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Concept
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2
Summary
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 is a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane, designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including established aircraft manufacturers and firms new to aircraft construction.
Early versions entered squadron service with the Royal Flying Corps in 1912 and the type served throughout the First World War. Initially used as a reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber, as a single-seat night fighter the type destroyed six German airships between September and December 1916.
By late 1915, the B.E.2 was proving to be vulnerable to the recently introduced German Fokker Eindecker fighters, leading to increased losses during the period known as the Fokker Scourge. Although by now obsolete, it had to remain in front line service while replacement types were brought into service. Following its belated withdrawal from combat, the B.E. continued to serve in training, communications, and coastal anti-submarine patrol roles.
The B.E.2 became the subject of controversy. From the B.E.2c variant onward, it had been developed to be inherently stable, which was helpful for artillery observation and aerial photography duties; it also had a relatively low accident rate. However this stability was achieved at the expense of manoeuvrability; moreover the observer, in the front seat ahead of the pilot, had a limited field of fire for his gun.
The B.E.2 was one of the first fixed-wing aircraft to be designed at what was then called the Royal Balloon Factory (the organisation was formally renamed as the Royal Aircraft Factory on 26 April 1911). The team responsible for its design came under the direction of British engineer Mervyn O'Gorman, the factory's superintendent. The B.E.2 designation was formulated in accordance with the system devised by O'Gorman, which classified aircraft by their layout: B.E. stood for "Blériot Experimental", and was used for aircraft of tractor configuration (although in practice, all B.
Official source
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