From early 1917 the aircraft settled to a steady career as a reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber on the Western Front and in Palestine and Italy, remaining active until the Armistice, when they were in service with 15 RAF squadrons.
Designed as a replacement for the BE2c in the reconnaissance and light bomber roles, the prototype RE8 was first flown on 17 June 1916.
It was a single-bay biplane with two-spar wooden wings and wooden fuselage. The entire airframe was fabric covered. Conventional control surfaces with ailerons on all four wings. There was an adjustable incidence tailplane.
The RE8 was not a very manoeuvrable machine but it made up for this with two or three machine gun armament. Various engines were fitted in place of the original 150hp RAF 4A, including a 200hp Hispano-Suiza.
During the course of the latter half of World War I, 4,077 R.E.8 were built for the RFC/RAF and a few for Belgium. R.E.8s for British service standardised on the 112kW RAF 4a engine with a variable-pitch airscrew and were known as the ‘Harry Tate’. During a brief spell on the Western Front in late 1916 several were lost through accidents, resulting in their temporary withdrawal. The tendency to spin was reduced by fitting a ventral fin at the base of the tail. This further reduced what little agility the RE.8 had.
The RE.8 reconnaissance machine performed well as the equipment of the Australian 3 AFC, and one crew brought down the Albatros DVa on display in the Australian War Memorial.
Despite it faults and the loss of an entire flight of six R.E,8’s of No.59 Squadron to von Richthofen’s circus in April 1917, the R.E.8 served until the end of the war. After the war RE8s served with the RAF overseas and equipped Nos 6, 30 and 208 Squadrons until the end of 1919.
RE.8
Engine: 1 x R.A.F.4a, 150 hp / 112kW
Span: 42ft 7in upper
Span: 32 ft 7.5in lower
Length: 8.5 m / 28 ft 11 in
Height: 3.47 m / 11 ft 5 in
Wing area: 35.07 sq.m / 377.49 sq ft
Max take off weight: 1300 kg / 2866 lb
Empty weight: 717 kg / 1581 lb
Speed: 98 mph
Endurance: 4 hr 30 min
ROC: 340 fpm to 6500ft
Ceiling: 4115 m / 13500 ft
Armament: 1 x Vickers mg, 2 x 7.7mm Lewis machine-guns
Bombload: 100kg
Seats: 2
RE.8a
Engine: 1 x 200-h.p. Hispano-Suiza
Span: 42ft 7in
Seats: 2
All Aero 