Farman three-engine flying-boat
| "Three-engine flying-boat"/"High Seas Flying Boat" | |
|---|---|
| Role | Patrol flying boat |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Farman |
| Designer | Maurice Blanchard |
| First flight | 1921 |
| Primary user | Aéronavale |
| Number built | 2 |
The Farman "three-engine flying-boat"[1] or Farman "High Seas Flying Boat"[2] was an otherwise unnamed and un-designated flying boat built by Farman for the Aéronavale (French Navy aeronautical service). Two examples were operated for a short time.[3]
Design
[edit]The aircraft was of conventional flying-boat layout, influenced by designer Maurice Blanchard's[4] time working for Georges Lévy[5] and Farman's experience building Lévy aircraft under license.[2] It was an unequal-span, unstaggered, two-bay biplane.[4] Two pilots sat side-by-side in an open cockpit, with two gunners also in open cockpits, one at the bow, and the other amidships.[1][2] The tail was of conventional design, with an elliptical fin reminiscent of Lévy flying boats.[1] Power was provided by three piston engines mounted in the interplane gap.[1][4] The centre engine, mounted above the hull, drove a pusher propeller, and the other engines, mounted slightly outboard of the hull on mountings above the lower wings, drove tractor propellers.[1]
Development
[edit]On 1 January 1918,[5] the Service technique de l'aéronautique (the "Aeronautical technology service" of the French government) issued requirement for a long-range flying boat for maritime patrol in the same class ("HB.5") as the British Felixstowe aircraft.[2] Farman responded with this design, and two examples were purchased.[3] The aircraft first flew in 1921.[4]
Operational history
[edit]The Aéronavale assigned the two prototypes to its base at Saint-Raphaël[3] for testing.[1] They formed the basis of the short-lived escadrille H401 from 1922 to 1923.[3] Due to the post-war economy, no further examples were ordered.[1]
Specifications
[edit]Data from Davilla & Soltan 1997, p.255
General characteristics
- Crew: 4, two pilots and two gunners
- Length: 18.00 m (59 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 33.00 m (108 ft 3 in)
- Wing area: 200 m2 (2,200 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 4,500 kg (9,921 lb)
- Gross weight: 7,000 kg (15,432 lb)
- Powerplant: 3 × Panhard-Levasseur piston engines , 250 kW (330 hp) each
Performance
- Endurance: 8 hours
- Time to altitude: 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in 20 minutes
Armament
- Guns: 4× 7.7-millimetre (0.30 in) machine guns
- Bombs: 500 kilograms (1,100 lb)
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Davilla, James J.; Soltan, Arthur M. (1997). French Aircraft of the First World War. Stratford, CT: Flying Machine Press.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
- Liron, Jean (1984). Les Avions Farman [The Farman Aeroplanes] (in French). Paris: Éditions Larivière.
- Morareau, Lucien (2002). Les aeronefs de l'aviation maritime (1910-1942) [Maritime aviation aircraft (1910-1942)] (in French). Paris: ARDHAN. cited on "Farman Blanchard trimoteur (HB.5)". Retrieved 23 April 2025.