Willis Matthew Bristol Scout

One of the great unsung keystones in the development of aerial combat, the Bristol Scout was originally designed as a racing aircraft. It was used by the RNAS and the RFC as a "scout", or fast reconnaissance machine, and was one of the first single-seaters to be used as a fighter aircraft. Designed in the second half of 1913 the first flight was made at Larkhill on 23 February the following year after which it was exhibited at the March 1914 Aero Show at Olympia in London. It was evaluated by the British military in May 1914 at Farnborough and its period of service saw great leaps forward in the design and tactical usage of fighter aircraft, and many of the earliest attempts to perfect forward-firing guns were tested in action using Bristol Scouts. An RNAS Scout was the first landplane to be flown from a ship, when Flt.Cdr. B. F Fowler flew No. 1255 from the flying deck of the seaplane carrier H.M.S. "Vindex" on 3 November 1915. The aircraft saw service in both Europe and the Middle East but by mid-1916 was largely relegated to training units. This latest book in the Warpaint series covers the aircraft comprehensively, with an
impressive historical text, and a selection of photographs that will be essential for any modeller considering a project.

Many tests with the later common forward-facing machine guns firing through the rotor were made with Bristol "Scouts". A Bristol "Scout" of the British Naval Air Forces was the first land aircraft to take off from a ship when Flt. Cdr. B. F Fowler took off with his aircraft from the flight deck of the seaplane carrier H.M.S. "Vindex" on 3 November 1915. The aircraft saw service in both Europe and the Middle East, but was largely relegated to training units by mid-1916. This booklet in the "Warpaint" series covers the aircraft comprehensively, illustrated with a large number of contemporary photographs, colour aircraft profiles and sketches.