1:32 RAF BE2c PREMIUM

The aircraft that flew all too calmly

The British B.E.2c came out of a requirement for a stable observation machine that would hold itself in level flight almost by itself, so that the observer could devote himself to the map, the camera and the radio. The designers at Farnborough therefore moved the upper lifting surface forward, replaced wing warping with ailerons and enlarged the vertical tail surface. They succeeded perfectly, and it was precisely that which proved fatal to the aircraft in 1915.

The year when calm meant death

Against the German Fokker monoplanes the slow and obedient machine could not defend itself, because the observer sat in front among the struts and with his machine gun had practically nowhere to turn. The press and Parliament found a mocking name for these aircraft at the time: Fokker Fodder. They did have their moment of glory as well: on the night of September 3, 1916 the pilot of one of them shot down over England the first airship to fall on British soil, and he was decorated with the Victoria Cross for it.

Dimensions after reduction

The real aircraft had a span of 11.28 meters and a length of 8.31 meters, so in 1:32 the model comes out roughly 35 centimeters wide and 26 long. The forest of struts between the surfaces and the long exhausts led up over the engine give the finished piece an outline that cannot be mistaken for anything else. The PREMIUM label denotes the more richly equipped version of this real subject.

This type has a special standing in a collection. It is not a famous fighter, but rather the aircraft on which it was decided how the war in the air would actually be waged. Its fate explains why reconnaissance machines changed almost beyond recognition within a single year.