Astra Triplane: Sponsored by Henri de la Meurthe, this marvelous large machine was built by Gabriel Voisin; it is described under Voisin.

   In 1912, Astra took over Train, and former Train designs were then called Astra-Train. In 1913, Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe merged the heavier-than-air division of Astra with the Nieuport firm he had just bought; the merger was completed after the War, and gave rise to the later Nieuport-Astra designs. In 1915-1916 the firm designed a big twin-boom biplane with a span of 25.5 m; propellers were mounted at the nose of each boom, driven either by a single central engine or one in each boom. The machine was either not begun or not completed.
  

Voisin

   Astra Triplane: Sponsored by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe, Voisin was called to help the Astra firm design and build a huge armor-plated triplane made of steel tubing; even the wing bracing was steel tubing and not wire. 4 huge main wheels were centered on the lower wing leading edge, 2 on each side; 2 small wheels, one on each side, held up the rear end of the fuselage. One 75 hp Renault V8 was considered power enough to fly the huge machine; it did in fact fly, carrying its crew of 2. Big hanging ailerons were fitted to the 2 top wings; the long covered fuselage and neat single tail unit were remarkably modern-looking for 1911.