabin respectively. Those Rapides that were re-engined with a pair of

de Havilland Gipsy Queen The de Havilland Gipsy Queen is a British six-cylinder aero engine of Engine displacement, capacity that was developed in 1936 by the de Havilland Engine Company. It was developed from the de Havilland Gipsy Six for military aircraft use. Pro ...

engines, were referred to as Mk 4s. These had an improved climb, cruise speed and single engine performance, but an increased all-up weight of . By 1966, use of the Rapide had gone into decline and several formerly large operators had phased out the type completely. Due to the declining stocks of spare components available, individual Rapides were commonly being broken up in order to scavenge parts to maintain other active aircraft. Regardless, demand for such an aircraft was still relatively strong at this time, according to Moss. The DH.89 proved an economical and durable aircraft, despite its relatively primitive plywood construction and many were still flying in the early 2000s. Several Dragon Rapides are operational in the UK, while multiple operators, including Classic Wings and Plane Heritage, offer pleasure flights in them to the general public. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, de Havilland introduced a Dragon Rapide replacement, the

Variants

;D.H.89: Twin-engined light transport biplane. First production version. ;D.H.89A: Improved version, fitted with a landing light in the nose, modified wing tips and cabin heating. ;D.H.89A Series 4: D.H.89A aircraft converted to two de Havilland Gipsy Queen 2 piston engines, fitted with constant speed propellers. ;D.H.89A Mk 5: One D.H.89A aircraft, powered by two de Havilland Gipsy Queen 3 piston engines. ;D.H.89A Mk 6: One D.H.89A aircraft fitted with Fairey X5 fixed-pitch propellers. ;D.H.89M : Military transport version. Exported to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and Spain. ;D.H.89B Dominie Mk I: Radio and navigation training version. ;D.H.89B Dominie Mk II: Communications and transport version.

Operators

Civil

; * Zonas Oeste y Norte de Aerolíneas Argentinas (Z.O.N.D.A.) ; * Adelaide Airways *

Australian National Airways Australian National Airways (ANA) was Australia's predominant aerial carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s. The Holyman's Airways period On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.I ...

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an Aeromedical retrieval, aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgen ...

Qantas Empire Airways Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

; *

Arco-Íris Arco-Íris (Portuguese, 'rainbow') is a Brazilian municipality of the state of São Paulo. The population is 1,773 (2020 est.) in an area of 265 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. I ...

* OMTA *

Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...

;

Crown Colony of North Borneo The Crown Colony of North Borneo was a Crown colony on the island of Borneo established in 1946 shortly after the dissolution of the British Military Administration. The Crown Colony of Labuan joined the new Crown colony during its formation ...

Crown Colony of Sarawak The Crown Colony of Sarawak was a British Crown colony on the island of Borneo, established in 1946, shortly after the dissolution of the British Military Administration. It was succeeded as the state of Sarawak through the formation of the Fe ...

Protectorate of Brunei *

Borneo Airways Borneo Airways Limited also known as Borneo Airways (), was the flag carrier and the principal domestic airline in British Borneo (later constituting the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and the country of Brunei Darussalam) based in L ...

; *

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

; *

China National Aviation Corporation The China National Aviation Corporation () was a Chinese airline which was nationalized after the Chinese Communist Party took control in 1949, and merged into the People's Aviation Company of China () in 1952. It was a major airline under the ...

(CNAC) ; *

KNILM Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (in English: Royal Dutch Indies Airways) was the flag carrier of the former Dutch East Indies. Headquartered in Amsterdam, KNILM was ''not'' a subsidiary of the better-known Koninklijke L ...

; * Misr Airlines ; * Aero Oy operated two aircraft. ; *

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

; * Société Aigle Azur Indochine *

Cie de Transports Aérien Autrex CIE may refer to: Organizations * Cambridge International Examinations, an international examination board * Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst * Cleveland Institute of Electronics, a private technical a ...

* Compagnie Laotienne de Commerce et de Transport ; *

Air Iceland An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

; *

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

Indian National Airways Indian National Airways Ltd was an airline based in Delhi, India.Page 15 The founder of the airline was R. E. Grant Govan, a Delhi based British industrialist who also co-founded the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Cricket Club ...

Tata Airlines Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, al ...

; *

Government of Indonesia The term Government of the Republic of Indonesia (, GOI, sometimes also referred to as Government of Indonesia or the Central Government () especially in laws) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively ...

; * Iranian State Airlines ; *

Iraqi Airways Iraqi Airways Company (), operating as Iraqi Airways, is the national carrier of Iraq, headquartered on the grounds of Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad. It is the second Oldest airlines, oldest airline in the Middle East. Iraqi Airways ...

; *

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

Aer Turas Aer Turas Teoranta (from the Irish meaning ''Air Journey'') was an Irish airline and later a freight operator based in Dublin, Ireland, from 1962 until May 2003. History Aer Turas started operations in 1962 as an air taxi service from Irela ...

operated one aircraft. ;, , and *

East African Airways East African Airways Corporation, more commonly known as East African Airways, was an airline jointly run by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. It was set up on 1 January 1946, starting operations the same year. The airline was headquartered in the S ...

; *

Valsts Gaisa satiksme Valsts gaisa satiksme ("State Aerial Communication") was a state-owned national airline of Latvia, which operated between 1937 and 1940. Its hub was Spilve Airport, Spilve airport, in Riga, Latvia. Establishment The first flight of Valsts Gaisa ...

- 2 ; *

Middle East Airlines Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. (), more commonly known as Middle East Airlines (MEA) (), is the flag carrier of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut, near Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. It operates scheduled internat ...

; *

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

; * Air Travel (NZ) Ltd *

Mount Cook Airline Mount Cook Airline was a regional airline based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Formerly part of the Mount Cook Group and latterly a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, it operated scheduled services throughout the country under the Air New Zealand ...

National Airways Corporation National Airways Corporation (NAC) is a commercial aviation company with its head office on the grounds of Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company offers a range of products and services for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopt ...

* Cook Strait Airways Ltd *

Union Airways of New Zealand Union Airways of New Zealand Limited was New Zealand's first major airline. It was founded in 1935 by local shipping giant Union Company. Its services reached main centres from Auckland to Dunedin and extended to Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne ...

West Coast Airways West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

; *

Palestine Airways Palestine Airways (; ) was an airline founded by Zionist Pinhas Rutenberg in British Palestine, in conjunction with the Histadrut and the Jewish Agency. In 1937 the airline was taken over by British Government's Air Ministry, with the intentio ...

(British Mandate of Palestine) *

Aviron Aviron () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France France, officially t ...

; * Aerocarga Asociados ACA ; * Transportes Aéreos de Timor ; *

LARES Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ) were Tutelary deity#Ancient Rome, guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an ama ...

; *

Comair (South Africa) Comair Limited was an airline based in South Africa that operated scheduled services on domestic routes as a British Airways franchisee (and an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance). It also operated as a low-cost carrier under it ...

operated 2 aircraft. ; *

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics () and Naval Aeron ...

; *

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

; *

Swissair Swissair (German language, German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French language, French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne, stylised as swissair) was the Flag carrier, national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and ban ...

; * Aberdeen Airways *

Air Charter Limited Air Charter was an early post-World War II private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline formed in 1947. The airline conducted regular trooping flights to Cyprus as well as worldwide passenger and freight cha ...

* Air Atlantique Classic Flight now the Classic Air Force * Airviews Ltd * Air Enterprises *

Air Kruise Air Kruise was a British airline established in Kent in 1946. Starting with light aircraft for charter work, it expanded to include scheduled services to the near-continent. It was absorbed into Silver City Airways in 1957. History Squadron Lea ...

Allied Airways Allied Airways was a UK airline based at Aberdeen, Scotland. Formed in 1934 as Aberdeen Airways it was taken over by British European Airways in 1947. History Dyce Aerodrome In 1929 Eric Gandar Dower bought a Blackburn Bluebird IV two-se ...

Automobile Association An automobile association, also referred to as a motoring club, motoring association, or motor club, is an organization, either for-profit or non-profit, which motorists (drivers and vehicle owners) can join to enjoy benefits provided by the club ...

* Blackpool and West Coast Air Services *

British Airways Ltd British Airways Ltd. was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman' ...

* British American Air Services *

British Continental Airways British Continental Airways was a British airline that operated between 1935 and 1936, when it merged into British Airways. History British Continental Airways Limited was formed on 15 April 1935 to operate airline services from Croydon Airpor ...

* British Westpoint * Classic Wings * Crilly Airways Ltd * East Anglian Flying Services *

Gibraltar Airways GB Airways was a British airline; prior to its sale, it was headquartered in 'Beehive, Gatwick Airport, The Beehive', a former terminal building, at City Place Gatwick, London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline wa ...

* Great Western and Southern Airlines * Hillmans Airways *

Highland Airways Limited Highland Airways Limited was established in Inverness, Scotland, by E. E. Fresson, Ted Fresson in 1933 to provide passenger and freight air services between the Scottish mainland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland, and between their ...

* Hunting Air Travel * Island Air Services *

Jersey Airways Jersey Airways was an airline that operated air services to and from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways. History Jersey Airways Limited was formed by Walter Thurgood on 9 December 1933. ...

* Lancashire Aircraft Corporation * Mayflower Air Services * Melba Airways *

Morton Air Services Morton Air Services was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations United Kingdom, British airlines formed in 1945. It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the ...

* North Eastern Airways *

Northern & Scottish Airways Northern & Scottish Airways was a regional airline established in Glasgow in 1934. It was taken over in 1937, eventually becoming part of British European Airways. History Formation The potential of running scheduled air services to the Western ...

* Northwest Airlines (UK) * Olley Air Services * Personal Airways *

* Scillonia Airways *

Scottish Airways Scottish Airways was an airline serving most of Scotland, especially the Highlands and Islands. It was active from 1937 until 1947, when it was merged into British European Airways. History Foundation The company was established on 12 August 1 ...

* Sivewright Airways * Southampton Air Services * Southern Airlines *

Starways Starways was a British airline which operated from 1948 until 1963. The company offered freight transport, passenger charter services and serviced internal and international scheduled routes. History The airline was formed at Blackpool in ...

Trans European Aviation Trans European Aviation was a British charter airline which operated from 1954 until closure in 1963. With the introduction of the larger Lockheed Constellation to its services, the airline name was changed in 1961 to Trans European Airways. H ...

United Airways United Airways (BD) Ltd. (, ), operated as United Airways (), was a Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Uttara Thana, Uttara, Dhaka. It operated flights from its airline hub, main hub at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and secondary h ...

Western Airways Western Airways was an airline based in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England between 1932 and 1978. Before World War II, for a short period, it was the world's busiest airline. It survived WWII by using its aircraft engineering expertise. Hist ...

* Westward Airways (Lands End) * Yellow Air Taxis ; *

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

;: *

Aeroput Aeroput () was an airline and flag carrier of Yugoslavia from 1927 until 1948. Society for Air traffic AD Aeroput was the first Serbian company for civil air traffic, which was founded on 17 June 1927 as ''Društvo za Vazdušni Saobraćaj "Aero ...

Military operators

; *

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air and Space Component (, ) is the Air force, air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force (; ). It was founded in 1909 and is one of the world's oldest air services. ...

(Seven operated from 1946) ; *

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

** No. 418 Squadron RCAF ; *

Royal Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) () is the Air force, aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all military aircraft, including those used in support of the Egyptian Army, Egypti ...

; *

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; ; ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air ...

; *

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

operated captured aircraft. ; *

Royal Indian Air Force The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British Raj, British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the British Indian Army, and the Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire. The ...

; *

Imperial Iranian Air Force The history of the Iranian Air Force, currently known as the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, can be divided into two phases—before the Islamic Revolution, and after it. Imperial era The Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was a branch ...

; *

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

; *

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; Arabic: سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, ''Silāḥ al-Jaww al-Malakī al-ʾUrdunī'') is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. Founded in 1955, the RJAF serves as the primary ...

; *

Lithuanian Air Force The Lithuanian Air Force or LAF (, abbreviated as ''LK KOP'') is the military aviation branch of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. It is formed from professional military servicemen and non-military personnel. Units are located at Zokniai Air Base ne ...

operated two D.H.89M aircraft. ; *

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' () of the Dutch Army, which was founded ...

– four D.H.89B Mark II (transports) ** No. 334 Squadron RNLAF (1944–1956) ; *

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

No. 4 Squadron RNZAF No. 4 Squadron RNZAF was a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) patrol bomber unit that served in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, South Pacific during World War II. In the 1950s it also served as a New Zealand Territorial Air Force, T ...

** No. 42 Squadron RNZAF ; *

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force (, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of aerial warfare, air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding i ...

; *

Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...

; *

Southern Rhodesian Air Force The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was the ...

– Four aircraft. ; *

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

; *

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

used at least two DH.89, captured from

during the occupation of the Baltics ; *

operated three D.H.89M requisitioned from

LAPE LAPE, Spanish Postal Airlines ''(Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas)'', was Spain's national airline during the Second Spanish Republic. History LAPE, often also spelt L.A.P.E. and colloquially known as ''"Las LAPE"'', replaced CLASSA (''Com ...

; *

Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...

; *

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

- three DH.89As. ; *

No. 24 Squadron RAF No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AM OCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on Airbus A400M Atlas, A ...

** No. 173 Squadron RAF ** No. 225 Squadron RAF **

No. 271 Squadron RAF No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was operational for two periods; a few brief months between 27 September 1918 and 9 December 1918 operating flying boats to protect shipping from German U-boats, and between 28 March 1940 and 1 December 1 ...

No. 510 Squadron RAF No. 510 Squadron was a Royal Air Force transport and liaison aircraft squadron that disbanded during April 1944. It operated during the World War II, Second World War having formed during October 1942. History During 1942 it was decided that ...

** No. 526 Squadron RAF ** No. 527 Squadron RAF ** No. 614 Squadron RAF *

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

700 Naval Air Squadron 700 Naval Air Squadron (700 NAS) is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Maritime Unmanned Air System squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). Known as 700X Naval Air Squadron, where the 'X' is used to designate 'experimental', it is currently the R ...

701 Naval Air Squadron 701 Naval Air Squadron (701 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN), which last disbanded during September 1958 at RNAS Lee-on-Solent where it was a Helicopter Trials, Communications and Fleet R ...

703 Naval Air Squadron 703 Naval Air Squadron (703 NAS) is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). Since 2003, the squadron has formed the Royal Naval wing of the Defence Elementary Flying Training School / No. 3 Flying Tr ...

736 Naval Air Squadron 736 Naval Air Squadron (736 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It was most recently recommissioned at HMS ''Seahawk'', RNAS Culdrose in June 2013 to fly the BAE Systems Hawk, mainly in th ...

739 Naval Air Squadron 739 Naval Air Squadron (739 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN), which disbanded during 1950. It was formed as the Blind Approach Development Unit for the Fleet Air Arm, operating with Fai ...

740 Naval Air Squadron 740 Naval Air Squadron (740 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It was initially active between May and August in 1943, formed as an Observer Training Squadron at HMS ''Condor'', RNAS Arbr ...

744 Naval Air Squadron 744 Naval Air Squadron (744 NAS) is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It was originally established in 1943 in Nova Scotia and has undergone various re-designations and reformations throughout i ...

** 767 Naval Air Squadron **

776 Naval Air Squadron 776 Naval Air Squadron (776 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) which last disbanded at the end of October 1945. 776 Naval Air Squadron formed as a Fleet Requirements Unit at HMS ''Daedalu ...

778 Naval Air Squadron 778 Naval Air Squadron (778 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). During the Second World War the squadron was a Service Trials Unit (STU) initially based at HMS ''Daedalus'', RNAS Lee-on-So ...

781 Naval Air Squadron 781 Naval Air Squadron (781 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) which disbanded at the end of March 1981. Planned as a Reserve Amphibious Bomber Reconnaissance squadron, it formed as a Co ...

** 782 Naval Air Squadron **

787 Naval Air Squadron 787 Naval Air Squadron (787 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) which disbanded in January 1956. It formed in March 1941, at HMS ''Heron'', RNAS Yeovilton, out of 804 Naval Air Squadron a ...

** 790 Naval Air Squadron **

799 Naval Air Squadron 799 Naval Air Squadron (799 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) which last disbanded during August 1952. It initially formed as a Pool Squadron in South Africa during September 1943, shar ...

1832 Naval Air Squadron 1832 Naval Air Squadron (1832 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). Established in August 1943, at HMS ''Gannet'', RNAS Eglinton, Northern Ireland, with a complement of ten Grumman Wildcat M ...

1844 Naval Air Squadron 1844 Naval Air Squadron (1844 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) between 1943 and 1945 and then a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Air Squadron from 1954 to 1957. It formed in Northern Irela ...

; *

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

; *

Uruguayan Air Force The Uruguayan Air Force (, abbreviated FAU) is the air service branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay. Originally created as part of the National Army of Uruguay, the Air Force was established as a separate branch on December 4, 1953. It is the ...

; *

Royal Yugoslav Air Force The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; (, JKVL); lit. "Yugoslav royal war aviatio ...

– One aircraft pressed into military service in 1940.

Accidents and incidents

* 2 October 1934, G-ACPM of

Hillman's Airways Hillman's Airways was a 1930s British airline which later became part of British Airways. The company was formed in November 1931 as Hillman's Saloon Coaches and Airways Limited by Edward Henry "Ted" Hillman, who was a coach operator in Essex. ...

crashed into the sea off

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

, Kent causing the death of the pilot and the six passengers. * 30 December 1936, G-AEGS of the Iraqi Petroleum Petrol Transport Company overturned in a forced landing in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, two killed. * 21 August 1937, CF-BBG Registered 10.6.37 to

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

Ltd, Toronto. Named "The Flying Newsroom" and equipped with floats. Destroyed by fire whilst refuelling Toronto Air Harbour, Toronto, Ontario 21.8.37. Registration cancelled 21.8.37 (same day) * 3 July 1938, G-AEBX ''Star of Scotia'' of

crashed at

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

, Northern Ireland, two killed. * 20 June 1939, G-AERE operated by

British American Air Services British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

crashed in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, England. John Crouch who was the king's jockey, the pilot and the wireless operator were all killed. * 27 May 1941, R5929 a Dominie of the

near

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, seven killed. * 7 July 1941, R9563 a Dominie of the

crashed in bad weather three miles North of

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( ) is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, south of Aberdeen. It had a population of 11,177 at th2022 Census Stonehaven was formerly the county town of Kincardineshire, succeeding the now abandoned town of Kincardine, Aberd ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, Scotland, six killed. * 14 February 1942, R5927 a Dominie of the Royal Air Force hit a balloon cable and crashed near Colnbrook, Wiltshire, England, six killed. * 29 May 1942, VH-UXZ of

crashed near

Flinders Island Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Today Flinders Island is part of the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is from Cape Portland, Tasmania, Cape Portl ...

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

, Australia following engine failure (probably through running out of fuel), four killed. * 20 July 1944, VH-UBN owned by the Australian Department of Civil Aviation, but leased to

Guinea Airways Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, crashed at Mount Kitchener, South Australia, probably as the result of pilot disorientation in cloud, killing all seven on board. * 6 February 1945, SU-ABP of

Misr Airwork Misr or MISR may refer to: * Misr, the romanized Arabic name for Egypt * misr, singular of Arabic ''amsar'', which were early Arabic "garrison towns" * Misr (domain name), a top-level Internet domain name * Misr, a variant of the AKM assault rifl ...

crashed in Egypt, seven killed. * 1 April 1946, G-AERZ of

crashed in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Northern Ireland, six killed. * 30 August 1946, X7394 a Dominie of the Royal Navy crashed at

Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is a mountain in the Lake District region of Cumbria, England. It has an elevation of above sea level, making it the highest and the most prominent mountain in England. The mountain is part of the Scafell massif, an extinct v ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, England in bad weather during an ambulance flight, five killed. * 15 April 1947, G-AHKR of

crashed into Slieau Ruy whilst operating a scheduled passenger flight from Speke Airport,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. There were only minor injuries amongst the six people on board. * 10 June 1948, G-AIUI of Hargreaves Airways crashed at

Cronk ny Arrey Laa Cronk ny Arrey Laa is a hill in the south west of the Isle of Man. It may be confused with a hill of a similar name in the parish of Jurby, further north along the west coast of the island. At it is the second highest hill in this part of the i ...

, Isle of Man. Seven of the nine people on board were killed. The aircraft was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Speke to Ronaldsway. * 11 November 1948, G-AKOF of

Mannin Airways The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. ...

flying from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland and unable to land at Ronaldsway diverted to Speke but ran out of fuel and crashed in

River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

off Liverpool, England, eight killed. * 10 July 1951, G-ALXJ of the Air Navigation and Trading Company crashed into the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

off

Laxey Laxey () is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Man. Its name derives from the Old Norse ''Laxa'' meaning 'Salmon River'. Its key distinguishing features are its three working vintage railways and the largest working waterwheel in the wo ...

, killing the pilot. The aircraft was operating a scheduled cargo flight from

Squires Gate Airport Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport. Ownership of the air ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, Lancashire to

RAF Jurby Royal Air Force Jurby, or more simply RAF Jurby, is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station built in the north west of the Isle of Man. It was opened in 1939 on of land acquired by the Air Ministry in 1937, u ...

instead of its normal destination of

, which was fogbound. * 14 September 1952, G-AIZI crashed shortly after takeoff from

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. It opened in 1920, located near Croydon, then part of Surrey. Built in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style, it was developed as Britain's main airp ...

Wallington, Surrey Wallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton, South London, England, south south-west of Charing Cross. Before the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington merged into the London Borough of Sutton in Greater London in 1965, it was ...

following a loss of power from the starboard engine. The pilot, the only person on board, was killed. * 19 February 1954, G-AFMF crashed at Simonburn Common near

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. The pilot and seven passengers escaped with minor injuries. * 29 June 1957, G-AGUE of Island Air Services crashed on takeoff from

Ramsgate Airport Ramsgate Airport was a civil airfield at Ramsgate, Kent, United Kingdom which opened in July 1935. It was briefly taken over by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, becoming RAF Ramsgate. The airfield was then closed and obstructed to p ...

, Kent on a local pleasure flight. The aircraft was written off, but all on board escaped uninjured. * 16 July 1960, OY-DZY of Zonens Redningskorps crashed shortly after takeoff from

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup (, ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as the wider Øresund Region, including Zealand and the southern Sweden, Swedish province of Scania. In 2023 it was the largest ai ...

, Denmark. The aircraft was chartered by the

Danish Football Union The Danish Football Association (; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues, alongside the men's and women's national teams. Based ...

to transport soccer players to a test match in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. All eight passengers were killed; the pilot survived but had one leg amputated. * 11 August 2018, N683DH crashed shortly after takeoff from

Abbotsford International Airport Abbotsford International Airport is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, southwest of the city centre. It is the second largest airport in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, after Vancouver International Airport (YVR) ...

at the

Abbotsford International Airshow The Abbotsford International Airshow is held annually on the second Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August at Abbotsford International Airport in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. It is Canada's largest airshow. In the mid-1970s, Abbotsford ...

Surviving aircraft

* F-AZCA is preserved in France (Amicale Jean Baptiste Salis at La Ferté Alais) Used for a double transatlantic flight in the late 1980s as an advertising vehicle for ''Blueway'' cigarettes. It is scheduled for restoration. * G-ACPP, on display at the

Reynolds-Alberta Museum The Reynolds-Alberta Museum is an agricultural museum, agricultural, industrial, and transportation museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. The museum is situated on an property containing the main museum building, an aviation display hangar, and ...

Fame in

Wetaskiwin Wetaskiwin ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word , meaning "the hills where peace was made". Wetaskiwin is home to the Reyn ...

Alberta. The fifth D.H.89 built, and started its career with Railway Air Services Ltd of Croydon, UK on 2 Feb. 1935 with the name 'City of Bristol'. It is the oldest surviving D.H.89. * G-ACYR, in Olley Air Service Livery, used to fly Franco from the Canary Islands in the first days of the Spanish Civil War, based at

Museo del Aire (Madrid) Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics (), also known as Air Museum (), is an aviation museum located at the Cuatro Vientos Air Base in Madrid, Spain, devoted to the history of the Spanish Air and Space Force. It is one of the National Museums o ...

. * G-ADAH, a DH89A in the livery of Allied Airways, is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England. * G-ADDD (was G-ACZE, N1934D), a DH89A currently undergoing restoration to flying condition at the

Military Aviation Museum The Military Aviation Museum is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and houses one of the world's largest private collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the ...

in Virginia Beach, Virginia. * G-AEML / EC-AAY, a DH89A in the livery of

, is airworthy and operated by the Fundación Infante de Orleans in Spain. * G-AGJG, a DH89A, in the colours of Scottish Airways, is airworthy and in the hands of private owners at Duxford Airfield, Cambridge, England. * G-AGSH, a DH89A, is airworthy with the

Shuttleworth Collection The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aviation, automotive and agricultural collection located at Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire, England. History The collection was founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. While ...

in Old Warden, Bedfordshire. Was rebuilt and restored to her BEA colours by Cliff Lovell at Hants Light Plane Services. * G-AGTM, a DH89A, is airworthy and was operated by the Classic Air Force before it closed in 2016. * G-AHAG, a DH89A in the livery of Scillonia Airways, is airworthy and based at Membury airfield, Berkshire. * G-AHXW, is under repair following its 2018 crash. Upon completion of will rejoin the Historic Flight Foundation

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. * G-AIDL, a Mk 6, is airworthy and owned by Cirrus Aviation, painted as a Royal Air Force Dominie ''TX310'', its former identity. * G-AKIF and G-AIYR, a pair of DH89A Dragon Rapides, are airworthy and based at Duxford, England airfield for tourist flights. * G-AKNV (last registration was OO-CNP), on display at the

Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History (; ), also known as the Royal Military Museum (; ), is a military museum that occupies the two northernmost halls of the historic complex in the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Br ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. * 6662 / N663HG, a DH89B, is airworthy and based at

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...

. * NR695 / N2290F, a DH89A, is on display at the

National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. * TC-ERK, a DH89A, is on display at the Istanbul Aviation Museum. * TF-ISM, a D.H.89A that was one of 3 in service in Iceland. 2 of which were in service with

Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...

* ZS-JGV NR743(CN6831), a DH89A is airworthy and is based in Queenstown in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

. * C-FAYE, known as ''Lady Faye'', is on display at the

Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (CBHC), located on the north bank of the St. Marys River (Michigan–Ontario), St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, is dedicated to preserving the history of bush flyin ...

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. * V-3, DH89B (CN6740), on display at the

Nationaal Militair Museum The Nationaal Militair Museum (NMM) is a military museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands. It focuses on the history of the Dutch Armed Forces with emphasis on the Royal Netherlands Army and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The Stichting Koninklijke D ...

, The Netherlands * 2304, DH89A (CN6430), operated by Força Aérea Portuguesa on display at the

Museu do Ar The Air Museum () is an aviation museum of the Portuguese Air Force located at Sintra Air Base and with spaces at Ovar and Alverca. History The museum dates back to the ''Aero Clube de Portugal'' in 1909 and was created in 1968 in a former M ...

, Sintra Portugal * VQ-PAR / 002 / CN6952, a DH89A on display at the

Israeli Air Force Museum The Israeli Air Force Museum is located at Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev desert in Israel. The museum was established in 1977 and has been open to the public since 1991. The museum displays a variety of Israeli Air Force and foreign aircraft ...

, Israel,

Hatzerim Airbase Hatzerim Airbase (, ''Basis Heil HaAvir Hatzerim'', ''lit.'' Homesteads) is an Israeli Air Force, Israeli Air Force (IAF) base on the northern edge of the Negev, Negev desert in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, 6&nbs ...

Specifications (Dragon Rapide)

Notable appearances in media

A 1986 Spanish film, ''Dragon Rapide'', covers its historical use by Generalissimo

during the preparation for the

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * Gerdessen, Frederik. "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 18, April – July 1982. pp. 61–76. . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* Operators' reference drawin

de Havilland Dragon Rapide
at the

{{Authority control 1930s British airliners 1930s British military utility aircraft Dragon Rapide Aircraft first flown in 1934 Biplanes Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear