Burgess Gunbus
Encyclopedia
The Burgess Type O Gunbus was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pusher
Pusher configuration
In a craft with a pusher configuration the propeller are mounted behind their respective engine. According to Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind engine so that drive shaft is in compression...
biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
fighter designed and built by the Burgess Company
Burgess Company
The Burgess Company was a U.S. airplane manufacturer between 1910 and 1918.-History:The business was incorporated in 1910 as the "Burgess Company and Curtis, Inc." . The company was an offshoot of the W. Starling Burgess Shipyard, of Marblehead, Massachusetts.Burgess was the first licensed aircraft...
at Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
.
A total of 36 Type Os (also known as the Burgess Gunbus), powered by a single 140 hp (104 kW) Sturtevant engine, was ordered by the British Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
in 1915 for use by the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
(RNAS). Built in the United States they were shipped to Hendon Aerodrome for erection. The first aircraft flew from Hendon on 26 August 1915 and some of first aircraft were used for training at Hendon and Eastchurch
RAF Eastchurch
RAF Eastchurch was a Royal Air Force station near Eastchurch village in the English County of Kent. The history of aviation at Eastchurch stretches back to the first decade of the 20th century when it was used as an airfield by members of the Royal Aero Club...
but most went into storage, the last six were not even unpacked. All were removed from the inventory in 1916.