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Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b

High Definition Print Available

In response to several requests, you can now buy my aircraft illustrations as super-definition, high-quality prints. They're available in A4, A3 or A2 and are a great present for anyone as geeky as I am

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Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b (1915)

"Big Fee"

Popular with its aircrews, the R.A.F. F.E.2b was a big, dependable two-seater, powered by a powerful "pusher" Beardmore engine. The pusher configuration was common among British designs of the period as no effective interruptor gear was available to allow guns to fire through the airscrew. Placing it behind the crew removed the problem, though empty cartridges needed to be collected in bags to avoid the risk of them being drawn into the prop - or, in the case of the "Fee", hitting the pilot in the face. You can see the bags in my illustration above.

The observer had an uninterrupted field of fire forward and to each side, and many "Fees" were equipped with a further gun on a post mounting that could fire over the top wing to cover the tail. The observer had to stand up to fire this, making for a precarious perch should any sudden manoeuvres be required.

Starting the massive Beardmore engine was an unnerving process as it required the A.M. to duck between the tail booms to swing the huge four-blade propeller. Then he had to duck back out - with extreme caution - from the triangular cage he now shared with four spinning knives (and copious amounts of flying gravel).

The first flight of the FE2 preceded that of the Fokker E.III by only three months. It's interesting to consider the different approaches by German and British designers.

General

Country of origin:Great Britain
Crew:2
Purpose:Fighter, Bomber, Reconnaissance
Powerplant:1 × Beardmore 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine, 160 hp (120 kW)
Armament: 2x .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis machine gun
 

Performance

Maximum speed:147 km/h (91mph)
Maximum ceiling:3,400m (11,000 ft)
Range:336km (210 miles) (est)
 

Dimensions

Wingspan:14.5m (47ft 9in)
Length:9.83m (32ft 3in)
Height:3.86m (12ft 8in)
Weight:935kg (2,061 lb)
 

Figures from Wikipedia

My Picture

This illustration became something of a labour of love. The F.E.2b has long been a favourite of mine - as indeed it was with its crews. Big, dependable and robust and with an excellent field of fire, it had pleasant, vice-free handling and a decent turn of speed.

I was able to take photographs of the gigantic Beardmore engine at Brussels Air Museum, leading to a slightly obsessive level of detail in the power unit.

 

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