De Havilland: DH 60 Moth
Note: This is a sub-section of De Havilland.
Two-seater biplane trainer. Powered by ADC Cirrus I / II / III or Armstrong Siddeley Motors Genet I engine. The DH.60G (Gypsy Moth) used as trainer, communications or for observation duties. Also M version with fuselage constructed with steel tunes. T version also.
This famous model, originally selling at £650, had a simple, practical design and sturdy construction. Over 7000 Moths of different marks were built in Britain in the next seven years, and there were many overseas sales.
| De Havilland DH 60 Moths | ||||
 DH 60 Moth. Exhibit at the Shuttleworth Collection. |
 DH 60X Moth. Exhibit at the Shuttleworth Collection. |
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| Variants of the De Havilland DH.60 Moth | ||
| Model | Date | Detail |
| DH.60 Cirrus Moth | Prototype and early production aircraft powered by a 60 hp (45 kW) ADC Cirrus engine. 8 pre-production and 31 production aircraft built. | |
| DH.60 Cirrus II Moth. (also known as the Hermes Moth) | Introduced in 1927 this variant had a slightly larger wingspan and decreased distance between the upper and lower wings. Powered by an uprated (105 hp/78 kW) Cirrus Hermes engine, 32 built. | |
| DH.60 Genet Moth | A small number of DH.60 Moths were fitted with the Armstrong Siddeley Genet radial engine. The type was used by the Royal Air Force Central Flying School for display purposes, six built.
DH.60G Gipsy Moth. | |
| DH.60G Gipsy Moths in service with LAN-Chile | First major overhaul of the design: Cirrus engine replaced by a 100 hp (75 kW) de Havilland Gipsy I engine. | |
| DH.60GII (GipsyII Moth). | Powered by a 120 hp (89 kW) Gipsy II. Commonly referred to as a "Gipsy Moth" just like the 100 hp (75 kW) version. | |
| DH.60X | Optional 'X' braced undercarriage version of the early Gipsy Moth. (X-style undercarriage became standard for the DH.60M and all subsequent models) | |
| DH.60L (Luxury) | Offered with wider let-down cockpit doors and an enlarged luggage locker behind the rear cockpit. The luxury version also featured a state-of-the-art 1930's style two-color paint scheme for the fuselage. | |
| DH.60M Moth (Metal Moth) | The original plywood box fuselage replaced with a construction of metal stringers covered with doped fabric. Although overall weight increased, maintenance became easier and metal fuselages became standard for all later versions. Four pre-production aircraft, 536 built by de Havilland at Stag Lane, 40 built by de Havilland Canada, 161 built by the Moth Corporation in the United States, 10 built by the Norwegian Army Aircraft Factory in Norway. | |
| DH.60T (Moth Trainer) | Trainer variant of the Metal-Gipsy Moth. Rearranging of the inner wing bracing wires allowed for easier access to the front cockpit, a necessity for military pilots wearing parachutes. Two prototypes and 47 production aircraft were built.
(Production for all Gipsy I and II variants: 595 built by de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome, 40 built by Morane-Saulnier in France, 18 built by the Moth Corporation in the United States, and 32 built by Larkin Aircraft Supply in Australia.) | |
| DH.60GIII Moth | In 1931 the company took a de Havilland Gipsy II engine and turned it upside down and re-designated it the Gipsy III, this engine was then fitted to the Moth to create the DG.60GIII Moth, 57 built including 10 as fuselages for the Royal Air Force as Queen Bee target drones. | |
| DH.60GIII Moth Major | In 1934 from the 58th DH.60GIII onwards, the engine name was changed to Gipsy Major and the resulting variant was renamed the DH.60G III Moth Major. 96 were built including ten as fuselages for the Royal Air Force as Queen Bee target drones, production ending in May 1935. A final Moth Major was built by the de Havilland Technical School, giving total production of the DH.60GIII of 154. | |
| DH.60T (Tiger Moth Prototypes) | Eight prototypes with swept wings for a proposed RAF trainer. Because of the substantial changes, the aircraft entered production as the DH.82 Tiger Moth.
Note: Variant information taken from Bransom. | |
See Also
Sources of Information