Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 - Survivors and Reproductions

Survivors and Reproductions

An original flying S.E.5a may be seen in the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden, England, UK. This aircraft was originally serial F904 of No. 84 Squadron RAF, then flew as G-EBIA from September 1923 to February 1932. It was restored and passed to the Shuttleworth Collection. Re-registered as G-EBIA, it was first painted as D7000, then as F904.

An original S.E.5e may be seen in the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Dayton, Ohio, USA. The museum acquired the S.E.5e through a donation by the estate of Lt. Col. William C. Lambert, USAF Ret,. a First World War ace with 21.5 victories. Lambert flew the S.E.5a as an American member of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force. The Air Force Museum Foundation also helped buy the aircraft. It is painted to represent an S.E.5e of the 18th Headquarters Squadron, Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., in 1925.

Two full scale replica S.E.5a aircraft were built by Miles Aircraft in 1965 for use in film making and were transferred to the Irish civil aircraft register in 1967 whilst the two were employed in flying scenes. Both were destroyed in crashes in Ireland during 1970.

Another four original airframes are statically displayed at: the Science Museum, London, UK; Royal Air Force Museum, London, UK; South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg, South Africa; and the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia.

Three reproductions (designated Se.5a-1) were built by The Vintage Aviator Limited in New Zealand and these fly from Hood Aerodrome, Masterton. Another SE5a project was started in the UK in the 1980s by John Tetley and "Bill" Sneesby. The machine, built using original plans, was transferred to The Memorial Flight (based at La Ferte Alais, in France) to be completed and flown. Some parts are original such as the engine, instruments and fuel tank and the machine is painted in the colours of Lt. H. J. 'Hank' Burden of 56 Squadron as of April 1918. A full scale replica is statically displayed at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck, New York. Volunteers of the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum in New York City built this aircraft. This volunteer group consisted of veteran W.W.II pilots and was headed by Mr. Doug Douglas. The Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum donated the S.E.5a to the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum in 2000.

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