The Type L was based at Scalby Mills just north of Scarborough on the English north-east coast, an area attacked during 1914 by the German Navy. Here it was used for offshore reconnaissance. During this time, some modifications were made to it, aimed at cooling and control problems: the engine cowling was removed and the long-span ailerons replaced with much shorter surfaces near the wingtips, protruding well behind the wing trailing edges. A wider-chord propeller was also added. At some point, it carried a .303 in (7.7 mm) machine gun, before being lost in a crash on the cliff top at Speeton early in 1915.