A very curious Airco (?) DH

[KRK4m]

The picture inserted below came to light after spending last (at least) 90 years in some Polish drawer. Other photos from this find show several Polish aviators and various planes of the 1917-25 period.

Most of them concern the 1919-20 war against the Soviet Russia (few are older and few show the later period) and all were taken in eastern part of Poland.

At first the plane itself looks like the DH.9 (20 of them were received in 1920 as the King George V gift for the Polish Army), but the pilot cockpit is just behind the engine and the side radiators were never used on the DH.9 (AFAIK). The engine is an inline six or eight and the prop turns anti-clockwise when seen from ahead (clockwise from the cockpit).

Several options appear possible but all we know for sure is some snow on the ground

• It can be the Russian Dux-built DH.4 powered by Mercedes D.IV or AS Puma engine and the picture can be taken in the winter of 1917/18 (there was a Polish aero unit within the Russian White army)
• It can be the a/c as described above but the photo is taken later, as the very plane could be captured during the 1919-20 war
• It can be the high-gear Airco DH.4 (if at least one of the mentioned 20 DH.9s was in reality an inline-engined DH.4) powered by the BHP, Puma or FIAT A,12
• If you can see (I cannot TBH) the bevel camshaft gear it can be the sole Polish Airco DH fitted in 1924 with original Austro Daimler engine (hundreds have been taken from Austrian stocks in 1918)

Maybe the side-mounted radiator can be of some help here. Can I hear your votes, Gentlemen?

Cheers

Michael

 

 

[Brandy]

The cockpits look too far apart to be a DH9 so I'd say a 4, although difficult to tell on my phone. The engine certainly looks German.

 

Ian

[Mr T]

The cockpit positions certainly look more like a DH4 and Dux built some as you say. apparently the russian aircrqaft were fitted with Fiat engines. Unfortunately my copy of the Air Britain DH4/9/9a book is unhelpful about Polish DH4's. 

[stevehed]

The Dux company was to start production of the Airco DH4 in October 1917 but the Revolution forestalled any meaningful production. In fact it wasn’t until 1920 that DH4 production began when some Fait 260hp, Mercedes 260hp and Puma 230hp engines were acquired. Twenty aircraft were built circa 1920-21. The radiators look like Lamblin types that were installed on Farmans and Voisins. Both were built in quantity in Russia which suggests a Russian origin for the DH in the photo. It has the water tower similar to the DH9 so my guess is a Bolshevik DH4 with a Puma engine.

 

Regards, Steve