In this submission to Over the Front's modeling site, I would like to report on another World War I fighter and have selected a model that the Royal Flying Corps used to counter the so-called 'Fokker Scourge' in 1916: the Airco DH.2.

The DH.2 was Geoffrey de Havilland's second design for the Aircraft Manufacturing Company Ltd., i.e. Airco, which is considered to have been the first successful British fighter of World War I. It was designed as a single-seat fighter-reconnaissance airplane and was a scaled-down version of the two-seat DH.1. Despite its smaller dimensions, the DH.2 was a two-bay biplane just like the DH.1 that sported fabric-covered, wooden wings of equal size with ailerons on them all. Four braced, steel tubes attached and supported the rudder and tailplane. Initially, the airplane's armament consisted of one .303 inch Lewis machine gun on a flexible mount that allowed the pilot to move it to the left or right side of the cockpit nacelle; but later, a fixed synchronized Vickers machine gun was added above the fuselage. The DH.2 had a maximum speed of 93 mph and a service ceiling of 14,500 feet.

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The DH.2 prototype (4732) made its maiden flight on 1 June 1915. Series production then began with minor modifications that included a modified fuel system with an auxiliary tank in the upper wing, and the first DH.2s reached the front in France at the end of December. On 10 January 1916, the type was delivered to No.24 Squadron, which had been formed on 1 September 1915 under the command of Major Lanoe Hawker and supplied with a mixed fleet of aircraft. No.24 Sqn then became uniformly equipped with 12 DH.2s and was deployed to France on 7 February where it occupied an airfield at Bertangles in the Somme Sector on 10 February.

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Following the squadron's first combat mission on 19 March, the DH.2 proved to be a first-class fighter thanks to its stability, maneuverability, climbing ability, and its pilot's excellent field of view. It was able to outmaneuver and outclimb the Germans' once-feared Fokker E.III monoplane, and the type shot down an opponent for the first time on 2 April 1916 near Bapaume. Hawker inspired his unit with the motto: 'Attack everything!', and further fierce air fights followed. Between 8 April 1916 and 25 May 1917, 24 Sqn's logbook recorded 774 combat missions and 44 enemy aircraft shot down.

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The DH.2 was supplied to No.32 Squadron in March 1916 and in May to No.29 Squadron. The CO of 32 Sqn, Major L.W.B. Rees, gained particular attention when he single-handedly attacked a formation of ten enemy bombers, shot down one of them, and broke up the formation through persistent attacks, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. James McCudden, who later became one of the war's most successful fighter pilots with 57 victories, achieved the first of them in a DH.2. Thus the introduction of the DH.2 eventually allowed the RFC to successfully challenge German air superiority and gain the upper hand at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916.

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Nevertheless, it was not a flawless airplane. It took time for the DH.2's pilots to master its flight characteristics because of its destabilizing center of gravity and its rotary engine's heavy torque, which made it prone to spinning out of control if not properly managed. In addition, its engine proved to be unreliable which caused its pilots to mockingly refer to its chronic tendency to break down as "cylindricitis."

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Turning now to my scale model, it depicts DH.2 5998 as flown by 24 Sqn's Capt. John Oliver Andrews on the Western Front. By the autumn of 1916, Andrews was credited with seven confirmed victories, including one over the CO of Jagdstaffel 2, Oblt. Stefan Kirmaier, who had assumed that role following the death of Oswald Boelcke. Shortly afterwards, Andrews was involved in the dogfight during which his CO, Major Lanoe Hawker, was shot down by Manfred von Richthofen near Bapaume. For his achievements, Andrews was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). He retired from the RAF as an Air Vice-Marshal in 1945 and passed away at the advanced age of 92 in 1989.

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My Eduard Company's 1/48th scale model of the DH.2 was enhanced with photoetched parts from the same firm. A major challenge was presented by the extensive rigging of the lattice-tailed fuselage with its numerous bracing wires, as well as the linkages for the ailerons, elevators, and rudder, all of which required a great deal of time to recreate. Nevertheless, the effort was worthwhile and contributed greatly to the model's overall impression.

Heinz-Michael Raby Traditions Archivist and Representative

Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 'Boelcke'

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