Desoutter Mk.II

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Desoutter Mk.II
Desoutter Mk.I
Type Liaison
Manufacturer Desoutter Aircraft Company/Koolhoven
Designed by Frederick Koolhoven
Maiden flight 1930
Retired No
Status One flyable survivor
Primary users National Flying Services Ltd
Finnish Air Force
Number built F.K.41: 6
Mk.I: 28
Mk.II: 13

Desoutter Mk.II is a British monoplane liaison aircraft manufactured by Desoutter Aircraft Company at Croydon Aerodrome, Surrey.

Contents

[edit] Design and Production History

In the late 1920s, Marcel Desoutter, the famous pilot, formed the Desoutter Aircraft Company Ltd to follow up his marketing idea to licence manufacture the Dutch aircraft Koolhoven F.K.41. This aircraft had drawn a lot of attention due to its modern design. The licence was obtained and Desoutter set up a production unit at Croydon Aerodrome in the former ADC Aircraft factory.

The second production dutch F.K.41 (registered G-AAGC) was flown to Croydon and was modified by Desoutter and displayed at the Olympia Aero Show, London in July 1929 as the Desoutter Dolphin. This aircraft was later sold in South Africa with registration ZS-ADX and was impressed into service with the South African Air Force.

The name Dolphin was not used again and the production aircraft was known as the Desoutter and then in the following year the Desoutter I. The National Flying Services Ltd placed a large order and received 19 aircraft, all were painted in black and bright orange and soon became a familiar sight at British flying clubs, where they were used for instruction, pleasure flights and taxi flights. The first aircraft for another customer left Croydon for New Zealand on 9 February 1930 in aviation. It was flown to Sydney, Australia arriving on the 13 March 1930, it was then shipped to New Zealand.

In 1930 an improved version the Desoutter II was produced. It had a de Havilland Gipsy III engine, redesigned ailerons and tail surfaces and wheel brakes.

[edit] Production

41 aircraft were built at Croydon Aerodrome - 28 Mk.Is and 13 Mk.IIs, in contrast to the six aircraft that had been produced of the original F.K.41.

[edit] Use in New Zealand

The Desoutter also became famous due to its involvement in New Zealand's first commercial air disaster, which occurred six days after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake on February 8, 1931 near Wairoa. The Desoutter belonged to Dominion Airlines and carried the identification code ZK-ACA. The small airline had been making three return trips a day between Hastings and Gisborne, carrying passengers and supplies. All three on board were killed.

[edit] Use in Australia

Late in 1931 Australians H. Jenkins and H. Jeffrey purchased the 30th production aircraft EI-AAD from Irish owners Iona National Air Taxis and flew it as G-ABOM from Heston to Sydney between 29 December 1931 and February 1932. Here it was soon sold to L. MacKenzie Johnson as VH-UEE Miss Flinders who began a regular service between Launceston and Whitemark on Flinders Island, most of the 108-mile route being over the waters of south-eastern Bass Strait. Competition with regular shipping services by William Holyman & Sons saw the formation of Holymans Airways, the forerunners of Australian National Airways, later the same year. VH-UEE has been preserved by the Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston.

Three other Desoutter IIs were purchased by Hart Aviation Services of Melbourne, one of which was wrecked on Deal Island in Bass Strait.

[edit] Use in Denmark

The Danish Air Society (Det Danske Luftfartselskab) bought the second last manufactured Desoutter Mk.II in 1931. This aircraft was given the registration OY-DOD. In 1934, this aircraft was sold to lieutenant Michael Hansen, and in the following year to the Nordisk Luftrafik company. In 1938 it was sold to Nordjysk Aero Service, but Michael Hansen bought the aircraft back the same year and used it to fly to Cape Town and in the MacRobertson Air Race. The aircraft completed the journey from Mildenhall, England to Melbourne, Australia in 129 Hours 47 Minutes, it gained 7th position in the handicap race.

[edit] Use in Finland

During the Winter War, the Red Cross of Denmark raised money in order to purchase an ambulance aircraft for Finland. In October 1941 the Danish aircraft registered OY-DOD was bought for this purpose and was donated to Finland. The aircraft was flown by Michael Hansen to Helsinki, Finland on October 28, 1941. The Mk.II was given both Finnish Air Force and Red Cross markings and was used until November 14, 1944 as a liaision and ambulance aircraft. After the war, the Karhumaki brothers, who were aircraft manufacturers, bought the aircraft and sold it without the engine to Torsti Tallgren and Armas Jylhä in Tampere, who repaired it and registered it as OH-TJA on November 17, 1947. The aircraft crashed near Tampere on December 4, 1947.

[edit] Versions

  • Koolhoven F.K.41 - original Dutch version, 6 built
  • Desoutter Dolphin - one Desoutter modified F.K.41
  • Desoutter Mk.I (previously known as the Desoutter for a few months) - British licence made version. Modified tail, powered by Cirrus Hermes engine, 28 built.
  • Desoutter Mk.II Sports Coupé - Modified version of the Mk.I with new engine, re-designed vertical rudder and windscreen, 13 built.

[edit] Preserved

Two of the 41 aircraft survive:

[edit] Civil operators

[edit] Military operators

[edit] Specifications (Mk.II)

Data from British Civil Aircraft since 1919 [1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 2
  • Length: 7.9 m (26 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 10.9 m (35 ft 8½ in)
  • Height: 2.15 m (7 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 17.7 m² (183 ft²)
  • Empty weight: 536 kg (1,180 lb)
  • Loaded weight: kg (lb)
  • Useful load: kg (kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 863 kg (1,900 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1× De Havilland Gipsy III 4-cylinder, reversed air-cooled inline, kW (120 hp)

Performance

[edit] References

  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. 
  • Jackson, A.J. (1973). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 10107 X. 

[edit] Sources

  • Kalevi Keskinen, Kari Stenman: Koulukoneet - Suomen ilmavoimien historia 22, Itä-Uudenmaan paino, Loviisa, 2003, ISBN 951-98751-5-8
  • Tervonen, Ismo: Veljekset Karhumäki Suomen ilmailun pioneereina 1924-1956, Apali Oy, ISBN 952-5026-25-6.
  • Timo Heinonen: Thulinista Hornetiin - Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseon julkaisuja 3, 1992. ISBN 951-95688-2-4


 

 

 

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Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft


v • d • e
Lists relating to aviation

Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft

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