Bristol M.1C Monoplane
In the spring of 1916 casualties among Royal Flying Corps' aircrew began to mount as their aircraft were no match for the Fokker monoplanes used by the Germans. Better fighting machines were desperately needed.
To meet this demand, Captain F S BarnwelI at the Bristol Aeroplane Co. designed a new single-seat monoplane incorporating much of the experience gained from earlier machines including the large low-drag spinner first used experimentally on the Bristol Scout D.
The new aircraft had a sparkling performance and manoeuvrability. It was, in many respects, superior in all-round performance to much later types such as the SE.5 and Sopwith Snipe. It was some 30-50 mph faster than its contemporary Fokker Eindecker and Morane-Saulnier N monoplanes.
Great things were expected of the M1 but a combination of prejudice within the RFC against monoplanes, a dislike for its high landing speed (a giddy 49 mph!) and poor downward view meant it found little favour in the War Office; only 125 were ordered.
33 M.1Cs served in the Middle East and the Balkans in 1917–18, while the rest were used by UK-based training units, where they were popular as personal mounts for senior officers!
One pilot of the M.1Cs that served on the Macedonian Front was Captain Frederick Dudley Travers DFC of No. 150 Sqn RAF, the only ace on this type. Travers switched from the SE.5a, in which he had scored three of his four kills and scored the last five of his victories between 2 and 16 September 1918. Amongst his victims was a Fokker D.VII, widely regarded as the best German fighter of its day.
Twelve were sent to Chile in the second half of 1918 in part-payment for the battleships Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane being built for Chile in Britain but commandeered for the Royal Navy before completion. One of these, flown by Lt Dagoberto Godoy, was flown from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina and back on 12 December 1918, the first flight across the Andes mountain chain.
A Shuttleworth Collection aircraft, the replica above is seen displayed as C4918 of C Flight, No. 72 Squadron Royal Flying Corp in 1917. The scene is at Old Warden aerodrome during the 2015 Wings and Wheels show. The replica, completed in 1997, is powered by an original 110 hp Le Rhone engine.
Bristol M.1C Monoplane
In the spring of 1916 casualties among Royal Flying Corps' aircrew began to mount as their aircraft were no match for the Fokker monoplanes used by the Germans. Better fighting machines were desperately needed.
To meet this demand, Captain F S BarnwelI at the Bristol Aeroplane Co. designed a new single-seat monoplane incorporating much of the experience gained from earlier machines including the large low-drag spinner first used experimentally on the Bristol Scout D.
The new aircraft had a sparkling performance and manoeuvrability. It was, in many respects, superior in all-round performance to much later types such as the SE.5 and Sopwith Snipe. It was some 30-50 mph faster than its contemporary Fokker Eindecker and Morane-Saulnier N monoplanes.
Great things were expected of the M1 but a combination of prejudice within the RFC against monoplanes, a dislike for its high landing speed (a giddy 49 mph!) and poor downward view meant it found little favour in the War Office; only 125 were ordered.
33 M.1Cs served in the Middle East and the Balkans in 1917–18, while the rest were used by UK-based training units, where they were popular as personal mounts for senior officers!
One pilot of the M.1Cs that served on the Macedonian Front was Captain Frederick Dudley Travers DFC of No. 150 Sqn RAF, the only ace on this type. Travers switched from the SE.5a, in which he had scored three of his four kills and scored the last five of his victories between 2 and 16 September 1918. Amongst his victims was a Fokker D.VII, widely regarded as the best German fighter of its day.
Twelve were sent to Chile in the second half of 1918 in part-payment for the battleships Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane being built for Chile in Britain but commandeered for the Royal Navy before completion. One of these, flown by Lt Dagoberto Godoy, was flown from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina and back on 12 December 1918, the first flight across the Andes mountain chain.
A Shuttleworth Collection aircraft, the replica above is seen displayed as C4918 of C Flight, No. 72 Squadron Royal Flying Corp in 1917. The scene is at Old Warden aerodrome during the 2015 Wings and Wheels show. The replica, completed in 1997, is powered by an original 110 hp Le Rhone engine.