| SE5a - another approach
I am now getting down to things – but I had to do a lot of investigation first.
To be absolutely clear, using John Simmance plans I am building a Royal Aircraft Factory Scout Experiment No.5, version A (known as the RAF SE5A) designed and built at their Farnborough factory - which later became the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Farnborough (just down the road from me). The RAE became the world’s most respected aeronautical facility covering everything from aircraft research, design, performance, capability, strength and durability and very importantly the scientific investigation of failures. RAE also covered the same qualities in pilots (except for design!). When I used to visit there on certain projects many years ago the laboratories were still in the original wooden huts. Today the site is blocks of flats within a commercial building site, no more RAE and no longer is Britain a World Leader in Aeronautics thanks to today’s politicians.
During WW1 aircraft were initially intended for “scouting”, locating and reporting back on enemy positions and strengths, and there were no such things as fighters or bombers. The early aircraft, which were generally two-seater for pilot and observer, had no armament except for possibly pistols held by the crew. An uncle of mine spent a fair length of time hanging over the side of such an aircraft with a wooden “bellows” camera and glass plates which he took back to base, developed and printed for the Army. Opposition came mainly from rifle fire - Ack-Ack came later - and because the aircraft had to fly low there were losses. Later aircraft were of course fitted with armaments and even small bombs. At first these were just hand grenades dropped over the side to discourage riflemen..
The Scout SE5A was also built at other factories such as Vickers and so there were various other modifications made both at factory and even at squadron level but they were not given version suffixes so it is not possible to build “an SE5A”, you have to decide which you want.
The variations were many, for example Hispano Suiza or Wolseley Viper engines varying from 150 to 200h.p., full or narrow-chord elevators, metal tube or wooden (strengthened or not) undercarriage, one or two machine guns, “glasshouse” cockpit cover or simple small windscreen, headrest or open space behind the head and even different colours (more on that). And later a few even had radios.
So I had to decide which, and thus whose, aircraft I wanted to build and I decided on one of the Royal Flying Corps top aces (the Royal Air Force did not exist of course until after WW1), specifically Capt.Anthony Beauchamp-Proctor,V.C., D.S.O, D.F.C of 84 Sqdn R.F.C, a South African of such small stature that he had to have his seat especially raised but who managed 54 aerial successes. A success was an enemy aircraft or an observation balloon downed, the latter considered the more dangerous. You fired from up close and if the balloon exploded it could take you too.
So I wanted details of B-P’s aircraft and discovered that the South African Museum near Pretoria had a restoration! Faintly aggravated because I spend quite a reasonable amount of time in SA, must have been close to the museum on several occasions, and knew nothing of its existence! Still, February next hopefully. Meanwhile I wrote to the Museum and had a great response with photos etc and discovered that B-P had Lewis and Vickers guns, tubular undercarriage, no “glasshouse” but a headrest and the Viper 200h.p. engine. They don’t know about radio – yet.
Last edited by LINNEY; 21-11-2007 at 11:18.
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