BRITISH AIRCRAFT BEFORE THE GREAT WAR Michael H. Goodall and Albert E. Tagg Schiffer Military History Atglen, PA Contents Foreword, by Sir Peter Masefield 6 Introduction 7 One Aircraft Manufacturers 9 Two Airships 359 Models 379 Unidentified British Aircraft 381 Bibliography 382 Index 384 Foreword by Sir Peter Masefield A ll devotees of the galaxy of historic aircraft which pire Michelin Trophy by flying one hundred and fifty miles were designed, assembled and flown at Brooklands, into Europe on the last day of 1910 before taking it on a suc­ Hendon, Eastchurch, Larkhill and numerous smaller cessful tour of the United States. sites during the years which led up to the First World War, will Michael Goodall and the late, lamented Bert Tagg, both join me in welcoming this fine and meticulously researched with such long and close associations with Brooklands, are to book by Michael Goodall and the late Bert Tagg. be congratulated on the production of such a valuable addition For the first time the leading particulars of most of these to the early history of British aircraft. The Wright Brothers had aircraft types have been gathered together, more than 900 of been an inspiration to the British pioneers and it is perhaps them well illustrated and presented in one volume. It consti­ appropriate that this excellent volume has been published in tutes a most valuable contribution to the detailed information the United States. A memorable photograph shows Wilbur and about a remarkable period in aviation history and is a memo­ Orville, together with several of the earliest British pioneers rial to the bravery and inventiveness of the intrepid pioneers of outside Mussel Manor, Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey, Kent the that faroff era. clubhouse of the Royal Aero Club. The building still survives Importantly, among them are details of the first thirty Avro and is now a tavern. aircraft from the original Roe No.l biplane which made the It is, in addition to the details of the aircraft, a valuable first and now authenticated, though very brief take off under reminder not only of the beginnings of British aircraft con­ its own (Antoinette) power on the Finishing Straight of the struction but also the fact that Brooklands grew from its small Brooklands Motor Course in June of 1908. origins, on the World's first banked Motor Course, to become With them are the thirty-three Sopwith aircraft flown be­ during two World Wars, the chief center of the British aircraft tween July 1912 and the end of 1914. Between them the Avro industry. In all for some eighty years Brooklands remained not and Sopwith aircraft, together with those of Shorts and Bristol, only a significant reminder of early work but also, with both make up a significant proportion of all the British aircraft which the Hawker and Vickers companies, a leader into the jet era. took the air before the First World War. They were joined also Today, Brooklands lives on as "The Brooklands Museum at Brooklands by the nine adventurous Martin-Handasyde Trust" where later generations can relish reminders of "The monoplanes and two Howard Wright monoplanes and one bi­ Great Days That Were" with an assembly of some of the most plane on which Tom Sopwith made his first flight without the illustrious aircraft as well as motor cars of the historic past, benefit of any dual instruction. In fact, on the Howard Wright starting in June of 1908. biplane, Sopwith made a gallant attempt upon the British Em­ I most warmly commend this book to all students of aero­ nautical history. Introduction I t is hard to believe that less than a lifetime separates the Out of these 881 Certificates, 492 (56%) were gained by early pioneers, with their flimsy creations of bamboo, pi­ members of the British fighting forces (RFC and RNAS). The ano wire and cotton bedsheeting, from today's airborne other 389 were awarded to civilian pilots from 11 June 1910. marvels machined from duralumin, stainless steel, titanium and Out of the total, forty-eight British pilots (5 1/2%) were killed carbon fiber. The first primitive machines struggled to get off in accidents between the above date (the first, the Honorable the ground with just one person aboard - today's mighty air­ C.F. (Charlie) Rolls, at Bournemouth in a Short biplane, through liners carry 500 passengers with ease at speeds that would have structural failure) and the last, before civil flying was aban­ been unimaginable to the pioneers. But without those pioneers, doned at the start of the First World War when Lieutenant L.C. with their boundless courage, enthusiasm and inventive genius, Hordern, flying a Henry Farman of No.5 Squadron RFC was today's progress would not have been possible. Not all the pio­ killed at Gosport through an inadvertent (and familiar) stall neers were successful however and there were many deadends, and spin, following an engine failure. but gradually the accumulated store of knowledge led to quick­ This book would not have been possible without the help ening progress up to the beginning of World War I. of my two old friends, now both sadly departed. H.F "Fitz" It must not be forgotten that, after these novel machines Cowley started acquiring photographs of early British aircraft were completed, some brave (or should one say foolish) fel­ in the late 1920s, when many of the pioneer airmen were still low had to be found to coax it into the air. At first the pioneer alive and when it was possible to find photographs and bro­ aircraft constructors were often their own pilots, self taught, chures of early aircraft in bookshops and antique shops and often alone in the pearly light of early dawn, shivering on the even from the pioneers themselves. Consequently he was able edge of some usually unsuitable grassland, waiting for an un­ to amass one of the finest photograph collections in the coun­ reliable engine to drag them into the air. try. I was fortunate to inherit his collection and add it to my Gradually flying training became more organized with the own. opening of flying schools at Brooklands, Hendon and Larkhill The other major contributor and my co-author was A.E. and other, smaller centers. Up to the outbreak of War on 4 Au­ "Bert" Tagg. Bert joined Hawkers at Kingston in the late 1930s gust 1914, a total of 881 British subjects civil and military quali­ and spent all of his working life with them and their successor fied for British Aviation Certificates from the Royal Aero Club companies. He was a skilled aircraft engineer and was able to of the United Kingdom. The first went to J.T.C. Moore- add the flesh to the bare bones of my raw research material. Brabazon (later Lord Brabazon of Tara) when, on 8 March 1910, Tragically he died before knowing that the book would be ac­ he flew briefly a Short biplane at Shellbeach, Leysdown. The cepted by our publisher, the first to have been approached. final pre-War Certificate (No.863) was awarded to Sergeant Andrea and John Garner, Bert's daughter and son-in-law, have A.F. May, RFC. most kindly given me great assistance in editing the text and making it in an acceptable format for our publishers British Aircraft Before the Great War Many other friends have given unstinting help and have relate to undiscovered pioneer machines, but as they have nei­ searched their archives on our behalf and many local newspa­ ther names nor addresses, it is rarely possible to equate them to pers published our appeals asking for information on long lost a particular aircraft. aviation pioneers. We must particularly thank Jack Bruce, Stuart A number of designs which were described in patents and/ Leslie, Phillip Jarrett, Oliver Thompson and Dennis Manning or built in detailed model form have been included although for their evergenerous assistance. We are also indebted to Sir there is no proof that full-size versions were ever completed. Peter Masefield for his helpful suggestions and for writing the An ever-present problem for the early pioneers was the lack of foreword. finance, particularly to cover the cost of the very expensive The reader of the text of this lengthy work will soon real­ contemporary engines and consequently many machines were ize that some of the aircraft mentioned have no photograph or never completed. drawing shown. It is much to the regret of the authors that this The pages of the aeronautical and motoring journals con­ is the case, but in spite of many years' search, some machines tained many small advertisements from pioneers wishing to have proved completely elusive. It is hard to believe that any buy inexpensive secondhand engines or else to hire them. There aeroplane, in an era when everything and everybody was be­ were also optimistic advertisements inviting investors to take ing photographed, would not have been 'snapped' by the proud a financial share in projects. It is not known how many of these 'parent'. Perhaps this book will bring some of these photos to appeals were successful. light at last. Even more frustrating are the photos that exist, but The authors have done their best to make this a compre­ unlabelled, and have proved unidentifiable. hensive account of every flying machine built in Britain prior The small advertisements in the aeronautical press have to World War I, but are well aware that there must be many tantalizing mention of aircraft and engines for sale, which may others which, nearly ninety years on, may never now be re­ corded. <*; Aircraft Manufacturers AERIAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY monoplane with subsidiary stabilizers. (Aerial Manufacturing Co. of Great Britain and Ireland, Upper Charles St., Finsbury. Designer W.J. Potter, Elysia, Woodham Ferrers, Essex.) The machine illustrated was built in 1909 and was flown by Alec Ogilvie at Camber Sands, near Rye in Sussex, at the end of the year for distances up to 250 yards. The special feature was the undercarriage that folded forward in stages and was designed to provide extra lift at takeoff and to provide a braking effect on landing. This was achieved by mounting two aerofoils on the undercarriage, which presented Aerial Manufacturing Company monoplane with folding undercarriage a change of incidence as the undercarriage was raised or low­ and subsidiary stabilizers covered by Patent No.21 189/1909. ered. A fixed aerofoil as wide as the fuselage was also fitted forward of the airscrew together with additional small aerofoils on top of the rudder and below the rear fuselage. Another fea­ ture was the fuel tank of aerofoil section. Power: 50hp believed to be a four-cylinder vee NEC two- stroke as used by Ogilvie in his Short-Wright biplane, driving a four-bladed propeller. Data Span 44ft Length 44ft In 1910 they were reported to be building a Farman type bi­ plane for Edward Mines. In January 1910 they were advertising aeroplanes with very imposing names 'The British King', 'The British Queen', 'The Flying Scotsman' and 'The Tradescent'. None of them appear to have been sold and nothing further was heard of them. Potter registered the following patents in 1910: 19198 (mono­ plane), 20108 (biplane), 21189 and 22475. AERIAL WHEEL monoplane. (Aerial Wheel Syndicate Ltd., Ralph Platts and George Sturgess, Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire.) This most unorthodox monoplane arrived incomplete at Larkhill Two rough sketches giving an idea of the arrange­ for the Military Trials in September 1912 but although entered ment and proportions of tlie monoplane entered by the Aerial Wheel Syndicate. as No. 18 it took no part in the trials. The machine, which was 9 British Aircraft Before the Great War Aerial Wheel monoplane. The design of this 1912 monoplane concentrated on the rough field performance for the Military Trials, but its flying ability was never tested. built in Birmingham, was a tractor canard with swept wings AEROPLANE BUILDING and FLYING SOCIETY glid­ and was powered by a 50hp NEC four-cylinder, water-cooled, ers. (Sec. W. le Maitre, Workshop Kings Rd., Hammersmith. two-stroke engine. A nacelle between the booms that supported Shed at Kensal Rise Athletic Ground.) the front elevator housed both engine and crew and was sur­ J.D. North, later chief designer at the Grahame-White Com­ rounded by a circular frame incorporating a revolving tread pany and Boulton and Paul Aircraft designed a biplane glider which, with skids under the wings, constituted the landing gear. with front elevator and tail. This was built in 1910-1911 and Patent No.26 924/1908 was an early version by the Sturgess donated to the society. Because of the lack of gradient at the brothers. ground, a launching apparatus consisting of a trolley on two Pilots were reluctant to test the Aerial Wheel and it is believed ropes, giving a gradient of 1 in 6 was prepared. This seems to that the machine was abandoned unflown. It was still in exist­ have been used successfully. ence in a hangar at the Midland Flying School at Billesley Later it was fitted with a 15hp JAP engine lent by one of Common, King's Heath, Birmingham when it was wrecked by the members. It had two propellers, one on each side of the a gale in the autumn of 1915. tail. There is no evidence that the machine flew in this form. A monoplane glider, with a span of 30 ft, designed by AN Myers and donated to the Society was in the shed at the ground in October 1910 and awaiting the fitting of an engine. Aeroplane Building & Flying Society. One of many gliders built by enthusiasts, which led nowhere. 10 Aircraft Manufacturers Data Biplane glider Span 27ft Length 30ft Chord 5ft Weight 1301b AIRCO. (The Aircraft Manufacturing Co. formerly the Aircraft Co.; Head Office, St. Stephens House, Westminster; Aerodrome, Hendon; Works at Merton, Surrey; later at the Hyde and Edgware Rd., Hendon) The early Farman biplane was copied by a number of firms, without an official license, the Bristol Boxkite being a notable example. The Airco firm was formed by George Holt Thomas in 1912 to produce Farman aircraft under license from Henry Airco Maurice Farman Longhorn. This complicated design served as a and Maurice Farman. trainer as late as 1918. The first British built aircraft was a Maurice Farman Se­ ries 7, known as the Longhorn, which was flown at Hendon in No.415 in September 1912; others were bought from France November 1912 by Maurice Farman and Paul Verrier. and in wartime from Brush Electrical Engineering Co. and other Thereafter various Farman types were built. These were contractors. used for operations by the RFC, before and during the early The Longhorn, with its front elevator and complex sup­ months of the war, but the Longhorn and Shorthorn were later porting structure, was a low performance, but safe aircraft and used mainly for training purposes. Airco and other contractors served as a trainer throughout the war. built large quantities in Britain. Power: 80hp Renault eight-cylinder air-cooled vee. Flight operations were established at Hendon aerodrome Data Span top 50ft llin (15.52m) and a works at Merton, which was later transferred to an asso­ Span bottom 37ft 9 1/2 in (11.52m) ciated company engaged on airship work, and this was replaced Area 528sq ft (49sq m) by larger premises at the Hyde, Hendon. Length 37ft 9 1/2 in (11.52m) Weight 1,3201b (599kg) AIRCO: MAURICE FARMAN S.7 Longhorn Weight allup 1,9251b (871kg) The MF S.7 Longhorn was a two-seater for general purposes Speed 65 mph and training, its main role being training although some served Endurance 5hr with the RFC in France and the Middle East well into 1915. Climb 15min to 3,280ft (1,000m) Airco delivered the first aircraft of their own manufacture Climb 35min to 6,560ft (2,000m) Airco. The MF 7bis seaplane version of the Longhorn had no front booms or foreplane. 11 British Aircraft Before the Great War AIRCO: HENRY FARMAN F.20 The type was originally a 2/3-seater biplane but a large fuel tank usually replaced the third seat. Trials with various types of armament were carried out and the type was also flown as a seaplane. A typical pusher biplane of neat appearance, the top wing had long extensions and was fitted with ailerons. The tail unit comprised a single rudder with tailplane and elevators mounted on the top booms. Power: 80hp Gnome or Le Rhone seven-cylinder air-cooled rotary. Data Span top 45ft (13.5m) or 43ft 6in (13.25m) Span bottom 24ft 7in (7.5m) Chord top 6ft (1.9m) Airco Maurice Farman Shorthorn. Another pre-war Maurice Farman type Chord bottom 4ft lOin (1.45m) that trained pilots throughout the war. Area 377 sq ft (35 sq m) Length 27ft 1 Oin or 26ft 6in (8.06m) AIRCO: MAURICE FARMAN S.ll Shorthorn Height 10ft (3.15m) The MF S.ll Shorthorn was derived from the Longhorn by the Weight 794 lb (360kg) removal of the front elevator and its structure. The biplane tail Weight all upt 900 lb or 1,455 lb (660kg) was discarded in favor of one of monoplane type, with twin Speed 62mph or 65mph fins and rudders of triangular shape, supported by booms ta­ Endurance 3hr pering in side elevation. Climb 8 min to 1,640ft (500m) The Shorthorn appeared late in 1913 and was introduced t (No passengers pilot and fuel only) into the RFC in the following March. It is not certain when Airco produced their first aircraft, as some were also purchased ALDERSHOT Aero Club glider from the Farman Company. The type was used in early opera­ A Mr. Richardson, a club member, built this glider, of Farman tions but continued in use to the end of the war, mainly in the type, in 1911. training role. Production of the type continued at Airco into 1918, with ALDERSON monoplane (C.H.M.A. Alderson, the Whitehead Company also a contractor. Farnborough Aviation Works, Farnborough, Orpington, Power: 80hp Renault eight-cylinder air-cooled vee. Kent) Data Span top 51ft 9in (15.78m) Few details of this machine, reported built in 1910, can be Span bottom 38ft 8in. (11.76m) traced. Alderson, who formed his company in 1909, had been Area 561sq ft (52sq m) actively interested in aviation since he experienced a balloon Length 30ft 6in (9.3m) flight in France in 1880. In 1901 he assisted Thomas Moy with Weight 1,441 lb (654kg) experiments with a model ornithopter and in 1905-1909, as a Weight allup 2,046 lb (928kg) friend of Frederick J. Stringfellow, he assisted with the recla­ Speed 72mph(116kph) mation of the Stringfellow artifacts for donation to the Science Endurance 3 3/4hr Museum. A member of the Aeronautical Society and Aeronau­ Climb 15min to 3,280ft (1,000m) tical Institute and Club, he contributed to the building of the Candler Stella (q.v.) in 1909 at his works. In that year he ap­ pealed for funds to complete his aircraft, which may have re­ ferred to the Candler Stella, which was never completed. However, in March 1910 The Times reported that Alderson had built a monoplane of 38ft wingspan with a 50hp four-cyl­ inder engine. The weight without engine was 250 lb. In August 1910 Alderson visited Cumberland, where he had been born in 1854 and while there flew a Cody kite. At this time he was reported to be building a biplane to be named The Brae, of which nothing further was heard. Alderson died in 1929. Airco Henry Farman F20. Served on operations into the early war years but by 1915 was used as a trainer. Also flown as a seaplane. 12 Aircraft Manufacturers •Bobby' Allen ornithopter. The remains of the Aldritt monoplane at Filching Manor. The bamboo main spars are noteworthy. (Courtesy Paul Foulkes Halbard). ALDRITT monoplane cylinder barrels with water-cooled heads, and overhead valves (Aldritt's Garage, Portlaiose, Ireland) and was of the Otto cycle type, i.e. a four-stroke. This Bleriot type monoplane was built by the Aldritts in 1912, The fuselage of the aircraft was made of steel tubing, and but does not seem to have been very successful. The three- the wings were braced to it by struts of the same material, thus cylinder engine was also designed and built by the Aldritts, but eliminating the use of wire bracing. The wings were double was rather heavy. The main wing spars were made of large surfaced with wooden spars and ribs, and could be warped for diameter bamboo poles, possibly from a local market garden. lateral control. The tail unit was hinged on a universal joint. The monoplane took off and flew several hundred yards, Power: 20hp Alexander four-cylinder inline air and but the excessive weight caused it to make a very heavy land­ water-cooled. ing. The engine was unfortunately sent to a scrap yard by mis­ Data Span 19ft take but this very early monoplane still exists, minus engine, Wing area 136sq ft as an exhibit at Filching Manor Motor Museum, near Polegate, Weight 1401b Sussex. Data Span c.40ft ALLEN Flying Bicycle ornithopter (Richard 'Bobby'Allen, Length c.30ft Bradford, Yorkshire) Designed by a policeman, the 'Bobby' Allen Flying Bicycle ALEXANDER monoplane (Henry and Alfred Alexander was exhibited at Stoney Bridge and Peel Park Gala in June & Co., Edinburgh) 1908. It was built as a bamboo structure on a bicycle and had a This machine was of Demoiselle type and was exhibited at the wingspanof 33ft. Scottish Motor Show at Waverley Market in January 1910. The The machine had three pairs of narrow chord, beating engine, shown separately, was described as having air-cooled wings driven by a belt passing over the rims of the cycle wheels. Further pulleys at the top of the structure, with cranks con­ verted the drive into reciprocating motion, which actuated the wings. A tall rectangular fin and rudder were mounted at the front, the latter controlled by the cycle handlebars. The machine refused to fly or even to move along the ground. ALVAREZ monoplane (C.G. Spencer and Co. of Highbury, tested at the Welsh Harp at Hendon) This machine was taken aloft by a 23,000 cubic ft balloon. A larger machine was reported to be under construction in De­ cember 1906. Power: 2hp Data Span 40ft Wing area 400 sq ft Alvarez Monoplane. Made by the firm of C.G. Spencer in 1904 and Weight 150 lb dropped from a balloon. 13