Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2

Royal Aircraft Factory · United Kingdom · first flew 1912 · reconnaissance aircraft

The B.E.2 was a British two-seat tractor biplane built for reconnaissance and artillery observation, among the first aircraft in Royal Flying Corps service.

Recognition (WEFT)

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

• equal-span two-bay biplane wings
• air-cooled V-8 with exposed cylinder banks and upswept exhaust stacks, and no radiator at all
• observer seated ahead of the pilot beneath the upper wing

Look for the long, slender fuselage and unstaggered or lightly staggered equal-span wings, with the observer seated ahead of the pilot beneath the upper wing.

Specifications

• The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 has a length of 8.3 m (27 ft).
• It has a wingspan of 11.28 m (37 ft).
• Typical crew: 2 (pilot and observer).

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory and first flown in 1912, the B.E.2 was prized for its inherent stability, a virtue in an observation platform but a liability once German fighters like the Fokker Eindecker began preying on the type over the Western Front.

Variants

Variants ranged from the original B.E.2 and B.E.2a through the redesigned B.E.2c with revised stagger and the later B.E.2e; over 3,500 were built by numerous contractors.

Where you'll see it

It served the Royal Flying Corps and allied air arms through the middle years of the First World War before being relegated to training and home-defence duties as losses mounted.

Related aircraft

• Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2
• Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5
• Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2e
• S.E.5a
• Nieuport VI
• Albatros B.I
• Dorand DO.1
• Farman HF.20

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