Britain - 1917 Avro 529

Avro's Second Bomber Design

By 1917 the need for long range bombers became painfully apparent. Britain had been on the receiving end of bombing and the psychological value of attacks on urban centers where civilians were killed became an attractive proposition. There were attempts to resurrect old rejected designs as well as newer ones. Even though the Pike was a failure British Admiralty ordered two bombers based on an enlarged version of the Type 523. The new design had many improvements over the original design, however the 529 still had problems which doomed the aircraft in the prototype phase of development.

Avro 529 - 1917

The Avro 529 was a twin-engined biplane long-range bomber of the First World War. Two prototypes were built but no production ensued.

The Avro 529 was Avro's second twin-engined aircraft and their second attempt at a heavy bomber. Their first in both categories was the Pike, developed in early 1916 to Royal Flying Corps (RFC) guidelines for a short-range bomber. The Pike arrived too late to secure orders from the RFC who would order the Handley-Page O/100 and for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) who had ordered the Short Bomber. Nonetheless, after trials of the Pike, the Admiralty ordered two prototypes of an enlarged Pike for a long range bomber role. This was the Type 529.

Like the Pike, it was a large twin-engined biplane of the then-standard wood and canvas construction. It had three-bay wings without sweepback, dihedral or stagger, partly to facilitate wing folding. The vertical tail was different to that of the Pike: it had a small, roughly triangular fin and a rudder with a round balance surface above the fin, a reminder of Avro's "comma" rudder form.

The fuselage was rectangular in cross-section and seated three in separate cockpits. The pilot sat just forward of the wing leading edge, there was a gunner's position (with emergency dual control) mid-way between the trailing edge and the tail and the front gunner/bomb-aimer's position was in the nose. Both gunners' positions were provided with a 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun mounted on a Scarff ring. The landing gear used two main wheels on split axles, plus a tail-skid.

The two prototypes differed from each other chiefly in their power plants. The first, just known as the Avro 529 had a pair of uncowled Rolls-Royce Falcon water-cooled in-line engines mounted midway between the wings. Each produced 190 hp (140 kW) and drove four-bladed, opposite-handed wooden airscrews. It carried 140 gal (636 L) of fuel in a tank in the center fuselage.

The second machine, designated Type 529A had a pair 230 hp (170 kW) BHP in-line water-cooled engines, cowled and mounted in nacelles on the lower wing. These drove wooden, two-bladed airscrews. In this aircraft fuel was held in a pair of 60 gal (273 L), one in each nacelle. Fuel was pumped from these to 10 gal (45 L) tanks above the engines by wind-driven pumps, and fed to the motors under gravity.

The type 529A had slightly different wings to the first prototype, 13 in (33 cm) greater in span, smaller in area and hence of higher aspect ratio. It was about 8% lighter.

Another difference between the two prototypes were the arrangements for the bomb-aimer. In the first machine, this was done from the seat of the front cockpit, but in the 529A there was provision for a prone bomb-aimer's position with a small window, noticeable in side view. From there, he communicated with the pilot by Gosport tube. The 529A could carry twenty 50 lb (20 kg) bombs racked nose up inside the fuselage between the lower wing spars.

The Type 529 was, even with the B.H.P. engines rather low powered, but seems to have handled well apart from poor elevator control. There was no production order and the type was not developed further.

References

1. Avro 529. (2011, January 21). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:09, January 28, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Avro_529&oldid=409163298
2. Jackson, A.J. "Avro Aircraft since 1908". 1965, pp. 92-94. London: Putnam Publishing.

Britain - 1918 Airco D.H.10 Amiens

The Son of the DH-3

This is a second part to my previous post on the evolution of the de Havilland Bombers of the Late War.

Airco D.H.10 Amiens - 1918

The Airco DH.10 Amiens was a British twin-engined medium bomber designed and built towards the end of the First World War. It served briefly with the RAF postwar.

The DH.10 was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland to meet the requirements of Air Board Specification A.2.b for a single- or twin-engined day bomber. It was a development of the earlier Airco DH.3 bomber, which had flown in 1916, but had been rejected by the War Office because of a belief that strategic bombing would be ineffective and that twin engines were impracticable.

The first prototype flew on 4 March 1918, powered by two 230 hp (186 kW) Siddeley Puma engines mounted as pushers. When evaluated by the RAF, the performance of this prototype was well below expectation, reaching only 90 mph (145 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,572 m) with the required bomb load. Owing to this poor performance, the DH.10 was redesigned with more powerful engines in a tractor installation.

The second prototype, known as the Amiens Mark II was powered by two 360 hp (268 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines and first flew in April 1918, showing greatly superior performance and proving to be faster than the DH.9A while carrying twice the bomb load. While shortages of the Eagle meant that the Amiens Mark II could not be put into production, it proved the design for the definitive aircraft, the Amiens Mark III, which was powered by the more readily available 395 hp (295 kW) Liberty 12 from America, as was the DH.9A. Following successful evaluation, large orders were placed, with a total of 1,291 ordered.

First deliveries of DH.10s were to No. 104 Squadron RAF in November 1918, flying a single bombing mission on 10 November 1918 before the Armistice ended the First World War. Postwar, DH.10s equipped 120 Squadron, which used them to operate an air mail service to the British Army of Occupation on the Rhine. Amiens were also used by 97 Squadron (later re-numbered as 60 Squadron) which deployed to India. It provided support to the Army on the North-West Frontier, being used for bombing operations in the Third Anglo-Afghan war. DH.10s were also used by 216 Squadron in Egypt, where they provided an air mail service between Cairo and Bagdhad, starting on 23 June 1921.

Variants

• Amiens I Prototype powered by two pusher Puma engines.
• Amiens II Prototype powered by two tractor Rolls Royce Eagle engines.
• Amiens III Main production variant, powered by Liberty 12 engines mounted midway between wings, 221 built.
• Amiens IIIA Modified Mark III with engines directly attached to lower wings, 32 built.
• Amiens IIIC Version powered by Rolls Royce Eagle engines in case of shortages of Liberty engines, 5 built.

References

1. Airco DH.10. (2011, February 5). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:58, February 12, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Airco_DH.10&oldid=412210736
2. Airco DH.10. Virtual Aircraft Museum http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmi/itf/dh10a.htm
3. British Aircraft Directory http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=669
4. Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft Since 1919, Volume 2. London: Putnam, Second Edition, 1973. ISBN 0 370 10010 7.
5. Jackson A. J. De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. London:Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0 85177 802 X.
6. Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
7. Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918-57, 1st edition. London: Putnam, 1957.

France - 1915 Caudron G.IV

An Early French Bomber

A long day on the run after sleeping four hours did me in. I got home and could not keep my eyes open. I fell asleep watching the evening news and did not wake till around dawn. I need to check out the blogs I missed and post later than is my habit.

The French developed one of the first dedicated bomber aircraft. It looks fragile to a modern eye but it was a successful design.

Caudron G.IV - 1915

The Caudron G.4 was a French biplane with twin engines, widely used during World War I as a bomber aircraft. It was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as an improvement over their Caudron G.3. The aircraft was no delight for the eye with its massive, open construction. The aircraft employed wing warping for banking. The first G.4 was manufactured in 1915, both in France, England and in Italy.

The Caudron G.4 was used as a reconnaissance bomber into the heart of Germany. Later, when Germany developed a fighter force, the aircraft had to be used for night bombings.

Following several production delays, the Caudron G.4 entered service with the French Aviation Militarie in 1915 and was soon in use by the British, Russian and Italian air services. In 1916 and early 1917, the G.4 was extensively used by the Royal Flying Corps to bomb the German seaplane and Zeppelin bases in Belgium. Despite its lack of defensive armament, the twin-engine biplane quickly established a reputation as a reliable performer with a good rate of climb.

While the Caudron G.3 was a reliable reconnaissance aircraft, it could not carry a useful bomb load, and owing to its design, was difficult to fit with useful defensive armament. In order to solve these problems, the Caudron G4 was designed as a twin engined development of the G.3, first flying in March 1915. While the G.4 had a similar pod and boom layout to the G.3, it has two Le Rhône rotary or Anzani 10 radial engines mounted on struts between the wings instead of a single similar engine at the front of the crew nacelle, while wingspan was increased and the tailplane had four rudders instead of two. This allowed an observer/gunner position to be fitted in the nose of the nacelle, while the additional power allowed it to carry a bomb load of 100 kg.

References

1. Caudron G.4. (2010, December 30). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:43, January 26, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caudron_G.4&oldid=405065472
2. Donald, David (Editor). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester, UK: Blitz Editions, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
3. Kalevi Keskinen, Kyösti Partonen, Kari Stenman: Suomen Ilmavoimat I 1918-27, 2005. ISBN 952-99432-2-9.
4. Kalevi Keskinen, Kari Stenman, Klaus Niska: Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneet 1918-1939, Tietoteos, 1976.
5. Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft since 1912. London:Putnam, 1978. ISBN 0 370 30021 1.

France 1914-1916 Voisin Bombers

Voisin Light Bombers 1914-1916

The need for aircraft which could attack ground assets was known since the early days of the Great War. French designers were quick to develop dedicated purpose designed bombers and ground attack planes. The Voisin brothers designed several successful aircraft which served with distinction for many of the allied nations.

Voisin III Light Bomber and Ground Attack Aircraft - 1914

Voisin III (LA) - 1914

The Voisin III (or Voisin 3) was one of the first two-seat bomber and ground attack aircraft of World War I. It was a pusher biplane, developed by Airplanes Voisin of Gabriel Voisin in 1914 as a more powerful version of the 1912 Voisin I (Voisin 1) design. It also incorporated a light steel frame which made it survivable in the temporary airfields of wartime military aviation.

The Voisin III became the standard Allied bomber in the early years of the war. The main users were the French Air Force and the Imperial Russian Air Force. Russia ordered over 800 in France and built a further 400 under license at DUX in Moscow. Around 100 were built in Italy, and 50 in the United Kingdom, while smaller numbers were purchased by Belgium and Romania.

Voisin VIII Night Bomber - 1916

Voisin VIII - 1916

The Voisin VIII entered service in November 1916 as a French night bomber. Gabriel and Charles Voisin designed the Voisin VIII to replace the Voisin VII. The more powerful, and more successful Voisin VIII, was also known as the Type LAP and Type LBP. This was the French army's main night bomber in 1916-1917, with over one thousand built.

The Voisin VIII flew in a wide range of environments, from the freezing Russian steppes to Mesopotamia. The Voisin VIII operated by the Imperial Russian Air Service substituted skis for the rubber wheels used by other operating nations . Equally adaptable to desert conditions, the sturdy Voisin VIII was used by the British Royal Flying Corps in the Middle East.

The original engine choice for the Voisin VIII was a Hispano-Suiza, however there were not sufficient quantities available for the demand, resulting in the installation of Peugeot engines. The change in power plant forced a redesign of the Voisin VIII. The engine compartment was widened and the airframe was strengthened to accommodate the engine.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum has a beautifully restored example of a Voisin VIII on display. NASM's Voisin Type 8, serial number 4640, is the oldest surviving aircraft that was specifically designed as a bomber. When manufactured in February 1916, it was equipped as a night bomber, with internal bomb racks, cockpit lights, and provision for landing lights. Painted in the markings of French bombing squadron VB 109, it is the sole survivor of the 1,100 Type 8s produced.

Bombers of the Western Front - 1915

Three Visions of Bomber Design.

On the Eastern Front, Russia and Italy had a head start in the race to develop effective Bomber aircraft. On the Western Front, practical bombers did not appear until 1915. Germany, Britain and France all approached the design problem in completely different ways. In spite of the radically different design philosophies involved; all three proved to be effective in their role as a bomber aircraft.

Germany - 1915 Gotha Ursinus G.I

Gotha G.I - 1915

The Gotha G.I was a heavy bomber used by the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service) during early years of World War I.

Ursinus was conscripted into the army on 1 August 1914 and little over a week later, presented his commanding officer, Major Helmut Friedel, with the seaplane design adapted into a Kampfflugzeug ("battle aircraft") intended for ground attack duties. Apart from the aerodynamic benefits claimed by Ursinus, the aircraft's unorthodox layout provided excellent views for the three crewmen and broad fields of fire for the gunner. The design also matched the specifications that the Idflieg had issued in March that year for a "Type III" large military aircraft, and Friedel ordered the construction of a prototype.

Britain - 1915 Short Bomber

Short Bomber - 1915

The Short Bomber was a British two-seat long-range reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying aircraft designed by Short Brothers as a land-based development of the very successful Short Type 184 (of which more than 900 were built and many exported).

The Bomber was a three-bay biplane of wooden structure with fabric covering, originally developed from the Short 184 seaplane's fuselage combined with wings developed from those on the Short Admiralty Type 166 seaplane. The fuselage was of box section with curved upper decking mounted on the lower wing. The tailplane included a split elevator with a single fin and rudder. The undercarriage consisted of a four-wheeled assembly under the nose and a skid under the tail.

France - 1915 Caudron G.IV

Caudron G.IV - 1915

The Caudron G.4 was a French biplane with twin engines, widely used during World War I as a bomber aircraft. It was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as an improvement over their Caudron G.3. The aircraft was no delight for the eye with its massive, open construction. The aircraft employed wing warping for banking. The first G.4 was manufactured in 1915, both in France, England and in Italy.

Following several production delays, the Caudron G.4 entered service with the French Aviation militarie in 1915 and was soon in use by the British, Russian and Italian air services. In 1916 and early 1917, the G.4 was extensively used by the Royal Flying Corps to bomb the German seaplane and Zeppelin bases in Belgium. Despite its lack of defensive armament, the twin-engine biplane quickly established a reputation as a reliable performer with a good rate of climb.

While the Caudron G.3 was a reliable reconnaissance aircraft, it could not carry a useful bomb load, and owing to its design, was difficult to fit with useful defensive armament. In order to solve these problems, the Caudron G4 was designed as a twin engined development of the G.3, first flying in March 1915. While the G.4 had a similar pod and boom layout to the G.3, it has two Le Rhône rotary or Anzani 10 radial engines mounted on struts between the wings instead of a single similar engine at the front of the crew nacelle, while wingspan was increased and the tailplane had four rudders instead of two. This allowed an observer/gunner position to be fitted in the nose of the nacelle, while the additional power allowed it to carry a bombload of 100 kg.

Germany - 1916 Albatros G.III

Piecing Together a Rare Bomber

Albatros G.III - 1916

I started making my own aircraft profiles around 16 months ago. My goal was to develop all original graphic content for my aviation history site. After drawing over 400 profiles, I am getting closer to my goal. Making the profiles has become my favorite part of the process. It is very satisfying and challenging. Part of the challenge of working up a profile of rare aircraft is the difficulty in finding the source material to get the project finished. It is a puzzle where you have to go on a treasure hunt to find the pieces. This profile was developed from the few photographs I could find. I'm still working on a drawing of the G.II which was the basis for the G.III. I'll post the profile when I have finished it.

The Albatros Flugzeugwerke began experiments for developing a Großkampfflugzeug or large battle aircraft with the construction of the unsuccessful and underpowered Albatros G.I. The next stage of development was the prototype Albatros G.II, which was fitted with more powerful engines. Performance was still judged to be inadequate and development continued as the Albatros G.III

The Albatros G.III was a German medium bomber aircraft developed during World War I. It was a large, single-bay biplane of unequal span and unstaggered wings. Power was provided by two Benz Bz.IVa 220 hp (164 kW) pusher engines installed in nacelles carried between the wings. An unusual feature of the design was that the lower wing was provided with cutouts for the large propellers, allowing the engine nacelles to be mounted further forward than would have been otherwise possible.

References

1. Albatros G.II. (2010, August 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:22, March 18, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albatros_G.II&oldid=376610297
2. Albatros G.III. (2011, February 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:30, March 18, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albatros_G.III&oldid=414942204
3. Albatros G III 1916 the Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 12:22, March 18, 2011, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/albatros_g3.php
4. Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 53-59.
5. Chant, Chris (2000). The World's Great Bombers: 1914 to the Present Day. Rochester: Grange Books.