De Havilland Vampire Aircraft

Vampire F.1, RAF. Copyright: Arvo Vercamer

Production Details

Design Company:

The de Havilland Aircraft Co Ltd

First Flight:

29 September 1943

D.H.100 Vampire:

3 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co Ltd, Hatfield

Vampire F.I:

228 - The English Electric Co Ltd, Preston

Vampire II:

1 - The English Electric Co Ltd, Preston

Vampire F.3:

222 - The English Electric Co Ltd, Preston

Vampire FB.5:

857 - The English Electric Co Ltd, Preston 187 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Hatfield and Hawarden 250 - France

Vampire F.6:

85 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Hatfield and Hawarden 100 - Switzerland

Vampire FB.9:

42 - The English Electric Co Ltd, Preston 224 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Hatfield and Hawarden 51 - The Fairey Aviation Co Ltd, Ringway

Vampire NF.10:

75 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Hatfield and Hawarden

Vampire T.11:

507 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Christchurch, Hatfield and Hawarden 30 - The Fairey Aviation Co Ltd, Ringway

Sea Vampire F.20:

18 - The English Electric Co Ltd, Preston

Sea Vampire T.22:

73 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Christchurch, Hatfield and Hawarden

Vampire F.30:

80 - Australia

Vampire T.33:

35 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Christchurch, Hatfield and Hawarden

Vampire T.34:

5 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Christchurch, Hatfield and Hawarden

Vampire T.35:

69 - Australia

Vampire F.52:

60 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Hatfield and Hawarden 16 - The Fairey Aviation Co Ltd, Ringway 80 - Italy

Vampire T.55:

220 - The de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd, Christchurch, Hatfield and Hawarden 60 - India

SE-535 Mistral:

250 - France

Type Specification

Applies to:

de Havilland Vampire FB.5

Type:

Single seat jet propelled twin boom fighter

Wing:

Cantilever mid wing monoplane. Single I section spar, former ribs and longitudinal stringers with flush riveted Alclad skin

Fuselage:

Composite structure. Main nacelle member is transverse aluminium alloy bulkhead of circular section. Nose piece back to cockpit is monocoque structure with plywood and balsa sandwich skin

Tail Unit:

All metal cantilever structure. Twin fins and rudders mounted above tail booms with tailplane and single elevator between. Tail booms are all metal structure of elliptical section

Landing Gear:

Retractable tricycle type. Main wheels retract outward into wing. Nose wheel retracts backwards into fuselage

Power Plant:

One de Havilland Goblin 2 centrifugal flow turbojet unit rated at 3,100 lb

Accommodation:

Pilot pressurised cockpit ahead of wing leading edge

Armament:

Four 20mm British Hispano cannon in nacelle. Provision for one 1,000 lb bomb under each wing

Span:

38 ft

Length:

30 ft 9 in

Height:

6 ft 2 in

Wing Area:

262 sq ft

Empty:

7,253 lb

All-up:

12,360 lb

Max Speed:

531 mph

Rate of Climb:

4,050 ft/min at sea level

Ceiling:

40,000 ft

Range:

1,170 miles

Preserved in British Museums

Vampire F.I:

VF301 - Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport - Display

Vampire F.3:

VT812 - RAF Museum, Hendon - Display

Vampire FB.5:

VV217 - North East Aircraft Museum, Sunderland - Stored

Vampire FB.6:

J-1008 - De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, London Colney - Display

Vampire FB.9:

WL505 - De Havilland Aviation, Bournemouth Airport - Display

Vampire NF.10:

WM729 - De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, London Colney - Nose WP255 - AeroVenture, Doncaster - Fuselage

Vampire T.11:

WZ515 - Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle Airport - Display WZ518 - North East Aircraft Museum, Sunderland - Display WZ549 - Ulster Aviation Heritage, Langford Lodge Airfield - Display WZ553 - Air Atlantique Classic Flight, Coventry Airport - Stored off-site WZ557 - Highland Aviation Museum, Inverness - Display WZ590 - Imperial War Museum, Duxford Aerodrome - Display XD377 - AeroVenture, Doncaster - Fuselage Stored XD382 - Aeropark, Nottingham East Midlands Airport - Display XD425 - RAF Millom Museum, Haverigg - Fuselage XD434 - Fenland and West Norfolk Aviation Museum, West Walton Highway - Display XD459 - AeroVenture, Doncaster - Restoration XD506 - Jet Age Museum, Gloucestershire Airport - Stored XD534 - Aeropark, Nottingham East Midlands Airport - Display XD542 - Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, Montrose - Display XD547 - Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum, Dumfries - Display XD593 - Newark Air Museum, Winthorpe Showground - Display XD596 - Solent Sky, Southampton - Display XD599 - Sywell Aviation Museum, Sywell Aerodrome - Stored XD616 - Jet Age Museum, Gloucestershire Airport - Stored XD624 - Aviation Veiwing Park, Manchester Airport - Stored XD626 - Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport - Stored XE855 - Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport - Fuselage Stored XE856 - Bournemouth Aviation Museum, Bournemouth - Restoration XE874 - Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, Montrose - Display XE935 - AeroVenture, Doncaster - Display XE946 - Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre, Cranwell - Fuselage XH278 - Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington - Display XH328 - De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, London Colney - Display XJ772 - De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, London Colney - Restoration XK590 - Wellesbourne Wartime Museum, Wellesbourne Mountford Aerodrome - Display XK623 - Caernarfon Air Museum, Caernarfon Aerodrome - Display XK624 - Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton - Display XK625 - Brenzett Aeronautical Museum Trust, Brenzett - Display XK637 - RAF Millom Museum, Haverigg - Display U-1215 - Solent Sky, Southampton - Display

Vampire F.55:

333 - AeroVenture, Doncaster - Fuselage WZ589 - De Havilland Aviation, Bournemouth Airport - Restoration XJ771 - Air Atlantique Classic Flight, Coventry Airport - Airworthy

Sea Vampire I:

LZ551 - Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton Airfield - Display

Sea Vampire F.22:

XA109 - Museum of Flight, East Fortune Aerodrome - Display XA127 - Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton Airfield - Fuselage XA129 - Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton Airfield - Stored XG743 - Imperial War Museum, Duxford Aerodrome - Stored

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