Standard E-1

The Standard E-1 was an early American Army fighter aircraft, tested in 1917. It was the only pursuit aircraft manufactured by the United States during World War I. It arrived late in World War I, and as a result saw more use in the months following the Armistice than those preceding it.

Design and development
Built by the Standard Aircraft Corporation, the E-1 was an open-cockpit single-place tractor biplane, powered by an 80 hp (60 kW) Le Rhône or 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome rotary engine.

Operational history
It proved unsuitable as a fighter, but 128 were bought as an advanced trainer. Of these, 30 were powered by the Gnome rotary engine of 100 horsepower and 98 were powered by the LeRhone C-9 rotary engine of 80 horsepower. After World War I, three were modified as RPVs.

Operators

 * United States Army Air Service
 * United States Army Air Service

Survivors

 * A late 1918 E-1 was on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio for over 40 years. It was placed on indefinite loan to the Museum by J. B. Petty of Gastonia, North Carolina in 1959. After Mr. Petty passed on, the aircraft was sold at auction by his estate and eventually was obtained by Kermit Weeks and is now part of the collection at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.


 * A 1918 E-1 is on display at the Virginia Aviation Museum. This airframe was found in a barn in Dayton, Ohio in the 1950s and restored for display.