Caudron G.3

Caudron G.3

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudron_G-III

Caudron G.3

Caudron G.3 displayed in the Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget airport, Paris
Role	Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer	Caudron
First flight	Late 1913^[1]
Introduced	1914^[1]
Primary users	Aéronautique Militaire US Army Air Service Finnish Air Force Polish Air Force
Developed from	Caudron G.2

The Caudron G.3 was a single-engined French biplane built by Caudron, widely used in World War I as a reconnaissance aircraft and trainer. In comparison to its competitors, it had a better rate of climb and it was considered especially suitable in mountainous terrain.

Development

The Caudron G.3 was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as a development of their earlier Caudron G.2 for military use. It first flew in May 1914 at their Le Crotoy aerodrome.

The aircraft had a short crew nacelle, with a single engine in the nose of the nacelle, and twin open tailbooms. It was of sesquiplane layout, and used wing warping for lateral control, although this was replaced by conventional ailerons fitted on the upper wing in late production aircraft.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, it was ordered in large quantities. The Caudron factories built 1423 aircraft (2450 total were built in France) and it was built under licence in several other countries (233 were built in England and 166 were built in Italy). The Caudron brothers did not charge a licencing fee for the design, as an act of patriotism.

Usually, the G.3 was not equipped with any weapons, although sometimes light, small calibre machine guns and some hand-released small bombs were fitted to it.

It was followed in production by the Caudron G.4, which was a twin engined development.

Operational history

The G.3 equipped Escadrille C.11 of the French Aéronautique Militaire at the outbreak of war, and was well-suited for reconnaissance use, proving tough and reliable. As the war went on however, its low performance and the fact that it was unarmed made it vulnerable in front line service, and so the French withdrew it from front line operations in mid-1916. The Italians also used the G.3 for reconnaissance on a wide scale until 1917, as did the British RFC (continuing operations until October 1917),who also fitted some with light bombs and machine guns for ground attack.

It continued in use as a trainer after ceasing combat operations until after the end of the war. Caudron G.3 in Chinese hands, namely the air force of Fengtian clique warlords remained in service in training roles until the Mukden Incident, when most of them were captured by Japanese, and their eventual fate is unknown.

Variants

Most G.3s were the A.2 model, used by various airforces for fire spotting on the West front, in Russia and in the Middle East. G.3 D.2 was a two-seated trainer aircraft, equipped with dual controls and the E.2 was a basic trainer. The R.1 version, which had been developed from the basic version was used by France and by the USA for taxi training, with fabric removed from large areas of the wing to prevent its becoming airborne. The last version, the G.3.12, was equipped with a more powerful 100 hp Anzani 10 radial engine.

In Germany, Gotha built copies of the G.3 as the LD.3 and LD.4 (Land Doppeldecker - "Land Monoplane").

Survivors

Caudron G3 in the Airspace Museum in Rio de Janeiro

Caudron G.3s are displayed in several museums, including at the RAF Museum Hendon, the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Paris, the Royal Army and Military History Museum, Brussels and the Airspace Museum (Musal), Rio de Janeiro. One aircraft (1E.18) is currently being repaired at the Hallinportti Aviation Museum.

Operators

Argentina
Australia

Mesopotamian Half Flight
Central Flying School AFC at Point Cook, Victoria.

Belgium
China
Colombia: Three aircraft only. The first military aircraft in the history of this country.
Denmark
El Salvador: Three aircraft only.
Finland: The Finnish Air Force purchased twelve aircraft from France in 1920. Six of these were built in Finland by Santahaminan ilmailutelakka (today a part of Patria Aviation) between 1921 - 1923. Two aircraft and spares were purchased from Flyg Aktiebolaget on April 26, 1923 (production numbers 6 and 4396) together with a Caudron G.4 for 100,000 Finnish markka. The aircraft was easy to fly and repair and thus very suitable as a trainer. The Finnish-constructed aircraft had worse flying characteristics than the French machines due to a bad wing profile. The FAF used a total of 19 Caudron G.3 aircraft, which carried the designation codes 2A.490 - 2A.495, later 1B.1 - 1B.7 and 1D.8 - 1D.12. Aircraft constructed in Finland carried designation codes 1D.12 and 1E.14 - 1E.18, and the one purchased from Flyg Aktiebolaget carried designation code 1B.19. The aircraft was called Tutankhamon in Finland. The G.3 was used by the FAF between 1920-1924.
France: operated by 38 escadrilles.
Greece
Italy
Japan
Peru: One aircraft only.
Portugal: Portuguese Air Force

Caudron G.3 replica in "Museo del Aire", Madrid

Poland
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Kingdom of Spain: Spain purchased eighteen Caudron G.3 in June 1919. They were posted in flight schools in Getafe, Seville and Los Alcázares. These planes remained in service until they were replaced by Avro 504 K in 1924.
United Kingdom