[Bill Vandersteen]

For what it is worth. I have always thought that the early single seaters came by the name of scout because of the original intention that the RFC was to be used in the reconnaissance mode just as cavalry was used in a war of movement. Cavalry regiments were organised in squadrons and could be used to range forward of an army to locate and report on the movement of the enemy. Similarly a single mounted trooper could be sent as a scout, could get closer to the enemy without being discovered and would be quicker to return with important information. So the RFC had several scouts attached to their squadrons to do just that. Also some single seaters were given to the RFC so they needed to be used. Some pilots thought they were dangerously fast