Martinsyde F.1

The F.1 two-seat fighter was conceived late in 1915 as a tractor biplane in which the gunner occupied the forward cockpit and stood upright to fire a 7.7mm Lewis gun on a mount built into the upper wing centre section. Powered by a 250hp Rolls-Royce Mk III engine (later to become known as the Eagle III), the F.1 suffered a somewhat protracted development and, by the time that it was officially tested in July 1917, it was already obsolete. Obviously not acceptable for operational use, the F.1 was not further developed.