FBA Type C

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FBA Type C
FBA Type C of the Imperial Russian Navy in Baku
Type: Flying boat
Design country:

Third French RepublicThird French Republic France

Manufacturer:

Franco-British Aviation

First flight:

1915

Commissioning:

1916

Production time:

Late 1915 to 1917

Number of pieces:

330

The FBA Type C was a double-decker flying boat of the Donnet-Lévêque type that was produced in France and Great Britain during the First World War . It was identical to the FBA Type B , but equipped with a more powerful engine.

History and construction

The FBA Type C was mainly used to combat submarines . It was developed by a 130 PS strong rotary engine of Clerget-Blin driven. The nine-cylinder rotary engine was suspended between the wings and drove a propeller in a pusher configuration . The two seats for the pilot and the observer were arranged side by side. In order to better stow the flying boat in a hangar of an aircraft mother ship, the wings were foldable. Due to the increase in power of 30 hp compared to the FBA Type B, it achieved a higher top speed. This also increased the chances of the German Air Force to escape. In addition, it was equipped with a machine gun as standard .

Although the danger from German submarines had increased steadily in 1915, the French Navy initially did not order any further flying boats. The United Kingdom and Italy owned significantly more FBA flying boats at the time. It was not until 1916 that they ordered 180 FBA Type C machines for combat use and 150 for training pilots. Other users were Russia and Italy . The Imperial Russian Navy bought 30 aircraft of this type. Vladimir Alexandrovich Lebedev copied the FBA Type C and built 34 flying boats.

Technical specifications

Drawing of the FBA Type C
Parameter Data
crew 2
length 9.14 m
span 13.71 m
height 2.92 m
Wing area 32 m²
Max. Takeoff mass 940 kg
Top speed 110 km / h
Service ceiling 3500 m
Range 320 km
Engines 1 × rotary engine Clerget 9 B with 130  PS (96  kW )
Armament Bombs and 1 × machine gun

literature

  • Justin D. Murphy: Military Aircraft, Origins to 1918: An Illustrated History of Their Impact , 2005, p. 190

Web links

Commons : FBA Type C  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence