The F.E. 2b was originally introduced as a two-seat fighter on the Western Front in late 1915, escorting unarmed reconnaissance aircraft in patrols over enemy lines.
German fighter aircraft could outperform F.E.2s by late 1916. Later F.E.2s were adapted for night bombing.
The fuselage frame of this composite reconstruction at RAF London is the largest original F.E.2b component known. It survived unfinished in the maker’s factory near Lowestoft. It is marked as F.E.2b A6526, which served in three squadrons until being written off by a forced landing on a night bombing sortie on 8 October 1918.