Total production of the B.E.2 marks was about 3,500 and these served with several participants of World War 1. Additional development and prototypes were also a growing part of the B.E.2 line in history. By the time of the war, the B.E.2 had already seen several years of useful service with the RFC, its pilots and crews generally well experienced with these biplane mounts - though not as warring airplanes. B.E.2s stocked the inventory of the British Expeditionary Forces (BEFs) upon their arrival in France during 1914.
The B.E.2c quickly superseded earlier B.E.2 types in service during the early years of the war. Its stability shown through which made it a highly useful artillery observation platform as well as a good candidate for photographic reconnaissance sorties. The aircraft could also carry a modest bomb load for basic strike missions though this often meant that the rear crewman was left behind due to the increase in weight.
Unarmed and generally slow, the B.E.2 did not fare well when set over territories near enemy activity and the series proved machine gun fodder to the new generation of German fighter - the Fokker "Eindecker" monoplane of 1915. Regardless, the RFC continued in its large scale frontline use of the B.E.2 for a good portion of the war. It was only when the Allies reclaimed air superiority from the Germans - ending the dreaded "Fokker Scourge" period - that the vulnerabilities of the B.E.2 were overshadowed to an extent. During 1915, the B.E.2 (B.E.2c) was made to service the night fighter role as a single-seat interceptor granted extra fuel stores, an angled Lewis machine gun, and hand-dropped ordnance to be used against German Zeppelins over England. In this way, the B.E.2 became one of the earliest airframes to fulfill the dedicated night fighting role.
By the end of 1917, the B.E.2 aircraft line was being replaced by more capable types in service. As was the case with most outmoded systems, the B.E.2 continued in service as a trainer for incoming airmen and as maritime patrol mounts to combat the German U-Boat threat. The series managed a still-useful existence into the post war years for it was not formally retired until 1919. A sole B.E.2 made up one-half the inventory of two aircraft for newly founded Quantas of Australia - the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was another wartime operator of the B.E.2.
Other operators of the useful biplane became Belgium, Estonia, Greece (Navy), the Netherlands (sole example), Norway, South Africa, and the United States (with the American Expeditionary Force - AEF).
The aircraft - in particular the B.E.2e - was known as "Quirk" by British pilots due to its unlikable qualities by 1917.
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