Second Lieutenant Stanley Cockerell, Royal Flying Corps
22 August 1922: Captain Stanley Cockerell, A.F.C., a test pilot for Vickers Ltd (Aviation Department), made the first flight of the prototype Type 56 Victoria Mk.I, J6869, at Brooklands, Surrey, England.
The Victoria was a twin-engine biplane military transport, developed from the earlier Vickers Vernon and Virginia. It was operated by a crew of two in an open cockpit and could carry up to 22 troops.
A Royal Air Force Vickers Victoria transport. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives Catalog # Iraq_00831)
The prototype Vickers Victoria was powered by two water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 1,461.135 cubic-inch-displacement (23.944 liters) D. Napier and Son Ltd. Lion I, a 60° “triple Four” or “broad-arrow” 12-cylinder engine (also known as a W-12), rated at 450 horsepower at 1,925 r.p.m., each. This was a very complex engine, using individually machined steel cylinders surrounded by welded stamped-steel water jackets. The cylinders were closed at the upper end, rather than having a separate cylinder head. Four valve ports were machined into the “crown.” Each cylinder had two intake and two exhaust valves, which were operated by a dual overhead camshaft arrangement. The cylinders were screwed into a aluminum “head block” which provided stiffening to the assembly, and contained intake and exhaust runners and cooling passages. The three individual banks of four cylinders were attached to the crankcase by studs. The engine’s crankshaft used large roller main bearings for support. The engine used a dry sump lubrication system with an oil pick up at each end. The propeller was driven through a 2:1 reduction gear unit. Cast aluminum alloy pistons were fitted to a master rod with two side rods. The Napier Lion was was compact, very light for the power it produced, and also very efficient. The Napier Lion I weighed approximately 860 pounds (390 kilograms).
The Vickers Victoria had a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour (177 kilometers per hour), and a service ceiling of 16,200 feet (4,940 meters). Its range was 770 miles (1,240 kilometers).
97 Victoria transports were built by Vickers. The type remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1935 and saw extensive use in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Stanley Cockerell, 1933. (A Fleeting Peace)
Stanley Cockerell had been an aircraft mechanic before becoming a fighter pilot. On 27 October 1916, Serjt. Cockerell was assigned to the Royal Flying Corps. He was credited with seven aerial victories during World War I, while flying the Airco DH.2, DH.5 and the Sopwith Camel.
Albert I, King of the Belgians, conferred the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Couronne to Temporary 2nd Lieutenant Cockerell, 21 September 1917. On 25 October 1917, Cockerell was promoted to the temporary rank of Captain. He was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre 11 March 1918.
For a flight from England to South Africa in a Vickers Vimy, 24 January–26 February 1920, (“The Times Flight”) Captain Cockerell was awarded the Air Force Cross by George V.
On 4 June 1921, Flight Lieutenant Stanley Cockerell, A.F.C., Royal Air Force, was transferred to the unemployed list.
In 1921, Cockerell married Miss Lorna Lockyer. They would have seven children.
In 1922, Cockerell competed in the King’s Cup, a cross country air race, flying a Vicker’s Type 61 Vulcan, G-EBEM. He finished in 7th place. In the 1923 race, he flew a Type 74 Vulcan, but that airplane did not finish.
Stanley Cockerell and his six-year-old daughter, Kathleen, were killed during the Battle of Britain, when the Luftwaffe bombed Sunbury-on-Thames, 29 November 1940. Mrs. Cockerell was also killed during The Blitz.
A Royal Air Force Vickers Victoria transport, J7924, photographed in flight over Iraq. (RAF)
Robert L. Hall in the cockpit of the prototype Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat. (Northrop Grumman)
21 August 1944:¹ The first of two Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat prototypes, Bu. No. 90460, made its first flight at Bethpage, New York, with Grumman’s Chief Engineer and test pilot Robert Leicester Hall at the controls. The Bearcat was a light-weight high performance interceptor, designed to operate from the U.S. Navy’s smaller aircraft carriers. It used an air-cooled, supercharged, 2,804.4-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter) Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 2SC13-G (R-2800-22) two-row, 18-cylinder radial engine, an uprated version of the engine used in its predecessor, the Grumman F6F Hellcat.
The R-2800-22 engine was rated at 1,700 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 2,100 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m., for takeoff and Military Power. In order to use the engine’s power more effectively, the prototype Bearcat used a 12-foot, 4-inch (3.759 meter) diameter, four-bladed Aero Products, Inc., propeller, driven through a 0.45:1 gear reduction.
The Bearcat was 20% lighter than the Hellcat. It was 50 miles per hour faster and had a much higher rate of climb.
For aircraft carrier operations, the new fighter could not sacrifice structural strength. In order to limit the weight, armament was reduced to four .50-caliber machine guns, and fuel capacity was also less than that of the Hellcat, giving it reduced range.
Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat with wings folded, 20 March 1945. (Northrop Grumman)
The production F8F-1 Bearcat was 27 feet, 6 inches (8.382 meters) long with a wingspan of 35 feet, 6 inches (10.820 meters) and overall height of 13 feet, 10 inches (4.216 meters) (to tip of propeller, in three-point position). With its wings folded, the width of the Bearcat was reduced to 23 feet, 9½ inches (7.252 meters).
The Bearcat’s wings are sharply tapered. Their angle of incidence is −1½°, and there is 5° 30′ dihedral. The leading edges are swept aft 5° 5′. The chord decreases from 9 feet, 7.87 inches (2.943 meters) at the root to 4 feet, 3.5 inches (1.308 meters) at a point 6 inches (15.24 centimeters) inboard from the tip. The total wing area is 244 square feet (22.7 square meters).
The fighter’s horizontal stabilizer has a span of 15 feet, 9 inches (4.801 meters) and a total area of 52.2 square feet (4.85 square meters). Its angle of incidence is +½°. The rudder has a height of 6 feet, 1–13/16 inches (1.875 meters). The vertical tail has a total area of 20.8 square feet (1.93 square meters), and is offset 2° left.
The F8F-1’s empty weight was 7,070 pounds (3,207 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight was 12,947 pounds (5,873 kilograms). The F8F-2’s empty weight increased to 7,650 pounds (3,470 kilograms), and its maximum takeoff weight was 13,460 pounds (6,105 kilograms).
Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat prototype at NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia, 5 February 1945. (NASA)
The production F8F-1 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 2SC14-G (R-2800-34W) engine which had the same Sea Level power ratings as the R-2800-22. It produced 1,500 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at 18,500 feet (5,639 meters) and had a Military Power rating of 1,700 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at 16,000 feet (4,877 meters). The gear reduction drive ratio was also 0.45:1. A slightly larger Aero Products propeller with a diameter of 12 feet, 7 inches (5.835 meters) was installed. The R-2800-34W was 6 feet, 2.134 inches (1.883 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.80 inches (1.341 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,358.5 pounds (1,069.8 kilograms).
The F8F-2 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-30W. The Normal Power rating increased to 1,720 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,450 horsepower at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). Takeoff and Military Power also increased: 2,250 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,600 horsepower at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). The R-2800-30W also drove an Aero Products propeller. The gear reduction ratio was the same. Its dimensions were slightly different than the -34W: 7 feet, 8.75 inches (2.356 meters) long, and 4 feet, 5.00 inches (1.346 meters) in diameter. The engine’s weight increased to 2,560 pounds (1,161 kilograms).
Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat Bu. No. 90448 in the Full Scale Tunnel at NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. (NASA EL-2003-00320)
The Bearcat had a top speed of 336 knots (387 miles per hour/622 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and 388 knots (447 miles per hour/719 kilometers per hour) at 28,000 feet (8,534 meters). The airplane had initial rate of climb at Sea Level of 4,465 feet per minute (22.68 meters per second) and it could climb to 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) in 8.4 minutes. Its ceiling was 38,200 feet (11,643 meters).
Fuel capacity is 185 U.S. gallons (700 liters). The fighter’s range could be extended with a jettisonable centerline and two underwing tanks. The Bearcat’s combat radius was 235 nautical miles (270 statute miles/435 kilometers). Its maximum range, with three external tanks (350 gallons/1,325 liters), was 1,595 nautical miles (1,835 statute miles/2,954 kilometers).
The F8F-1 Bearcat was armed with four Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns. Inboard guns were provided with 325 rounds of ammunition, each, while the outboard guns had 200 rounds per gun. The F8F-2 replaced these with four M3 20 mm autocannon. Each inboard cannon had 325 rounds per gun, and the outboard guns had 188 rounds each. The F8F could also be armed with up to three 11.75-inch (29.845 centimeters) Tiny Tim air-to-ground rockets, or four 5-inch (12.7 centimeter) High Velocity Aerial Rockets (HVAR). For bombing missions, the Bearcat could carry one 1,600 pound (726 kilograms) bomb on the centerline and two 1,000 pounders (454 kilograms, each) under the wings.
The first prototype Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat, Bu. No. 90460, crashed into Chesapeake Bay during gunnery tests at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, 18 March 1945. Its pilot was missing, presumably killed. The airplane has recently–probably—been located.²
“Multi-beam echo image of the aircraft at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay believed to be the XF8F-1 Bearcat lost out of NAS Patuxent River March 18, 1945.” (NOAA/Naval Aviation News)
Between 1945 and 1949, Grumman produced 1,265 F8F Bearcats, including a civilian G-58A and a G-58B. A number of American test pilots and astronauts flew the Bearcat in naval service, and several, including Neil Armstong, described it as their all-time favorite airplane.
Grumman F8F Bearcat fighters ready for takeoff aboard the Essex-class aircraft carrier, USS Tarawa (CV-40) circa 1948. (U.S. Navy)
Robert Leicester Hall was born at Taunton, Massachussetts, 22 August 1905. He was the son of Bicknell Hall, a mechanical engineer, and Estella Beatrice Lane Hall.
Robert L. Hall (Michiganesian of 1927)
Hall attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 1927 with Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.). He was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta (ΦΓΔ) fraternity and the glee club. While at the University, Hall became a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
In 1929 he went to work for the Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Company at Farmingdale, New York. While there, Hall met his first wife, Eugenie Therese Zeller, a 1928 graduate of Cornell University, and a secretary at the plant. They were married in 1930, and lived in a rented home on St. James Avenue, Chicopee City, Massachusetts. Their son, Robert Jr., was born 5 November 1931. They later divorced.
Granville Brothers Gee Bee Z
Also in 1931, Hall began working for Granville Brothers Aircraft at Springfield, Massachusetts. He designed the Gee Bee Model Z Super Sportster air racer. He left Granville Brothers in 1933 to go to work for the Stinson Aircraft Company in Dayton, Ohio. There he designed the Stinson Reliant.
Stinson Reliant (NASA)
In 1936, Bob Hall became the Chief Engineer for the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Bethpage, Long Island, New York. He designed the F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, and F8F Bearcat fighters, and the TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. As corporate vice president, he supervised the design of the F9F Panther and Cougar jet fighters.
A U.S. Navy Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat in non-specular blue-gray over light-gray scheme in early 1942. (U.S. Navy)Two Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighters, Summer 1943. (U.S. Navy)Grumman F7F-3N Tigercat. (U.S. Navy)Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. (U.S. Navy)Ensign Neil A. Armstrong, as wingman to Lieutenant (j.g.) Ernie Moore, is flying the second Grumman F9F-2 Panther, Bu. No. 125122 (marked S 116), assigned to VF-51, USS Essex (CV-9), 1951. (Naval Aviation Museum)
Hall married his second wife, Rhoda C. Halvorsen, 18 January 1939, at New York City, New York.
Robert Hall retired from Grumman in 1970. Two of his sons, Eric and Ben Hall, founded Hall Spars and Rigging of Bristol, Rhode Island.
Robert Leicester Hall died at Newport, Rhode Island, 25 February 1991 at the age of 85 years.
¹ Some sources give 31 August 1944 as the date of the first flight.
North American Aviation NA-62, serial number 62-2834, the first B-25 Mitchell, (U.S. Army Air Corps serial number 40-2165), at Mines Field, Los Angeles California, August 1940. (U.S. Air Force)
19 August 1940: At Mines Field (now known as Los Angeles International Airport), the first North American Aviation B-25 twin-engine medium bomber, serial number 40-2165, took off on its first flight with test pilot Vance Breese at the controls and engineer Roy Ferren in the co-pilot’s position.
Vance Breese
The airplane, North American model NA-62, serial number 62-2834, was developed from two earlier designs which had been evaluated by the U.S. Air Corps but rejected, and it was ordered into production without a prototype being built.
The first few B-25s built—sources vary, but 8–10 airplanes—were built with a constant dihedral wing. Testing at Wright Field showed that the airplane had a slight tendency to “Dutch roll” so all B-25s after those were built with a “cranked” wing, with the outer wing panels having very slight dihedral ¹ and giving it the bomber’s characteristic “gull wing” appearance. The two vertical stabilizers were also increased in size.
40-2165 was retained by North American for testing while the next several aircraft were sent to Wright Field.
Roy Ferren (SDA&SM)
The B-25 was named Mitchell in honor of early air power advocate Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. A total of 9,984 B-25s, F-10 reconnaissance variants and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps PBJ-1 patrol bombers were built by North American Aviation at Inglewood, California and Kansas City, Kansas. The last one, a TB-25J, remained in service with the U.S. Air Force until 1960.
Twenty-three B-25s were built before the B-25A Mitchell went into production. The B-25 was operated by a crew of five. It was 54 feet, 1 inch (16.485 meters) long with a wingspan of 67 feet, 6.7 inches (20.592 meters) and overall height of 16 feet, 4 inches (4.978 meters). The empty weight was 17,258 pounds (7,828 kilograms) and the maximum gross weight was 28,557 pounds (12,953 kilograms).
Scale model of a North American Aviation B-25 medium bomber being tested in a wind tunnel. (4″ × 5″ Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer)
The B-25 was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, 2,603.737-cubic-inch-displacement (42.688 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone 14 GR260
0B665 (R-2600-9) two-row 14-cylinder radial engines which were rated at 1,500 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m., and 1,700 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. for takeoff. These engines (also commonly called “Twin Cyclone”) drove three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic variable-pitch propellers through 16:9 gear reduction. The R-2600-9 was 5 feet, 3.1 inches (1.603 meters) long and 4 feet, 6.26 inches (1.378 meters) in diameter. It weighed 1,980 pounds (898 kilograms).
Workers installing a Wright Cyclone 14 R-2600 engine on a B-25 at the North American Aviation, Inc., plant, Inglewood, California, circa 1942. (Alfred T. Palmer/Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsac-1a35281)
The medium bomber had a maximum speed of 322 miles per hour (518 kilometers per hour) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) and a service ceiling of 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). It could carry a 3,000 pound bomb load 2,000 miles (3,219 kilometers).
Defensive armament consisted of three air-cooled Browning M2 .30-caliber aircraft machine guns and one Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine gun.
After testing was completed, B-25 40-2165 was retained by North American and modified as a company transport. On 8 January 1945, flown by Edgar A. Stewart, the airplane suffered an engine failure and made a forced landing at Mines Field—the location of its first flight. The prototype B-25 was damaged beyond repair.
Front view of the first North American Aviation B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, 40-2165, at Mines Field, August 1940. The constant dihedral wing was used on the first nine airplanes built. (U.S. Air Force)North American Aviation NA-62, B-25 Mitchell 40-2165, left front. (U.S. Air Force)North American Aviation B-25 Mitchell 40-2165, left rear. (U.S. Air Force)North American Aviation B-25A Mitchell twin-engine medium bomber in flight near Wright Field, Ohio, 1 May 1941. (Rudy Arnold Photo Collection, Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum XRA-4945)North American Aviation B-25A Mitchell twin-engine medium bomber in flight near Wright Field, Ohio, 1 May 1941. (Rudy Arnold Photo Collection, Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum XRA-4946)Compare the “cranked” wing of this North American Aviation B-25J Mitchell medium bomber to the prototype in the images above. (U.S. Air Force)
¹ The wing center section of the B-25H and B-25J has 4° 38′ 23″ dihedral. The outer sections have 0° 21′ 39″. The wing has 2° 29′ 37″ negative twist.
The second Sikorsky XR-5, 43-28237 (c/n 34). (Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company)
18 August 1943: At Bridgeport, Connecticut, Sikorsky chief test pilot Charles Lester (“Les”) Morris made the first flight of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-327, c/n 33. Also known as the Sikorsky Model S-48, the U.S. Army Air Corps designated the helicopter XR-5 and assigned the serial number 43-28236.
The XR-5 was a significant improvement over the earlier R-4. Its narrow fuselage was streamlined and the cockpit had excellent visibility. The R-4’s box-like fuselage interfered with the downward flow of air from the main rotor, and this was a consideration in the shape of the new helicopter.
The Sikorsky XR-5 (Model S-48) was a single-engine, two-place helicopter. The cabin was built of aluminum with plexiglas windows. The fuselage was built of plastic-impregnated plywood and the tail boom was wood monocoque construction. The main rotor consisted of three fully-articulated blades built of wood spars and ribs and covered with fabric. The three bladed semi-articulated tail rotor was built of laminated wood. The main rotor turned counter-clockwise as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the helicopter’s right.) The tail rotor was mounted on the helicopter’s left side in a pusher configuration. It turned clockwise as seen from the helicopter’s left.
There were five XR-5 helicopters, followed by twenty-six YR-5A service test helicopters built between November 1944 and July 1945. There were slight changes from the earlier five XR-5A prototypes. The R-5A went into production in July 1945 and more than 300 had been built by the time production ended in 1951.
The helicopter’s fuselage was 41 feet, 7½ inches (12.687 meters) long. The main rotor had a diameter of 48 feet (14.630 meters) and tail rotor diameter was 8 feet, 5 inches (2.2.565 meters), giving the helicopter an overall length of 57 feet, 1 inch (17.399 meters) with rotors turning. It was 13 feet, 1½ inches (4.001 meters) high. The landing gear tread was 12 feet (3.7 meters). The R-5A had an empty weight of 3,780 pounds (1,714.6 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 4,900 pounds (2,222.6 kilograms). Fuel capacity was 100 gallons (378.5 liters).
Chief Test Pilot Les Morris with Captain Jackson E. Beighle, U.S. Army Air Corps, hovers a Sikorsky YR-5A, 43-46603, at Bridgeport, with ten additional passengers, 29 November 1945. (Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company)
The helicopter was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, 986.749-cubic-inch-displacement (16.170 liter) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. T1B4 (R-985 AN-5) direct-drive, nine-cylinder radial engine which was placed vertically in the fuselage behind the crew compartment. This engine was rated at 450 horsepower at 2,300 r.p.m., Standard Day at Sea Level. The R-985 AN-5 was 48.00 inches (1.219 meters) long, 46.25 inches (1.175 meters) in diameter and weighed 684 pounds (310.3 kilograms) with a magnesium crankcase.
The R-5 had a maximum speed (Vne) of 107 knots (123.1 miles per hour/198.2 kilometers per hour). Range was 275 miles (442.6 kilometers). The service ceiling was 14,800 feet (4,511 meters). The absolute hover ceiling was 3,000 feet (914.4 meters).
On 13 September 1943, Dimitry D. (“Jimmy”) Viner was hovering out of ground effect at 75 feet (23 meters) when 43-28236 suffered a tail rotor failure. The helicopter made a hard landing and was dignificantly damaged. Neither Viner nor his passenger were injured.
In 1944, while flying to a war bond rally in Nebraska, XR-5 43-28236 suffered an engine failure and crash landed. The helicopter was damaged beyond repair and was stripped for parts.
Thanks to regular This Day in Aviation reader Mike for suggesting this subject.
Igor Sikorsky in the cockpit of a production R-5 helicopter. (Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company)
Geoffrey de Havilland, 1913. (FLIGHT, 22 February 1913, Page 207))
18 August 1911: At 6:30 a.m., the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 prototype took off with its designer, Geoffrey de Havilland,¹ at the controls. He made the short flight from Farnborough to Laffan’s Plain where he made a series of takeoffs and landings.
The airplane was a single-engine, two-place, two-bay biplane with a pusher propeller. The crew, a pilot and an observer/gunner, were in an open nacelle, with the engine aft, and an open tail boom.
The F.E.2 was 28 feet (8.5 meters) long with a wing span of 33 feet (10.0 meters). The total wing area was 340 square feet (31.6 square meters). It weighed 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms), loaded, and had a maximum speed of 47.5 miles per hour (76.4 kilometers per hour). The F.E.2 prototype, in its original configuration, was powered by an air-cooled Gnome 7-cylinder rotary engine which produced 50 horsepower.
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E. 2 with Maxim gun (RAF Museum)
In 1913, the F.E.2 prototype was redesigned and rebuilt with an air-cooled Renault V-8 engine, rated at 70 horsepower, driving a four-bladed fixed-pitch propeller. The wings were identical to those of the the B.E.2A. The Renault-powered F.E.2 variant was 30 feet, 0 inches (9.144 meters) long with a wingspan of 42 feet, 0 inches (12.802 meters). The wings had a chord of 6 feet, 4 inches (1.930 meters). The wing area increased to 425 square feet (39.5 square meters). The gross weight was now 1,865 pounds (846 kilograms). The F.E.2 (Renault) had a maximum speed of 67 miles per hour (108 kilometers per hour) and a service ceiling of 5,500 feet (1,676 meters).
At about 11:45 a.m., Monday, 23 February 1914, test pilot Roland Campbell Kemp (R.Ae.C. Aviator’s Certificate No. 80) was flying the F.E.2 at about 500 feet (152 meters). Also on board was a passenger, Ewart Temple Haynes. The wind was estimated at 30 miles per hour (13 meters per second). After about five minutes, the prototype entered a steep—but not heavily banked—right-hand spiral descent and crashed near Wittering, Chichester. The airplane “was completely wrecked.” Haynes was killed. Kemp was seriously injured and had no memory of the day.
The Accidents Investigation Committee of the Royal Aero Club was “of the opinion that there is no positive evidence to show why the accident occurred, but such evidence as is available points to the conclusion that the most probable cause was that the pilot’s foot slipped over the rudder bar, and that he thus lost control.” ²
After another redesign, the first production variant of de Havilland’s biplane was the F.E.2A, a three-bay biplane with a water-cooled Green six-cylinder inline engine, rated at 100 horsepower. This airplane was 32 feet, 3 inches (10.135 meters) long, with a wingspan of 47 feet, 8 inches (14.529 meters). The chord was decreased to 5 feet, 6 inches (1.676 meters). The F.E.2A’s gross weight was 2,680 pounds (1,216 kilograms). It had a maximum speed of 75 miles per hour (121 kilometers per hour) and ceiling of 6,000 feet (1,829 meters). Twelve F.E.2As were built.
Modified for a 120 horsepower Beardmore 6-cylinder engine with a 9-foot-diameter propeller (2.7 meters), the airplane was designated F.E.2B, or Fighter Mark I. The wingspan increased 1 inch to 47 feet, 9 inches (14.554 meters). The airplane had an overall height of 12 feet, 7½ inches (3.848 meters). The wings had a 3° 30′ angle of incidence and were not staggered. There was 4° dihedral. Gross weight increased to 2,827 pounds (1,282 kilograms). Its maximum speed was 73 miles per hour (117 kilometers per hour), and the service ceiling was 9,000 feet (2,743 meters). These were first used in France during World War I.
The B.E.2B was also built with a 160 horsepower Beardmore engine. The series continued with the F.E.2C and a Rolls-Royce powered F.E.2D. Dimensions remained constant, though the angle of incidence was increased to 4°.
The F.E.2 and F.E.2.A were armed with Maxim machine guns. The B.E.2B and later models had one or two .303-caliber Lewis guns.
A total of 1,939 F.E.s were built.
Three-view illustration of the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2B, Fighter Mark I. (FLIGHT and Aircraft Engineer, No. 2290, Vol. LXII, Friday, 12 December 1952, at Page 726)
The Royal Flying Corps initially used the F.E.2 (most sources say that “F.E.” stood for Farnham Experimental, ³ meaning that it was a pusher configuration) as a scouting and reconnaissance airplane.
On 16 October 1912, Geoffrey de Havilland was appointed Second Lieutenant (on probation), Royal Flying Corps, Military Wing, antedated to 2 September 1912. He was promoted to Lieutenant, 5 August 1914. Captain de Havilland was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.), 7 June 1918. He was awarded the Air Force Cross, 1 January 1919.
De Havilland soon founded his own aircraft design and manufacturing company, the de Havilland Aircraft Company. He would later be known as Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, O.M., C.B.E., A.F.C., R.D.I., F.R.Ae.S.
¹ Many sources, including The Peerage, Person Page – 55358, identify Sir Geoffrey as “Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland.” As his son is known as Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland, Jr., that would seem reasonable, and may even be correct. However, his birth registration (England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, January, February, and March 1883, at Page 149, Column 1), marriage banns and certificates for both marriages, numerous announcements in The London Gazette, contemporary news articles, and his civil death registration do not include any middle name.
² Accidents Investigation Committee of the Royal Aero Club, Report No. 26
³ “Fighting Experimental” —J.M. Bruce, M.A., in Flight, No. 2290, Vol. LXII, Friday, 12 December 1952 at Page 728
