Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Two-seat reconnaissance biplane

Power Plant:

One 112 kw (150 hp) RAF 4a eight-cylinder VEE air-cooled engine

Specifications:

Armament:

One 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine gun, fixed, firing forward; one or two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis machine guns on Scarf ring in rear cockpit

History:

In 1913 the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough commenced the design of a series of aeroplanes suitable for reconnaissance, the aim being to produce a stable machine so the crew could concentrate on the task at hand.  The first design was the RE.1 (Reconnaissance Experimental 1) built in 1913, but the first to enter production was the RE.5, which entered service in France in 1914.  The RE.7 was the next in the series, being a two-seater which entered service in 1915. Approximately 250 were completed.

In 1916 the Royal Aircraft Factory produced the RE.8 to replace the Be.2 and, by the time production concluded at Farnborough, UK and a number of other facilities, a total of 4,077 had been completed.  Some 2,000 saw service at the Front and they remained in service until 1919.  Only 44 were built by the Royal Aircraft Factory, the remainder being built by subcontractors, including Austin Motors Co, Siddeley-Deasey, Coventry Ordnance Works, D Napier & Sons, Standard Motor Co and Daimler.

The RE.8 was not always popular with crews, being described as dangerous to fly, prone to spin, and difficult to land.  Because of these problems, No 42 Squadron RFC designed and installed a larger tailplane for its aircraft, this modification being carried out later by other squadrons and training units to overcome problems.  Be that as it may, it spent the last year of the war on the Western Front involved in spotting for artillery.  Australian crews trained on the type at No 7 (Training) Squadron at Leighterton, UK this unit being equipped with up to 20 RE.8s, and they operated alongside BE.2s, Airco DH.6s, Avro 504s and Bristol Fighters.

No 1 Squadron Australian Flying Corps was equipped with the type on 17 October 1917 at Kantara, Egypt using it for reconnaissance work on the Turkish front in preparation for the Allied attack on Beersheba in what is now Israel. Ten days later, on the 27th, No 1 Squadron RE.8s and Be.12as were escorts for aircraft of No 14 Squadron on bombing missions, and later were involved in bombing and strafing Turkish forces.  On one occasion a bombing raid was made on enemy aerodromes at Arak el Menshiye, causing much damage and setting hangars and aircraft on fire. Eventually the unit’s RE.8s were replaced by the Bristol Fighter by March 1918.  A total of ten RE.8s operated with the unit alongside Martinsydes and a BE.12.

The RE.8 also served with No 3 Squadron AFC, going into action with it at Savy in France in September 1917. They continued in service up to the Armistice in November 1918.  On 6 December 1917 an RE.8 (A3815) whilst involved in artillery spotting was attacked by a DFW, the latter being shot down and becoming the squadron’s first German victory.

On 17 December 1917 an RE.8 (A3816), flown by Lt J L Sandy with Sgt H F Hughes as observer, was spotting for an Australian 20.3 cm (8 in) Howitzer battery when it was attacked by six Albatros D Va scouts near Armentieres in nnorthern France.  One Albatros was forced down intact and the pilot taken prisoner by the 21st Battalion of the 2nd Australian Division. This aircraft (D5390/17) was later presented to the Australian Government and is part of the collection of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, ACT.

Another RE.8 went to the assistance of A3816 and noted the crew appeared to be flying normally but no more wireless messages were received from the aircraft.  Later the bodies of the crew were found in the crashed aircraft 80 km (50 miles) away, both having been killed in the initial combat with the enemy Albatros aircraft, an armour-piercing bullet having passed through the observer and then goimg into the pilot, killing both.  The aircraft had continued until it ran out of fuel and crash landed, receiving only slight damage. The Australian crew was later posthumously decorated, Lt Sandy with the Military Cross and Sgt Hughes with the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

RE.8s of No 3 Squadron were also involved in the death of Baron von Richthofen, two crews (in A3661 and B6576) being attacked near Hamel in  the Somme in France by four Fokker Dr.1 Triplanes lead by Richthofen, one of the Dr.1s being shot down.  This lead to the Triplanes being involved in combat with Sopwith Camels and the eventual death of the Red Baron.

One RE.8 of No 3 Squadron (A4397) usually flown by Capt R G Francis set a record for Allied forces on the Western Front when it accumulated 440 hours 35 mins operationally and completed 147 flights across enemy lines, the unit being congratulated by General Headquarters.  This aircraft had a Kewpie doll painted on the fuselage by the crew.  Following a request from the Australian Government, this aircraft was shipped to Australia after the Armistice and was placed on display at the Aircraft Exhibition held in Melbourne, VIC between 18 June 1920 and 3 July 1920 to raise funds for a proposed National War Museum.  More than 70,000 visitors attended, and it was so successful it was extended for a week.  For unknown reasons at this time the fabric was removed from the aircraft.  In the same year the Motor Traders Association of South Australia placed a number of aircraft on display at its Automobile Show, including the RE.8.  Later some of the aircraft were exhibited around the country.  However, a number, including the RE.8, were destroyed in a fire in 1924 in Melbourne.

A non flying reproduction was produced by TVAL in New Zealand and, although built close to airworthy standard, joined the collection of World War I aircraft in the Heritage Museum at Omaka.  It was painted as A4397, the aircraft flown by Captain R G Francis, an aircraft flown by No 3 Squadron RFC.

During World War I aircraft were purchased for the AFC by benefactors, groups of people, towns, companies etc, and amongst these were RE.8s. These included A3662 of No 3 Squadron donated in 1917 by H Teesdale Smith of Adelaide, SA; C2309 of No 3 Squadron donated by Lt Col Sir A E Bingham of Bart, Sheffield, UK; A3652 in April 1918 by F E and A H Sargood of Sydney, NSW; A3747 by Sir Samuel McCaughey of Yanco, NSW; A3754 by the Narrandera – Jerilderie District, NSW; C2295 by the Tamworth District, NSW; and C2298 by North Queensland.  The names of the donors were painted on the fuselage of the aircraft.

The RE.8 in service with No 3 Squadron AFC operated from ten different aerodromes, ran up 10,000 operational flying hours in a war zone, dropped 6,000 bombs, fired 500,000 rounds of ammunition and accounted for 16 enemy aircraft destroyed, eight driven down out of control, and 27 force landed or damaged for a loss of eleven aircraft and their crews. John Duigan, the first Australian to build and fly an aircraft of his own design in 1910, served with No 3 Squadron AFC and was awarded the Military Cross.  On 9 June 1918 Lts Armstrong and Mart (in D4689) performed a mid-air capture of a Halberstadt Cl II (15342/17), forcing it to land behind Allied lines.

Power was supplied by a RAF 4a twelve-cylinder 60-degree VEE unit with a displacement of 806.15 cub in and it was based on the RAF 1a engine, which was a VEE eight-cylinder unit.  It was produced in some numbers by Daimler and Siddeley-Deasy.  The RAF 5 was a variant of the engine used in aircraft where it was installed in a pusher configuration.

Two original RE.8s are known to survive. One (F3556) is held in the collection of the Imperial War Museum in London, UK; and another is on display at the Musee Royal de l’Armee et d’Histoire Militaire in Brussels, Belgium.  In 2006 an airworthy replica RE.8 was imported to Australia to join a private owner’s collection but nothing further has been heard about this aircraft.

Three RE.8s are known to have been built by The Vintage Aviator Limited in New Zealand.  In late 2011 it registered an airworthy replica, this RE.8-1 becoming ZK-TVC (c/n 0002 – serial A3930) on 1 December 2011. As A3930 it was flown at aviation events until it was exported to the United Kingdom for display at the RAF Museum at Hendon.  This aircraft was built using original components and was fitted with an operational Bentley BR.2 engine which had been previously displayed at the Shuttleworth Collection.  On arrival in the UK it was displayed at Shuttleworth and displayed at a couple of airshows before being placed on display at Hendon.

A further RE.8 was completed by TVAL, an RE.8-1, which became ZK-RES (c/n 003 – serial A4267) on 2 December 2012.  This aircraft is fitted with a reproduction of the RAF 4a V-12 engine built in New Zealand, this engine being reverse-engineered by the Company. This aircraft was shipped to Australia in early 2015 and displayed with other aircraft at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon, VIC. It subsequently remained in Australia, was obtained for and placed on display at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook, VIC remaining airworthy and becoming VH-OTF (c/n 0003), registered to the RAAF Museum at RAAF Base Williams, Point Cook on 9 October 2015.

Yet another RE.8 has been completed by TVAL, this aircraft becoming ZK-REK (c/n 0004) with the serial B2292 and with the code ‘17’ painted in the markings of No 52 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps.