Vickers E.F.B.7

The Vickers E.F.B.7 was a prototype British fighter of the First World War, a twin-engined biplane that was unsuccessful, only one being built. In August 1914, soon after the war began, Vickers Limited hired the British pioneer aircraft designer Howard Flanders, whose first job was to design a fighting aircraft to carry a Vickers 1 pounder 37 mm cannon. The E.F.B.7 first flew in August 1915 and was passed to the Central Flying School for testing. Early in its career it was fitted with large cowlings to catch oil from the engines. An order for twelve more was placed on 20 August 1915, to have a modified fuselage letting the pilot sit closer to the gunner and, because of a shortage of Monosoupape engines, two 80 hp Renault V8 engines. The first prototype was modified to this form as the E.F.B.7A, but performance was much poorer and the production orders were cancelled on 16 February 1916 before any more were completed.