List of aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps facts for kids
This is a list of aircraft used by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) from 13 April 1912, when it was formed from the Air Battalion Royal Engineers, until 1 April 1918 when it was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) to form the Royal Air Force (RAF). The RFC operated in parallel with the RNAS, whose aircraft are listed at List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service. For a list of Royal Air Force aircraft see List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force.
Contents
Operational aeroplanes
| Aircraft | Role | First flight | Introduced to RFC service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airco DH.1 | Fighter / General purpose | January 1915 | 1915 |
| Airco DH.2 | Fighter | July 1915 | 1915 |
| Airco DH.4 | Light bomber / General purpose | August 1916 | January 1917 |
| Airco DH.5 | Fighter | August 1916 | May 1917 |
| Airco DH.6 | Trainer | 1916 | 1917 |
| Airco DH.9 | Bomber | July 1917 | November 1917 |
| Airco DH.9A | Light bomber/General purpose | March 1918 | Introduced to the RAF in 1918 |
| Armstrong Whitworth F.K.2 | General purpose | 1915 | 1915 |
| Armstrong Whitworth F.K.3 | General purpose / Trainer | 1915 | 1916 |
| Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 | Bomber / Reconnaissance | May 1916 | June 1916 |
| Avro Type E/Es/500 | General purpose | 3 March 1912 | 1912 |
| Avro 504 | Trainer / Fighter | 18 September 1913 | 1913 |
| Blériot XI | Trainer / Reconnaissance | 23 January 1909 | 1912 |
| Blériot XII | Sport | 21 May 1909 | Operated by the Balloon School, not the RFC |
| Blériot XXI | Reconnaissance | February 1911 | 1911 |
| Blériot Parasol Monoplane | Observation / Trainer / Light bomber | 23 January 1909 | 1912 |
| Breguet Type III | Experimental | 1910 | ? |
| Bristol Boxkite | Trainer | 30 July 1910 | 1911 (for the Air Battalion) |
| Bristol-Coanda Monoplane | Trainer | 1912 | ? |
| Bristol F.2A and F.2B Fighter | Fighter / Reconnaissance | 9 September 1916 | Late 1916 |
| Bristol Scout | Reconnaissance / Fighter | 23 February 1914 | 1914 |
| Bristol M.1 | Fighter | 14 July 1916 | 1917 |
| Caudron G.III | Reconnaissance | Late 1913 | ? |
| Curtiss JN-3 | Trainer | ? | March 1915 |
| Curtiss JN-4A | Trainer | 1915 | 1917 |
| Curtiss JN-4 (Canadian) | Trainer | ? | 1917 |
| Deperdussin TT | General purpose | 1912 | ? |
| Farman HF.20 | Reconnaissance | 1913 | ? |
| Farman HF.27 | Reconnaissance | ? | ? |
| Farman MF.7 Longhorn | Reconnaissance | 1913 | ? |
| Farman MF.11 Shorthorn | Reconnaissance / Bomber | 1913 | ? |
| FBA Type B | Reconnaissance (flying boat) | ? | ? |
| Grahame-White Type XV | Trainer | 1913 | ? |
| Martinsyde S.1 | Fighter | 1914 | ? |
| Martinsyde G.100 & 102 | Fighter-bomber | 1915 | mid-1916 |
| Morane-Saulnier G | Reconnaissance | 1912 | ? |
| Morane-Saulnier H | Reconnaissance | 1913 | ? |
| Morane-Saulnier BB | Observation | 1915 | ? |
| Morane-Saulnier I | Fighter | March 1916 | ? |
| Morane-Saulnier L | Reconnaissance | August 1913 | ? |
| Morane-Saulnier LA | Reconnaissance | ? | ? |
| Morane-Saulnier N | Fighter | 22 July 1914 | ? |
| Morane-Saulnier V | Fighter | April 1916 | ? |
| Morane-Saulnier P | Reconnaissance | 1914 | ? |
| Nieuport II.N | Sport | 1910 | ? |
| Nieuport IV.G | Reconnaissance | 1911 | 1911 (for the Air Battalion) |
| Nieuport 12 | Reconnaissance / Fighter / Trainer | 1915 | ? |
| Nieuport 16 | 1916 | ? | |
| Nieuport 17 & 23 | January 1916 | ? | |
| Nieuport 20 | 1915 | ? | |
| Nieuport 23bis | ? | ? | |
| Nieuport 24 & 24bis | 1917 | ? | |
| Nieuport 27 | 1917 | ? | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.1 | 4 December 1911 | ? | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 | 1 February 1912 | ? | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.3 & 4 | 3 May 1912 | 1912 | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.7 | ? | ? | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.8 & 8a | 1913 | 1914 | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 | 28 July 1915 | 1 August 1916 | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 | February 1914 | September 1915 | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8 | September 1915 | 2 August 1916 | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.1 | Reconnaissance | July 1913 | ? |
| Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5 | Reconnaissance / artillery observation | 1914 | 1914 |
| Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.7 | Light bomber and reconnaissance | 1915 | 1915 |
| Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 | ? | ? | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2 | ? | ? | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.4a | ? | ? | |
| Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 & 5a | ? | ? | |
| Short School Biplane (S.43 & 44) | ? | ? | |
| Short S.62 | ? | ? | |
| Short Type 184 | ? | ? | |
| Short Type 827 | ? | ? | |
| Short Bomber | ? | ? | |
| Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter | ? | ? | |
| Sopwith 3-Seater | ? | ? | |
| Sopwith 80 hp Biplane | ? | ? | |
| Sopwith Camel | December 1916 | June 1917 | |
| Sopwith Dolphin | May 1917 | February 1918 | |
| Sopwith Pup | February 1916 | October 1916 | |
| Sopwith Salamander | April 1918 | November 1918 | |
| Sopwith Snipe | October 1917 | August 1918 | |
| Sopwith Tabloid | ? | ? | |
| SPAD S.VII | ? | ? | |
| SPAD S.XIII | ? | ? | |
| Vickers Boxkite (Vickers-Farman) | ? | ? | |
| Vickers E.S.1 | ? | ? | |
| Vickers F.B. 'Gun Carrier'/'Fighting Biplanes' | ? | ? | |
| Vickers F.B.5 | Fighter | 17 July 1914 | November 1914 |
| Vickers F.B.9 | ? | ? | |
| Vickers F.B.12 | ? | ? | |
| Vickers F.B.14 | ? | ? | |
| Vickers F.B.19 | ? | ? | |
| Voisin III & V | ? | ? |
Airships
The airship service was disbanded 1 January 1914 and all airships transferred to the RNAS. See List of British airships
- British Army Airship No.3/Baby/Beta/Beta II
- No.2A – 1910–
- Delta – 1912–1914
- Epsilon I and Epsilon II –
- Eta 1913–1914
- Clément-Bayard II Zeta 1910–1910
- Lebaudy Morning Post 1910–1911
Prototypes
- ASL Valkyrie
- Airco DH.3
- Armstrong Whitworth F.K.7
- Armstrong Whitworth F.K.9
- Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10
- Avro 521
- Beatty-Wright Biplanes
- Bristol-Prier Monoplane
- Bristol TB.8 & G.B.75
- Bristol S.2A
- Caproni Ca.1
- Caudron Type C/45 hp
- Caudron G.IV
- Caudron R.XI
- Cody V biplane
- Curtiss C-1 Canada
- Dunne D.8
- Farman Type Militaire, 1910
- Flanders F.4
- Grahame-White Type VII & VIIc
- Grahame-White Type VIII
- Grahame-White Pusher Biplane
- Grahame-White School Biplane
- Handley Page Type O/400
- Howard Wright biplane
- Martin-Handasyde Monoplane
- Martinsyde F.3
- Morane-Saulnier AC
- Paulhan biplane
- Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9
- Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.4
- Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9
- Royal Aircraft Factory N.E.1
- Short Tractor Biplane
- Sopwith Sparrow
- Sopwith Triplane
- SPAD S.XII
- Vickers F.B.7/7A
- Vickers F.B.27 Vimy
- Vickers F.B.26 Vampire
- Wright Model H
Unmanned aerial vehicles
List of weapons of the Royal Flying Corps
Bombs
- Cooper bombs
- Ranken darts
Rockets
- Le Prieur rocket - Incendiary air-to-air rockets
Machine guns
- 0.303-inch (7.7-mm) Lewis gun
- 0.303-inch (7.7-mm) Vickers machine gun
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List of aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.