The aircraft was also fitted with a machine gun for the observer, whose position was changed from the rear seat to the front in order to give a clear field of fire.

[1] On 6 September 1914, the first air-sea battle took place when a Japanese Farman MF.11 aircraft launched by the seaplane carrier Wakamiya unsuccessfully attacked SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth with bombs.

It flew the first bombing raid of the war when, on 21 December 1914, an MF.11 of the Royal Naval Air Service attacked German artillery positions around Ostend, Belgium.

The MF.11 was withdrawn from front-line service on the Western Front in 1915 but continued to be used by the French in Macedonia and the Middle East, while the British also used it in the Dardanelles and Africa.

Despite its archaic looks, the MF.11 was regarded as a good aircraft for trainee pilots as its sturdy build meant that bad landings rarely caused damage to the undercarriage.