(Scout Experimental)

The Royal Aircraft Factory’s SE5a (Scout Experimental) was another of the outstanding British planes of World War I . The SE5a entered operational service in June 191 and helped in no little way to wrest control of the air from the German air force in late 1917 and 1918.

The Se5a was a single seat fighter which was robust, fast, easy to fly and reliable with a very good rate of climb and very fast in a dive. It also provided a very stable gun platform. Although not as agile as some of its adversaries its speed of climb and dive meant that it could make swift, scything attacks with relative impunity. The SE5a was armed with a single Vickers machine gun firing forward and a Lewis gun mounted on the main plane which could be angled to fire forwards or upwards.

A flying example of this type of aircraft is owned by the Shuttleworth collection in the UK and static examples can be seen at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford and the RAF Museum, Hendon.

Type: Single seat fighter
Powerplant: 200 hp Hispano Suiza/Wolseley Viper V8
Maximum Speed: 120 mph
Maximum Altitude: c 20,000 feet
Range: c 300 miles
Armament: 1x forward firing .303/7.7 mm Vickers machine gun. 1x .303/7.7 mm Lewis gun over wing.