Farman F.220
| Farman F.220 / F.221 / F.222 | |
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| Type: | Transport plane , bomber |
| Design country: | |
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| First flight: |
May 1932 |
The Farman F.220 was the prototype of a line of four-engine bombers and transport aircraft designed and built in France in the 1930s . From the F.220 the types Farman F.221 , Farman F.222 and SNCAC NC.223 emerged.
A special feature of these aircraft was on the one hand the arrangement of the engines with two engines each in tandem, i.e. one behind the other, on the other hand, that the aircraft was used as a civilian type even before its military commissioning.
history
The basic concept of a four-engine high-decker, each with two engines arranged in tandem nacelles, was studied by Farman as early as the early 1930s on the Farman F.211 and Farman F.212 bomber models .
A prototype with a wingspan increased by almost a third (36.00 m) was built in 1932 under the name Farman F.220 No.1 and took off for the first flight in May of this year. It was powered by four Hispano-Suiza 12Lbr engines, each with 600 hp and was originally designed as a bomber .
Since there was no immediate interest in this model, it was modified to a civilian transport aircraft , which flew for the first time under the new designation Farman F.220B in May 1933. The aircraft was nicknamed "Le Centaure" ("The Centaur ") and served from 1934 for Air France in the South Atlantic . Four copies of this variant followed under the designation Farman F.220.0 , which were used for the same task.
A Ummotorisierung on each 800-horsepower radial engines Gnôme-Rhône 14Kdrs led to the type Farman F.221 , the prototype also had its first flight in 1933. This type was offered again as a bomber, eleven of these machines finally found their way into the Armée de l'air in June 1936 .
Fundamental revisions to the design of the F.221 , including a chassis that could be retracted into the motor nacelle , resulted in the Farman F.222 in 1935 , which initially went into series production as the Farman F.222.1 with twelve units. In 1937 these machines were delivered to the Armée de l'air bomber units.
The derived version Farman F.222.2 was characterized by significant changes: The fuselage was aerodynamically refined and a little longer, while the wings were fundamentally revised and their outer segments angled upwards. The engines were replaced by 920 hp Gnôme-Rhône 14N / 11 each . The top speed improved from 325 km / h to 360 km / h. A prototype of this variant flew for the first time in October 1937. As a result, 24 units were delivered to the Armée de l'air.
Further revisions of the design, including the renewed use of V-engines of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-37 type , led to the SNCAC NC.223 .
commitment
The Farman F.222 of the Armée de l'air ended up in the 15iéme Escadre de Bombardement (15th bomber squadron). Some of these machines were in service until the armistice in the Battle of France in June 1940 and flew night attacks on targets in the German Reich , including the BMW plants near Munich .
The Aéronautique Navale also had around 20 F.221 and F.222 in its holdings and stationed them in Senegal and Indochina .
Countries of operation
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data F.222.2 |
|---|---|
| crew | 5 |
| length | 22.57 m |
| span | 35.65 m |
| height | 6.38 m |
| Wing area | 184.60 m² |
| Wing extension | 7.1 |
| Empty mass | 11,000 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 18,700 kg |
| Top speed | 360 km / h at an altitude of 4,000 m |
| Rate of climb | 4.9 m / s |
| Service ceiling | 8000 m |
| Range | 2200 km |
| Engines | four radial engines Gnome-Rhône 14N / 11 each with 920 PS (677 kW) |
| Armament | three 7.5 mm machine guns in three rotating turrets with 2200 kg bombs |
