de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth II G-MAZY NAHR – Significant
With Valentine’s Day this week, when we celebrate our love with our partners, it’s an ideal opportunity to show how one man shared his love after the loss of his wife with this week’s Aircraft of the Week. By J McGeachie
Tiger Moth G-MAZY arrived at the museum in the summer of 1995, affectionally named ‘Maisie’ in memory of the restorer’s Harry Hodgson late wife, who himself sadly died following the aircraft being placed loan.
Designed by Geoffrey de Havilland also an amateur lepidopterist when he saw the plane’s ability to retract its wings against the fuselage was similar to the moth gave it its name. The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company, operated by the RAF as a primary trainer aircraft. Having strengthened the structure and solved access to the front cockpit by shifting the upper wing forward, sweeping the wings back to maintain the same centre of lift and installing fold-down doors for easier cockpit access. The prototype E6 flown by de Havilland Chief Test Pilot Hubert Broad first flew on 26th October 1931 at Stag Lane Aerodrome in Edgware.
Designed in the early 1930s and produced up until 1945 around 8,300 were built, of which some 3,433 were built by Morris Motors at Cowley as a two-seat primary trainer aircraft. Its length was 23 feet 11 inches; wingspan 29 feet 4 inches; maximum speed 109 mph; cruise speed 67 mph with range of 302 miles; climbing to a height of 13,600 feet powered by a single de Havilland Gipsy Major1 4-cylinder piston engine fitted with a hood over the rear cockpit for blind flying instruction. Commonly named Tiger Moth II in RAF.
During World War II there were hundreds in service. Some operated by RAF Coastal Command for surveillance flights over coastal waters, known as "scarecrow patrols", which without radios would force U boats to dive; one remaining in the area whilst the other would lead naval patrol vessels back to the spot. They were said to even carry homing pigeons in a wicker basket who themselves could be sent to call for help in case of an invasion from sea. As well as operating in maritime surveillance and defensive anti-invasion preparations, some even functioned as armed light bombers, remaining in service with the RAF until superseded by the de Havilland Chipmunk.
Post World War II many Tiger Moths were sold as surplus aircraft, and some were converted into four-seat cabin biplanes known as the Thruxton Jackaroo, by the Thruxton Aircraft Company. Significant parts of G-MAZY are believed to have been earmarked for such a conversion. These parts were originally acquired by one of our founder Nev Franklin and were stored at Abbott’s Yard in Newark. With some sources citing parts as coming from DE561.
Harry Hodgson later acquired these frames from Neve Franklin, which were used in the restoration project at the Cotswold Aircraft Restoration Group’s (CARG) base at Innsworth. The project took Harry Hodgson and CARG members eight years to complete, and is reputed to have used parts from seven different airframes.
Visitors sometimes remark on the unusual appearance of seeing the bare frame left exposed. This was to show G-MAZY’s construction and educate visitors or the aircraft’s design. The unusual registration letters, G-MAZY were applied with special permission of the British Registration Authorities, as a tribute Harry’s late wife Maisie Hodgson.
Harry Hodgson once shared the following comments about this special project, which has often been referred to as, ‘a labour of love!’.
“I bought the aircraft in a terrible state hoping it would help me get over the death of my wife. All the woodwork was replaced and one side of the plane was left open so people can see all cross section works. Having flown a Tiger Moth many times they are a great little training craft for pilots. Only about 80 are still flying in Britain.
No stranger to planes having worked on Dakota during the war, I donate the Tiger Moth as a museum exhibit to ensure the plane is never broken up. It would have cost thousands to return to the air as it was in a terrible state. The wings were stored in a shed and the engine was rusty. I spent two nights each week working on this labour of love, treating it for rust, aiming to rebuild and repaint a lot of it.”
Photo credit Jan McGeachie