How many American DH-4s saw combat?

Short answer

Of the 9,500 D.H.4s ordered from American manufacturers, only 1,885 actually reached France during the war. A total of 6,295 aircraft were built, 4,846 of them in the United States. The Americanised variant was produced by, among others, Boeing, Dayton-Wright, Fisher Body and Standard Aircraft.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Dayton Wright DH-4

From the order to the French front

Orders placed with American industry totalled 9,500 D.H.4s. Of all of them, only 1,885 actually reached France during the war. Production of the type reached 6,295 aircraft, of which 4,846 were built in the United States. In Britain production ended with 1,449 aircraft built. There, orders had been for 1,700 aircraft, intended for the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

Who built them

Several different companies produced that Americanised variant of the D.H.4. Among them were the Boeing Airplane Corporation, the Dayton-Wright Company, the Fisher Body Corporation and the Standard Aircraft Corporation.

The aircraft that crossed the Atlantic

The type was fitted with the 375 hp (280 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. One drawback of the design was the distance between the pilot and the observer, separated by the large main fuel tank. That separation made communication between the two crewmen difficult, especially in combat against enemy fighters.