Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8

infobox Aircraft
name =Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8
type = Reconnaissance, Bomber
manufacturer = Royal Aircraft Factory

---

caption =A Siddeley-Deasy-built R.E.8
designer =
first flight =17 June 1916
introduced = 1916
retired = 1918
status = Retired
primary user =Royal Flying Corps
more users =
produced = 1916- 1918
number built =4,077
unit cost = £2068 (RAF 4a engine) Bruce 15 October 1954, p.581.]
variants with their own articles = The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War. Intended as a replacement for the vulnerable B.E.2, the R.E.8 was much more difficult to fly, and was regarded with great suspicion at first in the Royal Flying Corps. Although eventually it gave reasonably satisfactory service, it was never an outstanding combat aircraft. In spite of this, the R.E.8 served as the standard British reconnaissance and artillery spotting aircraft from mid-1917 to the end of the war, serving alongside the rather more popular Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8. Over 4,000 R.E.8s were eventually produced and they served in most theatres including Italy, Russia, Palestine and Mesopotamia, as well as the Western Front.

Design and development

The first of two prototype R.E.8s (Reconnaissance Experimental 8) flew on 17 June 1916. Mason 1994, p.61.] The new type was specifically designed to overcome the drawbacks of the B.E.2 - it had a more powerful motor, giving an improved performance, in particular a heavier payload. It was also much better armed, with a synchronised forward-firing .303-in Vickers machine gun and one or two Lewis guns on a Scarff ring in the observer's cockpit. It was (intentionally) less stable than the B.E.2, although modifications had to be made to "improve" stability before it could gain acceptance by pilots used to the B.E.2e - making the production version a good platform for artillery spotting but giving it little chance of out-manoeuvring enemy fighters.

Most R.E.8s were powered by the 150 hp (112 kW) Royal Aircraft Factory 4a air-cooled 12-cylinder inline engine though some received the 200 hp (149 kW) RAF 4d engine and others had a Hispano-Suiza engine. A supply shortage of Hispano-Suiza engines, as well as the Rolls-Royce aero engines, such as the Falcon, prevented any upgrade of the R.E.8's powerplant. As with most RAF engine installations, the twin exhausts protruded over the upper wing to carry the fumes clear of the crew. As with the B.E.2e, the long extensions on the upper wing tended to collapse if the aircraft was dived too sharply.

Eventually 4,077 R.E.8s were produced with a further 353 on order cancelled at the end of the war. In addition to the Royal Aircraft Factory, the R.E.8 was produced by six other companies including Austin Motors, Standard Motors, Siddeley-Deasy and Coventry Ordnance Works.

Operational history

The first production aircraft reached France in November 1916. Initially, pilots converting from the B.E.2e had problems with the R.E.8's more sensitive controls, resulting in a number of accidents, and the new type was grounded while a larger tailfin was designed. The modified type proved more acceptable, but early service was most inauspicious. On 13 April 1917, a patrol of six R.E.8s from No. 59 Squadron RFC was met by aircraft from "Jasta 11" and all the R.E.8s were shot down within five minutes. Bruce 15 October 1954, pp.577—578.] The casualty rate in R.E.8 squadrons dropped from the levels of "Bloody April", largely as a result of improved pilot training and tactics. Although never a popular aeroplane, it was, however, reasonably satisfactory for the tasks demanded of it, and was even regarded with some affection, gaining the rhyming slang nickname "Harry Tate" (after a popular music hall artist of the time).

The R.E.8 equipped 18 Royal Flying Corps squadrons in 1917 and 19 squadrons in 1918. Belgium was the only country other than Britain (and her Dominions) to operate the R.E.8, receiving 22 in July 1917.

It was intended to replace the R.E.8 with a version of the Bristol Fighter powered by the Sunbeam Arab engine, however very few "Arab Bristols" had been completed by the end of the war.

By November 1918, the R.E.8 was regarded as completely obsolete, and surviving examples were quickly retired after the armistice. Only two survive today. The restoration of R.E.8 "F3556" at the Imperial War Museum Duxford was completed in 2004. This aircraft, built by Daimler, had arrived in France on Armistice Day. The other surviving R.E.8 is in Brussels, Belgium, and is one of the few examples to have an Hispano-Suiza engine.

Operators

;AUS
*Australian Flying Corps
**No. 1 Squadron AFC in Egypt and Palestine
**No. 3 Squadron AFC in France
**No. 7 (Training) Squadron in United Kingdom;BEL;EST
*Estonian Air Force [Gerdessen 1982, p. 76.] ;USSR;UK -
*Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force

pecifications

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=
crew=2 (pilot & observer/gunner)
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 27 ft 10 in
length alt=8.5 m
span main=42 ft 7 in
span alt=12.98 m
height main=11 ft 4 in
height alt=3.47 m
area main= 389 ft²
area alt= 35.07 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 1,577 lb
empty weight alt= 717 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=2,862 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 1,301 kg
more general=
engine (prop)=Royal Aircraft Factory 4a
type of prop=air-cooled 12-cylinder inline engine
number of props=1
power main= 150 hp
power alt=112 kW
power original=
max speed main= 102 mph
max speed alt= 164 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 13,500 ft
ceiling alt= 4,115 m
climb rate main= 22 minutes to 10,000 ft
climb rate alt= 3,045 m
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=* 1 x .303 in (7.7 mm) forward-firing Vickers gun
* 1 or 2 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis guns in rear cockpit
* up to 224 lb (102 kg) bombs

ee also

aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
* Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2
* Rumpler C.I
* Albatros C.III
sequence=
lists=
* List of aircraft of the RAF
* List of bomber aircraft
see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bruce, J.M. "The R.E.8: Historic Military Aircraft: No. 8". "Flight". 15 October 1954. Pages 575-581.
* Cheesman, E.F. (ed.) "Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War". Letchworth, UK: Harleyford, 1962.
* Gerdessen, F. "Estonian Air Power 1918–1945". "Air Enthusiast" No 18, April - July 1982, p. 61-76. ISSN 0143-5450.
* Mason, Francis K. "The British Bomber since 1914". London:Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0 85177 861 5.
* Munson, Kenneth. "Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914-1919". London: Blandford, 1968. ISBN 0-71370-484-5.
* Taylor, John W.R. "Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8." "Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present". New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.

External links

* [http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/raf_re-8.php Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8]