Armee de l`Air´s pre-war aircrafts

[FalkeEins]

Another famous use of the aircraft was on René Guilbaud's long range flight through Africa and the Mediterranean between 12 October 1927 and 9 March 1927, venturing as far as Madagascar before returning to Marseille. In the course of the flight, he covered 22,600 km (14,000 mi) in 38 stages without incident.
Source: CAMS 37 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

..yes very nice series of posts thanks - as always with Wiki unfortunately I'm not sure that the info is entirely correct..

Unfortunately Guilbaud didn't get to Madagascar - his CAMS 37 encountered engine difficulties and made an emergency landing on the Niger in the Belgian Congo at Lokodja. He had to wait a couple of months for a replacement engine to arrive from France. Only the acompanying LeO H 194 flown by LV Marc Bernard reached Madagascar...see 'Avions' magazine no. 118 " Les CAMS 37 de la Marine "

 

[mudpuppy]

Excellent thread! The Breguet 27/270/273 in post #18 is one of the stranger aircraft I have seen. I'm not sure but it looks like the pilot's head would be in the front glazed structure, that joins the fuselage and upper wing...? I can't imagine the field of view would be very good at all if thats the case.
Thanks
Derek

 

[gekho]

..yes very nice series of posts thanks - as always with Wiki unfortunately I'm not sure that the info is entirely correct..

Unfortunately Guilbaud didn't get to Madagascar - his CAMS 37 encountered engine difficulties and made an emergency landing on the Niger in the Belgian Congo at Lokodja. He had to wait a couple of months for a replacement engine to arrive from France. Only the acompanying LeO H 194 flown by LV Marc Bernard reached Madagascar...see 'Avions' magazine no. 118 " Les CAMS 37 de la Marine "

Well, everybody knows the reliability of the Wikipedia, that´s why now I am adding my sources. In any case I think this information is always better than nothing. Thanks for the correction.

I am with you Derek; the Breguet 27/270/273 is the strangest aircraft I have ever seen, but I am sure you agree with me that it´s also extremely cool

 

[Wayne Little]

Not a bad bird...

 

[gekho]

The MS.230 was designed to meet French Air Ministry requirements. It first flew in February 1929 and proved to be an excellent and stable machine which was very easy to fly. It was placed into service in military flight schools throughout France and was exported abroad to the air forces of numerous other countries. It also became a popular aircraft for sport aviation. The MS.230 was of metal tubular framing with fabric covering throughout, except the forward area of the fuselage, which was metal covered. It had a wide fixed landing gear that made it very stable in takeoff and landing. Unlike other trainers of the time (which were mostly biplanes), the MS.230 was a high parasol wing monoplane. It did have the usual tandem cockpit arrangement in the fuselage for the instructor and pupil. Numbers of MS.230s survived for many years after the war and became civilian trainers and civilian flying club aircraft.

Source: Morane-Saulnier MS.230 | Facebook

 

[gekho]

Flown in June 1924, the D 9 was derived from the D 1 for participation in the 1923 C1 programme and was powered by a 420hp Gnome-Rhone 9Ab (Jupiter IV) nine-cylinder radial engine. Early in the flight test programme, the standard D 1 wing was supplanted by a new wing of 2.5m2 greater area, and a six-month delay in the commencement of evaluation of the contenders in the 1923 C1 programme provided Dewoitine with the opportunity to increase wing area by yet a further 2.5m2. Armament consisted of two fuselage-mounted 7.7mm Vickers guns and two Darne modele 19 guns of 7.5mm calibre mounted on the wing centre section. The D 9, placed sixth among the contenders, was destroyed on 15 October 1925. Nonetheless, it emulated the export success of the D 1. Licence-built in Italy by Ansaldo as the A.C.3, the D 9 was supplied to Yugoslavia (six) and Belgium (one) in 1925, and the components of three others were delivered in 1927 to the EKW (Eidg. Konstruktions-Werkstatte) in Switzerland for assembly, with delivery to the Fliegertruppe in 1928.

Source: Dewoitine D 9 - fighter

 

[gekho]

Selected by the French government from a number of competing designs for a transport suitable for colonial duties (passenger, mail and freight, transport and policing) in French overseas territories, the Bloch M.B.120 was a cantilever high-wing monoplane of all-metal construction. The M.B.120.01 prototype was, in fact, the re-worked M.B.71 monoplane. It was put into service in 1934 on the routes of Air Afrique, a new airline established by the French government, on 11 May 1934, to link various French African territories. Ten series aircraft followed the prototype, six of them for civil use and four in Armee de I'Air service; all served in French Africa. The Air Afrique civil aircraft made scheduled flights between Algiers, Niamey, Fort Lamy, and the French Congo. Two of them connected Tananarive, Madagascar with Broken Hill, South Africa. The four military M.B.120s were joined subsequently by a fifth aircraft, formerly the civil F-APZV. One aircraft (F-ANTK, Ville de Paris) was reported to be in service as late as 1942.

Standard accommodation was for a crew of three and up to 10 passengers. More usually, however, the civil M.B.120s carried four passengers and a substantial load of mail. The general structure and layout of the three-engined M.B.120 was similar to that.of the M.B.200 twin-engined bomber.

Source: Bloch M.B.120 - transport, passenger

 

[gekho]

In 1930, Loire Aviation, a subsidiary of the French shipyard Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire of Saint-Nazaire, started design of a single-engined flying boat for use as a trainer and a transport in France's overseas possessions. The resultant aircraft, the Loire 50, was an amphibian high-winged monoplane, with a pusher Salmson 9AB radial engine mounted above the wing. Construction was all-metal, with fabric covered wings.

The Loire 50 first flew on 7 September 1931. Although it was damaged in an accident in October it was repaired and entered service in 1932 as a trainer. It was returned to Loire in February 1933, where it was modified with a more powerful Hispano-Suiza 9Qd engine, becoming the Loire 50bis, flying in this form on 18 October 1933. An order for six aircraft similar to the Loire 50bis, designated Loire 501, delivery starting by the end of 1933. The Loire 501 remained in service at the start of the Second World War, with the last example still in use at Karouba in Tunisia on 15 August 1940.

Source: Loire 501 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[gekho]

Conceived by Emile Dewoitine to participate in the 1921 C1 (single-seat fighter) programme, the D 1 high-wing monoplane was of advanced structural concept. It mated fabric-covered metal wings with an oval-section metal fuselage covered by duralumin sheet. Armament consisted of two 7.7mm synchronised Vickers guns and power was provided by a 300hp Hispano-Suiza 8Fb (HS 42) eight-cylinder water-cooled engine. The prototype was flown on 18 November 1922, the principal criticism being the poor forward visibility for the pilot. A 120mm pylon was therefore inserted between wing and fuselage, the fighter, now referred to as the D 1bis, thus becoming a parasol monoplane. This modification was effected in August 1923, by which time the first three (of 10) pre-series aircraft had been supplied for official evaluation in the initial configuration. Two of these were lost in accidents and the third was modified to D 1bis parasol form. The next five pre-series. aircraft (the fourth, fifth and sixth having been ordered by Czechoslovakia, Japan and Italy respectively, and the seventh and eighth by Switzerland) were all completed to D 1bis standard, but continuing criticism of forward view led to replacement of the shallow pylon between wing and fuselage by a cabane of inverted-vee struts on the prototype which thus became the D 1ter. The two pre-series aircraft for Switzerland were modified to this standard prior to delivery, the two lost during official trials) were completed as D 1ter fighters, the cabane struts being standardised for production D 1s. A contract had been placed in November 1923 on behalf of the Aeronautique Navale for 44 D 1s, with the government providing guarantees for 150 aircraft. The production contract was placed with the SECM (Societe d'Emboutissage et de Constructions Mecaniques) which flew its first series D 1 on 18 January 1925. Sixty (later reduced to 44) were ordered by Yugoslavia, and after the D 1 was selected by Italy in preference to the Dornier Do H Falke, licence manufacture (with modifications) was undertaken as the Ansaldo A.C.2. The Aeronautique Navale took delivery of its D 1s from early 1925, and in the previous year an order for 20 had been placed on behalf of the Forces Aeriennes Terrestres, although these were never to equip a service unit.

Source: Dewoitine D 1 - fighter

 

[gekho]

Developed by Paul Deville assisted by Rene Talpin, the Caudron C.59 intermediate trainer was a conventional un-staggered two-bay biplane of wooden construction with fabric covering. Ailerons were fitted to the upper wing only, which was also of slightly greater span than the lower, this latter surface incorporating dihedral. Power was provided by an Hispano-Suiza 8A engine with its Lamblin radiator located under the fuselage just forward of the cross-axle Vee-type fixed landing gear. The pupil was accommodated in an open cockpit under the centre-section of the upper wing, with the instructor's cockpit immediately behind it and located beneath a cut-out in the wing trailing edge. Dual controls were standard.

The prototype flew for the first time in August 1921. After extensive official tests had given evidence of robust construction, good flying qualities and reliable powerplant, the C.59 was ordered on a large scale by the French Aviation Militaire for service in the official Et.2 category (two-seat transitional trainer). A series of seven contracts received between 1922 and 1924 resulted in more than 1,000 C.59s being delivered to the French army, with smaller batches going to the Aeronautique Maritime. The type remained in French service for 15 years and on 1 January 1936 11 examples were still in use with the Armee de I'Air. Total production reached 1,800, and many C.59s went to French civil flying schools, while others were exported. C.59s were bought by Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Finland, Manchuria, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and Venezuela.

Source: Caudron C.59 - intermediate trainer

 

[mudpuppy]

Good stuff! A nice way to start the weekend for me.
Derek

 

[Wayne Little]

keep em coming...

 

[gekho]

In order to rectify the inadequate visibility from the cockpit suffered by the Loire 45, a major redesign was undertaken and yet another prototype was built as the Loire 46. This retained little more than a conceptual similarity to its predecessor. The wing centre section was more deeply "gulled", and the untapered wing leading and trailing edges gave place to tapered outboard leading edges and semi-elliptical trailing edges. The engine thrust line was lowered, the cockpit was moved farther aft, the rear fuselage was deepened and all tail surfaces were enlarged. Powered by an 880hp Gnome-Rhone 14Kcs engine, the Loire 46 flew on 1 September 1934. Re-engined with a 930hp Gnome-Rhone 14Kfs in February 1935, the Loire 46 demonstrated excellent handling characteristics, and a contract for five pre-series aircraft was followed by orders for 60 production aircraft. Armament comprised a quartet of wing-mounted 7.5mm MAC 1934 guns. The first production Loire 46 C1 was flown in February 1936, deliveries commencing in the following August to the 6e Escadre of the Armee de l'Air. The five pre-production examples were relinquished by the French Service and supplied to the Spanish Republican government between 5 and 7 September 1936. The last Loire 46 was delivered in July 1937, by which time its gull-winged configuration was manifestly obsolescent. Only three remained on the effective first line strength of the Armee de l'Air at the beginning of World War II.

Source: Loire 46 - fighter

 

[gekho]

Conceived in 1930, this clean, open-cockpit biplane first flew in 1933 and entered service in 1936. Performance was similar to the British Gloster Gladiator and Hawker Fury. The S.510's armament generally consisted of 4 machine guns (installed as either a combination of 2 fuselage-mounted guns, plus 2 in under-wing gondolas or with all 4 in under-wing gondolas). This gave it a much heavier attack capability than most earlier biplane fighters and equalled that of the final biplane-types employed by the British and Italians, respectively the Gladiator and Fiat CR.42 Falco. The S.510 was doomed to obsolescence before it even flew, although when it was designed many pilots and experts strongly believed that biplanes would prove better fighters than monoplanes because of their tighter turning circles. Largely overshadowed by the faster Dewoitine D.510 monoplane, an order of 60 planes was secured in August 1935 when French ace pilot Louis Massot demonstrated the S.510 to excellent effect showing its superior maneuverability and rate of climb. Despite its strengths, the S.510 only enjoyed about a year of usefulness. An adequate fighter for 1936, it was quickly outclassed by the new more modern monoplanes developed by Germany, England, and France. It had fixed landing gear as well as a weak fuel system and undercarriage.

The S.510 entered service in early 1936, being assigned to the GC I/7 in May 1937 and the GC II/7 in July, 1938. They were intended as transition aircraft between the Morane-Saulnier MS-225 and the Morane-Saulnier MS-406 and served in the Weiser Circus, a military acrobatic group. Upon the outbreak of World War 2, the S.510 served in reserve squadrons only. The metropolitan reserves were mobilized into the II/561 based in Havre-Oteville. From January 18, 1940 over a period of weeks, the S.510s were replaced with Bloch MB.151 aircraft, the groupe changing designation to GC III/10. The displaced S.510s returned to their training role. Approximately ten S.510s had been sent to French North Africa where, by the Battle of France, they were mobilized into a fighter group, the GC III/5, but their age allowed them to be used for training flights only. Twenty-seven examples were reported delivered to the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish civil war (sometimes the number is 15), but there is no evidence that they were ever actually sent.

Source: Blériot-SPAD S.510 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Note: I know everybody here is joking about the aspect of some of the french pre-war aircrafts,but there are exceptions, and the S-510 is a good example; it´s aggresive lines and characteristics made of it my favourite biplane of the 30s and 40s, altough sadly was old-fashioned when the WWII broke out.​

 

[vikingBerserker]

I'm amazed at the number of aircraft at that time which had gull wings on top.

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!

 

[Wayne Little]

cool!

 

[gekho]

The Breguet 19 was designed as a successor to a highly successful World War I light bomber, the 14. Initially, it was designed to be powered by a 450 hp/335 kW Bugatti U-16 engine, driving a four-blade propeller, and such a prototype was shown on the 7th Paris Air Show in November 1921. A new design was flown in March 1922, featuring a conventional layout with a single 336 kW (450 hp) Renault 12Kb inline engine. The aircraft was built in a biplane platform, with shorter lower wings. After trials, the Breguet 19 was ordered by the French Air Force in September 1923.

The first 11 Breguet 19 prototypes were powered by a number of different engines. A "trademark" of Breguet was the wide usage of duralumin as a construction material, instead of steel or wood. At that time, the aircraft was faster than other bombers, and even some fighter aircraft. Therefore, it met with a huge interest in the world, strengthened by its sporting successes. Mass production, for the French Air Force and export, started in France in 1924.

The Breguet 19 was a biplane (sesquiplane), conventional in layout, with braced wings. The fuselage, ellipsoid in cross-section, was a frame of duralumin pipes. The front part was covered with duralumin sheets, the tail with canvas. The wings were canvas covered. It had a conventional fixed landing gear with rear skid. The crew of two, pilot and observer/bombardier, sat in tandem in open cockpits, with dual controls.

Source: Breguet XIX | Facebook

 

[gekho]

The CAMS 31 was a wooden-built two-bay equal span biplane with stabilising floats under each wing and an open cockpit forward of the lower-wing for the pilot. Powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8Fb inline piston engine driving a pusher propeller, the engine was strut mounted between the wings. The CAMS 31 was armed with two fixed hull-mounted Vickers machine-guns in the bow.The CAMS 31 prototype, later designated the CAMS 31 Type 22, first flew in 1922. A second prototype, the CAMS 31 Type 23, flew in 1923 with a reduced-span wing and wider chord but still had the same wing area as the Type 22. Testing proved the flying-boats handled well but were just not suitable as fighters and no more were built. A mail carrying postal variant was designated CAMS 31P

Source: CAMS 31 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[gekho]

The CAMS 33 was a reconnaissance flying boat built in France in the early 1920s. It was designed in response to a French Navy requirement for new flying boats for various roles. Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine (CAMS) submitted prototype aircraft in two categories of the Navy requirement - both as a reconnaissance aircraft and as a transport. The design was a conventional biplane flying boat with equal-span unstaggered wings and two engines mounted in a single nacelle in tractor-pusher configuration on struts in the interplane gap. Accommodation consisted of an open cockpit for two, plus open bow and dorsal gun positions on the reconnaissance machine, or an enclosed cabin for seven passengers on the transport version.

The transport (33C or 33T) was passed over, but the armed reconnaissance version was accepted for production as the 33B. Twelve aircraft were eventually produced for the French Navy, these equipping Escadrille 1R1 at Cherbourg-Chantereyne. Another six machines were purchased by Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, the 33T prototype flew under a civil registration for a few years, but was unable to attract customers.

Source: CAMS 33 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia