Best Monoplane fighter of WW1

[mike_espo]

I am reading Origin of the Fighter Aircraft by J Gutman and I saw a pic of a very cool monoplane fighter: the Bristol M.1c.

After reading up about it, it sounds like it could be the best monoplane design of the war. Good climb rate, max speed of 130mph. Not to mention a cool looking scout! If not for Trenchard's prejudice against monoplanes, it probably would have been produced in the thousands. Better than the Fokker Ev, or the Morane AI.

What do you think?

[Patrick]

I think your probably right, certainly within the period of the war when it could have first appeared (late 1916) if priority was given to produce them. J.M. Bruce mentions (in British Aeroplanes 1914-18) that their limited endurance meant that they couldn't be used as escorts. And it could only mount a single gun. But in every other respect the M1.c was a terrific aeroplane and surely would have had a big impact on the airwar if it had been produced in quantity.

[YavorD]

Morane-Saulnier type AI (MoS.29) was a good candidate too ... but really important was Fokker Eindecker, of course.
Regards,
Yavor

[mike_espo]

Originally Posted by YavorD

Morane-Saulnier type AI (MoS.29) was a good candidate too ... but really important was Fokker Eindecker, of course.
Regards,
Yavor

Historically speaking, the Eindecker was the most important monoplane fighter, but its performance was lacking for it to be the best....

[Patrick]

Speed alone would have put the Bristol at the top of it's class -- a 1916-17 scout that could hit 130 mph. But on top of that, it was reported to be an easy-to-handle plane too, something that the Fokker E-series most certainly was not.

[mike_espo]

Originally Posted by Patrick

Speed alone would have put the Bristol at the top of it's class -- a 1916-17 scout that could hit 130 mph. But on top of that, it was reported to be an easy-to-handle plane too, something that the Fokker E-series most certainly was not.

Yes. No wing warping. Supposedly had a good climb rate too, ~850 ft/min

[Brad]

What criteria are you looking for? An aircraft can be fast and easy to fly but not be a good fighter.

(Junker J2 a.k.a. Junker EI comes to mind...)

[mike_espo]

Originally Posted by Brad

What criteria are you looking for? An aircraft can be fast and easy to fly but not be a good fighter.

(Junker J2 a.k.a. Junker EI comes to mind...)

Forgot about that one! How good was it?

[Brad]

Originally Posted by mike_espo

Forgot about that one! How good was it?

Welllll... it depends. It was VERY fast for 1915 (124 MPH) but didn't climb well and was not particularly agile, due to weight. I believe 6 total were built.

It was the first all-metal, single seat, cantilever wing fighter, so it is important because it proved that aircraft can be built that way... but it was steel, not aluminum like later metal aircraft.

[John McKenzie]

HI ...Perhaps we should also consider in this catagory :-

The Nieuport N 11-27 series , ..........and also the Albatros D III-Va series..........

Following an extended dive

JM