Airco DH.1

The Airco DH.1 was an early British military biplane of the Farman pattern, flown by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was the first design Geoffrey de Havilland produced after leaving the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1914 to become chief designer at the Aircraft Manufacturing Company, known as Airco, and it was a pusher with the pilot and observer in two open tandem cockpits in the nose, the observer carrying a machine gun. The prototype made its first flight at Hendon in January 1915 and the type was ordered into production, but the Renault engine left it underpowered. By the time the intended engine was plentiful the aircraft was obsolete as an operational type, so apart from a few examples sent to the Middle East it served as a trainer and Home Defence fighter until it was withdrawn in 1918.