De Havilland Humming Bird

DH.53 Humming Bird
DH.53, G-EBHX, at the Shuttleworth Collection
Role	Ultralight monoplane
Manufacturer	de Havilland
First flight	2 October 1923
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Produced	1923-1924
Number built	15

The de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird is a British light aircraft of the 1920s.

In response to the Daily Mail Light Aeroplane Competition of 1923 de Havilland built two DH.53s which were named Humming Bird and Sylvia II. The DH.53 was a low-wing single-seat monoplane powered by a Douglas 750 cc motorcycle engine. At Lympne, in October 1923, the DH.53s did not win any prizes but gave an impressive performance for a light aircraft. The Air Ministry subsequently became interested in the design and ordered eight in 1924 as communications and training aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

Early in 1924 twelve aircraft were built at Stag Lane Aerodrome and were named Humming Bird after the first prototype. Eight aircraft were for the Air Ministry order, three were for export to Australia, and one was exported to Aero in Prague. One further aircraft was later built for an order from Russia.

The production aircraft were powered by a 26 hp (19 kW) Blackburne Tomtit two-cylinder engine.

The first six aircraft for the Royal Air Force all made their public debut at the 1925 display at RAF Hendon, where they were raced against each other. The last two aircraft would later be used for "parasite aircraft" trials being launched from below an airship - the R.33. The aircraft were retired in 1927 and all eight were sold as civil aircraft.

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