The Bristol "Baby Biplane" Scout:

Historical Notes: 

Although less than 400 Bristol Scouts of all types were produced, in some ways the Bristol machine marked a major advance in airplane design.  Included with this are a number of "firsts," such as the first airplane to be launched from an aircraft carrier deck (from the seaplane carrier "Vindex").  The Scout's original design intentions appear to be that of a race plane, and was largely the work of Bristol designer Frank Barnwell.   Designed in a shroud of secrecy and mystery (including the use of a previous registration sequence number apparently to hide its identity), the machine that emerged in February of 1914 was a complete success.  Powered by an 80 hp Gnome rotary engine, the Bristol plane could turn out a speed of 97 mph, and expectations were high that it would do well on the racing circuit.  The small plane quickly earned the titles  "Bristol Baby Biplane", and "Bristol Scout."

Racing success was elusive, as bad weather kept the Bristol Scout from showing its form, but one man did fly it in the London-Paris-London race of July, 1914.  However, the pilot lost engine power over the channel and was forced to ditch.  Attempts to salvage the plane were unsuccessful, and it sank.   Once several new Bristol Scouts were built, the war had started and the new machine was immediately pressed into service as a reconnaissance plane.  The Scout C and D models were the primary production versions, and only later ones were actually designed to be armed.  Earlier versions carried no weapons, although pilots took to the air with a variety of small arms.  Lanoe Hawker VC, received his Victoria Cross (the first for aerial combat) while flying a Scout when he single-handedly took on three German two-seaters, armed with only a single-shot carbine (one source indicates he had a Lewis gun mounted at an angle away from the fuselage).  He drove down one, and flamed another.  This is more noteworthy when one is reminded that the German planes were armed with flexible machineguns.

Construction of the Scout was typical for the day:  a wooden frame covered with doped fabric, and a sheet metal cowling.  The wings were braced heavily with wire, since they flexed greatly in flight.  Structural strength was fairly good for the time, and the plane was popular with pilots.  Light and sensitive to the controls, it was still a fairly easy plane to handle, having a rare combination of stability with good maneuverability.  The major problem for the Scout was finding a way to arm it.   Since interrupter gear was still not available, arming a tractor plane was wrought with serious difficulties. Some methods at armament were downright bizarre and dangerous.  Besides pistols and carbines, some pilots tried to use a Martini-Henry .45 caliber rifle firing lead bullets, while others carried a duck gun filled with chain shot.  Others  attempted to mount a Lewis gun along the fuselage side near the cockpit, angled outward so as to miss the airscrew (not to mention being properly sited to miss the wing wires).  Others carried Ranken darts as an anti-Zeppelin weapon (one pilot from the "Vindex" actually dropped one on a zeppelin but failed to bring it down).  Yet,  some RNAS pilots went to the extreme of desperation, mounting a Lewis gun on the cowling to fire through the propellor.... without interrupter gear.  The subsequent holes in the blades were plugged and bound with tape!  Eventually some later Scouts were equipped with the Vickers-Challenger synchronization gear, allowing for a Vickers machinegun to be more safely mounted on the cowling.  The CFS version used here represents one of the few that were so armed.

The Scouts eventually went off  to training units, and were  phased out gradually as the war progressed.  However, some officers kept them for personal use up until the end of the war.  The Bristol Scout could have made a significant contribution to the Allied aerial war effort, save for the problems in finding effective armament for it.  A total of 371 Scout Cs and Ds were produced.

Basic performance statistics:  Bristol Baby Biplane Scout D:

Engine:   80hp  rotary engine

Weight: empty 760 lbs;  loaded 1,250 lbs

Maximum speed: 94 mph at 5,000 feet

Climb rate: to 10,000 feet.... 18 min. 30 sec.

Service ceiling: 14,000 feet

Flight endurance: 2.5 hours

Basic Specifications:

Manufacturer:   The British & Colonial Aeroplane Co., Ltd., Filton and Brislington, Bristol

Dimensions: Span 24 ft,  7 in; Length 20 ft, 8 in; Height: 8 ft, 6 in;  Stagger:  1 foot, 9 in; Dihedral:  3 deg; Incidence:  2.5 deg

Areas: Wings 198 sq ft;  Rudder:  7 sq ft.

Fuel:  na in referenced sources, but probably 16 gallons

Armament:   either one fixed Lewis gun on the center section of the top wing to fire over the airscrew arc, or one Vickers machinegun synchronized with Vickers-Challenger gear to fire through the airscrew.  

Typical ammo load:  260-280 (approximate) rounds typical load

Primary sources: "Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I, 1919 (1990 reprint); "British Aeroplanes, 1914-1918," J.M. Bruce;  "German Aircraft of the First World War," Gray and Thetford;   "Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War" Lamberton et al;  "Aircraft Camouflage and Markings 1907-1954," Robertson et al; "Military Small Arms of the 20th Century," Hogg and Weeks.

Fighting and winning in the Bristol Baby Biplane Scout D:

There is little doubt that the Bristol Scout D is a fine machine.  Given adequate armament and built in sufficient numbers, it would have been a force to be reckoned with.  It is only somewhat less maneuverable than the Sopwith Pup, and for its time frame it is equal or superior to anything fielded by the Germans.  It is easy to handle, with few vices.  However, if the rudder is held to long it will spin, and it should be added, quite nastily.  However, it is a plane that can hold its own in a dogfight.  Being light, it is not a diver.  The area where it excels is dogfighting.  Only the DH-2 (of the planes of that era) can out turn the Scout.  It is a serious threat to the Fokker Eindecker, and the Scout can also hold its own even with some late-war machines.

But it does have some significant weaknesses, and being aware of them is crucial to success.  First, there's the armament:  a single Vickers machinegun.  But coupled with that single gun is a small amount of ammunition.  To carry more would begin to seriously degrade the handling of the plane.  So you must be careful when using the ammunition.  Continuous fire will quickly eat it up, so "watch your guns."   Secondly, the Scout is structurally sound, but it's not as rugged as late- war machines.  Planes armed with twin machineguns can quickly chew up the Scout, and care must be taken to not take on too much damage.

You can turn and twist your way through a group of enemy planes, and the Scout's handling allows you to out turn  your opponents.  To improve your turns, sideslip some with the rudder, although you need to watch your speed to keep from spinning out.  To merely pull a turn at 90 degrees  and with elevator is simply not enough, as even an Albatros can hold about the same turn diameter.  If you go into a spin, straighten the stick and center the rudder.  You can also apply a touch of opposite rudder to end the spin more quickly.

If you are up to a real challenge, fly the Bristol Scout against the late-war Camel or Fokker D.VII.

Bristol Scout

The Bristol Scout was used for racing prior to the war, and was capable of maneuvering with German machines.  Its primary weakness was a lack of synchronization gear to allow for a machine gun to be fired through the airscrew.