Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
| F.E.2b | |
|---|---|
| F.E.2b with "V" type undercarriage | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter/Reconnaissance, Night Bomber |
| Manufacturer | Royal Aircraft Factory |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | Royal Flying Corps |
| Number built | 1,939 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1914–1918 |
| Introduction date | September 1915 |
| First flight | February 1914 |
| Retired | 1918 |
| Variants | F.E.1, Vickers VIM |
Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 ("Farman Experimental 2") designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout.
The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day and night bomber and fighter by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Along with the single-seat D.H.2 pusher biplane and the Nieuport 11, the F.E.2 was instrumental in ending the Fokker Scourge that had seen the German Air Service establish a measure of air superiority on the Western Front from the late summer of 1915 to the following spring.