The Avro 508 was a prototype British

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

aircraft of the 1910s.

Development

The Avro 508 was built at Avro's Manchester works in December 1913 and assembled at Brooklands in January 1914.Jackson 1990, p.134. First exhibited in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in January 1914, the 508 was a wooden fabric-covered pusher biplane of unusual shape, resembling a back-to-front

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 ...

. Its top and bottom three-bay wings were equal in length, made of fabric-covered wood.

Operational history

It was completed by March 1914, and shown at the Olympia Aero Show in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

,Jackson 1990, p.135. however its first flight was at the start of official testing in April 1915 at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...

. The Royal Flying Corps showed no interest in the sole prototype and therefore the aircraft remained a training aircraft and engine tester at

Hendon Aerodrome Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in London, England, that was an important centre for aviation from 1908 to 1968. It was situated in Colindale, north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became a central hub of civil aviation ("the Charing Cros ...

until it was dismantled in April 1916.

Specifications

References

*
The Olympia Exhibition: The Exhibits: Avro (A.V. Roe & Co.)
. ''

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 be a ...

'', 21 March 1914. pp. 295–297. *Jackson, A.J. ''Avro Aircraft since 1908''. London:Putnam, 1990. . {{Avro aircraft 1910s British fighter aircraft

508 __NOTOC__ Year 508 ( DVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Venantius and Celer (or, less frequently, yea ...

Single-engined pusher aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1915 1910s British military reconnaissance aircraft Rotary-engined aircraft