L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
Type A.U.2 (number unknown): The A here stood for Aerohydroplane, and was abandoned after this remarkable and unsuccessful flyingboat named La Marseillaise. A French Navy officer had promoted the design for the use of the Navy in 1912-1913; a single machine was built and never flew. It was a tandem monoplane with the Canton-Unne amidships, driving a tractor propeller out on struts through a long drive-shaft. A typical Breguet cruciform tail brought up the rear of the hull, on which was built an almost automobile-style body with a rectangular radiator in front. The aeroplane had big sponsons amidships, and additional tip floats under the rearmost wing.
(Span: 30 m; length: 7.5 m; weight: 1050 kg; 9-cylinder 100-120 hp Canton-Unne)
Jane's All The World Aircraft 1913
BREGUET. Soc. Anonyme des ateliers d'aviation, Louis Breguet, 16 Boulevard Vauban, Donai (Nord). Capacity: about 200 machines a year. Paris office: 25, Boulevard Jules Sandeau. Schools at La Brayelle, pris Douai, Velisy-Villacoublay, pris Paris.
1913 models. G2 bis. G3 C-U1 C-U2 Aerhydro-
2 or 3- 3-seater 2-seater 2-seater plane tandem
seater biplane biplane. biplane. mono.
biplane 2-seater,
side by side.
Length...feet(m) 33 (10) 29 (8.75) 29 (8.75) 29 (8.75) 29 (8.75)
Span.....feet(m) 49 (15) 45 (13.65) 45 (13.65) 45 (13.65) 42 (12.80)
Area...sq.ft(m?) 376 (35) 377(36) 387(36) 387(36) 387(36)
Weight, empty...
.....lbs.(kgs.) 1323(600) 1212(550) 1430(649) 1160(522) 1700(798)
Weight, useful...
.....lbs.(kgs.) 662 (300) 882 (400) 662 (300) 882(400) 662(300)
Motor......h.p. 80 Gnome 100 Gnome 80 Canton 110 Canton 110 Canton
Unne. Unne. Unne.
Speed.........
max. m.p.h.(km.) 62 (100) 69 (110) 62 (100) 71 (115) 87 (140)
min. m.p.h.(km.) ... ... ... ... 62 (100)
Endurance...hrs. 3? 4 7 7 7
Number built during 1912: A total of 41 sold during 1912 for military purposes.
Журнал Flight
Flight, November 16, 1912.
THE PARIS AERO SALON.
Breguet Hydro-monoplanes.
HIGH above the stand of the French Minister of War, at the top of the flights of steps leading to the gallery, rested this novel machine - Breguet's version of what a sea-going hydro-monoplane should be. A glance at our sketch will be sufficient to convey to the reader that it is no ordinary machine.
Its body, short and bluff in relation to the span of the wings, is built of steel tubing, and rests on a huge wooden hydroplane float of rectangular section.
The main novelty of the float is that on either side project auxiliary floats, somewhat of the same shape as those that Fabre constructs, arranged so, to improve the lateral stability of the machine when floating on its liquid element.
In the front of the body is mounted the motor, a horizontal Canton-Unne engine of 110-h.p., which drives, through an upwardly inclined steel shaft, a four-bladed tractor screw, mounted in front of all. Behind the engine sit the two pilots, side by side, each of them being provided with controls. On either side stretch the wings, of customary Breguet design, and behind all, at the end of the rapidly tapering body, is a huge cruciform tail.
Although the work of the machine has not yet been estimated by practical test, it is already the property of the French Navy.
We should imagine that most interesting results will be obtained as soon as experiments are started upon.
