Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5

 Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5. Photo: Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Make	Royal Aircraft Factory
Model	Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
Type	Single-seat fighter
Country	United Kingdom
First flight	22 November 1916
Number built	5,205
Registered in the US	19 (FAA register, October 30, 2026)
Seats	One
Engine	Hispano-Suiza 8 or Wolseley Viper, 150 hp
Range	300 mi (S.E.5a)
Service ceiling	17,000 ft (S.E.5a)
Max weight	1,988 lb (S.E.5a)
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The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British World War I biplane fighter, designed by Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was one of the fastest airplanes of the war and was stable and fairly maneuverable; one aviation author called it "the Spitfire of World War One". In all, 5,205 were built. In the U.S. there are 19 with a valid registration, including replicas.

History

The S.E.5 first flew on November 22, 1916, and entered service in March 1917. In most ways it outperformed the Sopwith Camel, though it answered the controls less quickly. Problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine caused a chronic shortage until well into 1918, so fewer squadrons flew it than the Camel.

With the Camel, the S.E.5 helped win back Allied air superiority in mid-1917, after the heavy Royal Flying Corps losses of "Bloody April". It stayed in RAF service for a while after the war, and some went to overseas air forces and civilian owners.

Registered in the United States

The FAA register lists 19 of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.

FAA model name	Registered
SE5A	11
SE5A REPLICA	4
SE 5-A	1
SE5	1
S.E. 5A	1
SE5A (REPLICA)	1

Specifications (S.E.5a)

Item	S.E.5a
Crew	One
Length	20 ft 11 in
Height	9 ft 6 in
Wing area	244 sq ft
Empty weight	1,410 lb
Maximum takeoff weight	1,988 lb
Engine	Hispano-Suiza 8 or Wolseley Viper, 150 hp (water cooled V8 engine)
Propeller	fixed pitch wooden propeller
Maximum speed	138 mph
Range	300 mi
Service ceiling	17,000 ft

Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.

Owner and mechanic notes: coming soon. What to check before you buy, common problems and what they cost to fix. Airplane Wiki is gathering this from owners and mechanics.

Photos

• 
  IWM Caption: Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5As of No. Photo: David McLellan, Public domain
• 
  Wood frame construction of the SE5, en:South African National Museum of Military History. Photo: NJR ZA, Public domain
• 
  Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5. Photo: TSRL, CC BY-SA 3.0
• 
  Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5. Photo: TSRL, CC BY-SA 3.0
• 
  Full scale replica Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a built by Miles Engineering in 1965 for film work. Photo: RuthAS, CC BY 3.0
• 
  Royal Aiircraft Factory S.E.5A F-904 at Old Warden, June 2014. Photo: TSRL, CC BY-SA 3.0
• 
  The Royal Flying Corps on the Western Front, 1914-1918 The Pilot of an S.E.5a of No. Photo: McLellan, David (Second Lieutenant) (Photographer), Public domain
• 
  From the Robert McKenzie fonds, PR1991.0305/24. Photo: Provincial Archives of Alberta, No restrictions

All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.

Buying a Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5

For sale listings: coming soon. Airplane Wiki will list Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s for sale here, with the facts on this page beside every listing.