The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9 was a British experimental reconnaissance aircraft of World War I.

Design

The intention of the designers was to combine the high performance of

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

aircraft with a good field of fire for the observer's machine gun, as provided by pushers. It was therefore decided to modify an example 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 ...

c by adding a small wooden box (which soon gained the nickname " pulpit") in front of the aircraft's propeller, which would accommodate a gunner armed with a Lewis gun on a trainable mount. The normal observer's cockpit of the B.E.2c was removed, allowing the engine (the standard air-cooled

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 ...

a of the B.E.2) to be moved rearwards, while the wingspan was increased, and a larger fin was fitted.Hare 1990, pp. 177–178. A general layout of this kind had various drawbacks - the most obvious being the perilous situation of the gunner - who was liable to injury by the propeller, or to be crushed by the engine in the mildest of crashes. The type was not developed further by 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 c ...

(although the French

SPAD S.A The SPAD S.A (also called S.A.L.) was a French two-seat tractor biplane first flown in 1915. It was used by France and Russia in the early stages of the First World War in the fighter and reconnaissance roles. It was a unique aircraft that carrie ...

, of similar concept, saw service) and was soon rendered superfluous by the availability of synchronization gears.

Service testing

The single prototype built (serial ''1700'') first flew at Farnborough on 14 August 1915. Early testing indicated that performance was little different from the B.E.2c upon which it was based, although the "difficulty" (surely an understatement) in communicating between the pilot and observer, separated by both engine and propeller, was reported.Hare 1990, pp. 178–179. and in September that year the B.E.9 was sent for testing in the field in France by a number of units, including No. 6 Squadron, 8 Squadron and 16 Squadron.Bruce March 1963, p.82. While the B.E.9 carried out a few operational patrols in France, including one encounter with a German Fokker Eindekker, the opinion of those testing it was generally negative, with Major

Hugh Dowding Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally c ...

, at the time commander of 16 Squadron, stating that the B.E.9 was "...an extremely dangerous machine from the passenger's point of view",Bruce 1982, p. 384. while

Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...

, head of the RFC in France said that "this type of machine cannot be recommended".Hare 1990, p. 179. It was sent back to the United Kingdom early in 1916. In his memoirs, Lt Duncan Grinnell-Milne recalls his gratitude that initial combat experience with the type proved inconclusive and that it was not ordered into mass production.Grinnell-Milne, 1968 pp. 73-74

Operators

; * Royal Flying CorpsBruce 1982, p. 385. :(prototype tested briefly by:) :* No. 6 Squadron RFC :* No. 8 Squadron RFC :* No. 16 Squadron RFC

Specifications (BE.9)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft 1910s British military reconnaissance aircraft BE09 Single-engined pusher aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1915