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Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5
The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5 was a British two-seat reconnaissance and artillery observation biplane designed and built by the Royal Aircraft Factory for the Royal Flying Corps.
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Development
The R.E.5 was designed as a reconnaissance biplane using the experience of earlier R.E. series aircraft. It was a two-bay equal-span biplane with a fixed tailskid landing gear, with the wheels supported on skids and powered by a nose-mounted 120hp (89 kW) Austro-Daimler engine driving a four-bladed propeller. The aircraft had two open cockpits with the observer/gunner in the forward cockpit under the upper wing and the pilot aft. The larger more capable Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.7 was a further development of the design. One modified single-seat high altitude aircraft was built with extended-span upper wings. Other R.E.5s were used for experimentation with airbrakes and for test flying the Royal Aircraft Factory 4 engine.[1]
Twenty four R.E.5s were built at the Royal Aircraft Factory for the RFC, paid for by money given to the British Army to compensate for the transfer of the army's airships to the Royal Navy.[2]
Operational history
Six R.E.5s deployed to France in September 1914, partly equipping No. 2 Squadron RFC, with further examples being by other squadrons, with no unit being completely equipped with the R.E.5. In total, eleven R.E.8s were sent to France, with a further nine being used by training units.
The R.E.5s were used for reconnaissance and bombing missions over France, although, at first, they were not fitted with bomb-sights or bomb racks, with bombs being carried in the observer's cockpit and dropped by hand when the aircraft was over the target.[2]
Captain John Aidan Liddell was awarded the Victoria Cross for an action on 31 July 1915, being badly wounded when flying an R.E.5 but successfully recovering the aircraft and saving his observer.[1] The R.E.5 was gradually phased out from front-line service during that year, only two remaining at the front on 25 September 1915.[1]
Operator
Specifications
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| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Bruce, J.M. (1957). British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London: Putnam.
- Lewis, Peter (1974). The British Bomber since 1914, Second edition, London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 10040 9.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing, 2820.
- British Aircraft Directory
Template:Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
| This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5". |
