De Havilland D.H.104 Devon
Specifications
RNZAF serial no. NZ1803
Currently stored in the Reserve Collection
Can be viewed on the Daily Tour
The British-made de Havilland Devon was the RNZAF’s primary navigation trainer for nearly 30 years.
The Devon was the military variant of the highly-successful civilian airliner, the de Havilland Dove, which had been developed immediately after World War Two. The RNZAF operated a fleet of 30 Devons between 1952 and 1980, primarily for navigation and signals training at Wigram. A small number were based at Ohakea for use on general transport and VIP duties, and multi-engine conversion training.
NZ1803 was one of the initial order for 10 training Devons (six navigation and four signals trainers). The aircraft was flown from Britain to New Zealand by an RNZAF crew, arriving at Wigram in March 1952. It served with the Air Navigation School (later, Navigation, Air Electronics and Telecommunications Training Squadron – NATTS) at Wigram until its retirement in 1980, when it was transferred to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand’s collection.
The Museum also has another Devon, NZ1813, currently on loan at RNZAF Base Ohakea.
