British Forces

de Havilland Dragon Rapide

?HISR Airlines/Egyptair

Nice photo of a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide in civilian use by HISR Airlines (an "ancestor" of EgyptAir), refueling at Luxor Airport. The date is unclear; it could be either late prewar or immediate postwar, as it is not certain at what point HISR Airlines started to use the "Rapide". The Dragon Rapide was designed as a short-range civilian passenger airliner. It was judged comfortable and very airworthy (good stability in particular) for an airliner of that period, and was very successful with a wide range of airlines in the late 1930s. Some 200 civilian "Rapides" were produced for civilian use in that period. However, the main user of the aircraft turned out to be the RAF, for whom some 500 were produced in the course of WW2. Apart from being stable and comfortable, the "Rapide" was surprisingly tough, bearing in mind that it was built from plywood. The RAF found it ideal for communications and transport duties (personnel and light freight) through the course of the war. The aircraft in RAF use were designated the de Havilland Dominie. It was on such an aircraft that Charles de Gaulle and General Edward Spears flew from France to England on 17 June, 1940. It may be of further interest that the operators of the pictured aircraft, HISR Airlines, was financed to a degree of 85 per cent by the Egyptian HISR Bank with the intention of promoting Egypt's involvement in aviation. Like the airline (by way of EgyptAir), the HISR Bank still exists, albeit by way of a number of "transformations". Best regards, JR.