Sharing little more than its configuration with the F.E.2 flown at Farnborough in 1913, the F.E.2a appeared early in 1915 and was designed to provide the RFC with an armed reconnaissance aircraft. It was a large three-bay biplane, using a flat centre section and outer panels that were identical with those of the B.E.2c, and incorporating dihedral. A short nacelle carried the observer/gunner in the nose ahead of the pilot, and the pusher engine. The tail unit was carried by four booms extending aft from the wings and comprised a large tailplane with elevators, a kidney-shaped rudder and small triangular fin above the tailplane. A small nosewheel was provided ahead of the oleo-strutted main wheels to help prevent nosing over, and the whole of the upper wing centre section trailing-edge aft of the rear spar was hinged for use as a flap-cum-airbrake. Armament normally comprised a 7.7mm Lewis machine gun in the front cockpit on one of several alternative mounts. The first F.E.2a flew on 26 January 1915 with a 100hp Green six-cylinder inline water-cooled engine but proved underpowered and the 120hp Austro-Daimler built under licence by Beardmore became the standard for 11 more F.E.2a's and early production examples of the F.E.2b. The latter was the "productionised" version with the Beardmore engine, trailing-edge flap deleted, simplified fuel system and other changes to facilitate large-scale production by inexperienced companies. These comprised, apart from the RAF itself (which built only 47 F.E.2b's): Boulton & Paul (250); Barclay Curie (100); Garrett & Sons (60); Ransome, Sims & Jefferies (350); Alex Stephen and Sons (150) and G & J Weir (600). A 160hp Beardmore engine was adopted later, and the oleo u/c with nose wheel gave way to a simplified form without the nosewheel or, later, a non-oleo V-strut arrangement. All 12 F.E.2a's and almost a thousand F.E.2b's went to RFC squadrons in France, where they engaged in offensive patrols over the enemy lines in the role of fighter escort for unarmed reconnaissance aircraft. Over 200 were issued to Home Defence units, some of these flying as single-seaters, and service use of the F.E.2b continued until the Armistice in November 1918.

3-View

A three-view drawing of F.E.2b (1280 x 844)