J.Davilla, A.Soltan French Aircraft of the First World War (Flying Machines)

Dorand Armored Interceptor

  In 1913 General Bernard issued a requirement for four types of armored aircraft, one to be an interceptor to destroy enemy planes. Under the original specification produced in 1913, these aircraft were to be armored, carry a crew of three, and have a maximum speed of 100 km/h. Dorands design was a biplane with huge wings of unequal span; the top wings were slightly shorter than the lower. Two 80-hp Le Rhone pusher engines were situated in nacelles very close to the centerline. The conventional fuselage seated a crew ol three in tandem; there was gunner in the nose who had a cannon and a second gunner amidships, behind the pilot and the wings. The aircraft had a biplane tail. The landing gear consisted of a pair of tiny wheels separated by a large landing skid located under each of the engine nacelles. Dorand had shown considerable interest before the war in producing safe, reliable aircraft and in the Dorand interceptor he introduced another safety feature, linking the two engines so that should one fail the other would continue to power both propellers. This would eliminate the difficulties associated with asymmetric flight. However, further development of all the armored aircraft was discontinued because of their poor performance while carrying armor. Many of the armored prototypes were sent to the C.R.P., and it is possible that the Dorand interceptor was sent there also.