Vickers E.S.1
title: "Vickers E.S.1" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1910s-british-fighter-aircraft", "vickers-aircraft", "biplanes", "rotary-engined-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1915", "aircraft-with-fixed-conventional-landing-gear"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_E.S.1" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | E.S.1 |
| image | Vickers E.S.1.jpg |
| aircraft_type | Fighter aircraft |
| national_origin | United Kingdom |
| manufacturer | Vickers Limited |
| designer | Rex Pierson |
| primary_user | Royal Flying Corps |
| number_built | 3 |
| :: |
| name = E.S.1 | logo = | logo_size = | image = Vickers E.S.1.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Fighter aircraft | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United Kingdom | manufacturer = Vickers Limited | design_group = | designer = Rex Pierson | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = Royal Flying Corps | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 3 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Vickers_E.S.1_rear_quarter_view.jpg"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Vickers_E.S.1_from_left.jpg"] ::
The Vickers E.S.1 was an early British Fighter aircraft of the First World War. A single-seat biplane, only three E.S.1s were built, although at least one was used by a home defence squadron of the Royal Flying Corps.
Development and design
In late 1914, Harold Barnwell, chief test pilot with Vickers Limited, designed a single-seat "scout" or fast reconnaissance aircraft, and had it built without the knowledge or approval of his employers, "borrowing" a Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine from Vickers' stores to power the aircraft. Barnwell attempted a first flight of his design, named the "Barnwell Bullet" in early 1915, but the aircraft crashed and was wrecked, possibly due to a miscalculated centre of gravity. Now aware of Barnwell's design, Vickers instructed their junior designer Rex Pierson to redesign the Bullet.
The redesigned aircraft, the Vickers E.S.1 (Experimental Scout), was a single-seat tractor biplane of fabric-covered wooden construction. It had single-bay unstaggered wings with ailerons on both the upper and lower wings. Like the Barnwell Bullet, the E.S.1 was powered by a Monosoupape engine, closely cowled into a circular-section fuselage. The pilot's cockpit was situated under the trailing edge of the upper wing, from which the view both downwards and upwards was poor.
The E.S.1 first flew in August 1915, Following operational trials in France, it was fitted with a modified cowling to allow fuel to drain away from the engine, and was armed with a forward-firing Vickers machine gun with the Vickers-Challenger gun synchroniser allowing the gun to fire through the propeller disc. A further two aircraft were built, powered by a 110 hp Clerget or Le Rhône engine. These aircraft had a modified fuselage and a large cutout in the upper wing to improve the view for the pilot, and were designated Vickers E.S.1 Mark II. No further production followed, with the aircraft being noted as being tiring to fly and difficult to land, although it did form the basis for the Vickers F.B.19.
Operational history
The unarmed E.S.1 was sent to France for operational trials at Saint-Omer in France in 1916, where it was criticised for the poor view for the pilot and for the fact that if the engine was mishandled, petrol could collect in the cowling and catch fire. It was finally badly damaged in a crash when flown by Captain Patrick Playfair. After rebuilding and arming with a synchronised Vickers gun, the modified E.F.1 Mk I was sent to No. 50 (Home Defence) Squadron.
Operators
;
Specifications (E.S.1 Mk II, Clerget engine)
|ref=Vickers Aircraft since 1908 |prime units?=imp General characteristics
|genhide=
|crew=One |capacity= |length m= |length ft=20 |length in=3 |span m= |span ft=24 |span in=5+1/2 |height m= |height ft=8 |height in=0 |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=215 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=981 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb=1502 |gross weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Clerget |eng1 type=9-cylinder rotary engine |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=110 |more power=
|prop blade number= |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop note= Performance
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=112 |max speed kts= |max speed note=at sea level |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |endurance=2 hr |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=15500 |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin=1000 |time to altitude=18 min to 10000 ft |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |more performance= Armament
|guns= 1× forward firing .303 in Vickers machine gun |bombs= |rockets= |missiles= |hardpoints= |hardpoint capacity= |hardpoint rockets= |hardpoint missiles= |hardpoint bombs= |hardpoint other=
|avionics=
Notes
- Also sometimes called Vickers E.S.2, although contemporary reports all refer to these aircraft as E.S.1s.
References
- Andrews, C. F., and Morgan, E. B. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, Second edition, 1988. .
- Bruce, J. M. War Planes of the First World War: Volume Three, Fighters. London: Macdonald, 1969. .
- Green, William, and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York, Smithmark, 1994. .
- Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1992. .
References
- Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 60.
- Bruce 1969, p. 86.
- Bruce 1969, pp. 86–87.
- Mason 1992, pp. 43–44.
- and was found to be extremely fast (a speed of 118 mph (190 km/h) was claimed by Vickers), and being capable of gaining height on a loop.Bruce 1969, p. 87.
- Bruce 1969, pp. 88–89.
- Bruce 1969, p. 91.
- Mason 1992, p. 44.
- (2014). "Britain's Forgotten Fighters of the First World War". Fonthill.
- Bruce 1969, pp. 87–88.
- Bruce 1969, p. 89.
- Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 576.
- Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 74.
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