SUBJECTS >> OPERATIONS >> World War I
AIRCRAFT >> OTHER AIRCRAFT >> Vickers FB5 Gunbus
Catalog Number:
1993.207
Location:
5th Floor, E-Ring, 9-10
Description:
The Vickers (Fb-5) Gunbus Was A Prewar, Two Seater Pusher Was The First Armed British Fighter. Sent to France In 1915, To Stop The Fokker Menace, It Failed. It Was Not Withdrawn From The Front Until Mid 1916. Shown Climbing (Fe-2b) Is A Later, More Successful, Two Seat Pusher Type That Served Into 1918 As A Bomber After It Was Withdrawn As A Fighter. The First True Armed Fighter Plane (Fokker Eindecker E-III). Its Synchronized Machine Guns Spread Terror And Gained Air Superiority For The Germans Late 1915. Max Immelmann Became Germany's First Ace. He Shot Down His First British Be-2 On October 2, 1915, And Got His First Gunbus On Oct 27th, Wounding Its Pilot British Captain Darley.