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Страна: Великобритания

Год: 1918

Fighter

Варианты

P.Hare Royal Aircraft Factory (Putnam)

A.E.2

   Designed during 1917 and probably intended for ground attack, the Armoured Experimental No 2 was to have been a tractor biplane with an armour plated forward fuselage intended to afford the crew, engine and fuel tanks a measure of protection against retaliatory small-arms fire. It is believed it had been based upon the B.E. series of machines, but it is almost certain that the project never progressed beyond the initial stages of design, for no records exist of it having been built, and no drawings of it survive.

   Wingspan: 42ft 7in


A.E.3

   This armoured two-seater, which was almost certainly the last aeroplane to be designed at Farnborough, has the obscure distinction of being the only Royal Aircraft Factory type to bear an official name. Under the system of nomenclature which was adopted by the Royal Air Force towards the end of the war it became the Farnborough Ram.
   Intended primarily for ground attack, the A.E.3 was a pusher biplane developed from the N.E.I, with which it shared its undercarriage, outer wing panels and horizontal tail surfaces. Its nacelle, containing the crew and engine, was protected by steel armour plate, the floor having two skins, the inner being 5 gauge and the outer 10 gauge. The armament comprised three Lewis guns, two firing forward and a third on a telescopic mounting for defence against attack from behind. The forward-firing pair were coupled together and aimed with the aid of an Aldis optical sight mounted between them. Provision was made for no fewer than thirty-two double Lewis drums, each holding ninety-seven rounds, giving the crew what was, at that time, an immense store of ammunition.
   It was originally intended that the A.E.3 should be powered by the geared 200hp Hispano-Suiza, but, owing to the almost unending delivery problems with that engine, the first prototype, B8781, which was completed on 28 March 1918, was equipped with a Sunbeam Arab of similar power. The radiator was initially installed between the rear centre-section struts, but was soon repositioned above the centre-section, alongside the overwing gravity tank.
   A second example, B8783, had its nacelle modified to accommodate a 230hp Bentley B.R.2 rotary engine. Designated Ram II, it was completed by the end of May. The third machine, B8782, another Arab powered Ram I, was completed a few days later.
   The flight trials of B8783, which began on 4 June, revealed that the control response was barely adequate, and by the 30th, when the machine went to France for service trials, the rudder and ailerons had been replaced by surfaces of increased area. The aircraft was tested by crews from both 201 and 209 squadrons before returning to Farnborough on 20 July. At the same time B8781 underwent armament trials at the testing station at Orfordness.
   In common with many of the Factory's less-inspired designs, the A.E.3 found little favour with its intended users, service reports being best described as 'unenthusiastic'. No production orders were placed, especially as its intended role would clearly be better filled by more conventional designs such as the Sopwith Salamander.
   The design of a further version, the Ram III with wings of increased chord, for which the more plentiful 150hp B.R.I had been suggested as a powerplant, was not completed.

Dimensions
   span 47ft 10in; length 27ft 9in; height 10ft 0in; chord 6ft 0in; gap 5ft 6in; wing area 560sq ft; dihedral 5°.
Performance:
   maximum speed 95mph (estimated).

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Описание:

  • P.Hare Royal Aircraft Factory (Putnam)
  • P.Lewis The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)
  • F.Mason The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)
  • W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters
  • J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)
  • H.King Armament of British Aircraft (Putnam)