The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.3 was a single-engined

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 its ...

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. While a ...

developed by the British

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 c ...

prior to 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 B.E.4 and B.E.7 were virtually identical aircraft that differed only in the engine fitted.

Design and development

In December 1911, the Royal Aircraft Factory started work of a new

of similar layout to its B.E.1 and

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 ...

, but powered by a

to allow comparison with the water-cooled and air-cooled

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 u ...

powered B.E.1 and B.E.2.Bruce 1982, p. 370. Detailed design of the new aircraft was the responsibility of

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 Kenworth ...

, who drew up plans for a two-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

with wings similar to those of the B.E.2, but more heavily staggered. Lateral control was by means of

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 ...

, while the fuselage, which was wider than that of the B.E.1 and 2 to accommodate the rotary engine, was mounted between but clear of the upper and lower wings.Hare 1990, p. 164. Two aircraft were built in early 1912, numbered B.E.3 and B.E.4, but as at the time the Royal Aircraft Factory was forbidden from building aircraft, the two aircraft were officially rebuilds of a Paulhan biplane and a

Bristol Boxkite The Boxkite (officially the Bristol Biplane) was the first aircraft produced by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company (later known as the Bristol Aeroplane Company). A pusher biplane based on the successful Farman III, it was one of the fi ...

respectively, but the only parts reused were the engines.Bruce 1982, pp. 370–371. First to fly was the B.E.3, powered by a 50 hp (37 kW)

Gnome Omega The Gnome 7 Omega (commonly called the Gnome 50 hp) is a French seven-cylinder, air-cooled aero engine produced by Gnome et Rhône. It was shown at the Paris Aero Salon held in December 1908 and was first flown in 1909. It was the world's f ...

engine, on 3 May 1912 with

Geoffrey de Havilland Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer. The aircraft company he founded produced the Mosquito, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built, ...

at the controls. Testing was sufficiently successful for de Havilland to take several passengers up in the B.E.3 later that day, and the aircraft was delivered to the

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

(RFC) on 13 May 1912.Hare 1990, p. 165. The B.E.4, also initially powered by a 50 hp Gnome, flew on 24 June that year, and was handed over to the RFC on 8 August. It was re-engined with a 70 hp Gnome in September 1912.Hare 1990, pp. 167–168. At least two, and possibly three more similar aircraft powered by 50 hp Gnomes were built in late 1912–early 1913 by private contractors.Bruce 1982, p. 373. Kenworthy modified the design to allow fitting of a more powerful (140 hp (104 kW)) two-row Gnome engine, which was built as the B.E.7, flying for the first time on 28 February 1913.Hare 1990, p. 171. The final development of the rotary engined B.E. types was the B.E.8/8a types of 1914/15.

Operational history

The B.E.3 and B.E.4, allocated the serial numbers ''203'' and ''204'' became part of the inventory of

No. 3 Squadron RFC Number 3 Squadron, also known as No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2006. It was first formed on 13 May 1912 as one of the first sq ...

, with the B.E.3, nicknamed "Goldfish", being used for various trials, including air-to-ground signalling with both radio and lights.Bruce 1982, pp. 371–372. Two more aircraft (serial numbers ''416'' and ''417'' were delivered to the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at ...

in December 1912, while serial number ''303'', which may have been similar, was delivered to No. 4 Squadron in January 1913, although wrecked in a crash in February that year.Bruce 1982, p. 373. The B.E.7 was also taken on charge by the Central Flying School, serving until November 1913, at which time its engine bearers were found to be damaged by the heat of its exhaust fumes. ''204'' crashed on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...

on 11 March 1914 when its rudder failed, possibly due to

metal fatigue In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striations on some parts o ...

, killing its crew of two. To avoid similar failures, the remaining aircraft were fitted with modified tails based on that fitted to the H.R.E.2, this allowing the Central Flying School aircraft to remain in use until the summer of 1914.Hare 1990, pp. 168–169.Bruce 1982, p. 374.

Operators

; *

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

Specifications (B.E.3)

Notes

Citations

References

* Bruce J.M. ''The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)''. London: Putnam, 1982. . * Hare, Paul. ''The Royal Aircraft Factory''. London: Putnam, 1990. .

External links

{{Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft B.E.3 1910s British military trainer aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1912