Caudron R-4
| Caudron R-4 | |
|---|---|
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| Type: | Bomber , scout |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
June 1915 |
| Commissioning: |
Spring 1916 |
| Production time: |
1915/16 |
| Number of pieces: |
249 |
The Caudron R-4 was a reconnaissance biplane developed by the French company Société des avions Caudron during the First World War .
history
The Caudron R-4 was developed as a three-seater bomber by the brothers René and Gaston Caudron in Issy-les-Moulineaux . As the company name R-4 shows, the construction goes back to the brother René, who ended the company's previous tradition of building lattice-fuselage aircraft like the Caudron G-III .
development
In June 1915 the prototype of the Caudron R-4 appeared, an aircraft that was extremely cleanly designed for its time and had smooth contours. The R-4 represented a radical departure from the previous Caudron designs, because the fuselage was formed in full length up to the one-piece vertical tail . The biplane wing was three-legged and had ailerons on the upper wing. The twin wheels under the two motor nacelles and the grinding spur were supplemented by a single wheel under the bow, which should protect the propellers in the event of a hard landing. The three cockpits were arranged one behind the other, in the middle the pilot, in front the observer, behind the gunner, both equipped with one or two Lewis machine guns.
In September 1915, another prototype appeared, called the Caudron R-5 . With its two 200 hp Renault engines and a wing area of 85 m², it was larger and, with its empty weight of 2,000 kg, significantly heavier than the R-4. Nothing is known about series production.
commitment
The flight performance of the R-4, in particular the insufficient engine power, made the planned use as a bomber impossible. So the aircraft under the designation R-4A.3 flew mainly from the spring of 1916, mainly reconnaissance missions , until it was replaced by the more powerful Létord types from April 1917 . Due to its strong armament, the R-4 was able to assert itself against the fighter aircraft of the time and achieved numerous aerial victories itself. The Aéronautique Militaire's Escadrille C.46 alone achieved 34 victories with its R-4 within eight weeks.
Some machines were later converted to Hispano-Suiza 8Aa (150 HP) to improve climbing performance . In use, however, the construction soon showed structural weaknesses. On December 12, 1915, Gaston Caudron himself was killed in a crash in Lyon during a test flight. Production was stopped after 249 machines and, under the designer Delville, relied on the further development of the R-11 .
Military use
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 3 |
| length | 11.80 m |
| span | 21.10 m |
| height | 3.60 m |
| Wing area | 70.00 m² |
| payload | 620 kg |
| Empty mass | 1,710 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | ? kg |
| Top speed | 136 km / h near the ground |
| Climbing time to 2000 m | 18 min |
| Service ceiling | 4600 m |
| Range | 500 km |
| Engines | two Renault 12Db, each 130 PS (97 kW) takeoff power |
| Armament | 4 MG 7.7 mm (Lewis), 100 kg bombs |
See also
literature
- Kenneth Munson: Bomber 1914-1919. Zurich 1968.
- Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Airplanes 1914–1918. Munich 1959.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Aircraft 1914-1918. Munich 1959, p. 72f.
- ↑ Caudron R.4 on aviastar.org, accessed July 14, 2010.
- ↑ Michael Sharpe: Biplane, Triple Decker & Seaplanes. Gondrom-Verlag, Bindlach 2001, ISBN 3-8112-1872-7 , p. 114.
- ↑ Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi: Airplanes from the beginning to the 1st World War. Falken-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-8068-0391-9 , p. 161.