View source for Airco DH.4

{{Aircraft infobox
| name = Airco DH.4
| image = De Havilland DH4 ExCC.jpg
| caption = Airco DH.4. Photo: see the file page on Commons, Public domain, via [[commons:File:De Havilland DH4 ExCC.jpg|Wikimedia Commons]]
| make = Airco
| type = Light bomber / General purpose
| first_flight = August 1916
| status = Retired
| number_built = 6,295, of which 4,846 were built in the United States.
| seats = 2
| engine = Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII, 375 hp
| ceiling = 22,000 ft (DH.4 – Eagle VIII engine)
| gross_weight = 3,472 lb (DH.4 – Eagle VIII engine)
| category = Historic aircraft
}}

The '''Airco DH.4''' is a British two-seat World War I day bomber designed by Geoffrey de Havilland ("DH") for Airco. It was the first British two-seat light day bomber that could defend itself.<ref name="wp"/> In all, 6,295 were built, 4,846 of them in the United States, and it was the only American-built airplane to see combat in World War I.<ref name="wp"/> None are on the U.S. civil register.<ref name="faa"/>

== History ==
The DH.4 first flew in August 1916 and went into action in France on March 6, 1917.<ref name="wp"/> It was planned around a new 160 hp engine that gave trouble, so many different engines were used. Perhaps the best was the 375 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle.<ref name="wp"/>

== Mail planes and airlines ==
After the war many DH.4s went to civil owners and proved especially useful as mail planes. Modified DH.4s started some of the first passenger airline services in Europe.<ref name="wp"/> War-surplus DH.4s became key airplanes for new air forces around the world, and the U.S. Army had its remaining ones rebuilt as the DH.4B and flew them into the early 1930s.<ref name="wp"/>

== Specifications (DH.4 – Eagle VIII engine) ==
<div class="aw-wide">
{| class="wikitable"
! Item !! DH.4 – Eagle VIII engine
|-
| Crew || 2
|-
| Length || 30 ft 8 in
|-
| Wingspan || 43 ft 4 in
|-
| Height || 11 ft
|-
| Wing area || 434 sq ft
|-
| Empty weight || 2,387 lb
|-
| Maximum takeoff weight || 3,472 lb
|-
| Engine || Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII, 375 hp (water-cooled V12 engine)
|-
| Maximum speed || 143 mph
|-
| Service ceiling || 22,000 ft
|}
</div>
Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.<ref name="wp"/>

{{Owner notes}}

== Photos ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
File:Wright Radial Engine in a De Havilland DH-4B airplane (00910460 163).jpg|Wright Radial Engine (R-1) in a De Havilland DH-4B airplane. Photo: US Air Force photo, Public domain
File:A Concise History of the U.S. Air Force Page 06-1.jpg|Airco DH.4. Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
File:DH-4 airmail.jpg|Airco DH.4, US Airmail. Photo: TimVickers, Public domain
File:Airco DH-4 NMUSAF.jpg|Airco DH.4. Photo: Cliff from I now live in Arlington, VA (Outside Washington DC), USA, CC BY 2.0
File:EarlyDH4.jpg|D.H.4 biplane. Photo: British official photographer, Public domain
File:Friends of Jenny DH.4 side view.jpg|The De Havilland DH.4 restoration project from "Friends of Jenny" in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Photo: J. S. Bond, CC BY-SA 4.0
</gallery>
All photos are from [[commons:Main Page|Wikimedia Commons]]; click a photo for its full credit and license.

== Buying a Airco DH.4 ==
{{For sale soon}}

== Sources ==
<references>
<ref name="wp">Wikipedia, "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airco_DH.4 Airco DH.4]", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.</ref>
<ref name="faa">Federal Aviation Administration, [https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/releasable_aircraft_download Releasable Aircraft Database], file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.</ref>
</references>