Operator’s Handbook
Known as the ‘aerial kiddy car’, this unique design was Britain’s first post-war jet fighter
The de Havilland Vampire was built to a 1941 requirement for a jet interceptor, issued against a fear that Germany would develop jet bombers. It first flew in September 1943, and entered frontline service in 1946 with the Royal Air Force (RAF). Initially short-ranged, it was the fastest aircraft ever built at that time, with a top speed of 540mph (870km/h). In 1948 a formation of Vampires became the first jet aircraft to cross the Atlantic. Its diminutive look led to the nickname the ‘aerial kiddy car’.
The Vampire had a much less conventional design than its contemporary, the Gloster Meteor, and with its twin-boom tail and oval fuselage demonstrated that British designers could think as far outside the box as their better-known German counterparts. Still, the Vampire was also less versatile than the Meteor, with less capacity in the airframe for development and adaptation. The fighter variant left service with the RAF in 1953, but the Vampire served much longer as a night-fighter (the first jet to do so), trainer and ground-attack aircraft, the latter seeing combat in the Far East and Africa. It would serve in 15 variants in over 30 air forces around the world.
ARMAMENT
The Vampire’s main armament was four Hispano 20mm (0.79in) cannon, each with 150 rounds of ammunition, fitted underneath the nose. These were used in the fighter/interceptor variant, and also in the night-fighter, which had an expanded cockpit to allow for an Airborne Interception set in the nose, and a se
