The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.1 was an experimental two-seat single-engined biplane from before
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, intended to develop reconnaissance aircraft.
Design and development
The earliest systematic naming scheme used by the
Royal Aircraft Factory
Royal may refer to:
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* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
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categorised by layout, e.g.
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 ...
, with B for Bleriot type or
tractor aircraft plus E for experimental. A few types, like the
B.S.1 were briefly named under a layout plus role scheme (S for scout), but by the end of 1913 the B.S.1 had become the S.E.2 (Scout Experimental), the layout letter dropped. The initial sketches for what became known as the R.E.1 (Reconnaissance Experimental) were labelled B.S.2. In this context reconnaissance meant two-seaters, as opposed to the single-seat scouts.
At that time reconnaissance or scouting was seen as the only military purpose of aircraft. The R.E.1, completed in July 1913, was described in contemporary reports as intended for the same purposes as 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 ...
, using the same engine but being an aircraft of more modern refinement. It was a single bay biplane with equal span, constant chord wings, unswept but with stagger.
Wing warping
Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite direc ...
was use for lateral control. The rudder was similar to that of the B.E.2, curved and extending below the fuselage, but a triangular fin was fitted that reached forward to the strongly swept leading edge of the B.E.2 style tailplane.
The fuselage was flat sided with deep, rounded decking and slender overall to the rear.
The cockpits were in tandem, the pilot's at the rear with sides cut to the bottom of the decking. He sat behind the trailing edge, with a cut-out in the upper wing to improve visibility. The observer's cockpit was between the wings and less deep. The air-cooled 70 hp (52 kW)
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
engine was uncowled and drove a four-bladed propeller. The single-axle undercarriage was attached to two longitudinal members which ran forward to serve as anti-nose-over skids, fixed to the fuselage by two pairs of robust struts.
By September 1913 the only two R.E.1s built, serials ''607'' and ''608'', were with the Flying Department of the Royal Aircraft Factory.
They were intended as experimental machines and were much modified. One desire was to make automatically stable aircraft, so they could be flown hands-off to give the pilot observation time. Within a month or so of completion,'' 607'' had a wing extension of about 2 ft (610 mm) and ''608'' was probably built with the extension. In November ''607'' had four fins attached to the upper wing top surface, positioned above each pair of interplane struts and above each of the centre section struts; soon after 608 had them too, plus a reduction of stagger and a finless, enlarged rudder. In the quest for stability ''607'', now with ailerons replacing wing warping had a series of increases in dihedral, By March 1914 it could be flown hands off in "squally conditions". Later its stagger was also reduced and a rectangular tailplane fitted.
In May 1914 the second R.E.1, no. ''608'' was transferred to the RFC and for a short while wore the number ''362'', though it went to war in August as ''608''. It may have gone with under-seat armour, albeit only 1/25th in (1 mm) thick, but it only survived for about a week. ''607'' stayed at Farnborough and was still at work in February 1915 doing photographic and wireless testing.
Specifications (short span)
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
O'Gorman, Mervyn"The Design and Construction of Different Types of Aeroplanes: Reconnaissance Aeroplane" pp. 266–267 of ''Technical Report of the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics for the Year 1912–13'', London:
HMSO
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...
, 1919. Discusses the R.E.1 as first built.
External links
{{Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft
1910s British military reconnaissance aircraft
R.E.1
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1913