{"id":2977,"date":"2026-06-17T15:18:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jaermuseet.no\/flyhistorisk\/?p=2977"},"modified":"2026-06-19T13:26:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:26:42","slug":"de-havilland-dh-114-heron-1b-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jaermuseet.no\/flyhistorisk\/en\/de-havilland-dh-114-heron-1b-2\/","title":{"rendered":"de Havilland DH.114 Heron 1B"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a British passenger\u00a0aircraft from 1950. The aircraft could carry 17 passengers\u00a0and was designed for short-haul operations. It is a further\u00a0development of the de Havilland DH.104 Dove from 1945.\u00a0Compared to its predecessor, the de Havilland DH.114 has\u00a0a slightly longer fuselage and four engines instead of two.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first version of the aircraft had fixed landing gear,\u00a0meaning that the wheels could not be retracted into the\u00a0fuselage. Later versions were fitted with retractable\u00a0landing gear. The cruise speed was relatively low, but the\u00a0aircraft was robust and well suited for operations from\u00a0unpaved airstrips. Despite a total production run of only\u00a0149 aircraft, the Heron was exported to\u00a0around 30 countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Norway, the aircraft type was operated by\u00a0four airlines: Braathens SAFE, Vestlandske\u00a0Luftfartsselskap, Nor Flyselskap AS, and\u00a0Fjellfly. Braathens SAFE was among the first\u00a0airlines to introduce the type. The company\u00a0purchased six aircraft and became one of\u00a0the world\u2019s largest operators of the Heron.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Braathens SAFE was established by shipowner\u00a0Ludvig G. Braathen in 1946. Many\u00a0of the company\u2019s ships operated between\u00a0ports in Asia and South America, and\u00a0changing crews was difficult. The solution\u00a0was to establish an airline that could\u00a0transport seafarers between Norway and\u00a0the shipping company\u2019s ports of call in\u00a0distant regions. SAFE was an abbreviation\u00a0for South American and Far East Air\u00a0Transport. In 1954, SAS was granted a\u00a0monopoly on international routes, and\u00a0Braathens SAFE was forced to discontinue\u00a0its long-haul services. The shipowner\u00a0nevertheless wished to continue his aviation\u00a0venture, and the solution was to focus on\u00a0domestic routes instead. It was at this point\u00a0that the Heron aircraft were purchased.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aircraft were not pressurised and\u00a0typically flew at altitudes between two and\u00a0three thousand\u00a0metres. They had modest\u00a0requirements for runways and other infrastructure.\u00a0Their versatility led to the aircraft\u00a0becoming known as \u201cthe air bus\u201d.\u00a0Braathens SAFE\u2019s domestic routes proved\u00a0highly successful, and the de Havilland\u00a0aircraft soon became too small. By the late\u00a01950s, they were replaced by the Fokker\u00a0F.27 Friendship.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The museum\u2019s aircraft dates from 1953\u00a0and belongs to the first production series\u00a0without retractable landing gear. Its first\u00a0owner was Garuda Indonesian Airways,\u00a0which used the aircraft on routes between\u00a0Jakarta and major cities and islands in\u00a0Indonesia. After three years, the aircraft was\u00a0sold to Field Aircraft Service in England.\u00a0From 1957 it was operated by Morten Air\u00a0Service. In 1972 it was purchased by\u00a0Fjellfly, but the company went bankrupt\u00a0shortly thereafter. In the mid-1980s, the\u00a0aircraft was acquired by Flyhistorisk\u00a0Museum Sola, becoming the museum\u2019s very\u00a0first aircraft. The aircraft was restored,\u00a0painted in Braathens SAFE livery, and given\u00a0the registration LN-PSG. It represents the\u00a0aircraft with serial number 14002, which\u00a0was operated by Braathens SAFE between\u00a01952 and 1957.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Type<\/strong><\/td>| Short-haul passenger aircraft<\/td><\/tr> | First flight<\/strong><\/td> | 1950<\/td><\/tr> | Length<\/strong><\/td> | 14.8 m<\/td><\/tr> | Wingspan<\/strong><\/td> | 21.8 m<\/td><\/tr> | Height<\/strong><\/td> | 4.8 m<\/td><\/tr> | Weight, empty and max<\/strong><\/td> | 3700 \/ 6100 kg<\/td><\/tr> | Engines<\/strong><\/td> | 4x de Havilland Gipsy Queen 30 Mk.2<\/td><\/tr> | Power<\/strong><\/td> | 4x 250 hp<\/td><\/tr> | Top speed<\/strong><\/td> | 295 km\/h<\/td><\/tr> | Range<\/strong><\/td> | 1475 km<\/td><\/tr> | Crew<\/strong><\/td> | 2x\u00a0pilot<\/td><\/tr> | Passenger capacity<\/strong><\/td> | 17<\/td><\/tr> | Country of origin<\/strong><\/td> | United Kingdom<\/td><\/tr> | Museum number<\/strong><\/td> | FMSG2010.10.01<\/td><\/tr> | Project leader<\/strong><\/td> | Harald Storli, Kjell Naas<\/td><\/tr> | Volunteer hours<\/strong><\/td> | 1136<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n | <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a British passenger\u00a0aircraft from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":2918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","featured-image-size-large"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n |