During the spring of 1916 it became clear that existing allied fighters were no match for the new Fokker monoplane fighters, in an attempt to re-balance the situation Captain F.S. Barnwell of the Bristol Aeroplane Co. designed an all new single-seat monoplane aircraft, the Bristol M1C. The Bristol M1C fighter was a very well behaved and effective fighter and in many respects was equal to later fighters like the SE5a, it’s only serious drawback was a psychological one, British High Command felt it was unwise to risk their pilots lives with any aircraft with only a single wing! Consequently only 125 were ordered and these were used in the eastern front and the Middle East rather than the western front, indeed many ended up being used by instructors and senior officers as their personal hack or air-taxi rather than fighters. It is of note that on the 12th of December 1918 a Bristol M1C flown by Lt. Dagoberto Godoy of the Chilean Army made the first ever flight across the Andes at an altitude in excess 22,000ft. 
The pyramid frame used to attach the wing bracing wires presented a severe obstacle to the pilots entry
and exit from the Bristol M1C's cockpit (the plastic windshield is a modern addition).
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