From the perspective of a student pilot, the de Havilland Tiger Moth was a relatively stable and forgiving aircraft to fly, possessing few handling vices and being generally supportive of the odd silly mistake by the novice pilot.
It quickly gained a reputation as being an ‘easy aeroplane to fly, but a difficult one to fly well’, qualities which seemed to make this the ideal aircraft to serve as a primary/basic trainer for large numbers of pilots destined to fly operationally during WWII.
At the start of the war, the RAF had around 500 Tiger Moths in service, but would requisition hundreds more from flying clubs up and down the country.
The De Havilland Tiger Moth is a British mixed training biplane with a fixed undercarriage. The prototype flight took place in 1931. The first production version, powered by the 120hp de Havilland Gipsy III engine, was the Mk.I. Soon after, however, the engine was changed to the de Havilland Gipsy Major with 130hp, and this is how the Mk.II version was created. Serial production started in 1933 and continued until 1944. The Tiger Moth was one of the RAF's primary training aircraft during World War II.
Markings
- Scheme A. De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth, BB852/E, Britannia Flight, Britannia Royal Naval College, Roborough, Plymouth, Devon, July 1st, 1965, the last biplanes to land on a British aircraft carrier (HMS Eagle). (A)
- Scheme B. De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth, No.9 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, Royal Air Force Ansty, Warwickshire, England, October 1940. (B)
