De Havilland Hornet
| D.H.103 Hornet Sea Hornet |
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| A de Havilland Hornet F.3 of 64 Squadron. | |
| Role | Land and naval-based fighter aircraft |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | de Havilland |
| First flight | 19 April 1944 |
| Introduction | 1946 |
| Retired | 1956 |
| Primary users |
Royal Air Force Royal Navy |
| Produced | 1945 to 1950 |
| Number built | 383 |
 Footage of RAF Hornet ground operations in Malaysia, 1950
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British Pathé footage of De Havilland's main factory in 1948, featuring Hornets under assembly
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The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet was a twin-piston engined fighter aircraft developed by de Havilland. It further exploited the wooden construction techniques that had been pioneered by the earlier de Havilland Mosquito. Development of the Hornet had started during the Second World War as a private venture, an aim for the aircraft was to conduct long range fighter operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan. However, the war ended before the Hornet reached operational squadron status.
The Hornet entered service with RAF Fighter Command where it equipped several day fighter units and was commonly stationed in the British mainland. It saw combat in the Far East, being used successfully as a strike fighter as part of the British military action taken during the Malayan Emergency. A navalised carrier-capable version, the Sea Hornet, had been envisioned early on and was procured by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.
In the autumn of 1941, the de Havilland company found that it had the spare design capacity to work on a new project. At this point, the Mosquito had entered full-rate production and preliminary work on a jet-propelled fighter aircraft, which would subsequently emerge as the Vampire, was waiting for the production of prototype engines. The company promptly recognised a need for a high-speed, unarmed, night bomber powered by a pair of large Napier Sabre piston engines and a design for such an aircraft was first proposed under the designation D.H. 101 in October 1941. Accordingly, a design team, led by R. E. Bishop with C. T. Wilkins assisting, was assembled with the aim of developing the D.H. 101, which was initially pursued as a private venture.
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