de Havilland D.H.100 Vampire I

  • Period: Postwar (1945-1959)
  • Uses: Fighter
  • First Flight: September 20, 1943
  • Display Status: In Reserve Hangar.

Production of the Vampire started just too late for it to see service in Second World War. This very successful design was produced in several versions and flew with the air forces of more than 15 countries. In 1948 it was the first jet fighter to enter the RCAF. Here, as in other air forces, it introduced fighter pilots not only to jet flying, but also to cockpit pressurization and tricycle landing gear. The last Vampires were not phased out of the Swiss Air Force until the late 1980s.

In developing the Vampire, de Havilland applied its expertise in wood construction to manufacture a fuselage of the same type of plywood/balsawood sandwich used in the Mosquito. The Vampire’s twin-boom configuration enabled the jet tailpipe to remain short in order to extract as much thrust as possible from the somewhat low-powered engines of the day. The prototype Sea Vampire was the first jet aircraft to fly from an aircraft carrier.

Museum Example

  • Registration #: TG372 (RAF)
  • Manufacturer: English Electric Company Ltd., Great Britain
  • Manufacture Date: 1945
  • Construction #: Unknown
  • Aquisition Date: 1968
  • Provenance: Transfer from Ontario Science Centre

Shipped to Canada for cold weather trials and serving with the RCAF, the Museum specimen subsequently passed to the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, before being transferred to the Museum in 1968.

Specifications

Wing Span:
12.2 m (40 ft)
Length:
9.4 m (30 ft 9 in)
Height:
2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
Weight, Empty:
2,890 kg (6,372 lb)
Weight, Gross:
4,754 kg (10,480 lb)
Cruising Speed:
Unknown
Max Speed:
869 km/h (540 mph)
Rate of Climb:
1,311 m (4,300 ft) /min
Service Ceiling:
Unknown
Range:
1,175 km (730 mi)
Power Plant:
one de Havilland Goblin 2 centrifugal flow turbojet engine, 1,405 kg (3,100 lb) static thrust