In December 1911, the British War Office announced a competition for a military aeroplane capable of carrying a pilot and observer for the recently established Royal Flying Corps.

[3] He intended to enter two aircraft into the Military Trials, which were planned to start on 1 August 1912: a monoplane powered by a 120-hp (89 kW) Austro-Daimler engine which had been salvaged from an Etrich Taube which had crashed during the 1911 Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Air Race, and a biplane powered by a 60-hp Green engine, with which Cody had finished fourth in the 1911 Circuit of Britain.

Lateral control was by wing warping, and two vertical tails were carried on bamboo booms behind the engine.

In October, Cody re-engined the biplane with a British-built 100-hp (75 kW) Green engine in order to enter the British Empire Michelin Cup competitions, winning the £600 prize for the fastest time over a 186-mile (299 km) circuit.

The second aircraft, which was awaiting repair of damage that had been received in an accident in March, was never flown again, and in November that year it was given to the Science Museum, London, where it is displayed today.