A Restored Original
The Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5 (Scout Experimental 5) was a British biplane fighter aircraft of World War I. It was developed by the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fastest aircraft of the war, while being both stable and relatively manoeuvrable. According to aviation author Robert Jackson, the SE.5 was: "the nimble fighter that has since been described as the 'Spitfire of World War One'".
In most respects the SE.5 had superior performance to the rival Sopwith Camel, both aircraft being capable dogfighters of the era; however, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine, particularly the geared-output H-S 8B-powered early versions, meant that there was a chronic shortage of SE.5s until well into 1918. Thus, while the first examples had reached the Western Front before the Camel, there were fewer squadrons equipped with the SE.5 than with the Sopwith fighter.
Together with the Camel, the SE.5 was instrumental in regaining allied air superiority in mid-1917 and maintaining it for the rest of the war, ensuring there was no repetition of "Bloody April" 1917 when losses in the Royal Flying Corps were much heavier than in the Luftstreitkräfte. The SE.5s remained in RAF service for some time following the Armistice that ended the conflict; some were transferred to various overseas military operators, while a number were also adopted by civilian operators.
This aircraft was built by Wolseley Motors and issued to No 84 Squadron RAF in France in November 1918. It was in action on 10 November piloted by Major C E M Pickthorn MC, the squadron commander, when he successfully destroyed a Fokker DVII in the vicinity of Chimay in Belgium. Post-war the now-surplus aircraft was bought, with others, by Major J C Savage for his skywriting business and, registered as G-EBIA, used from 1924 to 1928 when it was put into store.
In 1955 it was recovered from storage in the roof of the Armstrong Whitworth flight shed at Baginton and restored for The Shuttleworth Collection by staff and apprentices at RAE Farnborough, flying again in August 1959 fitted with a geared Hispano Suiza. When the crankshaft of this engine sheared in flight in 1975 the aircraft was rebuilt with a 200hp Wolseley Viper.
Extensively refurbished in 2007, the SE.5a is now in displayed in the colours and markings of 84 Squadron. It is the only original that still flies and is seen during the 2015 Wings and Wheels Show at Old Warden aerodrome.
A Restored Original
The Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5 (Scout Experimental 5) was a British biplane fighter aircraft of World War I. It was developed by the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fastest aircraft of the war, while being both stable and relatively manoeuvrable. According to aviation author Robert Jackson, the SE.5 was: "the nimble fighter that has since been described as the 'Spitfire of World War One'".
In most respects the SE.5 had superior performance to the rival Sopwith Camel, both aircraft being capable dogfighters of the era; however, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine, particularly the geared-output H-S 8B-powered early versions, meant that there was a chronic shortage of SE.5s until well into 1918. Thus, while the first examples had reached the Western Front before the Camel, there were fewer squadrons equipped with the SE.5 than with the Sopwith fighter.
Together with the Camel, the SE.5 was instrumental in regaining allied air superiority in mid-1917 and maintaining it for the rest of the war, ensuring there was no repetition of "Bloody April" 1917 when losses in the Royal Flying Corps were much heavier than in the Luftstreitkräfte. The SE.5s remained in RAF service for some time following the Armistice that ended the conflict; some were transferred to various overseas military operators, while a number were also adopted by civilian operators.
This aircraft was built by Wolseley Motors and issued to No 84 Squadron RAF in France in November 1918. It was in action on 10 November piloted by Major C E M Pickthorn MC, the squadron commander, when he successfully destroyed a Fokker DVII in the vicinity of Chimay in Belgium. Post-war the now-surplus aircraft was bought, with others, by Major J C Savage for his skywriting business and, registered as G-EBIA, used from 1924 to 1928 when it was put into store.
In 1955 it was recovered from storage in the roof of the Armstrong Whitworth flight shed at Baginton and restored for The Shuttleworth Collection by staff and apprentices at RAE Farnborough, flying again in August 1959 fitted with a geared Hispano Suiza. When the crankshaft of this engine sheared in flight in 1975 the aircraft was rebuilt with a 200hp Wolseley Viper.
Extensively refurbished in 2007, the SE.5a is now in displayed in the colours and markings of 84 Squadron. It is the only original that still flies and is seen during the 2015 Wings and Wheels Show at Old Warden aerodrome.