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Страна: Франция

Год: 1911

Варианты

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

R.E.P. N

  Only one aircraft designed and produced by the R.E.P. firm saw action with the Aviation Militaire during the war. This was the R.E.P. N, a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft with a shoulder-mounted wing and powered by a 80-hp Gnome or Le Rhone engine in a semi-enclosed cowling. The fuselage had a triangular cross section with a "keel" along its base. The plane was constructed of fabric-covered steel tubing. There was a very small rudder and a large tailplane/elevator assembly. Lateral control was by wing warping, the wires for which were supported by two large pylons in front of the observer's and pilot's cockpits.
  Two units used the R.E.P. N operationally. The first was REP 15, formed in 1912 at Reims. Initially the escadrille was based at Mailly in 1913. At the outbreak of war it was assigned to the General Aviation Reserve at Saint-Cyr in the 5th Armee sector. The R.E.P. Ns flew reconnaissance missions during the Battles of Charleroi and the Marne. In October 1914 the unit was assigned to the 10th Armee sector near Artois where it remained until April 1915. On that date MS 15 was formed with Morane-Saulnier Type Ls.
  The other unit was REP 27, assigned to the 10th Armee at the outbreak of the War. It, too, participated in the Battle of the Marne. According to an SHAA document, the personnel of REP 15 and REP 27 were joined into a single escadrille to form C 27 with Caudron G.3s on 8 January 1915. However, apparently a few R.E.P. Ns were retained on strength, as one belonging to escadrille 1 5 is recorded as destroying an Aviatik near Lanevin on 2 March 1915 with a carbine.
  No other escadrilles were formed on the R.E.P. Ns and further development was abandoned, probably because the shoulder-mounted wing obstructed the crew's visibility - a fatal flaw in an aircraft intended for reconnaissance duty.
  After the failure of the R.E.P. N, the firm undertook the license production of Voisin aircraft, then Caproni bombers.


Foreign Service

Serbia
  Two R.E.P. Ns destined for Turkey were seized in transit by the Serbian authorities at the outbreak of the First Balkan War. An third R.E.P. N was later obtained when a Turkish example was captured. The Serbians appear to have made only limited use of these planes; most combat missions were flown by Bleriot 11s purchased from France.

Turkey
  By 1912 the Ottoman air service had 17 aircraft on strength, most of them R.E.P. Ns, which were considered by the Turks to be a sturdy monoplane. Records indicate there were several 60-hp monoplanes, various two-seat trainers with 80-hp engines, and a two-seat reconnaissance machine with a 70-hp engine. Before the First Balkan War an R.E.P. N was sent to Thessalonica, where it was later captured by the Serbians, as was a second sent there at the outbreak of the war. Numerous sorties were flown by the two remaining R.E.P.s over Thessalonica, Fesa, Nuri, Salim, Fazil, Midhat, Refik, and Fevzi during both Balkan Wars. A U. S. War Department report of October 29 1914 listed four R.E.P. Ns at the Yesilkoy flight school. By the time the First World War began the surviving R.E.P. Ns had been relegated to training.


R.E.P. Two-Seat Reconnaissance Plane with a 80-hp Gnome or Le Rhone
   Span 9.2 m, length 6.6 m
   Empty weight 270 kg
   Maximum speed: 116 km/h
   Armament: limited to hand-held weapons improvised by the crew

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Описание:

  • J.Davilla, A.Soltan French Aircraft of the First World War (Flying Machines)
  • L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
  • Jane's All The World Aircraft 1913
  • Журнал Flight