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de Havilland had a hit with the D.H. 60 Moth, a cheap, sturdy
two-seater with pleasant flying characteristics, first flown in 1925.
Flying clubs, private individuals and air forces all bought Moths to
use for flight training or just pleasure flights. The Moth and its
successors proved their worth by a number of record-breaking flights
in the 1920s and -30s. Several other constructions from de Havilland
also had "Moth" names, such as the Fox Moth, Puss Moth, Leopard Moth
and Giant Moth (and, in a sense, even the Mosquito), but these were
completely different aircraft. Direct descendants of the original
Moth construction were the D.H. 60G Gipsy Moth, powered by de
Havilland's own Gipsy engine; the D.H. 60GIII Moth Major with
larger engine and the D.H. 60M Moth with steel fuselage
structure which was developed into the D.H. 60T Moth Trainer.
The last was a strictly military version intended for basic training
and was used not only by the RAF, but also several other air forces
around the world, including the Swedish Air Force who had ten Moth
Trainers under the Sk 9 designation as well as two Gipsy Moths
known as the Sk 7. A number of Moths were license manufactured
abroad with the type designation D.H. 60X, e g in Finland
by Valtion Lentokonetehdas for use in the Finnish Air Force.
Based on the experiences from the Moth Trainer, an improved version,
known as the D.H. 82 Tiger Moth, was developed and first flown
in 1931. The most visible difference was the swept-back wings, a
consequence of moving forward the centre wing struts so that the
occupant of the front seat could bale out by parachute without
having to squeeze out between the struts. The D.H. 82 had a
90 kW (120 hp) Gipsy III engine, but was soon
supplanted by the D.H. 82A Tiger Moth II with a 100 kW
(130 hp) Gipsy Major I and the top of the fuselage skinned with
plywood rather than fabric. Other subversions were the
D.H. 82B Queen Bee, a radio-controlled version used for gunnery
practice, and D.H. 82C, a "winterized" version produced by de
Havilland Canada.
The initial production went almost exclusively to the military
market and not until 1938 did a trickle get onto the civilian
market, but most were soon requisitioned by the Air Force at the
beginning of the war. Like the Moth, many air forces apart from the
RAF used the Tiger Moth, and a considerable number were also license
manufactured. Three were built in Sweden by ASJA, but in total
16+20 of the two subversions were used by the Swedish Air Force as
the Sk 11 and Sk 11A. One, escaped from Norway during the
German invasion, was used by the Finnish Air Force. Over 7000
(9000, according to some sources) Tiger Moths were built in total.
When air forces began decommissioning Tiger Moths after the war
(many were still in use by 1950), an eager civilian market bought
them and they were ubiquitous in flying clubs all over Europe. Many
are still flying.
The subject for our walkaround is D.H. 82A T6818 at the Royal
Air Force Museum in Hendon.
de Havilland D.H. 82A Tiger Moth in Detail
Modelling the de Havilland Tiger Moth
Considering the importance and the elegant lines of the Tiger Moth,
there are surprisingly few kits of it. Airfix and Aeroclub have
produced models in 1/72, but they are both currently out of
production, as is Matchbox' offering in 1/32. Aeroclub has a Tiger
Moth in 1/48 and Pavla has announced a 1/72 kit of the D.H. 82C
for early 2005.
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Sources |
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- RAF Camouflage of World War 2, by Michael J F
Bowyer, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1975.
- Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation, Bracken Books, 1989.
- Koulukoneet, by Kalevi Keskinen & Kari
Stenman, Kari Stenman, 2003.
- Private Aircraft by Kenneth Munson, Blandford
Press, 1970.
- Att flyga är att leva by Gösta Norrbohm &
Bertil Skogsberg, Bokförlaget Bra Böcker, 1975.
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de Havilland D.H. 82 Tiger Moth in Detail
