de Havilland D.H. 100 Vampire F. Mk 3
The Vampire F.Mk3 pictured here is on loan to the Genesee Warbirds Museum from the Wing of Flight museum Ontario, Canada. This particular example is believed to be the oldest FLYING jet in the world. It is powered by the de Havilland Goblin 2 turbo jet engine providing 3,100 lbs. of thrust and a maximum speed of 548 MPH. This Vampire was operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force until its retirement in 1956, and since then is has had several private owner/operators in the United States. It is currently maintained at the museum facilities at Genesee County airport and can be seen at a variety of air shows.
Vampire History
One of the first jet fighters to take to the sky was the de Havilland D.H.100 Vampire in September 1943. It was a single seat fighter for the RAF that was rushed through the design process, but did not enter service until June of 1946, a little too late for WWII. It was designated the Vampire F.Mk 1. Although the Vampire had originally been ordered for the air combat / interceptor role, the RAF decided to standardize on the Gloster Meteor for that function. That left the issue of what to do with the Vampire, and the logical thing was to adapt it to the ground attack role, replacing the Hawker Tempest. Later models were designation for the fighter-bomber role.
The major problem with all the early jets was its poor range, and the Vampire F.Mk1 was no exception. With internal fuel, typical endurance was only 45 minutes. Adding two 100 Imperial gallon wing tanks would stretch this to two hours. In June 1945, an F.1 was fitted with a new wing that added outer wing tanks, with three tanks in each outer wing along with the original tank in the inner wing, raising the total internal fuel. Along with the increased internal fuel, new external tanks were developed. The larger tanks increased yaw instability, so the tail assembly was modified, featuring larger curved "guitar pick" style tailfins instead of the original trapezoid tailfins, a lower tail plane (to simplify manufacturing), and prominent "acorn" fairings at the junctions of the tail plane and tailfins. With these design improvements came the Vampire F.Mk3 replacing the F.Mk1s. The first Vampire F.Mk3 flew on 4 November 1946. It featured the Goblin 2 engine, which was necessary since maximum takeoff weight had increased by 50%. Range and endurance were as much as doubled.
Deliveries of production aircraft began in the spring of 1947, with a total of 224 built from 1947 into 1949. The bulk of them, 118, went to the RAF. The Royal Navy also obtained six; Canada obtained 86, Norway 10, India 3, and Sweden 1. Two Vampires were shipped to Singapore in early 1948 for test and trials under tropical conditions. Under special arrangement with Australia, eighty were produced by De Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd. Powered by the Australian-made Rolls-Royce Nene engines, they were reclassified as Vampire FB.Mk 30s. The FB.Mk 5 was a version of the F.Mk3 optimized for the purpose of ground attack. With a strengthened wing and shorter span, it was well suited for this role. (This version drew a lot of worldwide interest, and many were sold to, or license-built by, other nations. Italy's Macchi company built at least 80 Vampires, and France's SNCASE built at least 250 Sud-Est SE 535 Mistrals.) The Vampire single seat line came to an end with the Vampire FB.Mk 9, an air-conditioned version of the FB.Mk 5. All told, 1900 single-seat Vampires were built by December 1953 when production ceased. The old jets flew on however, with several remaining in active service in Switzerland until 1990.
Of historic note, the Vampire F.Mk3 was the first jet to cross the Atlantic. On hearing that the Americans were planning a jet crossing, the British decided to trump them. In July 1948, six RAF Vampire F.Mk3s under Squadron Leader R.W. Oxspring became the first jet aircraft to cross the Atlantic, performing hops through Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland to end up in the US. The exercise demonstrated that jet aircraft were suitable for long-range operations.
De Havilland also developed two seat versions of the Vampire. The D.H.113 Vampire NF.Mk 10, was a two seat night fighter. The NF.Mk 10's double-wide seating, like that in the De Havilland Mosquito, led to the development of the D.H. 115 Vampire trainer, notable in aviation history as being one of the first planes with ejection seats. The UK's Fleet Air Arm flew a navalized version of the FB.Mk 5 called the Sea Vampire F.Mk 20.