Roden 1/48 RAF BE 2c | 426

  In 1914, immediately after the beginning of World War I, it became obvious that the British Army needed to develop an aviation component. Aircraft were not yet considered as fighters or bombers; at that point their function was seen to be reconnaissance and observation of the movements of enemy troops. The Army needed an aircraft which wouldabove all be stable in the air during the protracted patrol periods, and also allow for the imperfect standards of construction of the time. The first substantial order went to the government's Royal Aircraft Factory (RAF). In pre-war years it produced a two seat plane, the B.E.2, under the direction of graduate engineer Edward T. Busk(B.E. - 'Bl?riot Experimental', because it had a tractor configuration, like the aircraft of Frenchman Louis Bl?riot). The design appeared to be successful, and orders for its manufacture were given out to such firms as Handley Page, Vickers, and Hewlett, as well as the state enterprise. At the beginning of the War