Origins . The wartime censor scratched out the
serial numbers but left the squadron markings. 's S.E.5a (200 h.p. geared
Hispano-Suiza with 4-bladed propeller) of
No. 56 Squadron RAF. The S.E.5 (
Scout
Experimental
5) was designed by
Henry Folland,
John Kenworthy and Major
Frank Goodden of the
Royal Aircraft Factory in
Farnborough. It was built around the new 150 hp (112 kW)
Hispano-Suiza 8, a
V8 engine that, while providing excellent performance, was initially underdeveloped and unreliable. The first of three prototypes flew on 22 November 1916. The first two prototypes were lost in crashes (the first killing the chief test pilot at the Royal Aircraft Factory, Major Frank Goodden, on 28 January 1917) due to a weakness in their wing design. The third prototype underwent modification before production commenced; the S.E.5 was known in service as an exceptionally strong aircraft which could be dived at very high speed – the squarer wings also gave much improved lateral control at low airspeeds. Like the other significant Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft of the war (
B.E.2,
F.E.2 and
R.E.8) the S.E.5 was inherently stable, making it an excellent gunnery platform, but it was also quite manoeuvrable. It was one of the fastest aircraft of the war at 138 mph (222 km/h), equal at least in speed to the
SPAD S.XIII and faster than any standard German type of the period. While the S.E.5 was not as agile and effective in a tight
dogfight as the Camel it was much easier and safer to fly, particularly for novice pilots. According to "Dodge" Bailey, the former Chief Test Pilot of the
Shuttleworth Collection, it had "somewhat similar handling characteristics to a
de Havilland Tiger Moth, but with better excess power". Shortly following the
American entry into World War I, plans were mooted for several American aircraft manufacturers to commence mass production of aircraft already in service with the Allied powers, one such fighter being the S.E.5. In addition to an order of 38 Austin-built S.E.5a aircraft which were produced in Britain and assigned to the
American Expeditionary Force to equip already-deployed US Army squadrons, the US Government issued multiple orders to the
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the manufacture and delivery of around 1,000 S.E.5s to be produced in the United States. At first,
airframe construction outstripped the very limited supply of French-built Hispano-Suiza engines and squadrons earmarked to receive the new fighter had to soldier on with
Airco DH 5s and
Nieuport 24s until early 1918. The troublesome geared "-8b" model was prone to have serious gear reduction system problems, sometimes with the propeller (and even the entire gearbox on a very few occasions) separating from the engine and airframe in flight, a problem shared with the similarly-powered
Sopwith Dolphin. A number of aircraft were subsequently converted to a two-seat configuration in order to serve as
trainer aircraft.
S.E.5b The S.E.5b was a variant of the S.E.5 with a streamlined nose and upper and lower wings of different span and
chord. The single example, a converted S.E.5a, first flew in early April 1918. It had a
spinner on the propeller and a retractable underslung radiator. Its performance was little better than the S.E.5a, with the extra drag of the big upper wing offsetting gains from the more streamlined fuselage. The S.E.5b was not considered for production. In January 1919, it was tested with standard S.E.5a wings and in this form survived as a research aircraft into the early twenties. ==Design==