Royal Aircraft Factory: F.E.2
Note: This is a sub-section of Royal Aircraft Factory.
Type
- Two-seat pusher biplane, Fighter / Reconnaissance, Night Bomber
Designers
Manufacturers
Production Dates
- 1914-1918
Number produced
- 1,939
Engines
- 50 hp Gnome
- 120 hp Beardmore
- 160 hp Beardmore
- 250 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle
The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 was a two-seat pusher biplane that was operated as a day and night bomber and as a fighter aircraft by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War.
General
The F.E.2 designation refers to three quite distinct types, with only the same broad layout in common, the F.E.2 (1911), the F.E.2 (1913), and finally the famous wartime two seat fighter and general purpose design, the F.E.2 (1914). This last aircraft was the one that went into production, and had three main variants, the F.E.2a, F.E.2b, and the F.E.2d. There is also the F.E.2c - this was a generic description rather than a subtype proper, and refers to several one-off conversions of F.E.2b's that experimentally reversed the seating positions of the pilot and the observer.
F.E.2 (1911)
There is some claim that the first F.E.2 was developed by the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1911 by "rebuilding" the F.E.1 - a "boxkite" style biplane designed and built by Geoffrey de Havilland before he joined the Factory's staff but records show this first F.E.2 was completed before the F.E.1 crashed on the 15th August.
The plane was fitted with a 50-hp Gnome rotary engine. The first take-off was on 16th August but there were problems with the plane until a fully successful flight on the 22nd September 1911.
On the 3rd April 1912 the plane was fitted with floats and trials were carried out at Fleet Pond where piloted by Perry some six short flights were made. Later in the month it was fitted with a 70-hp engine and further flights from Fleet Pond were made by Geoffrey de Havilland. Following the tests as a sea-plane it was modified to carry a belt-fed Maxim machine gun in the nose.
F.E.2 (1913)
A further design with the F.E.2 designation came out in 1913 with a stream-lined nacelle and a 70-hp Renault V8 engine, but was destroyed on the 23rd February 1914 in a crash when the pilot, Ronald Kemp, lost control while in a dive and his passenger E. T. Haynes was killed.
F.E.2a
The F.E.2a that appeared in February 1914 was yet another totally new design, specifically intended as a "fighter". The first production order was placed in August. By this stage, the "pusher" design was becoming obsolete as far as aerodynamic performance was concerned, however, the RFC had not yet solved the problem of firing a machine gun through the propeller of a tractor aircraft (which the Germans were shortly to manage using Anthony Fokker's interrupter gear) and consequently, pushers, with a clear forward field of fire, remained the favoured configuration for fighters.
The F.E.2a was a two-seater powered by a six-cylinder 100-hp water-cooled Green engine with the observer sitting in the nose of the nacelle and the pilot sitting above and behind. The arrangement was described by one pilot as follows:
"I sat in a robust throne, rather like a bishop's seat in a cathedral, and my observer sat, or knelt, in a round nacelle about the size of an old fashioned foot-bath right in front."
The observer was armed with one 0.303 in Lewis machine gun firing forward on a specially designed, swivelling mount that gave it a very wide field of fire. Later, another Lewis was added, mounted to fire backwards over the top wing – however, the observer was required to stand on his seat in order to fire this weapon, which failed to cover a very large "blind spot" under the tail. The observer's perch was a precarious one, especially when firing the rear gun, and he was liable to be thrown out of his cockpit, however, his view was excellent in most important directions. The F.E.2 could also carry a small external bomb load.
The first production batch was for 12 of the initial F.E.2a variant, with a large air-brake under the top centre section, and the Green engine. The first of these made its maiden flight on 26th January 1915 piloted by Frank Widenham Goodden. The Green engine was found to be too heavy so was replaced by the 120-ho Austro-Daimler engine being produced by William Beardmore and Co. The last of the twelve was delivered on the 5th October 1915. All twelve saw service with the Royal Flying Corps in France.
F.E.2b
This was quickly replaced by the main production model, the F.E.2b which was powered by a Beardmore liquid-cooled in-line engine, initially the 120 hp version while later F.E.2bs received the 160 hp Beardmore. The air-brake of the "a" having proved unsatisfactory, it was simply omitted.
A total of 1,939 F.E.2b/cs were built.
The Royal Aircraft Factory itself built only a few, most construction was by private British manufacturers with G. and J. Weir, Boulton and Paul and Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies, the main suppliers.
F.E.2c
The F.E.2c was an experimental night fighter and bomber variant of the F.E.2b, the main change being the switching of the pilot and observer positions so that the pilot had the best view for night landings. Two were built in 1916, with the designation being re-used in 1918 for a similar night bomber version of the F.E.2b, which was used by 100 Squadron. In the end, the "observer-first" layout was retained for the standard aircraft.
The Royal Aircraft Factory was always primarily a research establishment, and other experiments were carried out using F.E.2bs, including the testing of a generator-powered searchlight attached between two 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Lewis guns, apparently for night fighting duties.
F.E.2d
The final model was the F.E.2d (386 built) which was powered by a Rolls-Royce Eagle engine with 250 hp. While the more powerful engine made little difference in maximum speed, especially at low altitude, it did improve altitude performance, with an extra ten mph at 5,000 ft. The Rolls-Royce engine also improved payload, so that in addition to the two observer's guns, an additional one or two Lewis guns could be mounted to fire forward, operated by the pilot.
While the F.E.2d was replaced by the Bristol Fighter, the older F.E.2b proved an unexpected success as a light tactical night bomber, and remained a standard type in this role for the rest of the war. Its climb rate and ceiling were too poor for it to make a satisfactory night fighter.
F.E.2e, f, g and h
There were other variants of the F.E.2 but relatively few details still exist.
Operations
The F.E.2b entered service in May 1915 with No. 6 Squadron RFC, which used the F.E.2 in conjunction with B.E.2s and a single Bristol Scout, with the first squadron completely equipped with the F.E.2 being 20 Squadron, deploying to France on 23 January 1916. At this stage it served as a fighter / reconnaissance aircraft - eventually about two thirds of the F.E.2s were built as fighters (816) and one third as bombers (395). The F.E.2b and F.E.2d variants remained in day operations well into 1917 while the "b" continued as a standard night bomber until August 1918.
At its peak, the F.E.2b equipped 16 RFC squadrons in France and six Home Defence squadrons in England. On 18 June 1916, German ace Max Immelmann was killed while in combat with F.E.2bs of No. 25 Squadron RFC. The squadron claimed the kill, but the German version is either that Immelmann's Fokker Eindecker broke up after his synchronizer gear failed and he shot off his own propeller, or that he was hit by "friendly fire" from German anti-aircraft guns.
In combat with single seater fighters, the pilots of F.E.2b and F.E.2d fighters would form what is probably the first use of what later became known as a Lufbery circle (defensive circle). In the case of the F.E.2 - the intention was that the gunner of each aircraft could cover the "blind spot" under the tail of his neighbour, and several gunners could fire on any enemy attacking the group.
By autumn 1916, the arrival of more modern German fighters such as the Albatros D.I and Halberstadt D.II meant that even the F.E.2d was outperformed and, by April 1917, it had been withdrawn from offensive patrols.
Despite its obsolescence in 1917, the F.E.2 was still well-liked by its crews for its strength and good flight characteristics and it remained a difficult opponent for even the best German aces. Rittmeister Baron von Richthofen was badly wounded in the head during combat with F.E.2d aircraft in June 1917 - the Red Baron, like most German pilots of the period, classed the F.E.2 as a "Vickers" type, confusing it with the earlier Vickers F.B.5.
Although outclassed as a day fighter, the F.E.2 proved very suitable for use at night, and was used both as a night fighter in home defence squadrons on anti-Zeppelin patrols and as a light tactical night bomber. It was first used as a night bomber in November 1916, with the first dedicated F.E.2b night bomber squadrons being formed in February 1917. F.E.2bs continued to be heavily used as night bombers in eight bomber squadrons until the end of the First World War, with up to 860 being converted to, or built as, bombers. Service as a night fighter was less successful, due to the type's poor climb and ceiling.
A total of 35 aircraft derived from the F.E.2 were sold to China in 1919 by Vickers as Vickers Instructional Machines (VIM), to be used as advanced trainers, having a redesigned nacelle fitted with dual controls and powered by a Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engine. Although acquired as trainers they were used in battles between Chinese warlords.
The last combat operations were those in early 1927, when Zhili clique and Fengtian clique warlords joined their forces to defeat Guominjun. VIM in the hands of Fengtian clique warlords continued to fly in training mission until their capture by the Japanese in the Mukden Incident, and the new owner soon disposed the obsolete aircraft.
F.E.2bs were experimentally fitted with flotation bags for operation over water, were also used to conduct anti-submarine patrols operating out of the Isle of Grain at the mouth of the Thames River.
1,939 built in all versions
Sources of Information
- The Royal Aircraft Factory by Paul R. Hare. ISBN 0-85177-843-7
- [1] Wikipedia