REP Parasol

The R.E.P. 'Parasol' Type L was a military reconnaissance aircraft designed and produced in France by Robert Esnault-Pelterie (hence R.E.P.) in 1914. It was a wire-braced, parasol-wing monoplane of with fixed, tailskid undercarriage. In France it was usually described as "Monoplan R.E.P. à ailes surélevées" (literally monoplane R.E.P. with elevated wings), and also as the "R.E.P. Vision Totale" (R.E.P. Total Vision).

The fuselage was constructed of steel tube and was of triangular cross-section, with the apex on the ventral side. The pilot and observer sat in tandem, open cockpits. Lateral control was by wing warping, using a complex fan of cables above and below the wings. The upper cables were carried over a pylon of tandem struts, strut braced across the top.

Two versions were produced: a single-seater with a 45-kW (60-hp) le Rhône engine, and a two-seater with a 60-kW (80-hp) Gnome engine. It was armed with one machine-gun.

Operational history

While France's own Aéronautique Militaire did not purchase the design, and continued to use the Type N, Britain's Royal Naval Air Service purchased twelve examples. (serial no's 8454–8465). The first of these were delivered in August 1915 and the service used the type during the early stages of the First World War.