It could not escape the drag penalty imposed by its tail structure and was no match for the Albatros fighters of late 1916.

In the absence of a synchronization gear to provide a forward firing machine gun for a tractor scout such as the S.E.2, it was given a pusher layout.

The prototypes were fitted with large streamlined spinners on the propeller hub, although these were soon removed, and the production F.E.8s were built without them.

The booms themselves were attached to the main spar of the tailplane, rather than the rudder post, giving them taper in side elevation rather than in plan, as was done with the DH.2.

This proved awkward in practice, and in production machines the gun was mounted directly in front of the pilot, in the manner of the D.H.2.

Other changes required before the aircraft entered production included extra fuel to counter criticism from the commander of the Royal Flying Corps in France, Hugh Trenchard, that the F.E.8's endurance was too short.

The only ace on the type was Edwin Benbow who was credited with shooting down a German fighter on 6 March 1917, probably that of Manfred von Richthofen, who force landed with a holed fuel tank and narrowly escaping incineration.

The Owls Head Transportation Museum in Maine has another F.E.8 reproduction in its collection, powered by a modern air-cooled, horizontally opposed engine.