Template:Infobox Aircraft The Bristol M.1 Bullet was a British monoplane fighter aircraft of the First World War.
The M.1A prototype was designed and built as a private venture by Frank Barnwell in 1916. The War Office ordered four aircraft for evaluation - designated M.1B - which had a single Vickers machine gun mounted on the port wing and a clear-view cut-out in the starboard wing to give the pilot more downward visibility.
Despite excellent performance (it had a maximum speed 30-50 mph faster than any of the contemporary German Fokker Eindecker monoplanes for example) it was rejected by the Air Ministry for service on the Western Front, ostensibly because of its landing speed was considered too high for small French airfields, but more likely because of a widespread belief that monoplane aircraft were inherently unsafe in combat.
Nevertheless, a production order for 125 aircraft was placed on 3 August 1917. Designated M.1C, this version was fitted with a Le Rhone engine and had a Vickers machine gun centrally-mounted in front of the pilot.
Thirty-three M.1Cs served in the Middle East and the Balkans in 1917-18, while the rest were used by UK-based training units.
Data from Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament