Ajay Kumar at 15:55, 28 August 2023

2023-08-28T15:55:23Z

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{{more citations needed|date=June 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
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The '''de Havilland Moths''' were a series of light aircraft, sports planes, and military trainers designed by [[Geoffrey de Havilland]]. In the late 1920s and 1930s, they were the most common civilian aircraft flying in Britain, and during that time every light aircraft flying in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] was commonly referred to as a Moth, regardless if it was [[de Havilland]]-built or not.
==Development and models==
The first Moth was the [[De Havilland DH.60 Moth|DH.60]] - a straight-winged [[biplane]] two-seater. To enable storing the plane in small spaces, the DH.60's wings could fold backwards against the fuselage. "Like a [[moth]]" remarked Geoffrey de Havilland, an avid [[lepidopterist]],{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} so the plane was nicknamed '''Moth''' from the drawing board on.

The Moth was one of the first practical [[light aircraft]] designs to be intended for civilian training and recreational use, rather than for military buyers. The Moth was also one of the first light aircraft to be mass produced, and was available to a much wider section of the general public than previous aircraft designs.

First variations of the name began with changes in the engine used for the DH.60: Variants with a [[Cirrus Major|Cirrus Hermes]], [[Armstrong Siddeley Genet]], or [[de Havilland Gipsy]] engine became "Hermes Moth", "Genet Moth", or "Gipsy Moth", respectively. The original [[ADC Cirrus]]-powered DH.60 retroactively became the "Cirrus Moth". As the DH.60 became more and more popular, de Havilland decided to cash in on the fame of the original by giving each of his new designs a name ending with ''Moth''.

First of them was the [[de Havilland Giant Moth|DH.61]], a giant five-passenger biplane aptly called "Giant Moth". Other Moths include the [[De Havilland Leopard Moth|Leopard Moth]] and [[De Havilland Hornet Moth|Hornet Moth]] cabin biplanes, the [[De Havilland Puss Moth|Puss Moth]] cabin monoplane and the [[De Havilland Moth Minor|Moth Minor]] low-wing two-seater. The most famous of the Moths, however, for sheer numbers built (nearly 9,000), is the [[De Havilland Tiger Moth|DH.82 Tiger Moth]] - a biplane trainer used during the Second World War in Britain and the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], and the aircraft in which all Second World War [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] pilots learned to fly.
==Variations==
{|class=wikitable
|-
|+de Havilland "Moth" aircraft
|-
!Name
!Number
!Notes
!Produced
!Named after
|-
|[[De Havilland DH.60 Moth|Moth]], [[De Havilland Gipsy Moth|Gipsy Moth]] and Moth Major||DH.60||biplane||some||''[[Lymantria dispar]]''
|-
|[[De Havilland Giant Moth|Giant Moth]]||DH.61||biplane, 8 passengers||10||
|-
|[[De Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth|Tiger Moth Racer]]||DH.71||monoplane||2||some of the [[Arctiinae (moth)|Arctiinae]]
|-
|[[De Havilland Hawk Moth|Hawk Moth]]||DH.75||monoplane, 4 seats||8||some of the [[Sphingidae]]
|-
|[[De Havilland Puss Moth|Puss Moth]]||DH.80A||monoplane||284||''[[Megalopyge opercularis]]'' or ''[[Cerura vinula]]''
|-
|[[De Havilland Swallow Moth|Swallow Moth]]||DH.81||monoplane||1||
|-
|[[De Havilland Tiger Moth|Tiger Moth]]||DH.82||biplane||8,868||some of the [[Arctiinae (moth)|Arctiinae]]
|-
|[[De Havilland Fox Moth|Fox Moth]]||DH.83||biplane||154||''[[Macrothylacia rubi]]''
|-
|[[De Havilland Leopard Moth|Leopard Moth]]||DH.85||monoplane||133||''[[Zeuzera pyrina]]'' or ''[[Hypercompe scribonia]]''
|-
|[[De Havilland Hornet Moth|Hornet Moth]]||DH.87||biplane||164||''[[Sesia apiformis]]''
|-
|[[De Havilland Moth Minor|Moth Minor]]||DH.94||monoplane||about 140||
|}

The prototype of the [[De Havilland Dragon|DH.84 Dragon]] light passenger plane was originally called "Dragon Moth", but later the "moth" in its name was dropped as the plane was a civilian airliner and the name moth was to be used for sports planes only.

==1979 Rally==

In June 1979 a rally of 63 De Havilland planes (mainly Tiger Moths) undertook a staged race from the De Havilland aerodrome at [[Hatfield Aerodrome|Hatfield]] to [[Strathallan]] airfield in [[Perthshire]] over three consecutive days. The rally marked the 50th anniversary of the Gypsy Engine Reliability Tour in 1929. Titled the "DH MOTH AIR RALLY" it was sponsored by the [[Famous Grouse]]. Planes reached Strathallan on Saturday 30 June 1979 and there was an aerobatic display open to the public on the following day.<ref>The Famous Grouse DH Moth Rally 1979: Souvenir Programme</ref>

==References==
<references />

{{de Havilland aircraft}}

[[Category:De Havilland aircraft|*]]

[[de:De Havilland D.H.60]]

De Havilland Moth - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 15:55, 28 August 2023