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The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. Whil ...
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination o ...
of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. It was developed 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 ...
by a team consisting of Henry Folland,
John Kenworthy John Kenworthy B.Sc., F.R.Aes (1883–1940) was an English aviation engineer and aircraft designer. John Kenworthy appears in the 1901 Census of Darlington, aged 17, living with four sisters, one brother and his parents George and Ellen Kenwort ...
and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fastest aircraft of the war, while being both stable and relatively manoeuvrable. According to aviation author Robert Jackson, the S.E.5 was: "the nimble fighter that has since been described as the '
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
of World War One'".Jackson 2007, p. 18. In most respects the S.E.5 had superior performance to the rival
Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...
, although it was less immediately responsive to the controls. Problems with its
Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...
engine, particularly the geared-output H-S 8B-powered early versions, meant that there was a chronic shortage of the type until well into 1918. Thus, while the first examples had reached the Western Front before the Camel, there were fewer squadrons equipped with the S.E.5 than with the Sopwith fighter. Together with the Camel, the S.E.5 was instrumental in regaining allied
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 com ...
in mid-1917 and maintaining it for the rest of the war, ensuring there was no repetition of "
Bloody April Bloody April was the (largely successful) British air support operation during the Battle of Arras in April 1917, during which particularly heavy casualties were suffered by the Royal Flying Corps at the hands of the German ''Luftstreitkräfte ...
" 1917 when losses in the
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
were much heavier than in the
Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alth ...
. The S.E.5s remained in RAF service for some time following the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
that ended the conflict; some were transferred to various overseas military operators, while a number were also adopted by civilian operators.


Development


Origins

The S.E.5 (Scout Experimental 5) was designed by Henry Folland,
John Kenworthy John Kenworthy B.Sc., F.R.Aes (1883–1940) was an English aviation engineer and aircraft designer. John Kenworthy appears in the 1901 Census of Darlington, aged 17, living with four sisters, one brother and his parents George and Ellen Kenwort ...
and Major Frank Goodden of 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 ...
in Farnborough. It was built around the new 150 hp (112 kW)
Hispano-Suiza 8 The Hispano-Suiza 8 was a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914, and was the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hispano-Suiza 8 ...
, a
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
that, while providing excellent performance, was initially underdeveloped and unreliable. The first of three prototypes flew on 22 November 1916. The first two prototypes were lost in crashes (the first killing the chief test pilot at the Royal Aircraft Factory, Major Frank Goodden, on 28 January 1917) due to a weakness in their wing design. The third prototype underwent modification before production commenced; the S.E.5 was known in service as an exceptionally strong aircraft which could be dived at very high speed – the squarer wings also gave much improved lateral control at low airspeeds.Hare 2013, p. 46. Like the other significant Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft of the war ( B.E.2, F.E.2 and R.E.8) the S.E.5 was inherently stable, making it an excellent gunnery platform, but it was also quite manoeuvrable. It was one of the fastest aircraft of the war at 138 mph (222 km/h), equal at least in speed to the SPAD S.XIII and faster than any standard German type of the period. While the S.E.5 was not as agile and effective in a tight
dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
as the Camel it was much easier and safer to fly, particularly for novice pilots.Cheesman 1960, p. 56. According to "Dodge" Bailey, Chief Test Pilot of the Shuttleworth Collection, it had "somewhat similar handling characteristics to a
de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft ...
, but with better excess power".


S.E.5a

Only 77 original S.E.5 aircraft had been completed prior to production settling upon an improved model, designated as the ''S.E.5a''. The initial models of the S.E.5a differed from late production examples of the S.E.5 only in the type of engine installed – a geared 200 hp
Hispano-Suiza 8b The Hispano-Suiza 8 was a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914, and was the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hispano-Suiza 8A ...
, often turning a large clockwise-rotation four-bladed propeller, replacing the 150 hp H.S. 8A model. In total 5,265 S.E.5s were constructed by six manufacturers: Austin Motors (1,650), Air Navigation and Engineering Company (560), Curtiss (1),
Martinsyde Martinsyde was a British aircraft and motorcycle manufacturer between 1908 and 1922, when it was forced into liquidation by a factory fire. History The company was first formed in 1908 as a partnership between H.P. Martin and George Handasyde ...
(258), 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 ...
(200),
Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 1 ...
(2,164) and Wolseley Motors Limited (431). Shortly following the
American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
, plans were mooted for several American aircraft manufacturers to commence mass production of aircraft already in service with the Allied powers, one such fighter being the S.E.5. In addition to an order of 38 Austin-built S.E.5a aircraft which were produced in Britain and assigned to the
American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
to equip already-deployed US Army squadrons, the US Government issued multiple orders to the
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first deca ...
for the manufacture and delivery of around 1,000 S.E.5s to be produced in the United States. However, only one Curtiss-built aircraft would be completed prior to the end of the conflict, after which demand for the S.E.5 had effectively evaporated, production being quickly halted after a further 56 aircraft were assembled using already-delivered components."Eberhart SE-5E."
''National Museum of the US Air Force'', 7 April 2015.
At first, airframe construction outstripped the very limited supply of French-built Hispano-Suiza engines and squadrons earmarked to receive the new fighter had to soldier on with Airco DH 5s and
Nieuport 24 The Nieuport 24 (or Nieuport XXIV C.1 in contemporary sources) was a World War I French sesquiplane fighter aircraft designed by Gustave Delage as a development of the successful Nieuport 17. The Nieuport 24 had the misfortune to be the penult ...
s until early 1918. The troublesome geared "-8b" model was prone to have serious gear reduction system problems, sometimes with the propeller (and even the entire gearbox on a very few occasions) separating from the engine and airframe in flight, a problem shared with the similarly-powered
Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the World War I, First World War. The Dolphin entered se ...
. The introduction of the 200 hp (149 kW) Wolseley Viper, a high-compression, direct-drive version of the Hispano-Suiza 8a made under licence by Wolseley Motors Limited, solved the S.E.5a's engine problems and was promptly adopted as the type's standard powerplant.Mortimer 2014, p. 66. A number of aircraft were subsequently converted to a two-seat configuration in order to serve as
trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characterist ...
.Hare 2013, p. 86.


S.E.5b

The S.E.5b was a variant of the S.E.5 with a streamlined nose and upper and lower wings of different span and chord. The single example, a converted S.E.5a, first flew in early April 1918. It had a spinner on the propeller and a retractable underslung radiator. Its performance was little better than the S.E.5a, with the extra drag of the big upper wing offsetting gains from the more streamlined fuselage. The S.E.5b was not considered for production. In January 1919, it was tested with standard S.E.5a wings and in this form survived as a research aircraft into the early twenties.Hare 2013, pp. 98-100.


Design

The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 was a conventional
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construc ...
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. Whil ...
fighter aircraft. The fuselage was a wire-braced box girder structure while the wings were furnished with wooden
spars The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve, also known as the SPARS (SPARS was the acronym for "Semper Paratus—Always Ready"), was the women's branch of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. It was established by the United States ...
and internal
ribs The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels. The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a se ...
. The fuselage was narrower than many contemporary aircraft, which provided the pilot with good all-round visibility. The aircraft had considerable structural strength, which was credited with improving the type's
crashworthiness Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different crit ...
and survivability. It could also withstand high-g manoeuvres and was relatively resistant to battle-damage.Nijboer and Patterson 2016, p. 20. Unlike many of its peers, which were highly agile but unforgiving, the S.E.5 was comparatively stable and easy to fly; its stability enabling pilots to more readily fire upon enemies from further away with a greater degree of accuracy. It had a noticeably lower accident rate than comparable aircraft. The exception to its generally stability was an excessive amount of adverse yaw. The yaw could be compensated for by balanced application of the
aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...
and
rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse ya ...
, whilst adjustment of the
elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...
trim made it possible to fly in a 'hands off' manner. The S.E.5 was powered by various engines, initially adopting a
Hispano-Suiza 8 The Hispano-Suiza 8 was a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914, and was the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hispano-Suiza 8 ...
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
. The Hispano-Suiza engine was advanced for the era, incorporating such features as an aluminium cylinder block with steel liners, dual ignition and forced lubrication that aided cooling; especially compared with contemporary
rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and it ...
s, it had the advantage of being easy to operate by most pilots. An expansion tank for the cooling system was integrated into the
leading edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...
of the upper wing's centre section."Flying the SE.5a."
''thevintageaviator.co.nz'', Retrieved: 8 January 2017.
One of its greatest advantages over the Sopwith Camel was its superior performance at altitude, making it a much better match for the
Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the '' Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...
when that fighter arrived at the front. The S.E.5 was armed with a single synchronised .303-inch
Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a 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 men to move and o ...
in contrast to the Camel's two, but it also had a wing-mounted Lewis gun fitted on a
Foster mounting The Foster mounting was a device fitted to some fighter aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was designed to enable a machine gun (in practice, a Lewis Gun) to fire ''over'', rather than ''through'' the arc of the sp ...
, which enabled the pilot to fire at an enemy aircraft from below. This armament configuration was much appreciated by the pilots of the first S.E.5 squadrons as the new hydraulic-link "C.C." synchronising gear for the Vickers machine gun was unreliable at first. The Vickers gun was mounted on the forward left dorsal surface of the
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft ...
with the breech inside the
cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls that ena ...
, at a slight upwards angle. Typically, spare magazines for the Lewis gun would have been placed within most of the free space in the cockpit including the forward areas, such as the instrumentation panel. The standard instrument panel included a
compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
,
altimeter An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...
, tachometer, oil pressure indicator, airspeed gauge, radiator temperature dial, fuel air pressure indicator, fuel selector, and air exchange; these were somewhat difficult to view due to their low-set position in the cockpit.Nijboer and Patterson 2016, pp. 20, 23. According to "Dodge" Bailey, Chief Test Pilot of the Shuttleworth Collection, the S.E.5's cockpit was "the best of the bunch from the era". It was set amidships, making it difficult to see over the long front fuselage, but otherwise visibility was good. Individual in-service S.E.5s would often receive customisations and user-specified tweaks at the request of their pilots. Popular changes included reducing the dihedral of the wings in order to increase its manoeuvrability and the removal of the head fairing to increase the pilot's visibility to the rear.
James McCudden James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...
, an
ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...
pilot and former RFC mechanic, was famous for his prolific fine-tuning of his aircraft in order to produce improved performance from it; McCudden was able to increase the top speed by 9 mph and to raise the service ceiling from the standard 17,000 ft to 20,000 ft. His adaptions included replacing the standard pistons with high compression versions, shortening the exhaust (saving weight and improving exhaust scavenging), and changes to mixture, ignition and other engine settings as well as fitting a salvaged German propeller spinner (which he himself credited as gaining 3 mph alone). Aviation authors Donald Nijboer and Dan Patterson describe the S.E.5 as "arguably the best British-built fighter of World War I".


Operational history

In March 1917, the S.E.5 entered service with No. 56 Squadron RFC, although the squadron did not deploy to the Western Front until the following month.Jackson 2007, p. 11. Everyone was suspicious of the large "greenhouse" windscreens fitted to the first production models. These were designed to protect the pilot in his unusually high seating position, which was in turn intended to improve vision over the upper wing. The squadron did not fly its first patrol with the S.E.5 until 22 April,Bruce 1953, p. 87. by which time, on the insistence of Major Blomfield, 56 squadron's commanding officer, all aircraft had been fitted with small rectangular screens of conventional design. The problem of the high seating position was solved by simply lowering it, pilots in any case preferring a more conventional (and comfortable) seating position. No complaints seem to have been made about the view from the cockpit; in fact, this was often cited as one of the strong points of the type. While pilots, some of whom were initially disappointed with the S.E.5, quickly came to appreciate its strength and fine flying qualities, it was popularly judged to have been underpowered; this failing was addressed by the introduction of the more powerful S.E.5a. In June 1917, the S.E.5a entered service and quickly began to replace the S.E.5. At this time 56 Squadron was still the only unit flying the new fighter; in fact it was the only operational unit to be fully equipped with the initial 150 hp S.E.5 – all other S.E.5 squadrons officially used the 200 hp S.E.5a from the outset – although a few S.E.5s were issued to other squadrons due to an acute shortage of the S.E.5a. Deliveries of the S.E.5a suffered from delays due to a shortage of available engines with which to power the type. Due to the shortage of aircraft, there was a very slow initial build-up of new S.E.5a squadrons, which lasted well into 1918. Once the Wolseley Viper-powered model became plentiful, many more units were re-equipped with the type. By the end of the war, the S.E.5a was employed by a total of 21
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts ...
squadrons as well as two U.S. units. Many of the top Allied
aces ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philip ...
of the Great War flew this fighter, including
Billy Bishop Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, (8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956) was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War. He was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war, and ...
, Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor, Edward Mannock and
James McCudden James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...
. Legendary British ace
Albert Ball Albert Ball, (14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917) was a British fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories, and remained its fourth-highest scorer ...
was initially disparaging of the S.E.5, but in the end claimed 11 of his 44 victories flying it. McCudden wrote of the S.E.5: "It was very fine to be in a machine that was faster than the Huns, and to know that one could run away just as things got too hot."McCudden 2000 (1919), p. 168. Sholto Douglas who commanded No. 84 Squadron RFC which was initially equipped with the S.E.5a, listed the type's qualities as being: "Comfortable, with a good all-round view, retaining its performance and manoeuvrability at high level, steady and quick to gather speed in the dive, capable of a very fine zoom, useful in both offence and defence, strong in design and construction, ndpossessing a reliable engine". Soon after the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
the S.E.5a was withdrawn from RAF service. It was retained for a time in Canada, and in 1921 a Viper-engined S.E.5a was taken to Japan by the British Aviation Mission to the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...
. Australia received 35 S.E.5a under the Imperial Gift in 1919, and the type went on to be the newly formed R.A.A.F.’s main fighter type until the late 1920’s. A number of machines found roles in civilian flying after the war. On 30 May 1922, the first use of skywriting for
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
occurred when Cyril Turner, a former RAF officer, spelt out "London
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publis ...
" in black smoke from an S.E.5a at The Derby. Others were used for
air racing Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a previ ...
; one such privately owned aircraft won the Morris Cup race in 1927.


Variants

;S.E.5 : First production version. Single-seat fighter biplane, powered by a 150 hp (112 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8a piston engine. ;S.E.5a : Improved production version, powered by a 200 hp (149 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8B, 8Ba or 8Bb V-8 (early version) or 200 hp (149 kW) Wolseley Viper piston engine. ;S.E.5b : Experimental prototype, with
sesquiplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
wings, streamlined nose and retractable radiator. ;Eberhart S.E.5e : S.E.5a assembled from spare parts by American company Eberhart Aeroplane, 180 hp Wright-Hispano E engine and plywood-covered fuselages, about 60 built.Hare 1990, p. 297. ;T.E.1 : Drawings for a two seat fighter described as "based on a scaled-up S.E.5" were prepared early in 1917 - the type was to have had a 31-foot 3-inch wingspan, 200 hp Hispano-Suiza 8 engine, and to have been armed with a single forward firing Vickers and a Scarff mounted Lewis for the observer. Six examples ordered (A 8951 - A 8956) but because of the success of the Bristol fighter, and in view of the shortage of Hispano-Suiza engines, none was ever completed.


Operators

;Argentina *
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...
– One SE.5a aircraft, in service from 1926 – 1929. ;Australia *
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 ...
/
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
:World War I :* No. 2 Squadron AFC in France. :* No. 5 (Training) Squadron AFC in the United Kingdom. :* No. 6 (Training) Squadron AFC – One aircraft only. :Post-war :* No. 1 Squadron RAAF :*
No. 3 Squadron RAAF No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter squadron, headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales. Established in 1916, it was one of four combat squadrons of the Australian Flying Corps during Wor ...
:* No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF ;Brazil * Aviação Militar (Brazilian Army Aviation) – One SE.5a aircraft, donated by Handley Page, in service during 1920. ;Canada *
Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
*
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
;Chile *
Chilean Air Force "With full speed to the stars" , colours = Indigo White , colours_label = , march = Alte Kameraden , mascot = , anniversaries = 21 March ...
;Ireland * Irish Air Service *
Irish Air Corps "Watchful and Loyal" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = ''see list of wars'' , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , fl ...
;Poland *
Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mi ...
**
Polish 7th Air Escadrille Polish 7th Air Escadrille ( pl, 7. Eskadra Lotnicza), better known as the Kościuszko Squadron, was one of the units of the Polish Air Force during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. Formed in late 1918, it was re-formed in late 1919 from US ...
operated one S.E.5a in 1920, during the Polish-Soviet war ;South Africa *
South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...
;United Kingdom *
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
/
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) a ...
:*
No. 1 Squadron RAF Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. The squadron motto, ...
:*
No. 17 Squadron RAF Number 17 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XVII Squadron), currently No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 12 April 2013 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as the Operational ...
:*
No. 24 Squadron RAF No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AMOCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on C-130J Hercules, A400 ...
:*
No. 29 Squadron RAF No. 29 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was first raised as a unit of the Royal Flying Corps in 1915, and is one of the world's oldest fighter squadrons. The second British squadron to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon, it is currently the Operati ...
:* No. 30 Squadron RAF :*
No. 32 Squadron RAF Number 32 (The Royal) Squadron (sometimes abbreviated as No. 32 (TR) Squadron) of the Royal Air Force operates in the VIP and general air transport roles from RAF Northolt in Greater London. Originally formed in 1916 as part of the Royal Flyin ...
:* No. 40 Squadron RAF :*
No. 41 Squadron RAF No. 41 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the RAF's Typhoon Test and Evaluation Squadron ("TES"), based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Its official title is "41 TES". The squadron was formed in 1916 during First World War as part of the Royal ...
:* No. 47 Squadron RAF :* No. 50 Squadron RAF :*
No. 56 Squadron RAF Number 56 Squadron, nicknamed ''the Firebirds'' for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air ...
:*
No. 60 Squadron RAF No. 60 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport. It is currently part of No. 1 Flying Training School based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire flying the Airbus H135 Juno HT1. The squadron badge is a markhor's head and was app ...
:* No. 61 Squadron RAF :* No. 64 Squadron RAF :* No. 68 Squadron RAF :*
No. 72 Squadron RAF Number 72 (Fighter) Squadron of the Royal Air Force is a training squadron that is currently based at RAF Valley using the Beechcraft Texan T.1 to deliver Basic Fast Jet Training (BFJT). It was previously based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse using th ...
:* No. 74 Squadron RAF :* No. 78 Squadron RAF :* No. 81 Squadron RAF :* No. 84 Squadron RAF :* No. 85 Squadron RAF :* No. 87 Squadron RAF :*
No. 92 Squadron RAF Number 92 Squadron, also known as No. 92 (East India) Squadron and currently as No. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of the Royal Air Force is a test and evaluation squadron based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It was formed as part of the Ro ...
:* No. 93 Squadron RAF :* No. 94 Squadron RAF :*
No. 111 Squadron RAF Number 111 (Fighter) Squadron, also known as No. CXI (F) Squadron and nicknamed ''Treble One'', was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1917 in the Middle East as No. 111 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps during the reorganisation ...
:* No. 143 Squadron RAF :* No. 145 Squadron RAF :*
No. 150 Squadron RAF No. 150 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during both World War I and World War II.Gunston (1978) In the early 1960s it was briefly reformed as a Strategic Missile squadron operating the Thor IRBM. World War I The sq ...
:* No. 229 Squadron RAF ;United States * Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force ** 25th Aero Squadron (November 1918) *
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...


Surviving aircraft and replicas


Originals

An original S.E.5a may be seen at the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden, England, UK. This aircraft was originally serial ''F904'' of No. 84 Squadron RAF, then flew as ''G-EBIA'' from September 1923 to February 1932. It was stored between 1933 and 1955, before being restored to a flightworthy condition by staff at the
Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...
and then passed onto the Shuttleworth Collection. An extensive refurbishment of this aircraft was performed in 2007. It has been re-registered as ''G-EBIA'', it was first painted as ''D7000'', then as ''F904''."RAF SE5a."
''Shuttleworth'', Retrieved: 8 January 2017.
An original S.E.5e may be seen in the
National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
at
Dayton Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...
, Ohio, USA. The museum acquired the S.E.5e through a donation by the estate of Lt. Col. William C. Lambert, USAF Ret, a First World War ace with 21.5 victories. Lambert flew the S.E.5a as an American member of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force. The Air Force Museum Foundation also helped buy the aircraft. It is painted to represent an S.E.5e of the 18th Headquarters Squadron, Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., in 1925. Another four original airframes are statically displayed at: the
Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...
, London, UK;
Royal Air Force Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity. The museum is split into two separate sites: * R ...
, London, UK;
South African National Museum of Military History The South African National War Museum in Johannesburg was officially opened by Prime Minister Jan Smuts on 29 August 1947 to preserve the history of South Africa's involvement in the Second World War. In 1975, the museum was renamed the South Af ...
, Johannesburg, South Africa; and the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving per ...
, Canberra, Australia.


Reproductions

Two full-scale replica S.E.5a aircraft were built by
Miles Aircraft Miles was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother George Herber ...
in 1965 for use in film making and were transferred to the Irish civil aircraft register in 1967 while the two were employed in flying scenes for the 1966 war movie The Blue Max. Three flightworthy reproductions (designated SE5a-1), along with a single static example, were constructed by The Vintage Aviator Limited in New Zealand. According to the group, the reproduction aircraft, which was the company's first project, combined some authentic components, such as the Hispano engines used, with newly-fabricated parts based on original archived drawings. The
Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight is a private non-profit air and space museum in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is located at the southern end of King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in the city of Tukwila, immediately south of Seattle.< ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, US displays the reproduction SE.5a that Bobby Strahlman and his partners completed for collector Doug Champlin in 1989. This reproduction features one .303 Vickers and one .303-calibre Lewis machine gun, and carries the paint scheme of American ace George Vaughn who served with the Royal Flying Corps. The SE.5 was displayed at Champlin's fighter museum at
Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...
,
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fo ...
, US until the collection was transferred to Seattle in 2003."Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a Reproduction."
''Museum of Flight'', Retrieved: 8 January 2017.


Fictional portrayals

The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 has been portrayed, both by original and replica aircraft, in various movies. These include '' Wings'' (1927), '' Hell's Angels'' (1930), ''
Flying Down to Rio ''Flying Down to Rio'' is a 1933 American pre-Code RKO musical film famous for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond received top billing and the leading roles. Among the ...
'' (1933), '' Crimson Romance'' (1934), ''
Test Pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
'' (1939) and '' The Aviator'' (2004). Converted '' Stampe et Vertongen'' SV.4 trainer/tourer aircraft were used to portray S.E.5s in the 1976 Anglo-French production '' Aces High''. The 1971 film ''
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, p ...
'' makes reference to the use of the S.E.5 as a weapon to defend against the German
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, p ...
s that were attacking Britain during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. The film, however, is set in the fall of 1915, a full year-and-a-half before the S.E. 5 entered squadron service. The dogfight scene near the film's conclusion features S.E.5a replicas.Beck 2016, p. 317.


Specifications (S.E.5a)


See also

;Notable S.E.5 pilots *
Albert Ball Albert Ball, (14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917) was a British fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories, and remained its fourth-highest scorer ...
, VC, DSO and two bars, MC *
Mick Mannock Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock (24 May 1887 – 26 July 1918) was a British flying ace in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War. Mannock was a pioneer of fighter aircraft tactics in aerial warfare. At the time ...
, VC, DSO & two Bars, MC & Bar *
James McCudden James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...
, VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM * Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor, VC, DSO, MC and bar, DFC * Cecil Lewis, MC * Thomas Herbert, British Distinguished Flying Cross & American Distinguished Service Cross. Future Ohio Attorney General, Governor of Ohio, and Ohio Supreme Court Justice.


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* Beck, Simon D. ''The Aircraft-Spotter's Film and Television Companion''. McFarland, 2016. . * Bruce, J.M.
The S.E.5: Historic Military Aircraft No. 5
. ''
Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can ...
'', 17 July 1953. pp. 85–89, 93. * Bruce, J.M. "The S.E.5A". ''Aircraft in Profile, Volume 1/Part1''. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1965 (Revised 4th edition 1975). . * Cheesman. ''Fighter Aircraft of the 1914–1918 War''. Letchworth:Harleyford, 1960. * Franks, Norman L.R. ''SE 5/5a Aces of World War 1''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publications, 2007. . * Hare, Paul R. "Mount of Aces – The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a". Stroud, UK: Fonthill Media, 2013. * Hare, Paul R. ''The Royal Aircraft Factory''. London:Putnam, 1990. . * Jackson, Robert. ''Britain's Greatest Aircraft''. Pen and Sword, 2007. . * Kopański, Tomasz Jan. ''Samoloty brytyjskie w lotnictwie polskim 1918–1930'' (British Aircraft in the Polish Air Force 1918–1930)(in Polish). Warsaw: Bellona, 2001. . * McCudden, James ''Flying Fury: Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps''. London:Greenhill, 2000 (reprint of 1919 edition). . * Mortimer, Gavin. ''The First Eagles: The Fearless American Aces Who Flew with the RAF in World War I''. Voyageur Press, 2014. . * Nijboer, Donald and Dan Patterson. ''Fighting Cockpits: In the Pilot's Seat of Great Military Aircraft from World War I to Today''. Voyageur Press, 2016. . * Sturtivant, Ray
ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Is ...
and Gordon Page. ''The SE5 File''. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1996. .


External links


"Walkaround of the SE.5a."
– Image gallery of the S.E.5a Reproduction Project at The Vintage Aviator Ltd, New Zealand.
"History of the SE.5a."
– Article on the history of the S.E.5a written by The Vintage Aviator Ltd, New Zealand.

– Contemporary German report (in ''Deutsche Luftfahrer Zeitschrift'') on the SE.5 translated for ''Flight''
Video of S.E. 5a reproduction with WW I-vintage Wright-Hispano V8 engine, being built in Texas
{{Authority control 1910s British fighter aircraft Military aircraft of World War I SE05 Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1916