Tag: French

Bernard AB -1 BN2 – France The Adolphe Bernard AB was a family twin-engined French biplane aircraft, built near the end of the First World War. Ten AB 1 BN2 bombers were produced for the Armée de l’Air but did not reach squadron service; post-war, two civil derivatives were considered but only one aircraft was built. The AB 1, built near the end of the First World War, was the first original design from the Adolphe Bernard factory, which had previously produced SPAD aircraft to government contracts. It was a…

SPAD V11 The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by Société Pour L’Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) during the First World War. The S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugged aircraft with good climbing and diving characteristics. It was also a stable gun platform, although pilots used to the more manoeuvrable Nieuport fighters found it heavy on the controls. It was flown by a number of the famous aces, such as France’s Georges Guynemer, Italy’s Francesco Baracca and Australia’s Alexander…

Morane-Saulnier A1 The Morane-Saulnier A1 (also Type AI) was a French parasol-wing fighter aircraft produced by Morane-Saulnier during World War I. The A1 was developed as a refinement of the Morane-Saulnier Type N concept, and was intended to replace the Nieuport 17 and SPAD VII in French service, in competition with the SPAD XIII, which it was built as a back-up for. Its Gnome Monosoupape 9N 160 CV rotary engine was mounted in a circular open-front cowling. The strut braced parasol wing was swept back. The spars and ribs of…

Franco British Aviation (FBA) Type C The Franco British Aviation (FBA) developed a range of aircraft (mainly Flying-Boats):- Type A (production) – powered by a 60 kW (80 hp) Gnome Monosoupape 7 Type A, enlarged production aircraft. Type B – powered by a 75 kW (100 hp) Gnome Monosoupape 9 Type B-2. Over 150 built. Type C – powered by a 97 kW (130 hp) Clerget 9B. 78 built. Type 11 HE.2 – two-seat elementary flying-boat. Type 14 HE.2 – two-seat training flying-boat for the French Navy. 20 built. Scratch…

Nieuport 17 C.1 The Nieuport 17 C.1 was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier Nieuports and better adapted to the more powerful 110 hp engine. Apart from early examples, it had the new Alkan-Hamy synchronization gear, permitting the use of a fuselage-mounted synchronised Vickers gun firing through the propeller disc. At the time of its introduction in March 1916, the type’s outstanding manoeuvrability and excellent rate of climb…

Farman MF.11 Shorthorn The Maurice Farman MF.11 Shorthorn is a French aircraft developed before World War I by the Farman Aviation Works. It was used as a reconnaissance and light bomber during the early part of World War I, later being relegated to training duties. Its nickname in British service was derived from that of the MF.7 Longhorn, as it lacked the characteristic front-mounted elevator and elongated skids of its predecessor. It was a pusher configuration unequal-span biplane like the earlier Farman MF.7, the MF.11 differed in lacking the forward-mounted…

Deperdussin TT The Deperdussin TT was a French monoplane built by Société Pour les Appareils Deperdussin, later to become S.P.A.D. Introduced in 1912, the type was one widely used by the French Air Force (then Aviation Militaire) before the First World War. In February 1914, an experiment was made to install a machine gun on the aircraft, but this did not see service. In total, in 1913-14 in France, about 100 copies of the Deperdussin TT were built . The plane had good flight characteristics for its time. It clearly…

Bréguet BR 14 The Bréguet 14 was a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war. Apart from its widespread usage, the Bréguet 14 is known for being the first mass-produced aircraft to use large amounts of metal, rather than wood, in its structure. This allowed the airframe to be lighter than a wooden airframe of the same strength, in turn making the aircraft relatively fast and agile…