The De Havilland Hornet – the sister of the Mosquito that arrived a little too late to answer its true calling
The Hornet was a relatively short-lived aircraft developed during WWII due to the success of its sister design, the Mosquito, both based on the lightweight wooden construction techniques made famous by the De Havilland company.
The plan was for the Hornet to undertake long-range fighter duties in the Far East, hostilities ending before it could begin operations against Japanese forces. However, the private De Havilland venture had already been green-lighted in June 1943, the Air Ministry releasing Specification F.12/43, an order that was written with the DH103, the prototype of the Hornet, firmly in mind.
While a lot of the thinking behind its use revolved around the continuation of fighting in the Pacific Theatre, it was seen as an ideal design to be utilised by the Royal Navy as well as the RAF, an aircraft built to be operated from the flight decks of aircraft carriers.
By January 1944, construction of the fuselage for DH103 was at an advanced stage, with July 28 seeing RR915 conduct its maiden flight at Boscombe Down. Like the Mosquito, the fuselage was built by bringing together two large wooden sections, held together with clamps before being glued and secured with brass wood screws, the sections made of mainly balsa, with spruce used to reinforce more sensitive areas.
DH.103 Hornet
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The prototype achieved what was seen as a remarkable top speed of 485mph in level flight at 22,000ft, powered by two Merlin engines driving opposite-handed propellers – unusual for a British design, providing greater stability and predictable behaviour in flight. The prototype was piloted by Geoffrey Havilland Jr, the company’s chief test pilot and son of company founder Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, and as well as its impressive speed, it was described as possessing “superb handling characteristics”.
It was armed with four 20mm cannons with an additional eight ground attack rockets, or a pair of 1,000lb bombs, and with an operational range of around 2,500 miles, it was seen as an ideal fit for a role in the Far East, but fortunately for the world in general, that role would never materialise.
It wasn’t until March 1946 that the Hornet entered squadron service, but being a piston-engined aircraft at the dawn of the jet age, its days were already numbered. No. 64 were the first recipients at Horsham St Faith in Norfolk, soon followed by No. 19 Squadron at Wittering and Nos. 41 and 65 at RAF Church Fenton in North Yorkshire; pilot conversion was provided by No. 226 OCU (Operational Conversion Unit).
During the Hornet’s relatively short military life, it was mainly associated with operations in Malaya (what is now peninsular Malaysia), and while the world was no longer at war, there were still conflicts in the region, the aircraft involved in actions during what was referred to as the Malayan Emergency: a guerilla war fought by the communist forces of the Malayan National Liberation Army against the British-backed Federation of Malaya. Its aerial endurance capabilities were crucial to operations where pilots spent extended periods loitering over target areas, while enemy forces were identified for the Hornets to strike with rockets or bombs.
The Hornets arrived to replace Bristol Beaufighters and Spitfires, often working in conjunction with Avro Lincoln bombers, as well as providing escorts for ground convoys, with the aircraft of No. 45 Squadron, based in Singapore, conducting around 4,500 operational sorties over five years.
Towards the end of their operational life, two Hornets from RAF Kai Tak in Hong Kong were dispatched to the last reported location of a Cathay Pacific Skymaster, shot down by fighters of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force. The airliner had departed Bangkok on July 22, 1954, bound for Hong Kong, but when it was just half an hour from its destination, flying off the coast of Hainan Island, it was engaged by two Lavoshkin fighter aircraft which, four minutes after tracking the Skymaster, opened fire, hitting the two outboard engines.
The aircraft, piloted by British captain Phil Blown, was severely damaged with the fighters continue to fire on the airliner, Blown taking evasive action and attempting to regain control, before eventually being forced to attempt a sea landing. While the Skymaster broke up on hitting the surface of the water, nine of the 19 passengers and crew survived and were able to board a dinghy (one later dying of her injuries).
Fortunately, Blown’s mayday message was picked up by another civilian airliner which spotted the sinking plane, the RAF in Hong Kong informed and able to dispatch a number of aircraft to the site, two No. 80 Hornets first to arrive and help locate survivors. Officials from what was then Peking, now Beijing, claimed the shooting down was a case of mistaken identity.
As well as operational duties, Hornets were also noted for their involvement with record attempts and air races, one aircraft flying from RAF Bovingdon in Hertfordshire to Gibraltar in September 1949 at an average speed of just under 360mph – a record broken by another Hornet a few days’ later.
A sea version of the Hornet saw service from June 1947, seaborne deployments following aboard HMS Implacable and HMS Indomitable, before a replacement programme began in the early 1950s with the Hornets superseded by Hawker Furies and De Havilland Venoms.
With the jet age in full swing, the Hornet’s RAF role was gradually wound down during the mid-1950s, the last operational sortie flown on May 21, 1955, all aircraft withdrawn from RAF service by 1956, just ten years after initial deployment. One of the retired Sea Hornets went to Australia as part of a research programme investigating how aircraft coped in tropical conditions, but most eventually ended up being scrapped when their wooden frames started to deteriorate.
Sea hornet 1945
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There were around 400 of the land and sea versions built, with seven RAF squadrons operating the aircraft, but somewhat mystifyingly none were retained for display, although a Sea Hornet did find its way to New Zealand firm, Pioneer Aero Ltd, which is currently carrying out restoration work.
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