Page 15 - David Coles Australian Military Aircraft Book Interior Sample

‘single-bay’ wing, with the upper wing having a much greater span than the lower wing. It also had ailerons rather than wing warping which made it more respon- sive to pilot inputs. Delivered to CFS in May 1918, the aircraft had an eventful career, including being the first aircraft to fly from Melbourne to Darwin. This flight was made by Capt. H.N. Wrigley, D.F.C and SGT A.W. Murphy in November –December 1919. B6183 was allocated to the Australian War Museum collection on 5 August 1920 and remained in storage at Point Cook until at least June 1922.
While three BE.2s served here in Australia, another 39 served with AFC units in Palestine, France and England. These aircraft are described in the Chapter 2.
In 1967, the wings of an unknown aircraft were discovered in a shed at Newport, VIC; they turned out to be the upper wing set from a BE.2a, having a wing warping control system rather than the BE.2e’s aileron controls. Although from a BE.2a, it has not been conclusively established that this wing came from either CFS-1 or 2 and may have been a spare set; but it is known that parts of CFS-1 and 2 were donated to Melbourne University in 1921. This wing is now on display at the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin Airport, VIC.
BE.2e B6183 in Darwin, 1919
State library of NSW
CHAPTER ONE \\ CENTRAL FLYING SCHOOL (CFS) 1914-1919
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