DH9: From Ruin to Restoration: The Extraordinary Story of the Discovery in India and Return to Flight of a Rare WWI Bomber

by Guy Black

Overview

In 2000, upon hearing rumors of aircraft parts being found in a maharaja’s palace in India, Guy Black took a trip that would lead to the most unexpected discovery of his life. Hidden away in a former elephant stable of the maharaja’s palace in Bikaner, Rajasthan was the hulks of at least two DH9 bombers. This was a truly remarkable and important find for no example of this WWI aircraft existed in Britain. Recognizing their importance to the UK’s aviation heritage, and excited by the challenge of restoration, Guy set about negotiating their purchase and returning them back to England.

In DH9: From Ruin to Restoration, Guy Black details the intriguing history of how these two rare aircraft (D-5649 and E-8894) came to be in India under the Imperial Gift Scheme. He also reveals the extraordinary efforts in recovering these two aircraft and the extensive restoration project undertaken to bring them to their former glory. With D-5649 restored as a static and proudly on display at IWM Duxford, he then set about getting E-8894 back to airworthy status.

The book then moves on to the highly anticipated flight of E-8894 and the years of frustration that followed until its maiden flight with ‘Dodge’ Bailey at the controls on 13th May 2019 – making it the only WWI bomber flying anywhere in the world. Told in meticulous detail, this fully illustrated book includes a foreword by Andy Saunders and is a must-have of all WWI and aircraft enthusiasts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781908117335
Publisher:	Grub Street
Publication date:	11/20/2019
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Guy Black is the owner of Retrotec Ltd, an aircraft restoration company. His interest in restoration came after serving an apprenticeship with Weslake & Co.; a company world famous for their expertise in piston-engine technology. After initially setting up a company dedicated to restoring historic racing cars, Guy – alongside Angus Spencer-Nairn – began collecting historic military aircraft. This collection became Historic Aircraft Collection Ltd and is now one of the largest private collection of military aircraft in Europe today. Some of the aircraft that Guy and Retrotec have restored in the past years are displayed in museums worldwide including the RAF Museum, Imperial War Museum, the USAAF Museum and the National Aviation Museum in Canada.

Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Acknowledgements 8

Dramatis Personae 9

Apologia 13

Introduction 14

Chapter 1 The Discovery of Two DH9 Aircraft in India 15

Chapter 2 Background History of the DH9 Aircraft 25

Chapter 3 The Recovery from India 58

Chapter 4 Technical Research and Planning 63

Chapter 5 Static Restoration for the Imperial War Museum 71

Chapter 6 Restoring the Flying DH9 87

Part 1 The Engine, Fuel System and Propeller 88

Part 2 The Fuselage 102

Part 3 The Wings and Struts 111

Part 4 The Undercarriage 114

Part 5 The Armament, Bombs and Bomb Sight 116

Chapter 7 Preparations for Flying the DH9 119

Appendices

1 Specification 144

2 Use of the Negative Lens Bomb Sight 146

3 Allocation of DH9s to India 148

4 Pilot's Notes as Created by Retrotec 149

5 Flight Reference Cards for the Pilots Knee Pad 170

6 Final Test Flight Report 23/6/19 178

7 A Note on Fittings and Fasteners 201

Bibliography 202

Index 204

Editorial Reviews

"The most comprehensive work to date on the DH9, this book is recommended for warbird buffs, restorers, and World War I air war historians."

Air Power History

"...a tour-de-force book on aircraft restoration and is recommended highly."

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