Although it was claimed to be a rebuild of the F.E.1, a pusher biplane designed and built by de Havilland before he joined the Factory's staff, it was in fact an entirely new aircraft, with construction completed before the F.E.1 was wrecked in a crash in August 1911.

[1] The new aircraft resembled the final form of the F.E.1, with no front elevator, but seated a crew of two in a wood and canvas nacelle, and was powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) Gnome rotary engine.

[2] Later in the year the F.E.2, refitted with a landplane undercarriage, was modified to carry a Maxim machine gun on a flexible mount in the nose.

[5][6] Work started on another totally new design in mid-1914, the F.E.2a, specifically intended as a "fighter", or machine gun carrier – in the same class as the Vickers FB.5 "Gunbus".

This was not universally popular and when a method was devised of removing the nose wheel in the field without disturbing the shock absorbers, this became the most common form of the F.E.2 undercarriage.

The first production batch consisted of 12 of the initial F.E.2a variant,[11] with a large air brake under the top centre section, and a Green E.6 engine.

The first F.E.2a made its maiden flight on 26 January 1915, but was found to be underpowered, and was re-engined with a Beardmore 120 hp (89 kW) liquid-cooled inline engine, as were the other eleven aircraft.

A total of 1,939 F.E.2bs were built,[14] only a few of them at the Royal Aircraft Factory, as most construction was by private British manufacturers such as G & J Weir, Boulton & Paul Ltd and Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies.

In practice, this gun was appropriated by the observers, especially when they discovered that by climbing onto the rim of their cockpits they could fire backwards over the top wing – to some extent overcoming the notorious deficiency of pusher types in rear defence, although even this failed to cover a very large blind spot under the tail.

The arrangement was described by Frederick Libby, an American ace who served as an F.E.2b observer in 1916: When you stood up to shoot, all of you from the knees up was exposed to the elements.

[15]The Royal Aircraft Factory was primarily a research establishment and other experiments were carried out using F.E.2bs, including the testing of a generator-powered searchlight attached between two .303 inch (7.7 mm) Lewis guns, apparently for night fighting duties.

While the more powerful engine made little difference in maximum speed, especially at low altitude, it did improve altitude performance, with an extra 10 mph at 5,000 ft.[14] The Rolls-Royce engine also improved payload, so that in addition to the two observer's guns, an additional one or two Lewis guns could be mounted to fire forward, operated by the pilot.

Despite this, three more aircraft were converted to F.E.2h standard, these being fitted with a six-pounder (57 mm) Davis gun, mounted to fire downwards for ground attack purposes.

[18][19] While the F.E.2d was replaced by the Bristol Fighter, the older F.E.2b proved an unexpected success as a light tactical night bomber, and remained a standard type in this role for the rest of the war.

[22] By autumn 1916, the arrival of more modern German fighters such as the Albatros D.I and Halberstadt D.II meant that even the F.E.2d was outperformed and by April 1917, it had been withdrawn from offensive patrols.

Despite its obsolescence in 1917, the F.E.2 was still well liked by its crews for its strength and good flight characteristics and it still occasionally proved a difficult opponent for even the best German aces.

Robert Radcliffe's novel Across the Blood-Red Skies is narrated by an F.E.2 pilot, and offers an insight into the skills required to fly the aeroplane.

The protagonist, (a fictional character) Capt Bill Harsker, begins his flying career as an airman gunner in the front of a Vickers Gunbus and advances to become an ace pilot.

In 1986, the museum began a restoration project and commissioned the construction of replica wings and tail; a Beardmore engine was bought in New Zealand in 1992.

[30] Two reproductions of the F.E.2b, one to full airworthiness standards and fitted with a genuine Beardmore engine, have been manufactured by The Vintage Aviator of New Zealand.