This is a list of aircraft used by the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

(RFC) from 13 April 1912, when it was formed from the

Air Battalion Royal Engineers The Air Battalion Royal Engineers (ABRE) was the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces to make use of heavier-than-air craft. Founded in 1911, the battalion in 1912 became part of the Royal Flying Corps, which in turn evolved into the Roy ...

, until 1 April 1918 when it was merged with the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

(RNAS) to form the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF). The RFC operated in parallel with the RNAS, whose aircraft are listed at

List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service This is a list of military aircraft used by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Aircraft in squadron use * AD Flying Boat - 29 built * Airco DH.4 * Airco DH.6 * Airco DH.9 * Armstrong Whitworth FK.3 * Avro 503 * Avro 504 * Beardmore WB.III * ...

. For a list of Royal Air Force aircraft see

List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force Many aircraft types have served in the British Royal Air Force since its formation in April 1918 from the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. This is a list of RAF aircraft, including all currently active and retired t ...

Operational aeroplanes

Airships

The airship service was disbanded 1 January 1914 and all airships transferred to the RNAS. See

List of British airships Airship development in the United Kingdom lagged behind that of Germany and France. The first British designed and built airship was constructed by Stanley Spencer, and on 22 September 1902 was flown from Crystal Palace, London to Ruislip, carr ...

* ''British Army Airship No.3/Baby''/''Beta''/''Beta'' II * No.2A – 1910– * ''Delta'' – 1912–1914 * Epsilon I and Epsilon II – * ''Eta'' 1913–1914 *''

Clément-Bayard Clément-Bayard, Bayard-Clément, was a French manufacturer of automobiles, aeroplanes and airships founded in 1903 by entrepreneur Gustave Adolphe Clément. Clément obtained consent from the Conseil d'Etat to change his name to that of his b ...

II'' ''Zeta'' 1910–1910 *'' Lebaudy Morning Post'' 1910–1911

Prototypes

ASL Valkyrie The ASL Valkyrie was a canard pusher configuration aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Syndicate Ltd in 1910. Examples were widely flown during 1911 and were used for instructional purposes at the ASL flying school, which was the first occup ...

No serial assigned, donated aircraft probably not flown by the RFC. *

Airco DH.3 The Airco DH.3 was a British bomber aircraft of the First World War. The DH.3 was designed in 1916 as a long-range day bomber by Geoffrey de Havilland, chief designer at the Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It was a large biplane with wide-span t ...

* Armstrong Whitworth F.K.7 * Armstrong Whitworth F.K.9 *

Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10 The Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10 was a British two-seat quadruplane (''i.e.'', four wing) fighter aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth during the First World War. While it was ordered in small numbers for the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Nava ...

* Avro 521 * Beatty-Wright Biplanes * Bristol-Prier Monoplane * Bristol TB.8 & G.B.75 *

Bristol S.2A The Bristol Scout was a single-seat rotary-engined biplane originally designed as a racing aircraft. Like similar fast, light aircraft of the period it was used by the RNAS and the RFC as a "scout", or fast reconnaissance type. It was one of ...

* Caproni Ca.1Abandoned en route during delivery flight, no serial assigned. *

Caudron Type C The Caudron Type C was a single seat France, French biplane, intended for military evaluation. Two were built in 1911. Design and development From the Caudron Type B, Type B of 1911 to the World War I Caudron G.3 Caudron biplanes had a common ...

/45 hp * Caudron G.IV * Caudron R.XI * Cody V biplane * Curtiss C-1 Canada *

Dunne D.8 The Dunne D.8 of 1912 was a tailless swept wing biplane, designed by J. W. Dunne to have inherent stability. One example was supplied to RAE Farnborough. License-built Burgess-Dunne models were used by the US Signal Corps and United States ...

* Farman Type Militaire, 1910 * Flanders F.4 * Grahame-White Type VII & VIIc * Grahame-White Type VIII * Grahame-White Pusher Biplane * Grahame-White School Biplane * Handley Page Type O/400Ordered by the RFC but delivered to the

. * Howard Wright biplane * Martin-Handasyde Monoplane * Martinsyde F.3 * Morane-Saulnier AC * Paulhan biplane * Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9 *

Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.4 The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.4 was a twin-engine biplane aircraft built by the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1916. Intended as a cannon armed ground-attack aircraft, it was unsuccessful, only two being built. Design and development Shortly after ...

* Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9 *

Royal Aircraft Factory N.E.1 The Royal Aircraft Factory N.E.1 was a prototype British Night fighter of the First World War. A single-engined pusher biplane, it was a development of the Royal Aircraft Factory's earlier F.E.9 fighter, but was not successful, only six being ...

* Short Tractor Biplane *

Sopwith Sparrow The Sopwith Sparrow was a manned light aircraft developed from the Sopwith A.T. (''Aerial Target'') drone and was powered by a ABC Gnat engine. References * {{Sopwith Aviation Company aircraft Sparrow Sparrow may refer to: Birds * Old Worl ...

Sopwith Triplane The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. It has the distinction of being the first military triplane to see operational service. The ...

* SPAD S.XII * Vickers F.B.7/7A * Vickers F.B.27 Vimy * Vickers F.B.26 Vampire * Wright Model HNo serial assigned, previous model B out of service before 1912.

Unmanned aerial vehicles

British unmanned aerial vehicles of World War I Soon after its re-purposing from the Army Balloon Factory to the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1912, designers at this Farnborough base turned their thoughts to flying an unmanned aircraft. During the First World War this pioneering work resulted in t ...

List of weapons of the Royal Flying Corps

Bombs

Cooper bombs The Cooper bomb was a British 20 pound bomb used extensively in World War I, it was the first high explosive bomb to be adapted by the Royal Flying Corps. Design The bomb was in weight, of which was the bomb casing and was an explosive charg ...

* Ranken darts

Rockets

Le Prieur rocket ''Le Prieur'' rockets (French ''Fusées Le Prieur'') were a type of incendiary air-to-air rocket used in World War I against observation balloons and airships. They were invented by the French lieutenant Yves Le Prieur and were first used in the ...

- Incendiary

air-to-air rocket An air-to-air rocket or air interception rocket is an unguided projectile fired from aircraft to engage other flying targets. They were used briefly in World War I to engage enemy observation balloons and in and after World War II to engage enem ...

Machine guns

* 0.303-inch (7.7-mm) Lewis gun * 0.303-inch (7.7-mm)

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps Aviation in World War I

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...