Bristol Scout – Rebuilding History

This a story of the Bristol Scout aircraft flown by F D H Bremner, whose great grandson David Bremner is rebuilding his aircraft to the exact specifications of the original from design drawings found, plus three artefacts in his garage; a stick, rudder bar and magneto after his great grandfather’s death in 1983.

The film tells the remarkable journey of the 14 year struggle to build and then to take it across Europe to the site it flew during the Gallipoli campaign 100 years ago.

The film documents the construction of this aircraft while at the same time tell the remarkable story of the campaign though IWM recoding of F D H Bremner in 1970.

The Bristol Scout was a simple, single seat, rotary-engined biplane originally intended as a civilian racing aircraft. Like other similar fast, light aircraft of the period – it was acquired by the RNAS and the RFC as a “Scout” or fast reconnaissance type. Built by the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company, founded by Sir George White, the film explores the early aviation challenges the company faced and how the Scout came about. In the event it was one of the first single-seater to be used as a fighter aircraft, although it was not possible to fit it with an effective forward-firing armament until the first British synchronisation gears became available, by which time the Scout’s design became unfashionable by later types.