De Havilland DH.37
1922 sportplane by de Havilland
The de Havilland DH.37 was a British three-seat sporting biplane of the 1920s designed and built by de Havilland for aviator Alan Samuel Butler.
Operational history
The first example was named Sylvia for the sister of Alan Samuel Butler. It flew extensively for five years before being converted to a single-seater and having its engine upgraded to a 300 hp (220 kW) A.D.C. Nimbus. It crashed in June 1927.
The second aircraft was sold to Australia, and was flown by the Controller of Civil Aviation. Sold to the Guinea Gold Company in New Guinea, it was the first aircraft flown in that country. After a forced landing at Wau aerodrome in December 1937 it was put out of commission.
Specifications (DH.37)
Data from De Havilland Aircraft since 1909General characteristics
Crew: One
Capacity: Two passengers
Length: 28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
Wing area: 398 sq ft (37.0 m2)
Empty weight: 2,118 lb (961 kg)
Gross weight: 3,318 lb (1,505 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Falcon III water-cooled V12 engine, 275 hp (205 kW)
Propellers: 4-bladed wood fixed pitch propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 122 mph (196 km/h, 106 kn)
Service ceiling: 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)
See also
1922 in aviation
References
Citations
Bibliography
Donald, David, ed. (1997). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “De Havilland DH.37” is 1922 sportplane by de Havilland. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Havilland and sportplane, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1922 sportplane by de Havilland” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3703981. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1927, 1937, 1922 and 1997.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “De Havilland DH.37”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow De Havilland DH.37 primary sources, De Havilland DH.37 archive and Havilland research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “De Havilland DH.37”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “De Havilland DH.37” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.