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Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8

1916 WORLD WAR 1

History

The Royal Aircraft Factory's B.E. 2 two-seater biplane, although built in 1912, performed exceptionally well during the First World War (1914-1918). There are approximately 3,500 saws of this type in service, and the aircraft is universally praised for its role in the war.

Her design was such that the last B.E. 2 was not retired until 1919 - after the battle, although she was declared obsolete during the long war. It ended its days as a trainer and a naval bombing/reconnaissance platform.

The Royal Aircraft Works made timely efforts to find a replacement for the B.E. 2 series, which became the 1916 R.E. 8 model. The first flight took place on June 17 of that year, and the production line continued until the end of the war in 1918 - although it was decommissioned before the B.E.2.

Some 4,077 new series aircraft were produced which experienced considerable combat pressure, although the design never lived up to its hype - the inherent stability of the B.E.2 was not found in the R.E.8, so its combat action was not well received Remember to save.

The new aircraft is again in the form of a two-seater biplane. The crew (pilot and observer/gunner) sat side by side in two separate open-air cockpits. Dimensions include a length of 8.5 meters, a wingspan of 13 meters and a height of 3.5 meters. The kerb weight is 820kg and the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) is 1,300kg.

Power is provided by a Royal Aircraft Works V12 Series 4a air-cooled engine producing 140 hp and driving a two-bladed wooden nose propeller. This provides a top speed of 103 mph, a service ceiling of 13,500 feet, and 4.25 hours of battery life.

The biplane wing assemblies are placed amidships and above and forward of the pilot's cockpit. The upper wing assembly has a significant span compared to the lower unit, and a V-shape is present on both assemblies. A uniaxial structural arrangement with parallel struts was used. The rear wing relies on a single large vertical stabilizer and a low-mounted horizontal stabilizer.

The landing gear is a fixed two-wheel configuration with a rail that supports the tail on the ground.

The weapon is carried by a 1 x .303 caliber (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun in a fixed forward position on the forward fuselage and operated by the pilot. The rear gunner manages 1 or 2 Lewis machine guns on a trainable mount.

In addition to this standard equipment, the aircraft can carry up to 225 pounds of bombs.

Compared to the B.E. 2, the R.E. 8 is faster, flies higher and has more base power. These factors should impress her more than she did, but the Great War became the ultimate test of all military aircraft of the era, and any design weaknesses would eventually be exposed.

In July 1916, two prototypes underwent service trials in France, which led to the approval of series production in the autumn - the first front-line deliveries took place in November. Early R.E. 8 models received a different weapon layout at an early stage due to limitations in certain components, including expected machine gun accessories.

Despite the more powerful engine, the series was still considered underpowered, mainly because of its heavier weight, so an attempt was made to redesign the model - one model represented the R.E. 8a variant with a 200 hp Hispano-Suiza, but this design was never Serial production was introduced, mainly due to the scarcity of the engines involved.

In practice, the R.E. 8 lacked the stability that pilots relied on in the B.E. 2 series, and some (often novices) paid the price with their lives. As the plane proved to be relentless, new pilots paid special attention to landing and turning movements. Engineers eventually tried to fix the spin/recovery issue by introducing a larger rear wing, but this had limited effect in the field.

Confined to a direct combat platform, the R.E. 8 eventually served in reconnaissance and artillery reconnaissance roles before transitioning to pilot training.

In addition to the British with more than 30 R.E. 8 squadrons, the Belgian Air Service operated this line of aircraft during the war with Hispano-Suiza engines in modified fairings.

Britain abandoned the aircraft shortly after the armistice in November 1918, although the R.E.8 served in Australia, Estonia and the Soviet Union after the war.

The only other notable variant of the R.E. 8 is the R.E. 9, an R.E. 8 with equal-spread wings and an enlarged tail. However, only two R.E.8s were modified in this way and proved no better than the standard R.E.E.8 aircraft.