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Frank Barnwell鈥檚 affiliation with the armed forces started as early as 1911, when he was hired by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company to work on an unconventional sea plane project for the Admiralty.

It was two years later that Barnwell joined forces with Harry Busteed to design the simple single-seater called the Bristol Scout. The Scout was originally intended as a private racing plane 鈥� but like many of that time it was commandeered by the Royal Flying Corps, using it for reconnaissance missions.

With the outbreak of war, Barnwell was called to the Front and flew as a pilot with the RFC. However, by 1915 the RFC were losing pilots almost as quickly as they could be replaced, so Barnwell was released from his duties and returned home to work on designing the plane that would repel the German air force.

Whilst working as the Chief Designer in Bristol he used his experiences of combat to design what many believe to be one of the outstanding aircraft of World War One 鈥� The Bristol Fighter.

The two-seater known commonly as 鈥淏risfit鈥� was mounted with a front facing machine gun and a Lewis gun in the rear cockpit. Despite it being a two-seater it was an incredibly agile plane and by the end of the war nearly 1,600 Bristol Fighters were in operation with the Royal Air Force.

Frank Barnwell lost his life in an airplane crash in 1938, and three years later his three sons would suffer the same fate.

Nearly 100 years from the Bristol Fighter鈥檚 birth the apprentices of the company that now owns the British Aeroplane Company; Airbus, built a replica of the Bristol Fighter. In honour of his work the employees at Airbus named a new engineering building at Airbus in Filton: Barnwell House.

Location: Former site of British Aeroplane Company, Filton, Bristol BS34 7QE
Image shows inside the Filton factory building the Bristol fighter in 1918
Presented by Dave Harvey

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