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The Vickers F.B.5 (Fighting Biplane 5) (known as the "Gunbus") was a British two-seat pusher military biplane of the First World War.Armed with a single .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun operated by the observer in the front of the nacelle, it was the first aircraft purpose-built for air-to-air combat to see service, making it the world's first operational fighter aircraft.
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8. The F.E.8 was an early British "scout" aircraft, designed from the outset as a single-seat fighter.In the absence of a synchronization gear to provide a forward firing machine gun for a tractor scout such as the S.E.2, it was given a pusher layout.
The new school took over the site of the former Urban Military Academy, where Black had been commandant. [2] Foxe became president, Black commandant of cadets, and Major Harry Gaver as headmaster. Black-Foxe attracted the sons of people in the film industry, thanks to its location and Foxe's Hollywood connections. Garver died in 1954.
The F.B.12B crashed during tests in early 1917, leading to Vickers abandoning the Hart. Only 18 of the order were built, being fitted with a number of different engines including a 110 hp (80 kW) Le Rhône and a 100 hp (75 kW) Anzani radial. [3] Tested between May and July 1917, only one F.B.12C was delivered, to a Home Defence unit.
The design was a development of the earlier Vickers F.B.12 prototypes; [2] and was a two-bay biplane with a high-mounted nacelle for the pilot and an initial armament of two .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Guns. Behind this was a water-cooled 200 hp (150 kW) Hispano-Suiza engine driving the propeller.
The standard armament of the Nieuport 17 of a synchronised 7.70 mm (0.303 in) Vickers, and optionally an overwing 7.70 mm (0.303 in) Lewis gun in French or Italian service or a Lewis on a Foster mounting on the top wing in British service, was retained. Many 24 and 24bis airframes were used as advanced fighter-trainers and flown unarmed.
At this stage it served as a fighter-reconnaissance aircraft – eventually about ⅔ of the F.E.2s were built as fighters (816) and ⅓ as bombers (395). [6] The F.E.2b and F.E.2d variants remained in day operations well into 1917, while the "b" continued as a standard night bomber until August 1918.
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. ... In 1911, the company expanded into aircraft manufacture and opened a flying school.