was not specifically targeted at the type, having commenced prior to the Eindecker's arrival. The first prototype DH.2 performed its first flight in July 1915. Following the completion of its manufacturing trials, on 26 July 1915, the prototype was dispatched to France for operational evaluation, but was lost over the Western Front and was captured by the Germans. Despite the prototype's premature loss, the DH.2 was ordered into quantity manufacture. The production aircraft was generally similar to the prototype with the only major alterations being a fuel system and a revised gun mounting arrangement. Deliveries of the DH.2 commenced during the latter half of 1915 and a handful of aircraft were reportedly operating in France prior to the year's end. A total of 453 DH.2s were produced by Airco. Design The Airco DH.2 was a compact two-bay pusher biplane fighter aircraft. It had a wooden airframe, which was wire-braced and covered by fabric across most areas, except for the nacelle nose and upper decking. Both the upper and lower wings had ailerons fitted. The upper ailerons were spring-loaded to automatically return to a neutral position when the controls were released. The upper part of the nose of the nacelle was cut away so that a machine gun could be mounted there. Unusually, the windshield was mounted on the machine gun rather than to the airframe. The DH.2 was armed with a single Lewis gun which was mounted on a flexible mount. Once pilots learned that the best method of achieving a kill was to aim the aircraft rather than the gun, it was fixed to fire forward, although this was met with skepticism by higher authorities until a quick-release clip was devised at the Squadron level. The clip was devised by Major Lanoe Hawker, who also improved the gunsights and added a ring sight and an "aiming off model" that helped the gunner allow for leading a target. The majority of DH.2s were powered by the Gnôme Monosoupape nine-cylinder, air-cooled rotary engine, however later models received the similarly configured but much improved Le Rhône 9J engine. Some sources state that the Monosoupape was retained in the DH.2 design despite a tendency to shed cylinders midair and a single DH.2 was fitted experimentally with a Le Rhône 9J. In addition to the variety of engines used, the fuel system also differed between individual aircraft. Typically, a gravity-fed fuel tank was used,