De Havilland: DH 53
Note: This is a sub-section of De Havilland.
The de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird is a British light aircraft of the 1920s.
In response to the Daily Mail Light Aeroplane Competition of 1923 de Havilland built two DH.53s which were named Humming Bird and Sylvia II. The DH.53 was a low-wing single-seat monoplane powered by a Douglas 750 cc motor-cycle engine. At Lympne in October 1923 the DH.53s did not win any prizes but gave an impressive performance for a light aircraft. The Air Ministry subsequently became interested in the design and ordered eight in 1924 as communications and training aircraft for the Royal Air Force.
Early in 1924 twelve aircraft were built at Stag Lane Aerodrome and were named Humming Bird after the first prototype. Eight aircraft were for the Air Ministry order, three were for export to Australia, and one was exported to Aero in Prague. One further aircraft was later built for an order from Russia.
The production aircraft were powered by a 26 hp (19 kW) Blackburne Tomtit two-cylinder engine.
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