With few funds to buy new aircraft in the years following WWI, the Air Service used the DH-4 in a variety of roles, such as transport, air ambulance, photographic plane, trainer, target tug, forest fire patroller, and even as an air racer. The remaining 7,500 DH-4s still on order were cancelled. By the end of the war, Dayton-Wright delivered 3,106 DH-4s, while the Fisher Body Division of General Motors built 1,600 and the Standard Aircraft Corporation added another 140, bringing the total to 4,846. The many changes involved in converting the design to American production standards, along with the use of the American Liberty 12-cylinder engine rather than the Rolls Royce engine of the British model, contributed to early production delays.Īs the months of 1918 passed, however, quantity and quality improved considerably. The Air Service ordered over 12,000 DH-4s, but a number of problems kept initial production figures low and construction quality poor. companies that built the DH-4 during World War I, the largest producer was the Dayton-Wright Compant of Dayton, Ohio. Both men posthumously received the Medal of Honor. During a resupply mission to this surrounded unit, their DH-4 was shot down. Erwin Bleckley of the 50th Aero Squadron to find and assist the famed "Lost Battalion" on Oct. Perhaps the most notable mission flown in the DH-4 was the brave attempt by 1st Lt. In addition, the location of the gas tank between the pilot and observer limited communication and could crush the pilot in an accident. These problems led to the title of "The Flaming Coffin," even though only eight of the 33 DH-4s lost in combat by the U.S burned as they fell. The pressurized gas tank had a tendency to explode and a rubber fuel line under the exhaust manifold caused some fires. Unfortunately, the early DH-4s had drawbacks, including the fuel system. By war's end, 1,213 DH-4s had been delivered to France. The first American-built DH-4 arrived in France in May 1918, and the 135th Aero Squadron flew the first DH-4 combat mission in early August. By the time it was finally retired from service in 1932, the DH-4 had been developed into over 60 variants.ĭuring World War I, the Air Service used the DH-4 primarily for daytime bombing, observation and artillery spotting. Army Air Service continued to use the DH-4 in a number of roles during the lean years following the war. built aircraft to see combat during World War I. With inadequate funding to buy new aircraft, the newly created U.S. Modeled from a combat-tested British De Havilland design, the DH-4 was the only U.S. When the United States entered WWI in April 1917, the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps only had 132 aircraft, all obsolete. Army Air Service during and after World War I. The DH-4 was an ever-present element of the U.S.
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