The Breguet Type IV was an aircraft built by Breguet Aviation. It was first flown in 1911, and was the first Breguet aircraft to be produced in quantity. It was used by the French Army and the British Royal Flying Corps. It is notable for the extensive use of metal in its construction, unusual in an aircraft of its time.
| Type VI | |
|---|---|
| |
| Breguet and around 10 passengers above the airport of Douai in March 1911 | |
| Role | |
| Manufacturer | Bréguet |
| Designer | Louis Breguet |
| First flight | 1911 |
Design and development
editThe Bréguet Type IV was developed from the Bréguet Type III which had appeared during 1910. It was a tractor biplane with a tricycle undercarriage.
Variants and nomenclature
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The Bréguet Type IV was produced in a number of variants, differing in their seating arrangement and in the engine fitted. Although Bréguet's earlier aircraft were referred to using a type number, the aircraft produced after the Type III were generally referred to using an airframe number and a letter/number combination denoting the type of engine fitted.[1]
- G, later G.1 powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) Gnome Omega
- G.2 powered by a 70 hp (52 kW) Gnome
- G.3 powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Gnome Double Omega
- G.4 powered by a 160 hp (120 kW) Gnome Gnome Double Lambda
- R.1 powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) REP
- R.2 powered by a 70 hp (52 kW) REP
- L.1 powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) Renault 50/60 hp (the 'L' for Louis Renault)
- L.2 powered by a 70 hp (52 kW) Renault
- C.1 powered by a 40 hp (30 kW) Chenu
- C.2 powered by an 80 hp (60 kW) Chenu
- U.1 powered by an 80 hp (60 kW) Canton-Unné
- U.2 powered by an 80 hp (60 kW) Canton-Unné
- D.1 powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Dansette
- O.1 powered by an 80 hp (60 kW) Le Rhône
Survivors
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An example, an R.U.1, is on display at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris.
Specifications (L-1 Cruiser)
editData from Flight, 22 July 1911, p. 625[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 1
- Length: 8.5 m (28 ft)
- Upper wingspan: 13.94 m (45 ft 9 in)
- Lower wingspan: 8.74 m (28 ft 8 in)
- Wing area: 30.43 m2 (327.5 sq ft)
- Propellers: 2.4 m (8 ft) diameter
Notes
edit- ^ Opdycke 1999 p.74
- ^ The Breguet L-1 Cruiser Flight International 22 July 1911
References
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- Hartmann, Gérard. "Le grand concours d'aviation militaire de Reims 1911" [The Reims Military Aviation Competition, 1911] (PDF). Dossiers historiques et techniques aéronautique française (in French). Gérard Hartmann. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- Moulin, Jean (October 2004). "Reims 1911, le premier concours d'appareils militaires au monde!" [Reims 1911, the First Military Aircraft Concours in the World!]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (139): 51–58. ISSN 1243-8650.
- Opdycke, Leonard E. (1999). French Aeroplanes Before the Great War. Atglen, PA: Schiffer. ISBN 0-764307525.