DH-9A IN AUSTRALIAN SERVICES

The Airco DH.9 was a British reconnaissance bomber in a mixed biplane design with a fixed landing gear. The drive was provided by a single engine BHP or Wright Liberty 12 with 230 HP and 400 HP respectively. The prototype flight took place in 1917. Approximately 3,200 examples of this successful aircraft were produced in the course of serial production in the period 1917-1918. Armament Airco DH.9 with 3 machine guns caliber 7.69 mm or 7.7 mm and up to 210 kg of bombs. The Airco DH.9 was created as a result of the demands of British airline officers fighting in France, who reported a need for a new bomber and multi-role aircraft that would replace the DH.4 aircraft. The Airco plant radically changed the DH.4 structure (the use of a new engine, a change in the size of the fuselage and airfoil, a different airfoil profile, shifting the cockpit and observer) thus reducing the time needed to implement serial production. The plane turned out to be very successful, but in 1918 the Airco DH.9A version was introduced, which had a more powerful engine and a larger wingspan. Airco DH.9 passed its baptism of fire in March 1918. Until the end of World War I, machines of this type fought over France, in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East. In 1920, about 20 aircraft also reached Poland. They were withdrawn from British aviation at the end of the 1920s.