Farman MF11
| Farman MF11 Shorthorn | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Reconnaissance plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
Late 1913 |
| Commissioning: |
1914 |
The Farman MF11 Shorthorn was a two-seat French reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber from 1914.
description
The MF11 was designed by Maurice Farman , brother of the legendary Henri Farman . You should be the successor to the MF7 Longhorn will be provided by a Voisin - biplane was derived. The MF11 could also be used as a seaplane .
Despite the fundamental similarity with the MF7, the MF11 showed numerous differences. She got a shorter fuselage and the horizontal stabilizer was moved to the stern. Short runners on the chassis should prevent the machine from overturning; these short runners led to the unofficial nickname Shorthorn. The plane had a pusher propeller again because there were no synchronized machine guns for shooting through the propeller circle. The observer sat in front of the pilot and had a machine gun. The fuselage nacelle was no longer on the lower wing, but was mounted between the upper and lower wing. The first flight took place at the end of 1913.
The aircraft was built under license from many manufacturers, such as B. Fiat . That is why there were also various variants with different engines. It was one of the first machines to be used on the Allied side ( France , United Kingdom and later Italy ).
An MF11 flew the first bombing raid in World War I on December 21, 1914 . The attack was directed against German artillery positions in Ostend, Belgium .
The aircraft was used as a bomber, reconnaissance aircraft and trainer aircraft. When the German Fokker monoplane came to the front in 1915, the obsolete machine had to be withdrawn.
Areas of application
- France used the machine in Macedonia and the Middle East
- Great Britain used them in the Dardanelles , in Africa and Mesopotamia . The Royal Naval Air Service owned around 90 machines that were used as bombers.
- Belgium, here the MF11 mainly attacked zeppelin hangars and submarines
- From May 24, 1915, Italy built MF11s at Fiat with a rigid front MG and later with a Fiat A.10 engine.
- Australia bought some MF11s for training purposes from 1916 onwards
Museum aircraft
An Australian MF11 (CFS 15) is now in the RAAF Museum, Point Cook, Victoria , Australia . It has been exhibited there since 1997. Another machine is in the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa , Canada .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| length | 9.50 m |
| Wingspan | 16.15 m |
| height | 3.90 m |
| Wing area | 57.00 m² |
| Empty mass | 550 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 840 kg |
| drive | an eight-cylinder in-line Renault engine, 70 hp (51 kW) |
| Top speed | 100 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 3800 m |
| Max. Flight duration | 3.45 h |
| Armament | 1 MG 7.7mm, max. 131.4 kg bombs (18 × 7.3 kg) |
literature
- Peter All-Fernandez (ed.): Aircraft from A to Z . tape 2 . Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz 1989, ISBN 3-7637-5905-0 , p. 214/215 .
