Following success with the Flanders F.3 experimental monoplane in the spring of 1912, the British War Office ordered four Flanders monoplanes for use by the newly formed Royal Flying Corps.

[1] The aircraft had the same configuration as the F.3 but was improved with larger cockpits, accommodating a crew of two in tandem, was powered by a 70 hp (52 kW) Renault engine driving a four-bladed propeller[2] and had other modifications to improve reliability and maintainability.

The fixed landing gear of the F.3 was improved with the addition of coil-spring suspension.

The first aircraft was flying at Brooklands by 6 July 1912, with all four flown and delivered to the RFC by 2 January 1913.

[4][5] Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985), 1985, Orbis PublishingGeneral characteristics Performance