Opponent Airplane Type · AT006
Airco D.H.2
A Fighter by Aircraft Manufacturing Company.
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Description
Forming the equipment of the first British single-seat fighter squadron, the D.H.2 was introduced in 1916 as a sturdy biplane to counter the Fokker E-series. A pusher configuration was selected as the UK lacked a gun interrupter gear; the original mounting allowed elevation of the gun, but this was soon turned into a fixed mounting as pilots learned to aim the complete aeroplane at the target, using the highly responsive controls to wring the best performance out of this nimble machine. Production amounted to some 400 aircraft, and from spring 1916 the D.H.2 was instrumental in defeating the 'Fokker Scourge' and thereby giving the British air superiority. For lack of a replacement the type soldiered on into mid-1917. (Source: The International Encyclopedia of Aircraft, Oriole Publishing, 1991)