Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

Martinsyde G-series (Elephant)

1916 WORLD WAR 1

History of Martinsyde G Series (Elephant)

When Britain entered World War I (1914-1918), it had only 113 aircraft and 6 airships in its inventory. This no doubt grew with the rapid development of the war, culminating in countless designs, with units produced in the tens of thousands - such was the effect of the war on the local aviation industry.

Martinsyde, founded in 1908 by H. P. Martin and George Handasyde, rose to prominence in both aviation and motorcycles - the latter only introduced the single-seat Scout platform after the war of 1919 (p. 1). Autumn 1915, with As the war progressed, the Martinsyde G. 100 flew for the first time with a 120 hp Austro-Daimler engine.

It was subsequently adopted by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Australian Flying Corps (AFC).

The G. 100 was developed based on a single-seat fighter/escort aircraft. A parallel-strut, two-cabin biplane wing configuration was used. At the time the landing gear was fixed and rolled in the traditional way, and the pilot sat in an open-air cockpit under and behind the upper wing assembly. The tail is traditional, with a vertical fin with a horizontal plane in the middle.

A nose-mounted engine drives a two-bladed wooden propeller.

The first production form of the G.100 was equipped with a Beardmore 6-cylinder engine with 120 hp. Armament is a 1 x 0.303 Lewis Gun machine gun mounted on the upper wing unit to remove the rotating propeller blades, with a bomb load of 260 lbs external storage. The brand's total production is 100 aircraft. A second Lewis machine gun was added later and was located aft of the cockpit along the port fuselage (behind the pilot's left shoulder) - intended to fire aft as a trailing enemy aircraft.

Performance includes a top speed of 95 mph, a range of up to 450 miles and a service ceiling of 14,000 feet.

The G. 100 arrived in large numbers in the summer of 1916 - operators dubbed it an "elephant" due to its size and lack of maneuverability on a single-seat platform. This led the RFC to reclassify it as a light bomber, recognizing the aircraft's limited use as a fighter. Design flaws in the G. 100 prompted Martinsyde to develop the G. 102, which featured a 160-horsepower Beardmore engine.

These also delivered 171 services.

Although the G-Series was unsuccessful in its initial fighter/escort role, it did have some success as a light bomber due to its good inherent range. It was used until late 1917 when it was overcome by more powerful types.

The AFC's 1st Squadron operates the G-Series in Egypt and Palestine, and about 15 RFC squadrons use this type.