British De Havilland DH-95 ''Flamingo'' Transport

By Crusader1307

The de Havilland DH-95 ''Flamingo'' was initially designed in 1938 as a Civilian Airliner. It was the first all-metal skinned construction of this type (as opposed to cloth covering over steel ''skeleton''). With the advent of World War II (1939) in Europe, (17) were commissioned by The Royal Navy. These were used as Military Cargo and airborne Communication Platforms. Poor handling would have The British Navy canceling future orders. Surviving Models were reconverted back into Civilian Service – with all ''Flamingo'' Planes being out of service by 1950. In their Military configuration, The DH-95 was 50-feet long with a wingspan of 70-feet. Power was provided by Twin Bristol Perseus 9-Cylinder Engines. Each produced 930-HP each. Airspeed was rated at 245-mph with an operational range of over 1,300-miles. The DH-95 had an altitude ceiling of over 20,000-feet. Piloted by (3), they could carry (17) Soldiers. No defensive or offensive armament was installed.