Introduced in 1917, the Bristol F.2 Fighter got off to rocky start with Britain’s Royal Flying Corps (RFC), and early models were plagued with engine trouble. However, once fitted with the Rolls Royce Falcon the F.2b proved to be one of the most outstanding aircraft of the First World War. As a two-seater it could carry out bombing, photographic reconnaissance and ground attack operations with speed and ease, but it also had the agility of a true fighter and could dogfight with the best. In the summer of 1917, this was just the aircraft the RFC needed to regain air superiority over the Western Front, where it gained the affectionate nickname of the ‘Biff’.
Its reliability, strength, and all-round abilities led to its continued service in the fledgling Royal Air Force (RAF) and other forces in the 1920s and 1930s. Well suited to the rough conditions of the North West Frontier and Iraq, and able to fulfil several roles for the cost of one, it suited the over-stretched and cash-strapped RAF well. It became an icon of inter-war Imperial Policing and carried on until 1932 when the F.2b was finally withdrawn from RAF service.