Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia


General information
Type	Trainer, fighter, bomber
Manufacturer	Avro
Primary users	Royal Flying Corps Royal Naval Air Service
Number built	11,303 including Japanese, Soviet and other foreign production
History
Manufactured	1913–1932
Introduction date	1913
First flight	18 September 1913
Retired	1934

The Avro 504 is a single-engine biplane bomber made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during World War I totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in any military capacity during the First World War. More than 10,000 were built from 1913 until production ended in 1932.

Design and development

First flown from Brooklands by Fred "Freddie" Raynham on 18 September 1913,powered by an 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome Lambda seven-cylinder rotary engine, the Avro 504 was a development of the earlier Avro 500, designed for training and private flying. It was a two-bay all-wooden biplane with a square-section fuselage..

Operational history

Small numbers of early aircraft were purchased by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) prior to the start of the First World War, and were taken to France when the war started. One of the RFC aircraft was the first British aircraft to be shot down by the Germans, on 22 August 1914. The pilot was 2nd Lt. Vincent Waterfall and his navigator Lt Charles George Gordon Bayly (both of 5 Sqn RFC)^[9]^[10] The RNAS used four 504s to form a special flight to bomb the Zeppelin works at Friedrichshafen on the shores of Lake Constance. Three set out from Belfort in north-eastern France on 21 November 1914, carrying four 20 lb (9 kg) bombs each. While one aircraft was shot down, the raid was successful, with several direct hits on the airship sheds and the destruction of the hydrogen generating plant.^[.

Avro International Aerospace

Avro Int. Aerospace
AVRO 504K Biplane Introduction date 1913
First flight 18 September 1913

General Info

Crew: 2 Length: 29 ft 5 in (8.97 m) Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m) Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) Wing area: 330 sq ft (31 m²)

Powerplant

Empty weight: 1,231 lb (558 kg) Gross weight: 1,829 lb (830 kg) Fuel capacity: 25.5 imp gal (31 US gal; 116 L) fuel; 6 imp gal (7 US gal; 27 L) castor oil Powerplant: 1 × Le Rhône 9J 9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine, 110 hp (82 kW) Propellers: 2-bladed Avro fixed-pitch wooden propeller, 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) diameter 8 ft 8 in (2.6 m) pitch

Performance

Maximum speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn) at sea level 87 mph (76 kn; 140 km/h) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m) Cruise speed: 74 mph (119 km/h, 64 kn) at 75% power at 8,000 ft (2,400 m) 71 mph (62 kn; 114 km/h) at 75% power at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) Range: 250 mi (400 km, 220 nmi) Endurance: 2 hours at sea level at maximum speed Service ceiling: (4,900 m)

Related development

1 fixed .303 Lewis atop upper wing (single-seat night fighter variants)

Special Links Avro International Aerospace

Links to Youtube & Others

The Avro 504J and 504K were the primary training aircraft used during the First World War, built in greater numbers than any other British aircraft of the period.

Avro Int.
Avro 504 Biplane

Engine choices for the 504K included the 100 hp Gnome Monosoupape, the 80 or 110 hp Le Rhone, and the 130 hp Clerget, amongst others.

Youtube Link

From mid-1915 onward, the Avro 504 was withdrawn from operations in France and it became the standard training aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps.

Avro International Aerospace.
AVRO 504 Biplane
Manufactured 1913–1932
Introduction date 1913
First flight 18 September 1913

Avro Int. Aerospace
AVRO 504 Biplane