Airco DH . 1 The Airco DH . 1 was an early military biplane of typical " Farman " pattern flown by Britain ' s Royal Flying Corps during World War I . By the time the powerplant for which it was designed was sufficiently plentiful it was obsolete as an operational aircraft , and apart from a few examples sent to the Middle East it served as a trainer and Home Defence fighter . Design and development . Geoffrey de Havilland was one of the pioneering designers at the Royal Aircraft Factory and was partially or wholly responsible for most pre - war " Factory " designs . When he left to become chief designer at The Aircraft Manufacturing Company ( Airco ) in 1914 , his first design was strongly reminiscent of the F . E . 2 , one of the last designs on which he had worked at the Royal Aircraft Factory . Like the F . E . 2 , the DH . 1 was of pusher configuration , accommodating its pilot and observer in two open tandem cockpits in the nose , the observer ' s cockpit was stepped down below the pilot ' s and equipped with a machine gun . The wings were of typical fabric - covered , two - bay , unstaggered , unswept , equal span design , while the stabiliser and rudder were carried on the end of two long , open - framework booms . The type , like the F . E . 2b , was designed for the water - cooled Beardmore 120 hp ( 89 kW ) inline engine . However , all available Beardmore engines were required for F . E . 2b and R . E . 5 production , so the air - cooled Renault 70 hp ( 52 kW ) V8 engine was installed instead . The prototype was fitted with aerofoils attached to the side of the fuselage nacelle , that could be rotated through 90 degrees to act as air brakes , an unusual feature for the time , although this was soon removed . It had a fixed conventional landing gear with the main wheels carried on vee - struts , with coil springs and oleos being used in the undercarriage suspension . In January 1915 , Geoffrey de Havilland carried out the maiden flight of the D . H . 1 prototype at Hendon . Although underpowered when fitted with the Renault engine , performance was still reasonable , and the type was ordered into production , with an initial order of 49 being placed . Airco was already occupied with building and designing other aircraft , so DH . 1 production was undertaken by Savages Limited of King ' s Lynn , previously manufacturing fairground equipment . These aircraft used a simpler rubber cord suspension , and had a revised cockpit coaming to give a better field of fire for the observer ' s gun . Production was initially very slow , and only five examples of the type had reached the RFC by the end of 1915 . Later production machines were fitted with the Beardmore , which had become more plentiful , being redesignated the DH . 1A . Although testing of the DH . 1A showed it to be at least as good as the F . E . 2b , this was hardly a recommendation , as the F . E . was itself already slated for replacement with more modern tractor types . Nonetheless , a further order for 50 DH . 1As was placed with Savages . By the time the DH . 1 had entered production , a " follow - up " was already being considered as the first single - seat D . H . 2 had already made its maiden flight in June 1915 . Designed essentially as a smaller version of the D . H . 1 , the D . H . 2 was to ultimately become of one of the most important British fighters during the period . Operational history . The DH . 1 saw operational service only in the Middle East theatre , where six Beardmore powered DH . 1As arrived in July 1916 . These were used by No . 14 Squadron RFC as escorts for their B . E . 2 reconnaissance aircraft . An Aviatik two - seater was claimed by a 14 Squadron D . H . 1A on 2 August 1916 for the only known victory of the type . The last known action by a DH . 1 was on 5 March 1917 , when one was shot down during a bombing raid on Tel el Sheria . No . 14 Squadron became an R . E . 8 unit in November 1917 ; it seems probable the last operational DH . 1 had gone before that date . The other DH . 1s served in training with 43 aircraft allotted and Home Defence units in the United Kingdom receiving an additional 24 aircraft , finally being withdrawn from service in 1918 . Total production was one prototype and 99 DH . 1 and DH . 1As , all production examples built by Savages .