The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 was a British single-seat aeroplane of The First World War designed at the

Royal Aircraft Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. It was essentially a single-seat version of the

B.E.2 The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including establish ...

. Intended for use as a long-range reconnaissance and bombing aircraft, the B.E.12 was pressed into service as a fighter, in which role it proved disastrously inadequate, mainly due to its very poor manoeuvrability.

Development

The B.E.12 was essentially a

B.E.2c The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including establis ...

with the front (observer's) cockpit replaced by a large fuel tank, and the 90 hp

RAF 1 The RAF 1 was a British air-cooled, V-8 engine developed for aircraft use during World War I. Based on a French design, it was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory, and built by six different British companies including Daimler, Rolls-Royc ...

engine of the standard B.E.2c replaced by the new 150 hp

RAF 4 The RAF 4 was a British air-cooled, V12 engine developed for aircraft use during World War I. Based on the eight–cylinder RAF 1 it was designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory but produced by the two British companies of Daimler and Siddeley-Dea ...

. Aviation historians once considered the type a failed attempt to create a fighter aircraft based on the B.E.2 – that was improvised and rushed into service to meet the Fokker threat. Many writers perpetuate this view or something like it. J.M. Bruce, on the other hand, has pointed out that this is simplistic at best and doesn't fit historically.Bruce 1968, V. 2 p.20. The prototype (a modified B.E.2c airframe fitted with the more powerful 150 hp (112 kW) RAF 4a air-cooled

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...

) was already in the process of conversion in June 1915, while the Fokker scourge cannot be said to have started before the first victory by a Fokker E.I on 1 August, when

Max Immelmann Max Immelmann (21 September 1890 – 18 June 1916) '' PLM'' was the first German World War I flying ace.Shores, 1983, p. 10. He was a pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchr ...

shot down a British aircraft that was bombing Douai aerodrome. At the time the B.E.12 was conceived the necessity for an aeroplane to defend itself was by no means as clear as it became later. The idea of dispensing with defensive armament altogether and replacing the observer's seat with extra fuel capacity and/or bombload was typified by several contemporary designs, such as the bomber versions of the

Avro 504 The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...

, and

Sopwith 1½ Strutter The Sopwith Strutter was a British single- or two-seat multi-role biplane aircraft of the First World War.Lake 2002, p. 40. It was the first British two-seat tractor fighter and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised ...

. In any case the B.E.12 cannot have been produced specifically as an "answer" to the Fokker. In mid-1915 there was no way for a British single-seat tractor aircraft to carry a forward-firing armament as the Vickers-Challenger "interrupter" gear did not exist until December and was not available in numbers until the following March. The latest Royal Aircraft Factory single-seat fighter of the time, the F.E.8, was a nimble little pusher – proving if nothing else that its designers were very well aware of the basic requirements of a successful fighter. Nor was the B.E.12 "rushed" into service as would have been relatively easy as it was a straightforward conversion of a type in production. Trials with the prototype continued through late 1915 and seem to have been mainly concerned with the development of the new RAF 4 engine, especially the design of a satisfactory air scoop. Cooling of the rear cylinders of the RAF 4, an air-cooled V12 and later the engine of the

R.E.8 The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard ...

, was always rather dubious. The type was also tested as a bomber. It was May 1916 (when the "Fokker scourge", as a period of German

air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...

was over) that it was decided to fit a synchronised Vickers gun to the type, armament trials had already been undertaken with upward-firing Lewis guns, similar to those used by the night fighter version of the B.E.2c. The B.E.12a variant flew for the first time in February 1916 and had the modified wings of the B.E.2e. It was rather more manoeuvrable than the B.E.12 but was otherwise little improved. The B.E.12b used the B.E.2c airframe but had the 200 hp Hispano-Suiza engine. It was intended as a night fighter and carried wing mounted Lewis guns in place of the synchronised Vickers. Apparently it had a good performance but the engine was more urgently needed for the S.E.5a and very few B.E.12b fighters went into service with home defence squadrons. Some of those built may never have received engines.

Operational Service

The first B.E.12 squadron, No. 19 did not reach France until 1 August 1916. It was followed by the only other squadron to fly the type in France, No. 21, on the 25th. As might have been expected, the new type had all the inherent stability of the B.E.2c and when pressed into service as a fighter proved quite useless, especially in the face of the new German

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

and Albatros fighters coming into service. It continued to be employed as a bomber but since an effective defensive gun could not be mounted it was too vulnerable and was finally withdrawn from all front line duties in France in March 1917. By the time the B.E.12a became available in numbers the B.E.12 had already proved to be unsatisfactory and this variant was never used operationally in France. Several Home defence squadrons flew B.E.12s, along with examples of the B.E.12a and B.E.12b variants. Its stability and range were obvious advantages in an aircraft that had to fly at night but its rate of climb was inadequate when called on to intercept the improved German airships of 1916/17, not to mention the aeroplane raiders that replaced them. The

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

L.48 was shot down by a Home Defence B.E.12 on 17 June 1917 but otherwise there are few recorded successes of the type in this role.Bruce 1982, p. 395. In the Middle East theatre and in Macedonia, the B.E.12 and B.E.12a proved more useful – although typically as long range reconnaissance aircraft rather than as fighters. An exception to this rule was the machine of Captain Gilbert Ware Murlis Green of No. 17 Squadron who shot down several enemy aircraft to become the only B.E.12 ace. The B.E.12b served only with Home Defence squadrons; deliveries began in late 1917, but due to the more urgent need of the S.E.5a squadrons for their Hispano-Suiza engines many were probably either never fitted with engines, or completed as B.E.12s.

Reproductions

No original BE12s are known to exist but The Vintage Aviator Ltd in New Zealand has built an airworthy reproduction which is flown from the firm's

Hood Aerodrome Hood Aerodrome is an aerodrome, located in Masterton, New Zealand, it is located 1 NM South West of the town centre in the suburb of Solway. The aerodrome was named after George Hood, a pioneer Masterton aviator who died trying to make the fi ...

, Masterton base.

Variants

* B.E.12 – Initial production version powered by a RAF 4a engine – basically a B.E.2c conversion (250 built by Daimler, 50 built by Standard Motors) * B.E.12a – With the wings and tail unit of the B.E.2e (50 built by Daimler, 50 built by Coventry Ordnance Works) * B.E.12b – Re-engined version powered by a 200 hp (149 Kw) Hispano-Suiza engine (200 built by Daimler)

Operators

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

Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...

** No. 1 Squadron AFC in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Specifications (B.E.12)

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

RAF B.E.12
– British Aircraft Directory {{Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft 1910s British fighter aircraft Military aircraft of World War I BE12 Aircraft first flown in 1915 ru:Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2