De Havilland Okapi

infobox Aircraft
name = DH.14 Okapi
type = Day bomber
manufacturer = Airco / De Havilland


caption =
designer =
first flight = 1919
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user = Royal Air Force
more users = Sidney Cotton
produced =
number built = 3
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The de Havilland DH.14 Okapi was a British two-seat day bomber of the 1910s built by De Havilland. The aircraft was designed as an Airco DH.4 and DH.9 replacement, it never entered production.

History

The Okapi was a scaled up version of the Airco DH.9 with a bigger engine (the Rolls Royce Condor) designed as a replacement for the DH.4 and DH.9. Three aircraft were built but due to the end of the First World War the Royal Air Force was not in a hurry to accept them. The third aircraft was the first to fly, and it was completed by the Airco at Hendon as the DH.14A a two-seat long-range mailplane. The aircraft, registered G-EAPY,was bought by F.S. Cotton who intended to try for the Australian government £10,000 prize for a flight between England and Australia. It was overcome by events when the Ross brothers won the prize before Cotton was ready. The aircraft did attempt the first flight between London and Capetown in February 1920, but it only made is as far as Italy when it forced landed near Messina. Although repaired the aircraft was written off in another forced landing on 24 July 1920. The two military aircraft were completed by De Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome in 1921 and used for trials, no production aircraft were ordered.

Variants

* DH.14 - two-seat day bomber with a Rolls Royce Condor engine, two built.
* DH.14A - two-seat long range mailplane with a Napier Lion Engine, one built.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Air Force

pecifications (DH.14)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref=The British Bomber since 1914 Cite book |author=Mason, Francis K |authorlink =
|title=The British Bomber since 1914 |publisher=Putnam Aeronautical Books|location=London |year=1994 |id= ISBN 0 85177 861 5
crew=2
capacity=
length main= 33 ft 11½in
length alt= 10.35m
span main= 50 ft 5 in
span alt= 15.37
height main= 14 ft 0 in
height alt= 4.27 m
area main= 617 ft²
area alt= 57.32 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 4,484 lb
empty weight alt= 2,034 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 7,074 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 3,209 kg
more general=

engine (prop)= Rolls Royce Condor
type of prop= inline piston
number of props= 1
power main= 600 hp
power alt= 447 kW
power original=
max speed main= 122 mph
max speed alt= 196 km/h
max speed more=at 10,000 ft
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main=
ceiling alt=
climb rate main= 400 ft/min
climb rate alt=
climb rate more=at 10,000 ft
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance= *Endurance: Five hours
guns=

** one fixed forward-firing synchronised 0.303in (7.7mm) Vickers machine gun
** one 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun on Scarff ring
bombs= six 112 lb (51 kg) bombs in two fuselage bomb bays
avionics=

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=

lists=
*List of de Havilland aircraft
see also=

References

*cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)|year= |publisher= Orbis Publishing|location= |issn=
*cite book |last= Jackson|first= A.J.|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2|year= 1974|publisher= Putnam|location= London|isbn=0 370 10010 7

External links

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=855 British Aircraft Directory entry]