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List of aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps facts for kids

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The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was like the very first air force for the British Army. It was created on April 13, 1912, from an older group called the Air Battalion Royal Engineers. The RFC flew planes during World War I, helping soldiers on the ground.

On April 1, 1918, the RFC joined with another air service, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), to form the Royal Air Force (RAF). This list shows the different types of aircraft the RFC used during its time.

Sopwith Pup A7302
A British Royal Flying Corps Sopwith Pup plane.

Planes Used in Missions

These are some of the planes the RFC used for real missions during the war. Planes had different jobs, like:

  • Fighter: Fast planes used to attack enemy aircraft.
  • Bomber: Planes that dropped bombs on enemy targets.
  • Reconnaissance: Planes used to fly over enemy lines and gather information (like taking photos).
  • Trainer: Planes used to teach new pilots how to fly.
  • General Purpose: Planes that could do a bit of everything.

Famous RFC Aircraft

  • Airco DH.2: This was an important fighter plane introduced in 1915. It helped the RFC fight back against enemy planes.
  • Airco DH.4: A fast plane used for bombing and other jobs. It started flying in January 1917.
  • Bristol F.2 Fighter: This plane was a great fighter and also good for scouting. It joined the RFC in late 1916.
  • Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2: This was a "pusher" plane, meaning its propeller was at the back. It was used for fighting and reconnaissance from September 1915.
  • Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 & 5a: One of the best fighter planes of World War I. It was fast and strong.
  • Sopwith Camel: A very famous British fighter plane. It was tricky to fly but very good in dogfights. It arrived in June 1917.
  • Sopwith Pup: A smaller, very easy-to-fly fighter plane. Pilots loved it, and it was used from October 1916.

Other Operational Planes

Many other types of planes were used by the RFC. Here are some of them:

Other Operational Aeroplanes
Aircraft Main Job First Flew Joined RFC
Airco DH.1 Fighter / General purpose January 1915 1915
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 1918 (RAF)
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 March 3, 1912 1912
Avro 504 Trainer / Fighter September 18, 1913 1913
Blériot XI Trainer / Reconnaissance January 23, 1909 1912
Blériot Parasol Monoplane Observation / Trainer / Light bomber January 23, 1909 1912
Bristol Boxkite Trainer July 30, 1910 1911
Bristol Scout Reconnaissance / Fighter February 23, 1914 1914
Bristol M.1 Fighter July 14, 1916 1917
Caudron G.III Reconnaissance Late 1913 Unknown
Curtiss JN-3 Trainer Unknown March 1915
Curtiss JN-4A Trainer 1915 1917
Farman MF.7 Longhorn Reconnaissance 1913 Unknown
Farman MF.11 Shorthorn Reconnaissance / Bomber 1913 Unknown
Martinsyde G.100 & 102 Fighter-bomber 1915 Mid-1916
Morane-Saulnier L Reconnaissance August 1913 Unknown
Morane-Saulnier N Fighter July 22, 1914 Unknown
Nieuport 12 Reconnaissance / Fighter / Trainer 1915 Unknown
Nieuport 17 & 23 Fighter January 1916 Unknown
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 Reconnaissance / Trainer February 1, 1912 Unknown
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 Fighter / Bomber July 28, 1915 August 1, 1916
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8 Fighter September 1915 August 2, 1916
Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5 Reconnaissance / Artillery observation 1914 1914
Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 Reconnaissance / Bomber Unknown Unknown
Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter Fighter / Reconnaissance Unknown Unknown
Sopwith Dolphin Fighter May 1917 February 1918
Sopwith Snipe Fighter October 1917 August 1918
SPAD S.VII Fighter Unknown Unknown
Vickers F.B.5 Fighter July 17, 1914 November 1914

Airships

Airships were like big balloons that could fly. The RFC used a few of them early on. However, on January 1, 1914, all airships were moved to the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).

  • British Army Airship No.3/Baby/Beta/Beta II
  • No.2A
  • Delta
  • Epsilon I and Epsilon II
  • Eta
  • Clément-Bayard II Zeta
  • Lebaudy Morning Post

Prototypes

A prototype is an early, experimental version of something. These aircraft were tested by the RFC but were not widely used in missions.

  • ASL Valkyrie
  • Airco DH.3
  • Armstrong Whitworth F.K.7
  • Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10
  • Avro 521
  • Bristol TB.8 & G.B.75
  • Caudron G.IV
  • Cody V biplane
  • Dunne D.8
  • Handley Page Type O/400
  • Martinsyde F.3
  • Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9
  • Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.4
  • Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9
  • Sopwith Sparrow
  • Sopwith Triplane
  • SPAD S.XII
  • Vickers F.B.27 Vimy

Unmanned Flying Machines

The RFC also looked into "unmanned aerial vehicles" (UAVs), which are planes that fly without a pilot on board. These were very early versions of what we now call drones.

Weapons of the Royal Flying Corps

Pilots in the RFC used different weapons on their planes.

Bombs

  • Cooper bombs: These were small bombs dropped from planes.
  • Ranken darts: Small, arrow-like bombs dropped from planes.

Rockets

  • Le Prieur rocket: These were rockets attached to planes. They were used to set enemy observation balloons on fire.

Machine Guns

  • 0.303-inch (7.7-mm) Lewis gun: A light machine gun often used by the observer in two-seater planes.
  • 0.303-inch (7.7-mm) Vickers machine gun: A heavier machine gun, often fixed to fire forward through the propeller.
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List of aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.