Royal Aircraft Factory S.E. 5a Fighting Scout

S.E. 5a

The first version of the S.E. (Scout Experimental) 5 was tested by the ace Albert Ball, he said "The S.E.5 has turned out a dud ... It's a great shame, for everybody expects such a lot from them ... it is a rotten machine". This machine was expected to end the see-saw aerial battle over France in 1917. The British Air Staff wanted "a single-seater with speed, manoeuverability and armament superior to the enemy". The Royal Aircraft Factory designed the S.E.5 and Sopwith came out with the Camel. Both have been called the best fighter aircraft of the First World War. Albert Ball was somewhat mistaken as he was used to the highly manoeuverable, albeit slow, Nieuport 17, and was tasked with evaluating a large, stable, frumpish looking aircraft that seemed to wallow in the air. Actually the S.E.5 was faster than his Nieuport and provided a very stable gun platform.

The S.E.5 had an immediate impact on the aerial war, with the loss of Werner Voss, Richthofen's famous number two ace, to Lt. Rhys-Davids flying an S.E.5. The S.E.5/5a was designed to fly fast and hard and yet provide a stable gun platform that made shooting enemy planes easier. The Allies pushed the Germans back across the trenches and eventually beat them in large part with the S.E.5a and the Camel.

Technical Details
The S.E.5 was powered with a new Hispano-Suiza in-line, water-cooled V8 engine generating 150-hp and yet it weighed only 330 lb. The 5a came out months later boasting an updated H-S generating 200-hp. Manufactured in England it was called the Wolseley Viper. It was armed with a synchronized 0.303 Vickers machine gun on the cowling and a 0.303 Lewis gun on the top wing on a Foster mount. The S.E.5a had a maximum speed of 222 km/h (138 mph) at sea level, it had a ceiling of 5944 m (19,500 ft) and a range of 402 km (250 mi). A big advantage was that it could remain in the air for 2.5 hours, this being longer than the Albatros V.

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