De Havilland Hyena
{{lowercase|de Havilland Hyena}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name=DH.56 Hyena | image=De Havilland DH.56 Hyena.jpg | caption= The DH.56 Hyena J-7780 }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Army cooperation aircraft | national origin=United Kingdom | manufacturer=de Havilland | designer= | first flight=17 May 1925 | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user= | number built=2 | developed from= de Havilland DH.42B Dingo II | variants with their own articles= }} |
The de Havilland DH.56 Hyena was a prototype British army cooperation aircraft of the 1920s. A single-engined biplane, the Hyena was designed against an RAF requirement, but was unsuccessful with only two being built, the Armstrong Whitworth Atlas being preferred.
Development and design
The DH.56 Hyena was developed to meet the requirements of Air Ministry Specification 30/24 for an Army Cooperation aircraft to equip Britain's Royal Air Force. It was a development of de Havilland's earlier DH.42B Dingo, and like the Dingo, was a single-engined two-bay biplane carrying a crew of two. It was armed with a forward-firing Vickers machine gun and a Lewis gun operated by the observer. A hook to pick up messages was fitted beneath the fuselage, while the aircraft was also equipped for photography, artillery spotting, supply dropping and bombing.Jackson 1987, p.213.
The first Hyena flew on 17 May 1925, powered by a 385 hp (287 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III radial engine. With this engine it was underpowered, and was quickly re-engined with a 422 hp (315 kW) Jaguar IV before it was submitted for official testing (which was against the requirements of Specification 20/25, which had superseded 30/24). The two prototype Hyenas were tested against the other competitors for the RAF's orders, the Armstrong Whitworth Atlas, the Bristol Bloodhound and the Vickers Vespa, including field evaluation with No. 4 Squadron RAF.Jackson 1987, pp. 214–215. Handling close to the ground was found to be difficult, with a poor view from the cockpit, and the orders went to the Atlas, with the Hyena being abandoned, being used for testing at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough until 1928.
Specifications (Jaguar IV)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=De Havilland Aircraft since 1909 Jackson 1994, p.215.
|prime units?=imp
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|crew=Two
|capacity=
|length m=
|length ft=29
|length in=9
|span m=
|upper span ft=43
|upper span in=0
|lower span ft=41
|lower span in=5+1/4
|height m=
|height ft=10
|height in=9
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=421+1/4
|wing area note=
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|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=2399
|empty weight note=
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|gross weight lb=
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|max takeoff weight lb=4200
|fuel capacity={{convert|100|impgal|USgal L|abbr=on}}
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV
|eng1 type=14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=422
|more power=
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|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=130
|max speed kts=
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|never exceed speed kmh=
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|never exceed speed kts=
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|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=19230
|ceiling note=Mason 1994, p.172.
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|time to altitude=13 min 24 s to {{convert|10000|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|more performance=
|guns= 1 × forward firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun and 1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun on Scarff ring in rear cockpit
|bombs= 4 × light bombs under port wing
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See also
{{aircontent
|see also=
|related=*de Havilland Dingo
|similar aircraft=*Armstrong Whitworth Atlas
|lists=
}}
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
{{refbegin}}
- Jackson, A.J. De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. London:Putnam, Third edition 1987. {{ISBN|0-85177-802-X}}.
- Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London:Putnam, 1994. {{ISBN|0-85177-861-5}}.
{{refend}}
External links
{{commons category|De Havilland DH.56 Hyena}}
- [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1927/1927%20-%200165.html De Havilland Hyena]
{{de Havilland aircraft}}
Category:1920s British bomber aircraft