Designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough by H P Folland, Goodden, and Kenworthy at Farnborough in 1916, the prototype flew on 22 November 1916 but was lost one month later following collapse of its wings. After the design had been strengthened, the S.E.5 soon acquired a reputation for sturdiness.

The first production aircraft had the 150hp Hispano-Suiza fitted and were designated SE5. a single-seat biplane ‘fighting scout’, with ailerons on all wings.

The later SE5a had the 200 or 220hp Hispani-Suiza or 200hp Wolseley Viper engine. It could climb to 10,000 feet in 11 minutes 20 seconds and it had a service ceiling of 20,000 feet. The Viper version had a maximum speed at sea level of 138 mph.

Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a Article

Armament was a single fixed .303in Vickers machine-gun, firing through the propeller and/or one .303in Lewis gun with four 97 round ammunition drums mounted over the wing. Four 25 lb Cooper bombs could be carried under the fuselage.

In 1918 one experimental SE.5b, modified from an S.E.5, was built.

The third prototype of the S.E.5 flew at Farnborough on 12 January 1917 powered by a 200hp geared Hispano-Suiza 8B water-cooled eight-cylinder V-type engine, but otherwise similar to the 150hp-engined earlier prototypes. While production deliveries of the 200hp engine were awaited, airframe modifications were introduced in the light of early experience with the first production batch of S.E.5s. In particular, the wing rear spars were shortened at the tips to provide greater strength, this serving to blunt the previously raked tips and reduce overall span by 39.4cm. At the same time, lateral control was improved by shortening the levers on the ailerons. With a small Avro-type windscreen in place of the S.E.5’s voluminous structure, a small fabric-covered head fairing behind the cockpit, the blunt wings and the standard Vickers + Lewis gun armament, the version with 200hp engine became the subject of large-scale production as the S.E.5a, starting with part of the second batch S.E.5s already ordered from the RAF.

Flying the SE.5A

Two hundred more were built at Farnborough itself and, in addition, by the time the war came to an end in November 1918, some 5125 S.E.5a’s had been built by five companies in less than 18 months: Austin (1,550), Bleriot & Spad (560), Martinsyde (400), Vickers (2,215) and Wolseley (400). Production of the 200hp Hispano (in several sub-variants, and including licence-production by Wolseley as the W.4B Adder I, II and III) failed to keep pace with this prodigious output, and numerous operational difficulties with the engine enhanced the problem. Consequently, many S.E.5a’s were fitted (without change of designation) with the 200hp direct-drive Wolseley W.4A Viper, a derivative of the French engine. At least six S.E.5a’s were flown with the 200hp Sunbeam Arab I (geared) or Arab II (direct drive) water-cooled eight-cylinder engine in trials at Farnborough, and some production aircraft received high-compression versions of the French-built Hispano-Suiza engine, increasing maximum output to 220hp.

S.E.5s entered service with No. 56 Squadron in France in April 1917, and were followed by the improved S.E.5a with 200 240 hp versions of the Hispano and later the 200 hp Wolseley Viper. The higher powered Hispanos gave persistent trouble at first, but when this was overcome the little fighter soon showed itself the master of the formidable Albatros and Pfalz scouts used by the enemy. Its standard armament comprised one Vickers gun on the engine cowling and a Lewis gun on a movable mounting above the centre ¬section, which enabled it to be fired upwards if required. Light bombs were often added for ground attack duties. Altogether 5205 S.E.5’s and S.E.5A’s were built.

Twenty-two squadrons of the RFC and the US Air Service were flying the S.E.5a by the time of the Armistice, but this brought an end to planned largescale production by Curtiss in the US when only one of 1,000 on order had been completed (in addition to 56 assembled from British components). Service use continued on a small scale for only a short time after the end of the war, in Australia, Canada and South Africa as well as with the RAF.

The final aircraft built at Farnborough against contracts for 74 S.E.5s placed in 1917 was used early the following year for an experimental programme aimed at improving the performance and fighting ability of the type. Fitted with a 200hp Hispano-Suiza 8B engine and armed with the Lewis and Vickers gun combination of the standard S.E.5a, it had new single-bay wings of unequal span and chord. In addition, a retractable radiator was provided in the forward fuselage, and a large, shallow, propeller spinner was fitted, to combine with a re-profiled cowling and give better streamlining of the fuselage. The head-fairing behind the cockpit was also improved. Tests in 1918 revealed little performance gain or handling benefit, with the extra drag of the big upper wing offsetting gains from the more streamlined fuselage. Standard S.E.5a wings were fitted to the S.E.5b in 1919, as well as a modified horizontal tail, for comparative testing at Martlesham Heath, and this aircraft made an appearance at the RAF Pageant at Hendon in 1920.

The SE.5a was one of the outstanding fighters of the First World War. About 5,000 were produced, serving with twenty Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force) squadrons over the Western Front. They also equipped the 25th and 148th Aero Squadrons of the US Air Service. Four squadrons flew the type on Home Defence duties.

It was used by twenty-four squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force in France, Palestine, Macedonia, Mesopotamia and the United Kingdom, and replacing the DH5 as the equipment of the Australian 2 AFC late in 1917, and two of the United States Air Service on the Western Front.

Some famous British fighter aces scored many of their victories while flying S.E.5a’s, including V.C. winners Mannock (73 victories), Bishop (72), and McCudden (57).

The RAAF received 35 SE.5As from Britain in 1921 as an ‘Imperial Gift’. Only a handful had been reassembled by 1925 for Nos 1 and 3 Squadrons and many were so deteriorated in storage that 14 were never flown.

Of the five-and-a-half thousand built, 2,700 were left at the end of the war. These gradually found their way into civilian hands and are credited with having pioneered skywriting. The basic airframe/engine price at the time was 2,067 pounds.

In 1922 Eberhart Aeroplane & Motor Co Inc assembled 50 British-designed S.E.5E fighters from spare parts, “E” suffix denoting company name and plywood-covered fuselage.

RAF SE5 Profile

Gallery

Replicas –

Scale Replica:
Replica Plans SE.5a
McGowan & Goguillot SE-5a
Wienberg SE5A
Miles Marine and Structural Plastics Ltd S.E.5a
Slingsby T.56

Ultralight Replica:
Loehle SE-5
Squadron Aviation SE.5A

Specifications:

SE.5
Engine: 1 x 150-h.p. Hispano-Suiza
Span: 26ft 7.5in
Loaded wt: 1,930 lb
Speed: 119 mph
Seats: 1

Engine: 1 x RAF 4a, 112kW
Max take-off weight: 1300 kg / 2866 lb
Empty weight: 717 kg / 1581 lb
Wingspan: 12.98 m / 43 ft 7 in
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. speed: 164 km/h / 102 mph
Ceiling: 4115 m / 13500 ft
Armament: 2 x 7.7mm machine-guns, 100kg of bombs

SE.5a
Engine One 200 h.p. Hispano Suiza
Length 21 ft. (6.4 m.)
Wing span 26.6 ft. (8.1 m)
Height: 2.89 m / 10 ft 6 in
Wing area: 22.83 sq.m / 245.74 sq ft
Weight empty 1,400 lb. (635 kg.)
Max take-off weight: 929 kg / 2048 lb
Seats: 1
Endurance: 2.5 hr
Armament: 1 x Vickers gun / 400 rds, 1 x Lewis gun / 4 x 97 rds
Max cruise speed: 138 m.p.h. (220 kph)
Ceiling 17,000 ft. (5,200 m.) fully loaded.

SE5A
Engine: Wolseley W4 Viper, 200 hp
Span 26 ft. 7.5 in
Wing area 244 sq. ft
Length 20 ft 11 in
Height 9 ft, 6 in
Wing chord 5 ft
Empty weight: 1400 lb
Weight loaded 1,940 lb
Fuel capacity: 35 Imp.Gal
Max. speed 138 mph
Service ceiling: 17,000 ft
Endurance 2.5 hr
Armament: 1 x Vickers mg, 1 x Lewis gun
Bombload: 4 x 25 lb bombs

SE.5b
Engine: 1 x 200-h.p. Wolseley Viper
Max take-off weight: 885 kg / 1951 lb
Wingspan: 9.32 m / 30ft 7 in
Length: 6.35 m / 21 ft 10 in
Height: 2.89 m / 10 ft 6 in
Wing area: 25.83 sq.m / 278.03 sq ft
Seats: 1

SE.5A
Engine: 215 hp Wolseley W4a Viper 8
Wingspan 26 ft 7 in (8.1 m)
Length 20 ft 11 in (6.4 m)
Height 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)

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.

RAF RE.8 Article

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.

Gallery

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

Evolved at Farnborough during 1915 as a marriage of the B.E.2c airframe with the then-new R.A.F.4 air-cooled 12-cylinder Vee-type engine of 140hp, the B.E.12 prototype began test flying at the end of July that year. Although flown from the start as a single-seater, it was at first unarmed and was intended for such roles as bombing and photography rather than as a fighter.

RAF BE.12 Article

The prototype was tested in France in September 1915 and its generally satisfactory performance encouraged the War Office to order production of the B.E.12 in that same month. Delivered from March 1916 onwards, production aircraft had the R.A.F.4a engine (with increased stroke), twin upright exhaust stacks, an auxiliary gravity fuel tank under the port upper wing and, after the first few, an enlarged rudder with curved leading edge. At first serving with RFC squadrons in France for general duties, the B.E.12 was fitted with a 7.7mm Lewis machine gun on an oblique mounting on the fuselage side, or over the wing centre section, but several other experimental installations were tried at Farnborough before the decision to adopt the newly-available Vickers-Challenger interrupter gear, using a Vickers gun firing through the propeller disc. Difficulties with the gear, combined with the excessive stability of the B.E.12 (to overcome which the B.E.2e-type tailplane and elevators were used on some B.E.12s), made the type ineffectual as a fighter, however, and it was soon withdrawn from France, having served with only two squadrons. B.E.12s remained in service with Home Defence squadrons through 1917, many alternative armament installations being tried, including a quartet of Lewis guns, and sets of Le Prieur rockets on the interplane struts. One Zeppelin was shot down by a B.E.12, in June 1917. At Farnborough, one was tested with a Davis six-pounder recoilless gun, firing upwards at 45° for anti-Zeppelin use, but this was not adopted for production. Contracts were placed with two companies for B.E.12 production, Daimler building 200 and Standard Motor Co, 50, against the original orders placed in 1915, and Daimler receiving a contract for 200 more in August 1917. Many of the latter, however, were completed as B.E.12b’s.

With the B.E.12 established in production in 1916, based on the B.E.2c airframe with its equi-span two-bay wing and massive horizontal tail surfaces, a further marriage was arranged to combine the R. A.F.4a engine with the newer B.E.2e airframe. This introduced the single-bay cellule with overhanging upper wing and a smaller tailplane/elevator combination, together with the larger, rounded fin of the B.E.12. Designated B.E.12a in this form, the type was ordered from Coventry Ordnance Works and Daimler, each of which received contracts for 50 during 1916 (some of the Daimler batch being completed as B.E.12s). The B.E.12a’s served briefly with Home Defence units and more extensively in Palestine, with the Australian-manned No 67 Squadron. Used as escort scout by 1 AFC, the only recorded victory by the BE.12a was scored by Lt L.T.E. Taplin in 1918.

In an attempt to improve the performance of the B.E.12, primarily for the benefit of Home Defence squadrons, a 200hp Hispano-Suiza water-cooled eight-cylinder Veetype engine was substituted for the 150hp R.A.F.4a. The first such installation was completed in September 1917 by the Southern Aircraft Repair Depot at Farnborough and demonstrated a dramatic improvement in speed and climb performance. Consequently, it was decided that 150 of the 200 B.E.12s ordered from Daimler in August 1917 should be completed with the Hispano engines as B.E.12b’s. Airframes built by Daimler were fitted with these engines at the Northern Aircraft Repair Depot at Aston, near Sheffield, and deliveries began late in 1917. As Zeppelin raids on the UK had by this time virtually come to an end, many B.E.12b’s went straight into store, their urgently-needed engines being removed for use in other aircraft types, such as the S.E.5a. It is believed that production of B.E.12b’s ended some 12-20 short of the intended total. The standard armament of the B.E.12b comprised a 7.7mm Lewis gun above the centre section, firing over the propeller disc. Dimensions similar to those of the B.E.12.

Gallery

BE.12
Engine: 1 x 150-h.p. R.A.F.4a
Wingspan: 11.3 m / 37 ft 1 in
Length: 8.31 m / 27 ft 3 in
Height: 3.39 m / 11 ft 1 in
Wing area: 34.47 sq.m / 371.03 sq ft
Max take-off weight: 1067 kg / 2352 lb
Empty weight: 742 kg / 1636 lb
Max. speed: 164 km/h / 102 mph
Ceiling: 3810 m / 12500 ft
Seats: 1

BE.12
Engine: 1 x 150-h.p. R.A.F.4a
Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in
Length: 27 ft 3 in
Max take-off weight: 2352 lb
Max. speed: 169 km/h / 105 mph
Ceiling: 12,500 ft
Armament: 1-2 Lewis machine guns
Bombload: 2 x 20 lb
Seats: 1

BE.12A
Engine: Renault, 70 hp
Maximum speed: 73 mph

BE.12a
Engine: 1 x 150-h.p. R.A.F.4a
Wingspan: 12.19 m / 40 ft 0 in
Length: 8.30 m / 27 ft 3 in
Height: 3.66 m / 12 ft 0 in
Wing area: 33.44 sq.m / 359.94 sq ft
Max take-off: weight: 1056 kg / 2328 lb
Empty weight: 730 kg / 1609 lb
Max. speed: 169 km/h / 105 mph
Seats: 1

BE.12Ae

BE.12b
Engine: 1 x 200-h.p. Hispano-Suiza
Span: 37ft 0in
Seats: 1

Used mainly by the RFC during 1916, the R.E.7 was a two-seat (later occasionally three-seat) bombing biplane powered by a 112kW RAF 4a engine. Other engines were also fitted.

Two hundred and fifty were completed. Maximum level speed was 137km/h.

RAE RE.7 Article

Engine: 1 x. R.A.F.4a, 150-h.p / 112kW
Wingspan: 17.37 m / 57 ft 0 in
Length: 9.72 m / 32 ft 11 in
Height: 3.84 m / 13 ft 7 in
Wing area: 50.91 sq.m / 547.99 sq ft
Max take-off weight: 1565 kg / 3450 lb
Empty weight: 1036 kg / 2284 lb
Max. speed: 135 km/h / 84 mph
Ceiling: 1980 m / 6500 ft
Bombload: 150kg
Seats: 2

The next fighter after the F.E.2 in the F.E. line was the F.E.8 of 1915. Resembling the D.H.2, but designed before the de Havilland fighter, the F.E.8 was another two bay pusher biplane. Designed under the direction of John Kenworthy, the F.E.8 was the first single-seat fighter evolved at Farnborough.

Of pusher configuration to allow an uninterrupted forward field of fire for the 7.7mm Lewis gun, the F.E.8 was a two-bay equi-span biplane with a short fuselage nacelle to accommodate the gun, the pilot and a 100hp Gnome Monosoupape nine-cylinder rotary engine, and four slender booms to carry the cruciform tail unit. Construction of the nacelle was of welded steel-tube with aluminium sheet covering; the wings and tail unit used conventional wooden spars and ribs with fabric covering.

The prototype F.E.8 had a 100 hp Gnome Monosoupape engine and was armed with a remote¬ controlled Lewis firing through the nose of the all metal nacelle. This installation proved troublesome, however, and production of F.E.8s had the gun mounted at eye level. The first of two prototypes was flown on 15 October 1915 at Farnborough.

The prototype’s service trials, beginning in December 1915, were successful, but produc¬tion F.E.8s did not appear until May 1916. Trials with the second prototype in France in late 1915 led to a change in the gun installation, which was mounted within the nacelle nose and could be moved through a limited range by means of a control in the cockpit. Production F.E.8s, which began to appear in May and June 1916 from the factories of Darracq Motor Engineering at Fulham and Vickers at Weybridge, had a more practical gun mounting on the nose immediately ahead of the cockpit.

Production totalled 220 by Darracq and 50 by Vickers.

147 were sent to France from August 1916 and only two RFC squadrons, 40 and 41, were fully equip¬ped with F.E.8s. The second of these did not arrive in France until October 1916, by which time, in spite of some early successes, the type was completely outclassed by contem¬porary German fighters: the first production F.E.8 was shot down within a week of its arrival on June 22.

Trial installations of the 110hp Le Rhone and 110hp Clerget engines were made, but the Monosoupape remained the standard fit.

On March 9, 1917, nine F.E.8s of 40 Squadron were attacked by Manfred von Richthofen’s Jasta 11. Four were shot down, another four forced to land, and the pilot of the ninth was wounded and crash landed. In spite of this disaster, the last F.E.8s were not withdrawn until July 1917, one of their final operational uses being in ground strafing during the battle of Messines in June of that year.

Engine: 1 x 100-h.p. Gnome Mono
Span: 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
Length: 7.21 m / 24 ft 8 in
Height: 2.79 m / 9 ft 2 in
Wing area: 20.25 sq.m / 217.97 sq ft
Gross weight: 610.5 kg (1346 lb)
Empty weight: 406 kg / 895 lb
Maximum speed: 151 kph (94 mph)
Ceiling: 4636 m / 15200 ft