Royal Aircraft Factory A.E.3

A.E.3 / Farnborough Ram
Role	Ground attack aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Royal Aircraft Factory
First flight	1918
Number built	3
Developed from	Royal Aircraft Factory N.E.1

The Royal Aircraft Factory A.E.3 (Armed or Armoured Experimental), also known as the Farnborough Ram, was a prototype British armoured ground attack aircraft of the First World War. The A.E.3, which was a development of the Royal Aircraft Factory's N.E.1 night fighter, was a two-seat single-engined pusher biplane. Three were built in 1918, but the type was unsuccessful, with no further production ensuing.

Development and design

In late 1917, the Royal Aircraft Factory started development of a two-seat, heavily armoured contact patrol aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps, designed to carry out observation in contact with the infantry, a job that required flying at low altitudes over the front line, exposing the aircraft to heavy small-arms fire from the enemy's trenches.^[1] Three prototypes of the resulting design, designated A.E.3, were ordered.^[2] It was a single-engined pusher biplane, based on the N.E.1 night fighter. It retained much of the structure of the N.E.1, including the outer wings, undercarriage, tailplane and tail booms, but had a new armoured nacelle constructed completely of armour plate. Two Lewis guns were fitted on an armoured mounting in the front of the nacelle that allowed the guns to be depressed to attack targets below, while another Lewis gun was mounted on a pillar mounting between the gunner and pilot to defend the aircraft from attack.^[3]

The A.E.1 was originally intended to be powered by the same Hispano-Suiza engine that had powered the N.E.1, but there were severe shortages of this engine, with over 400 S.E.5A fighters waiting incomplete due to lack of engines in January 1918, and it was decided to use alternative engines, with the Sunbeam Arab being chosen for the first prototype, and the Bentley BR.2 rotary engine (which would have been used if the aircraft was chosen for production) for the second.^[2]

The first A.E.1 flew during April 1918,^[4] with the second prototype following on 1 June 1918, while the third prototype, which was powered by an Arab engine, and fitted with face-hardened armour, was finished later that month.^[2]^[3] By this time the Royal Aircraft Factory had been renamed the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and the A.E.1 was given the name Farnborough Ram, the only Royal Aircraft Factory designed aircraft to be given an official name, with the Arab powered aircraft being named Ram I and the Bentley powered aircraft Ram II.^[4]

The Ram II was sent to France at the end of June, for trials in its suitability for operational use. These were not successful, with the Ram being considered slow, heavy on the controls and unsuitable for manoeuvering near the ground. Following these trials, Major General John Salmond, the commander of the RAF in the field, stated in a letter to the Air Ministry that "I do not consider this machine as useful for any military purpose ... I would recommend that all further work on this machine should cease."^[2] No further development followed this condemnation.

Specifications (Ram I)

Data from The British Fighter since 1912 ^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 27 ft 8½ in (8.45 m)
Wingspan: 47 ft 10½ in (14.60 m)
Height: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
Wing area: 560 sq ft^[5] (52.0 m²)
Powerplant: 1 × Sunbeam Arab water-cooled V8 engine, 200 hp (149 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 95 mph (83 knots, 153 km/h)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Aircraft Factory.

↑ Bruce 1979, p.149.
1 2 3 4 Bruce 1979, p.150.
1 2 Bruce 1968, p.12.
1 2 3 Mason 1992, p.136.
↑ Bruce 1968, p.13.

Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London:Putnam, 1957.
Bruce, J.M. War Planes of the First World War: Volume Two Fighters. London:Macdonald, 1968. ISBN 0-356-01473-8.
Bruce, J.M. "The First British Armoured Brigade", Part 2. Air International, March 1979, Vol 16 No. 3. Bromley, UK:Fine Scroll Publishing. pp. 149–153.
Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

Royal Aircraft Factory designed aircraft

Armoured Experimental	A.E.1 A.E.2 A.E.3

Blériot Experimental	B.E.1 B.E.2 B.E.3 B.E.4 B.E.5 B.E.6 B.E.7 B.E.8 B.E.9 B.E.10 B.E.11 B.E.12

Blériot Scout	B.S.1 B.S.2

Coastal Experimental	C.E.1

Farman Experimental Fighting Experimental	F.E.1 F.E.2 F.E.3 F.E.4 F.E.6 F.E.7 F.E.8 F.E.9 F.E.10 F.E.11 F.E.12

Night Experimental	N.E.1

Reconnaissance Experimental	R.E.1 R.E.2 R.E.3 R.E.5 R.E.7 R.E.8 R.E.9

Santos Experimental Scout Experimental	S.E.1 S.E.2 S.E.3 S.E.4 S.E.4a S.E.5 S.E.6 S.E.7

Tatin Experimental	T.E.1

Airships	Nulli Secundis Baby/Beta Gamma Delta Eta

Aviation in World War I

People and aircraft	Commanders Aces Aircraft of the Entente Powers Aircraft of the Central Powers Zeppelins

Campaigns and battles	Strategic bombing German Cuxhaven Bombing of cities Aerial reconnaissance Fokker Scourge Flight over Vienna Bloody April Battles

Entente Powers air services	British air services Royal Flying Corps Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force Australian Flying Corps Canadian Air Force (1918–20) French Air Service Imperial Russian Air Service Royal Italian Air Corps United States Army Air Service Greek air services Army Air Service Naval Air Service

Central Powers air services	Imperial German Air Service Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops Ottoman Aviation Squadrons Bulgarian Army Aeroplane Section

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/23/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Royal Aircraft Factory A.E.3

Development and design

Specifications (Ram I)

See also

References