 |
| |
Home
RAF Stations & Bases
Full list of locations
Squadrons and Units
A brief history
Aircraft types
Photographs
Memorials
Crashes
Sqn & Stn Associations
Museums
Maps
Oral History
Books
Search site
Links
Sitemap
Abbreviations
People Finder
Family history & research
About the site
FAQs
Contact us
Copyright
Updates
#RAFLincolnshire
BE2c
Armstrong-Whitworth
Fairey Battle
Beaufighter
Blenheim
Boston
Sopwith Camel
Canberra
DH4
DH9
Fairey Fawn
Halifax
Hampden
Hart
Hind
Hurricane
Hyderabad
Lancaster
Lightning
Lincoln
Manchester
Mosquito
NIMROD R1
RE8
SENTINEL R1
E-3D SENTRY
Sopwith Camel
Spitfire
Stirling
Tornado
Valiant
VC-10
Ventura
Victor
Vulcan
Washington
Wellington
Whitley
Updated: 25 Mar 05
Full Official Name: BE2c
Manufacturer:
Variants:
Role:
Crew:
Operated by:
History
Around 1916 the previous obsolete and cast-off aircraft types which equipped the Home Defence Squadrons gradually disappeared to be replaced by a reasonably modern but unsuitable design aircraft. The BE2c was selected as the standard for home-defence fighter. Airframe and engine were designed and built by the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough and produced large-scale, as it was a government-owned establishment.
Design
The specification had been laid down to produce a safe military airplane inherently stable and free of difficult handling characteristics. The BE2c exceeded this requirement and delivered a platform so stable it could not manoeuvre rapidly against enemy aircraft. This made in unsuitable for front-line operation. In Lincolnshire and other areas this was irrelevant and the stability lent itself to night flying and training.
However the performance issues of the engine and the high-drag airframe performance mediocre with the aircraft usually flown solo with the front cockpit covered. Even with this modification the aircraft was incapable of reaching Zeppelin cruising altitude; if if did the raider had usually had enough time to deliver its payload and depart, even before it had been sighted.
Engines
RAF 1a engine, an air-cooled V-8 based closely on pre-war Renault
Armaments
Performance
Problems with the RAF 1a engine included overheating, particularly during climb to intercept. Pilots could seldom make use of the unit's nominal 90 hp for fear of overheating and engine failure. They had to run the engines on rich mixtures, throttle back, and climb only at the speed and angle best suited for cooling.
Combat radius
Who operated what? |
Armstrong Whitworth :: Battle :: BE2c :: Beaufighter :: Blenheim :: Camel :: Canberra :: DH4 ::DH6 :: DH9 :: Fawn :: Halifax :: Hampden :: Hart :: Hind :: Hurricane :: Hyderabad :: Lancaster :: Lightning :: Lincoln :: Manchester :: Mosquito :: NIMROD :: Phantom :: RE8 :: SENTINEL :: SENTRY :: Spitfire :: Stirling :: Tornado :: Valiant :: VC-10 :: Vulcan :: Washington :: Wellington |
Aviation
Heritage Lincolnshire
(Tourism)
Follow RAF Lincolnshire:
powered by blueconsultancy
