Royal Aircraft Factory FE8

Royal Aircraft Factory FE8
Type:	Fighter plane
Design country:	United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	Royal Aircraft Factory
First flight:	September 1915
Commissioning:	August 1916
Number of pieces:	295

The Royal Aircraft Factory FE8 was a British biplane - fighter plane and arrived in 1916 in World War I for use. It was the first single-seater fighter developed by the Royal Aircraft Factory and at the same time the last pusher propeller aircraft to be used at the front.

development

Based on the model of the DH2 and the two-seater FE2 , the engineer J. Kenworthy d1915 developed the FE8 , which was to be used as a fighter armed with a Lewis machine gun pointing forward. The abbreviation FE originally stood for "Farman Experimental" (which was used as a synonym for fighter planes with pusher propellers), but after 1913/14 it was used with the meaning "Fighter Experimental". The pusher propeller configuration was necessary because a synchronization gear that would have allowed shooting through the propeller circuit was not yet available.

The tubular steel airframe was clad with duralumin. The prototype initially had a large propeller hood, which was left out in later production types. The wings consisted of a canvas-covered wooden structure. The 7.7 mm Lewis MG was built in moveable so that the pilot could swing the gun and aim with it.

The first flight took place on October 15, 1915. After the flight tests at the Central Flying School in Upavon, the FE8 was described as stable, maneuverable and easy to land. This was followed by field testing with the second prototype from the end of 1915 in France. After minor changes to the MG suspension, the companies Darracq Motor Engineering in Fulham and Vickers in Weybridge delivered the first FE8s in May and June 1916, so that the aircraft did not reach the front until the summer of October 1916.

A total of 295 aircraft were produced, mostly with Gnôme monosoupape engines, but some aircraft were equipped with 110 hp Le Rhône or Clerget engines for testing purposes.

commitment

Two FE8s were delivered to Squadron 29 of the Royal Flying Corps in June 1916 , which was already flying DH2. The FE8 turned out to be slightly faster than the DH2 and visibility for the pilot was excellent. However, the plane was more difficult to fly. Their tendency to break out sideways due to the gyroscopic effects of the powerful rotary engine repeatedly led to crash landings. As with other pusher propeller aircraft, parts falling out of the cockpit could damage the propeller. The rotary engine behind the cockpit protected the pilot from enemy fire, but threatened to pose a fatal hazard to the pilot in the event of a rollover by crash landing together with the heavy gasoline tank from behind. The movable machine gun was later locked, as hands-free aiming with the machine gun was hardly possible for the pilot and it was easier to use the entire machine for aiming.

In August, the Squadron 40 was fully equipped with the type. The newly established Squadron 41, which relocated to France in October 1916, also received the FE8. It soon became clear , however, that the FE8 were now outdated and clearly inferior to the German Halberstadt and Albatros fighter aircraft . Nevertheless, the planes remained in use. On March 9, 1917, nine FE8s of Squadron 40 got into an aerial battle with five Albatros D.III of Jagdstaffel 11 under the leadership of Manfred von Richthofen . Four FE8s were shot down, four more were badly damaged and the last machine caught fire on landing.

The Squadron 40 was then completely reorganized with Nieuports and the Squadron 41, which kept its FE8 until July 1917 as the last fighter squadron equipped with pusher propellers, was only used for attacks on ground targets.

Two FE8s were used in homeland security units.

Replicas

There are two replicas: One in the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, equipped with a Le Rhône 80 HP rotary engine. This aircraft was given to the National Air and Space Museum. The Owl's Head Transportation Museum in Maine also has an FE8 replica with a modern engine.

Military use

United Kingdom United Kingdom

Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force

Technical specifications

Three-sided tear

Parameter	Data (FE8 with Le Rhône engine)
crew	1
length	7.21 m
span	9.60 m
Wing area	22.25 m²
height	2.80 m
Empty mass	406 kg
Takeoff mass	668 kg
drive	1 × Le-Rhône - 9-cylinder - rotary engine with 110 horsepower (81 kW) or 1 × Gnôme-Monosoupape -9-cylinder rotary engine with 100 horsepower (74 kW)
Top speed	151 km / h
Flight duration	2.5 h
Rate of climb	1830 m in 8:20 min
Service ceiling	4420 m
Armament	1 × 7.7 mm Lewis machine gun , light bombs

literature

Bruce, JM Warplanes of the First World War: Volume 2 Fighters , London: Macdonald, 1968. ISBN 0-356-01473-8 .
Munson, Kenneth: Combat aircraft 1914–1918, Orell-Füssli-Verlag, Zurich 1968
Taylor, John WR "FE8". Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present . New York, GP Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Archive link ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

↑ cf. [1] Retrieved August 20, 2010

↑ cf. [2] Retrieved August 20, 2010

↑ according to [3] from August 20, 2010 220 were made by Darracq and 50 by Vickers

↑ cf. Archive link ( Memento of the original from November 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. as well as archive link ( memento of the original dated February 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. FE8 replica of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome @1@ 2 @1@ 2

[1] Archive link ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

[2] . [1] Retrieved August 20, 2010

[3] . [2] Retrieved August 20, 2010

[4] rding to [3] from August 20, 2010 220 were made by Darracq and 50 by Vickers