Category: British

British airplanes

R.A.F. R.E.5

Top Speed: 78 m.p.h.
Manufacturer: Royal Aircraft Factory
Year: 1914
Engine: 120 h.p. Beardmore 6-cylinder inline
Wingspan: 44 feet 6 inches
Weight: n.a.
Armament: 60 lbs. of bombs

Supermarine Spitfire

Probably the most famous British aircraft of all time, the great fighter played a secondary role in the Battle of Britain to the less glamourous Hawker Hurricane. But the Spitfire’s elegant looks, excellent handling characteristics, and huge production give it a unique place in aviation history. There was a bit of happenstance in the Spitfire’s [...]

Sopwith Atlantic

An attempt was made to cross the Atlantic in a Sopwith Atlantic biplane by Com. Mackenzie Grieve and Maj. Harry Hawker on 18 May 1919. This plane generally followed the design of Sopwith warplanes, and had a 46 feet wingspan and was 31 feet long, weighing 6000 pounds fully equipped for flight. It was supposed [...]

R-34

The British dirigible R-34 left East Fortune, near Edinburgh, Scotland, at 2 A.M., July 2, 1919 and proceeded via Newfoundland to Mineóla, New York, arriving at Roosevelt Field at 9 A.M., Sunday, July 6. To show that this was not merely good fortune, a return trip even more successful was made, leaving New York at [...]

Vickers Vimy Bomber

The first non-stop flight from America to Europe was accomplished in 1919 by the Vickers “Vimy” Bomber, a bi-motored Rolls-Royce airplane, piloted by Captain John Alcock and navigated by Lieut. Arthur W. Brown.
The trip started at St. Johns, Newfoundland, at 12.13 P.M., New York time, on Saturday, June 14, 1919 and 16 hours and [...]

Martinsyde S.1

Similar to the Sopwith Tabloid, the Martinsyde S.1 also served as an observation airplane in France. It only remained in service until summer of 1915; only 60 were built.
Top Speed: 84 m.p.h.
Manufacturer: Martinsyde
Year: 1914
Engine: 80 h.p. Gnome rotary
Wingspan: 21 feet
Weight: n.a.
Armament: none
Martinsyde was a short-lived British [...]

Sopwith Tabloid

One of the most notable developments at the end of 1913 was the appearance of the Sopwith ‘Tabloid’ tractor biplane. This single-seater, fitted with an 80 horsepower Gnome rotary engine, had the remarkable speed (for those days) of 92 miles an hour. A still more notable feature was that it could remain in level flight [...]

R.A.F. B.E.8

This was the last of the B.E. (Bleriot Experimental, and then British Experimental) series built by the Royal Aircraft Factory. Compared to the B.E.2, it had a more powerful rotary engine, but otherwise was quite similar. It could only carry a 100 lb. (45 kg.) bombload, even less with a two-man crew. A few [...]

Bristol M.1C

One of the fastest planes of its time, the Bristol M.1C monoplane fell victim to official concern about its stability and the perceived hazards of its high landing speed. There seemed to be an official distrust of monoplanes by the British authorities, and the M.1 was much-delayed. Finally some were sent to the [...]

Airco D.H.5

An unusual-looking biplane with a reverse stagger of the wings, the upper being set back just aft of the cockpit, to allow better visibility for the pilot. The idea was to combine the superior performance of a tractor biplane with the unobstructured pilot’s forward view of a pusher type.
In May, 1917, No. 24 and No. [...]