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Страна Конструктор Название Год Фото Текст

RAF R.E.2 / R.E.3

Страна: Великобритания

Год: 1913

RAF - R.E.1 - 1913 - Великобритания<– –>RAF - S.E.2 - 1913 - Великобритания


P.Hare Royal Aircraft Factory (Putnam)


R.E.2

   A two-seat reconnaissance aeroplane, the R.E.2 clearly had roots in the R.E.1 and the B.E. series. It had two-bay wings with moderate forward stagger, lateral control being achieved by warping. The low-aspect-ratio rudder was aerodynamically balanced, and bore a marked resemblance to that of the B.E.3. There was no fin and, since there was no need to make allowance for the high-mounted rudder, the elevator was in one piece. Power was provided by a 70hp Renault engine, and the original undercarriage was similar to that of the R.E.1.
   The R.E.2 made its initial flight on 1 July 1913 and, following satisfactory trials, it was converted into a seaplane - or 'hydro-aeroplane' in contemporary parlance - by replacing the wheels with floats and fitting an additional small float, incorporating a water rudder, under the tail. These floats differed from those hitherto fitted to Factory aeroplanes in having stepped undersides designed to help break the adhesion of the water, and represented one of the earliest uses of this type of float. In this form the machine was known as the H.R.E.2 (Hydro-Reconnaissance Experimental). To offset the additional forward keel area created by the floats, a triangular fin was added, together with an unbalanced B.E.2-type rudder, this being mounted unusually high to keep it clear of the water and to avoid the need to modify the existing elevator.
   The H.R.E.2 appears to have been underpowered, as no take-off is recorded. Its engine was replaced by a 100hp Renault before tests were resumed on Fleet Pond at the western end of Laffan's Plain. Unfortunately it again failed to rise, ran into the bank, and turned over on to its back with consequent damage to the floats and rudder. No further attempts to fly it from water appear to have been made, and during repair it was converted back to its wheeled undercarriage, the modified vertical tail and the 100hp engine being retained. In this form it reverted to the designation R.E.2, and was handed over to the Admiralty to replace an Avro biplane which had previously been equipped with floats by Commander Oliver Schwann RN, and which, following an accident, had ended up at Farnborough for repair. The fate of the Avro is not recorded, and so tenuous is its connection with its replacement that even O'Gorman seems to have become confused as to which machine was meant to fill that role. On at least one occasion he refers, in his private diary, to the R.E.3 as being in lieu of 'Schwann's Avro'.
   The R.E.2 served with the RFC's naval wing (later the RNAS), and was given the serial 17.
   At some time about November 1914 it was returned to the Factory and fitted with new wings incorporating ailerons, as designed for the R.E.5. It crashed on 10 February 1915 and was not repaired.

   Powerplant:
   70hp Renault V-8;
   100hp Renault V-12
   Dimensions:
   span 45ft 3 1/2in;
   chord 6ft 0in;
   gap 6ft 3 1/2in;
   length 32ft 3in;
   height 12ft 2in;
   stagger 1ft 7in;
   dihedral 2°;
   incidence 4 1/2°;
   wing area 498 sqft.
   Performance:
   max speed
   (70hp) 60mph at sea level;
   (100hp) 75mph at sea level;
   climb 5min to 3,000ft;
   endurance: 4 1/2hrs.


R.E.3

   Completed in November 1913, the R.E.3 was very similar to the penultimate version of the R.E.2, having warping wings, a wheeled undercarriage, a one-piece elevator, and vertical tail surfaces identical to those of its predecessor. The major difference was in the forward fuselage, which was deepened to accommodate the extra height of the 120hp six-cylinder Austro-Daimler engine.
   Although O'Gorman, in his private diary, once identified it as the replacement for Schwann's Avro seaplane, this was almost certainly a confused reference, to the R.E.2, for the R.E.3 was clearly intended as a two-seat reconnaissance aeroplane for Army use, paving the way to the R.E.5.
   Its career was cut short when, on 27 September 1914, it suffered engine failure and crashed while flying over Farnborough Common, fortunately without injury to its pilot, E T Busk. Already superseded by the R.E.5, it was deemed to have served its purpose and was not repaired.

   Powerplant: 120hp six-cylinder Austro-Daimler
   Dimensions:
   span 45ft 3 1/2in;
   chord 6ft 0in;
   gap 6ft 3 1/2in;
   length 32ft 3in;
   height 12ft 2in;
   wing area 498 sq ft.


R.E.4

   The R.E.4 was designed to descend steeply so that it could land in fields surrounded by trees, for reconnaissance on active service. It is referred to in O'Gorman's diary as his 'out of field machine'.
   It would presumably have been a continuation of the R.E.2/R.E.3 series, being a two-seater with unequal-span wings, powered by a 120hp Austro-Daimler.
   No drawings survive, and there is no evidence that it was built.


R.E.6

   This 1914 design was for a three-seat biplane powered by a 250hp engine and fitted with a float undercarriage, possibly similar to that of the H.R.E.2. The project was abandoned before the design had been completed, and only a handful of component drawings survive.


M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)


Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing


P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)


R.E.2/H.R.E.2

   The R.E.2 was designed and built by the Royal Aircraft Factory to a specification of the Air Department of the Admiralty which called for a two-seat reconnaissance hydro-biplane to be used by the Naval Wing of the R.F.C. The R.E.2 was first flown on 1st July, 1913, as a landplane with a 70 h.p. Renault engine, warping wings, one-piece tailplane and elevators, and was without a fin, the rudder resembling that of the B.E.3.
   For tests as the H.R.E.2 on floats, the engine was changed for a 100 h.p. Renault, and a triangular fin and a taller rudder were fitted. The coaming in front of the rear cockpit was extended also for extra protection. Trials on Fleet Pond were unsuccessful, as the H.R.E.2 turned over and wrecked its floats. It reverted to the R.E.2 landplane and was given new wings, complete with ailerons. The 100 h.p. Renault was retained, and the machine was used in August, 1914, by the R.N.A.S. as No. 17. Span, 45 ft. 3-5 ins. Length, 32 ft. 3 ins. Height, 12 ft. 2 ins.


R.E.3

   The R.E.3 was built at the Royal Aircraft Factory during 1914 as a two-seat tractor reconnaissance biplane. One only was built, with the same design of airframe as that of the R.E.2, using the R.E.2's final form of vertical tail surfaces. Greater power was provided by the 120 h.p. Austro-Daimler fitted. Span, 45 ft. 3.5 ins.


J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)


H.R.E.2

  IN 1913 the Royal Aircraft Factory, working to the specification of the Air Department of the Admiralty, designed a two-seat seaplane for the Naval Wing of the R.F.C. At first the aircraft was referred to as the Naval Hydro aeroplane: its official designation was H.R.E.2, or Hydro Reconnaissance Experimental, and despite its Naval connexion it was numbered in the R.E. series.
  It first appeared as a landplane with the usual wheeled twin-skid undercarriage, and had a 70 h.p. Renault vee-eight engine. It was a two-seat tractor biplane with two-bay wings; the wings were slightly staggered and wing-warping was used for lateral control. The one-piece tailplane was mounted on top of the upper longerons, and there was a one-piece elevator. The oval rudder was reminiscent of that of the B.E.3: it was mounted wholly above the tailplane with its major axis raked backwards at about 45 degrees and with part of its surface forward of the pivot to provide a balance area. In this form the H.R.E.2 was tested on July 1st, 1913.
  The float undercarriage was then substituted for the wheels. There were two main floats, with vertical bows and flat tops, tapering to a flat pointed after-body; and a small tail-float was fitted. The tests of the original landplane probably indicated that the machine would be underpowered and unstable as a floatplane, for the power was increased by fitting the 100 h.p. Renault vee-twelve engine, and the vertical tail area was increased to compensate for the side area of the floats. A simple triangular fin was fitted, and to it was attached an ear-shaped rudder. These surfaces were mounted wholly above the tailplane; the rudder was appreciably taller than the fin, and the combination of the two was hideous. The rudder was directly connected to a small water-rudder at the rear of the tail-float. The coaming at the front of the rear cockpit was extended slightly in order to be closer about the pilot, whose seat that was: doubtless the intention was to keep spray out of the cockpit.
  The H.R.E.2 in its seaplane form was tested on Fleet Pond. Taxying trials were made with and without a passenger, but when a flight was attempted the H.R.E.2 failed to rise: it struck the land, wiped off its undercarriage, and overturned.
  The machine was badly damaged in this crash, but it was rebuilt as a landplane. It retained the 100 h.p. Renault and modified tail unit. Ultimately, new wings were fitted on which ailerons replaced the original warp control, and the shape of the rear cockpit was again modified.
  The H.R.E.2 was still on the strength of the R.N.A.S. when war broke out, and presumably flew for at least a short period during the war.


SPECIFICATION
  Manufacturers: The Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough, Hants.
  Power: 70 h.p. Renault; 100 h.p. Renault.
  Dimensions: Span: 45 ft 3 1/2 in. Length: 32 ft 3 in. Height: 12 ft 2 in. Chord: 6 ft. Gap: 6 ft 3 1/2 in. Stagger: 1 ft 7 in. Dihedral: 2°. Incidence: 4° 30'. Span of tail: 11 ft 7 in. Distance between float centres: 7 ft 3 in. Airscrew diameter: 9 ft 6 in.
  Production: One H.R.E.2 was built in 1913.
  Serial Number: 17.


O.Thetford British Naval Aircraft since 1912 (Putnam)


H.R.E.2 SEAPLANE

   Designed as a two-seat seaplane for the Naval Wing of the RFC by the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1913. Despite its intended purpose (the designation signified 'Hydro Reconnaissance Experimental') it was first flown as a landplane, was unsuccessful as a seaplane, and reverted finally to landplane form. With the serial number 17, the H.R.E.2 was still in service with the RNAS when war began in 1914. One 70 hp or 100 hp.Renault engine. Span. 45 ft 3 1/2 in. Length, 32 ft 3 in.

J.Bruce - British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 /Putnam/
The H.R.E.2 No.17 in its original landplane form with 70 h.p. Renault engine and B.E.3-type balanced rudder.
J.Bruce - British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 /Putnam/
The H.R.E.2 on Fleet Pond as a seaplane, with 100 h.p. Renault engine and modified vertical tail assembly.
O.Thetford - British Naval Aircraft since 1912 /Putnam/
P.Hare - Royal Aircraft Factory /Putnam/
The H.R.E.2 with a 100hp Renault engine undergoes flotation trials on Fleet Pond. It was unable to take off and reverted to a modified form of the land version for the RNAS.
J.Bruce - British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 /Putnam/
The H.R.E.2 rebuilt as a landplane.
J.Bruce - British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 /Putnam/
H.R.E.2. The aircraft in its final form with ailerons in place of wing-warping.
P.Lewis - British Aircraft 1809-1914 /Putnam/
R.E.2 No. 17 after reversion to landplane from H.R.E.2.
P.Hare - Royal Aircraft Factory /Putnam/
The R.E.3 at Farnborough. This was the same as the RE.2 in its final form but had an Austro-Daimler engine.
P.Hare - Royal Aircraft Factory /Putnam/
The R.E.3, showing the deep cowling needed to enclose its 120hp Austro-Daimler engine.
P.Hare - Royal Aircraft Factory /Putnam/
HRE2
P.Hare - Royal Aircraft Factory /Putnam/
RE2