World War 1 Plane The DH-4 Designed in 1916 by Geoffrey de Havilland, the D.H.4 was the only British design built by the Americans. It was easily identified by its rectangular fuselage and deep frontal radiator. Versatile heavily armed and equipped with a powerful twelve cylinder engine, this biplane daylight bomber was fast. Sometimes called the "Flaming Coffin,“

The Production By the end of the war, 3,431 had been delivered to the Air Service. Of these, 1,213 had been shipped to France, and 417 had seen combat. The Dayton-Wright Airplane Company built most of these.

Specifications The DH-4 had a span of 43.5 feet (13.3 meters), was 30.5 feet (9.3 meters) in length, and 10.3 feet (3.1 meters) high. It weighed 3,557 pounds (1,613 kilograms) when loaded and carried two.30-caliber Marlin machine guns Also in the nose it carried two.30-caliber Lewis machine guns in the rear as well as 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of bombs. It used a Liberty horsepower (314-kilowatt) engine and carried a two-man crew.

The Speed Maximum speed: 128 mph. Cruising speed: 90 mph. Range: 400 miles Service Ceiling: 19,600 ft.

“The Flaming Coffin” The Army Air Service was called upon to supply the Army Corps of Engineers and the Geological Survey with aerial photos for mapping and stereo viewing. The DH-4 was the most suitable and, because of its great numbers, the most available plane for the job. It was used as the standard airplane for the purpose for 10 years.Other uses of the plane It was called the flaming coffin because if the plane got shot at it caught on fire it would burn down like a bird on fire and crash.

After the War With few funds to buy new aircraft in the years following World War I, the US Army Air Service used the DH-4 in a variety of roles, such as transport, air ambulance, photographic plane, trainer, target tug, forest fire patroller and even as an air racer. In addition, the US Post Office operated the DH-4 as a mail carrier. The DH-4 also served as a flying test bed at McCook Field in the 1920s, testing turbo superchargers, propellers, landing lights, engines, radiators, and armament. There were a number of notable DH-4 flights such as the astounding New York to Nome, Alaska flight in 1920, the record breaking transcontinental flight in 1922 by Jimmy Dolittle and the first successful air-to-air refueling in ,538 DH-4s were modified in to DH-4Bs by moving the pilot's seat back and the now unpressized gas tank forward, correcting the most serious problems in the DH-4 design. A further improved version was the DH-4M whereby over 300 DH-4s received new steel tube fuselages. By the time it was finally retired from service in 1932, the DH-4 had developed into over 60 variants. By the time it was finally retired from service in 1932, the DH-4 had developed into over 60 variants.

Why does it Matter? The Dh-4 matters because it was one of the many great planes that helped us win World War One. Also it was one the most recognized planes if you go to museum or site of world war one planes. It had a lot of ammo to shoot down other planes with it’s.30-caliber Lewis machine guns it could also carry 220 pounds of bombs So if you were a pilot on that plane you would be proud of it, if you ever saw it you could tell people about it.

Quick Quiz 1.Who was the designer of the DH-4?Who was the designer of the DH-4? 2.How was the plane easily identified?How was the plane easily identified? 3.What was the maximum speed the DH-4 could travel?What was the maximum speed the DH-4 could travel? 4.Why was it called the “Flaming Coffin”Why was it called the “Flaming Coffin” 5.What was one purpose of the DH-4 after the war?What was one purpose of the DH-4 after the war? Answer to each question is given if you click on it

Credits Internet: had good informationwww.centennialofflignt.gov had good pictureswww.firstworldwar.com The book: Great planes of World War one Mr.Wetzel %20Greeting%20US%20Soldiers%20to%20France.mp3http:// This is the link you can got to listen to the French greet the U.S.