The design of the AD.1 was by Harris Booth of the Admiralty's Air Department just prior to World War I.
The other two were a bomber and an aircraft armed with a recoilless Davis 12-pounder gun (approximately 76 mm calibre).
The aircraft was a float-equipped biplane of pod-and-boom design, with engines mounted at the front of both booms, as well as at the rear of the crew pod.
[1] Seven aircraft were ordered from J. Samuel White, but when the first one delivered was tested, it was found that its weight was higher than expected, its performance was unexpectedly poor and its undercarriage was not robust enough: based on these findings, the contract for the remaining six aircraft was cancelled.
The sole example is known to have survived until 1916, probably at the Royal Naval Air Service's Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe base.