The De Havilland DH103 Hornet is a British, twin-engine, wooden-frame heavy fighter from the end of World War II. Despite its external similarity, it is not a development of the Mosquito aircraft, but a completely new design. Work on it began in the de Havilland factories as early as 1942, initially as a private enterprise. Its main task was to fight Japanese fighters in the Far East. This, in turn, had an impact on the necessary performance of the machine - long range, speed and high maneuverability. Initially, the British Air Ministry was not interested in the project, but in 1943 it changed its point of view. The flight of the first prototype took place in July 1944. Despite minor problems, the plane lived up to expectations. Serial production started at the end of 1944, and on February 28, 1945, the first units for the line units were delivered. They were powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin 130 and 131 engines with a capacity of 2030 HP each, which rotated in opposite directions, which significantly improved the take-off and landing of the machine. The land version of the DH103 was not used during World War II, but successfully served during the battles with guerrillas in Malaya from 1950 to 1955. At the beginning of 1945, a sea version (Sea Hornet) was also created, which, after passing numerous tests, was ordered by the Royal Navy under the designation Se Hornet F.20. This version was powered by two Merlin 130/131 engines. 76 examples of the F.20 model were built. The F.20 modernization was the NF.21 version, which had an installed ASH radar and served as a night-board fighter. A total of 350 Hornet aircraft of all versions were built. The last one was withdrawn from service in 1956. Technical data: Maximum speed: 760 km / h, speed of climb: 20.3 m / s, maximum ceiling 10,058 m, maximum range: 4,828 km, armament: fixed - 4 Hispano Mk.V 20mm cannons, suspended - up to 908 kg of bombs and up to 216 kg of unguided rockets.
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