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The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.7 was a British two-seat light bomber and reconnaissance biplane designed by the
Royal Aircraft Factory
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and built under contracts by the
Coventry Ordnance Works
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,
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and
Siddeley-Deasy
The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile, aero engine and aircraft company based in Coventry in the early 20th century. It was central to the formation, by merger and buy-out, of the later Armstrong Siddeley Motor ...
for the
Royal Flying Corps
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.
Development
Developed from the
R.E.5 the R.E.7 was designed to carry heavier loads and also suitable for escort and reconnaissance duties. It was an-unequal span biplane with a fixed tailskid landing gear and powered by a nose-mounted 120 hp (89 kW)
Beardmore Beardmore can refer to:
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engine driving a four-bladed propeller. The aircraft was built by a number of different contractors with the first aircraft operational with the Royal Flying Corps in France in early 1916. The aircraft had two open cockpits with the observer/gunner in the forward cockpit under the upper wing and the pilot aft.
Operational history
It was soon found that the aircraft could not be used as an escort due to the limited field of fire for the single lewis gun but the R.E.7 had a useful payload and was soon used as a light bomber with the more powerful engine (either a 150 hp (112 kW)
RAF 4a
The RAF 4 was a British Air-cooled engine, air-cooled, V12 engine, V12 engine developed for aircraft use during World War I. Based on the eight–cylinder RAF 1 it was designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory but produced by the two British compani ...
or 160 hp (119 kW) Beardmore). Over a quarter of the aircraft built were used in France in the middle of 1916 but their slow speed and low ceiling with a bomb load made them vulnerable to attack. The R.E.7s were withdrawn and used for training and a number were used as engine test beds. Use was made of them as target tugs trailing a sleeve drogue for air-to-air firing practice, probably one of the first aircraft to do this.
At least two R.E.7s were converted to three seaters.
Operator
;
*
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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**
No. 9 Squadron RFC
**
No. 12 Squadron RFC
Number 12 Squadron, also known as No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron and occasionally as No. XII Squadron, is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The squadron reformed in July 2018 as a joint RAF/Qatar Emiri Air Force squadron. It is currently ...
**
No. 19 Squadron RFC
**
No. 20 Squadron RFC
**
No. 21 Squadron RFC
**
No. 37 Squadron RFC
**
No. 49 Squadron RFC
Specifications (light bomber)
See also
References
*
*
RAF R.E.7– British Aircraft Directory
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1910s British bomber aircraft
RE07
Aircraft first flown in 1915