Country of origin:

Great Britain

Description:

Two-seat general reconnaissance biplane

Power Plant:

One 67 kw (90 hp) Royal Aircraft Factory 1a eight-cylinder VEE air-cooled engine

Specifications:

Armament:

One 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis machine gun and provision for the carriage of light bombs

History:

In 1912 the Royal Aircraft Factory (formerly the Army Aircraft Factory) produced the BE.2 with a 52 kw (70 hp) Renault engine. This led to the BE.2a with an improved fuel system and other improvements. The BE.2 series was designed by Frederick M Green and Geoffrey de Havilland. On 3 July 1912 the Australian Government ordered two BE.2as and these were shipped to Australia on the SS Hawkes Bay, arriving at Point Cook, VIC on 2 April 1914, becoming CFS-1 and CFS-2. They were powered by the 52 kw (70 hp) Renault engine.

One (CFS-2) was placed in a crate and conveyed to German New Guinea on board HMAS Una (the former German yacht Komet) along with a Farman Hydroplane. Floats were built by mechanics on the vessel during the voyage but in the event the aeroplanes were not required in the capture of the German bases and they were not assembled.  It is known CFS-1 was involved in an accident in 1917 and was written off. The BE.2s saw some service in the training role, being said to be involved in a total of eight pilot courses. One problem they had was the propeller-coupling shearing in flight. CFS-2 was retired in 1918 when Airco /de Havilland DH.6s arrived.

Development lead to the BE.2b, BE.2c, BE.2d and the BE.2e, some 2,000 examples of the latter being built.  The BE.2e entered service in 1916 and immediately took part in the Battle of the Somme on 1 July. This series saw service with No 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps. More than 50 “presentation aircraft” were bought for the Australian forces through the donations of members of the public and companies and, as occurred with similar aircraft for the RAF, had the names of the donees painted on the side of the aircraft.

A BE.2c was sent to Australia in two crates in 1916 but only one crate arrived at Point Cook.  Considerable efforts were made to locate the missing crate or obtain the missing parts. Its ultimate fate is not known but records indicate that a BE.2 was presented to the University of Melbourne in 1921 and this could well be this incomplete aircraft.  The wings of a BE.2 survive at the National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin in Victoria and they could be from this aircraft.

In January 1919 a BE.2e (B6183) arrived at Point Cook. This machine was thought to be privately owned as it was addressed to Lt Col Reynolds. It was assembled and tested on 20 August by W J Stutt.  Some damage had been occasioned on the trip from the United Kingdom and this needed repair. On 26 August it was flown over Melbourne, VIC as part of the 1919 Peace Loan Campaign.  On 4 September it commenced Peace Loan activities in the Gippsland area flown by Capt C C Matheson and Cpl Parsons. It was damaged at Traralgon, VIC on 6 September and was dismantled and returned by road to the Aircraft Repair Section at Laverton, VIC.  Repairs were effected and it was test flown by Flt Lt H C ‘Horrie’ Miller on 30 October.

On 16 November 1919 an example, piloted by Capt H N Wrigley with Sgt A W Murphy, left to conduct a flight to northern Australia to find suitable landing places for competitors in the England – Australia air race.  It arrived in Darwin on 12 December and landed at Fanny Bay, NT being parked alongside the Smith brothers Vickers Vimy G-EAOU which had arrived the day before.  It had covered the distance of approximately 3,862 km (2,400 miles) in 50 hours 45 mins flying time at an average speed of 76.1 km/h (47.3 mph). This was the first south to north crossing of the continent by aeroplane. It was dismantled, and shipped to Melbourne where it was overhauled and, on 24 January 1920, it lead a formation comprising two Avro 504Ks, a Bristol Scout and two Sopwith Pups from Point Cook to meet the Vimy on its arrival at Flemington Racecourse.

However, the Vimy had engine trouble near Albury and did not arrive until the following day. The BE.2 only made a further three flights before being withdrawn and was handed over to the Australian War Memorial on 5 August 1920, having flown a total of 77 hrs and 55 mins. It was initially placed on display at the AWM Exhibition Buildings. RAAF Museum records indicate it was delivered to the Australian War Museum, as it was then known, with 12 other historic Australian military aircraft in 1923 but it was destroyed in a fire at the Melbourne Aquarium in 1947.  It seems this aircraft was allotted the serial CFS-18 but this does not appear in the Aircraft Log Book and it would also seem one of the Farman Shorthorns carried the serial CFS-18.

As noted, during World War I various patriotic people and organisations bought for the military service presentation aeroplanes. About 50 machines were bought in Australia, of which eight were BE.2s. One BE.2e serial 6802 built by the Vulcan Motor & Engineering Co in 1917 had the donor’s name painted on the fuselage, “The United Commercial Travellers Association of Australia”, this machine seeing service with No 1 Squadron AFC at Fara in Egypt. Another was BE.2c (2687) purchased in 1917 by the Tasmanian Government.

Further examples of the type included G-AUBD, a BE.2e (ex-C7198) registered on 28 June 1921 to E L Hall, trading as Hall’s Air Service of Avonmore, VIC but it was struck off the register on 27 June 1922.

In December 1919 two examples arrived in Australia for the Perdriau Rubber Company for promotional purposes. These may be the two that Capt P W Snell and S W F Bird were involved with. Be that as it may, these two BE.2es (C6986 and C6965) were assembled at Richmond, NSW and Messrs N L Petschler and E Montgomery were employed as pilots. Both were tested at Richmond, on 20 December 1919 but C6965 crashed and was written off.

The other was used by ex No 1 Squadron AFC pilot J H Butler to give joy flights. On 21 January 1920 it was flown by JH Butler and T J Bradstreet from Richmond to Tamworth, NSW but on the 26th it was damaged in a storm and had to be dismantled and returned to Sydney by rail. After repair it was again flown north and visits were made to Gunnedah, Coonabarabran, and Moree, NSW.  On 9 July 1920 JH Butler in the repaired C6965 flew from Sydney, NSW to Brisbane, QLD and, with mechanic Roy Bush, visited a number of Queensland towns. However, on 15 September 1920 it again crashed when it hit telegraph wires at Longreach, QLD and had to be returned to Sydney for another rebuild. In January 1921 Hudson Fysh (later Sir) flew C6986 to Longreach for a new owner, Charles Knight. Eventually it was sold to Qantas Ltd of Longreach and became G-AUBF (ex-C6986) on 28 June 1921. On 4 December 1926 the Certificate of Registration and Certificate of Airworthiness expired and it was withdrawn from service.

Plans to build the BE.2 at the NSW Aviation School at Richmond in 1916 were announced, these to be completed at premises at Walsh Bay, NSW but nothing came of these plans.  In 1915 six BE.2cs were ordered to be constructed by the Government Aviation School at Point Cook, VIC and six 52 kw (70 hp) Renault V-8 air-cooled engines were to be built by Sydney Tarrant Motors Pty Ltd of Melbourne. No aircraft were built but certainly Tarrant built a small batch of Renault engines.

It appears in late December 1920 Lt Darcy Donkin with Capt P W Snell flew a BE.2e from Longreach to Sydney.  It is recorded a BE.2e was obtained by Mr D E Donkin of Meteor Downs station at Springsure, QLD.  It was re-conditioned by AA & E Co at Mascot, NSW registration being reserved on 5 July 1921. However, before registration was taken up, in July 1921 it force landed and overturned at Branxton, NSW.

In May 1922 Mr S W F Bird wrote to the Civil Aviation Branch stating he had two BE.2es and wanted to build one complete aircraft from the two.  This was approved and on 16 November 1922 registration G-AUDV was allotted. This aircraft (serial 61) was first registered to Mr Donkin, later having a number of owners, including M B Vallance who traded as Fleming Aerial Services of Sydney. Originally fitted with a 67 kw (90 hp) RAF 1A engine, in October 1926 it was fitted with a 60 kw (80 hp) Renault. On 28 December 1929 it was damaged at Eagle Farm, QLD and the Certificate of Airworthiness lapsed.  In November 1930 the aircraft became VH-UDV, ownership being transferred to a Mr Fleming in January 1931, but the aircraft was damaged by wind on 6 February 1931 and was retired.

A couple of examples survive, and a few replicas and reproductions have been built.  Two (serials A1325 and A1380), the survivors of 18 supplied to the Norwegian Air Force, were located in Norway and one (A1380) was restored for the Norwegian Air Force Museum. The other (A1325) went to Great Britain where some restoration work was carried out before it was later shipped to New Zealand where further restoration work continued with The Vintage Aviator Limited. It eventually became a flying exhibit with other World War I aircraft at the Company’s Museums at Omaka and Masterton, this BE.2f becoming ZK-BFR (ex G-BVGR) to TVAL of Wellington on 25 March 2009.  The work on this aircraft was extensive, requiring the building of a complete and operating replica of the eight-cylinder VEE Royal Aircraft Factory engine. In November 2014 ownership of this aircraft was changed to The Old Stick & Rudder Co of Masterton, but on 7 July 2017 ownership was changed back to TVAL.

A replica BE.2c has been built in Mojave, California and, painted as an Armstrong Whitworth-built aircraft (serial 1780), it is fitted with a 60 kw (80 hp) Renault eight-cylinder engine. Examples survive in the Imperial War Museum and the RAF Museum at Hendon in the UK. A replica was built in March 1969 in the United Kingdom for the making of the film Biggles Sweeps the Skies and, registered as G-AWYI, was fitted with a 97 kw (130 hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major I engine.  The film was not completed and the aircraft was sold in the US as N1914B in 1977 but crashed in 1982. It was returned to the UK in 2005 and has been restored.

Further examples of the BE.2c have been constructed in New Zealand. These aircraft include a reproduction fitted with an original Renault engine, registered in November 2009 as ZK-TVA (c/n 762) and having the number 347 on the tail. Other reproductions have been completed at Wellington, the first, a Be-2c-1 becoming ZK-KOZ (c/n 752) serial A2757 to TVAL on 12 March 2014, and the second, a Be-2e-1 becoming ZK-TFZ (c/n 753) serial A2943 to TVAL also on 12 March 2014. Two examples were shipped to the United Kingdom where they became G-CJZO (c/n 753) owned by Mr O Wulf of Dubai, and G-CJZP (c/n 752).  A further example, a BE.2c-1L ,was completed in December 2014, becoming ZK-CBE (c/n 761) serial 2612 to TVAL on 9 December 2014. A further machine was completed in early 2016, this being a BE.2e-1 which became ZK-PXA (c/n 11233) to The Vintage Aviator on 17 May 2016.

On 26 February 2012 a partly completed BE.2a was shown to the public at Point Cook.  Work on the project commenced in 2006 and completion was anticipated in 2014.  This machine was built to original plans, work commencing in a workshop at Ballarat, VIC, and on completion as a static replica it was placed on display at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook, VIC.  The engine is the exterior shell of a Renault air-cooled V-8.  The aircraft placed on display incorporates those modifications made to the original AFC aircraft used by the Central Flying School and represents CFS-2.

A BE.2f project has been under construction at Dugny in France. This aircraft is based on an airframe built by TVAL in New Zealand and plans were for it to be completed and flown in 2015 as serial 2560 (registered F-AZZN) painted in the colours of an aircraft of No 52 Squadron RAF, the original aircraft operating as a night fighter.

A BE.2 is known to have been received with spares by the Australian military and was presented to the University of Melbourne in August 1921 by the Department of Defence.  A number was imported after WWI.

A BE.2 was noted in storage in a hangar of the Civil Aviation Branch at Mascot, NSW, in 1927.

No examples have survived but, as noted, a replica was constructed and placed on display at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook.