De Havilland Tiger Moth

De Havilland Tiger Moth
Image caption
Description
Role	Trainer
Crew	2
First Flight	October 26, 1931
Entered Service	February 1932
Manufacturer	de Havilland, Morris Motors;
Dimensions
Length	23 ft 11 in	7.34 m
Wingspan	29 ft 4 in	8.94 m
Height	8 ft 9 in	2.68 m
Wing area	ft²	m²
Weights
Empty	lb	kg
Loaded	1,825 lb	828 kg
Maximum takeoff	lb	kg
Powerplant
Engines	1 x de Havilland Gipsy Major I inverted-Vee type
Power	130 hp	100 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	109 mph at 1,000 ft	175 km/h at 300 m
Range	302 miles	486 km
Service ceiling	13,600 ft	4,145 m
Rate of climb	ft/min	m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Power/Mass	hp/lb	kW/kg
Armament
None

The de Havilland Tiger Moth was a 1930s biplane designed by de Havilland and used by the Royal Air Force and others as a trainer. It remained in service with the RAF until 1950 when many of the surplus aircraft entered civil operation that continues to this day.

The Tiger Moth prototype (DH.82) was derived from the de Havilland Gipsy Moth (DH.60). It was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy III 120hp engine and first flew on October 26, 1931. The RAF ordered 35 Tiger Moth Is which were designated the DH.60T. A subsequent order was placed for 50 aircraft powered by the de Havilland Gipsy Major I engine (130hp) which was designated the DH.82A Tiger Moth II. The Tiger Moth entered service at the RAF Central Flying School in February 1932. By the start of WWII the RAF had 500 of the aircraft and large numbers of civilian Tiger Moths were requisitioned to meet the demand trainers.

By the end of World War II, over 7,000 Tiger Moths had been built; 4,005 of Tiger Moth IIs were built during the war specifically for the RAF. Nearly half the aircraft were built by the Morris Motor Company. A further 151 were built in Norway, Sweden and Portugal and 2,949 were built by other countries of the British Commonwealth. Canada supplied 200 Tiger Moths to the USAAF which designated them as the PT-24.

A radio-controlled target tug version of the Tiger Moth II called the Queen Bee was also built with nearly 300 in service at the start of WWII. The Fleet Air Arm operated small numbers of the Tiger Moth II and the Queen Bee.

Related content
Related Development	Gipsy Moth
Similar Aircraft	Boeing-Stearman Kaydet
Designation Series	DH.77 - DH.80 - DH.81 - DH.82 - DH.83 - DH.84 - DH.85
Related Lists	List of aircraft of the RAF

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