J.Davilla, A.Soltan French Aircraft of the First World War (Flying Machines)
Bleriot 11
Variants (Military)
Type 11-2 Artillerie - 70-hp Gnome engine, two-seater parasol with a modified undercarriage and rudder.
Type 11-Brevet Gouin - a parasol design powered by a 60-hp or 80-hp Gnome engine. It was designed by a Lieutenant Gouin in February 1914. The parasol configuration was intended to enhance the crew's downward vision. It participated in the 1914 concours securite. The rudder was split into two parts and could be used as an air brake. Twenty examples were ordered by the War Ministry on 15 October 1914. Many more were built by Bleriot Aircraft Limited in England and in Italy by S.I.T.
Foreign Service
Italy
The Italians used four main types of Bleriot 11s, all built under license by S.I.T. (the Societa Italiana Transaerea). They were:
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2. Bleriot 11 "Parasol” - 70-hp Gnome; this saw widespread use with the squadriglias.
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United Kingdom
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A single example of a Bleriot Parasol (in England) was impressed at the outbreak of the war. It was flown to Farnborough and given the serial 616. The machine was assigned to No.3 Squadron and was one ol the few Bleriots sent to France. It was powered by an 80-hp Gnome, but had the tail surfaces of a 50-hp machine. After 616 was damaged it was fitted with the tail of an 80-hp machine. The aircraft was used for reconnaissance and even bombing raids carrying 16 hand grenades, two bombs on the fuselage racks, and a Melinite bomb. It subsequently saw service with No.5 Squadron and was struck off charge in May 1915.
Apparently the Bleriot parasol gave satisfactory service and additional examples were obtained from Bleriot Aeronautics in England. These were given serials 575 (Aircraft Park at St. Omer), 576-579 (No.9 Squadron), 580-586, 616, 2861, and 2862. The last to be struck off charge was 576, which served until 1 June 1915.
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Bleriot 11 - Brevet Gouin (Parasol) Two-Seat Reconnaissance Plane with 60-hp Gnome
Span 9.20 m. length 7.80 m, wing area 18 sq. m
Empty weight 310 kg; loaded weight 420 kg
Maximum speed: 115 km/hr
Armament: Winchester carbines, flechettes, and bombs 100 built
S.I.T.-built Bleriot 11 Parasol with 70-hp Gnome
Span 9.20 m; length 7.80 m; height 2.95 m: wing area 18 sq. m Empty weight 310 kg; loaded weight 480 kg
Maximum speed: 110 km/h
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O.Thetford British Naval Aircraft since 1912 (Putnam)
BLERIOT PARASOL
This was a development of the earlier Bleriot XI. Served with the RFC and RNAS (Nos. 1538-1549) during 1914-15.
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L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
XI Type Parasol: Lieutenant Gouin is known as the designer of a Bleriot parasol monoplane, though he had also contributed to at least one aeroplane built with Henri Chazal. In 1913 he modified and patented a Bleriot with the wings set on 4 struts above the fuselage, slightly higher than the pilot's eyes. First shown at the 1914 Concours de Securite, it was Bleriot's effort to compete with the Morane parasol and improve the visibility over the standard midwing monoplane. Since the military specifications also called for short landing runs, Gouin introduced on the first - and only the first - of his parasols his "crocodile rudder," the 2 halves of which were hinged at the leading edge and could be opened wide as air-brakes after landing. The so-called Bleriot-Gouin was also produced for the British RFC, which ordered 15. A 2-seater version was also developed. Production machines were known as Bleriot Parasols.
(Span: 8.95 m; length: 7.8 m; wing area: 7.8 sqm; 80 hp Gnome)
XI-2 Vision Totale: The standard XI-2 design was modified in July 1914 with a parasol wing on 4 vertical cabane struts, and a Bleriot XI-2-style rudder. The pilot sat aft of the wing, and the observer in front with his head up between the wing spars. The fuselage was covered only up to aft of the cockpit, and a streamlined fabric pyramid was fitted inside the longerons to cap off the covered section. It was powered with the 80 hp Le Rhone or the 100 hp Gnome.
(Span: 10.36 m; length: 8.427 m; wing area: 19.5 sqm; empty weight: 600 kg; speed: 100 kmh; 80 hp Gnome)
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M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
BLERIOT AERONAUTICS (Louis Bleriot, Belfast Chambers, 156 Regent St., London, W. Flying School & Works at Hendon and Brooklands)
After Bleriot's Channel crossing in July 1909 in his Type XI monoplane, a number of similar machines were made by various firms and individuals, mostly without approval by Bleriot. A Bleriot School was established at Hendon on 1 October 1910, and in 1914 sheds were taken at Brooklands and enlarged to provide offices and manufacturing facilities, all under the control of M. Norbert Chereau, Bleriot's manager for Great Britain.
The RFC used various types of Bleriot monoplanes operationally prior to and in the early months of the war, but these were soon relegated to training duties. The majority of Service aircraft were probably French made, but the British company received contracts for the Type XI single-seater, the Type XI-2 two-seater and the single-seat parasol version of 1914. Deliveries of these continued well into 1916, by which date the works were in the process of being transferred to new premises at Addlestone, Surrey.
The quantities of Type XI and XI-2 aircraft made in Britain is uncertain, but it is recorded that at least fourteen parasols Serial Nos.575-586 and 2861-2862 were made at Brooklands.
Bleriot parasol type monoplane
Power: 80hp Gnome seven-cylinder air-cooled rotary.
Data
Span 29ft 4in
Length 25ft 8in
Area 194 sq ft
Weight 615 lb
Weight allup 9251b
Max speed 68 mph
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J.Davilla Italian Aviation in the First World War. Vol.2: Aircraft A-H (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 74)
Bleriot 11
Italian Variants
The Italians used five main types of Bleriot 11s, all built under license by Oneto di Pisa and S.I.T. (the Societa Italiana Transaerea = Italian Transaerial Society). S.I.T was part of the Bleriot company created by them at Turin. The sixtieth and last model was tested on November 20, 1915.
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3. Bleriot 11 “Parasol” - 70-hp Gnome; this saw widespread use with the squadriglias. Eight were built in France, but were soon found to be of limited use. Approximately 47 were built by S.I.T.
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Журнал Flight
Flight, March 14, 1914.
WHAT THERE WILL BE TO SEE AT OLYMPIA.
THE EXHIBITS.
Bleriot (L. Bleriot). (60.)
M. BLERIOT will have a most comprehensive exhibit, no less than four machines being shown, as well as sand yachts.
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The "Total Visibility" type of machine is somewhat similar in construction and arrangement to the well-known No. XI type, but the wings have been slightly raised so as to enable the pilot to make his observations underneath the wings. The advantage to be gained from the adoption of this construction in a scouting aeroplane will be readily understood.
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Flight, March 21, 1914.
THE OLYMPIA EXHIBITION.
THE EXHIBITS.
BLERIOT L. (BLERIOT). (69).
NEATLY displayed on the largest stand at the Show are the Bleriot monoplanes - a tandem two-seater of the well-known type, a hydro-monoplane, and a single-seater military monoplane.
Total Visibility Type Monoplane. - This is probably the most interesting of these machines. The most characteristic feature is the disposition of the wings, which have been raised some distance above the fuselage, to provide an unrestricted view in all directions. The height of the wings above the fuselage is such, that the rear spar, which is situated immediately in front of the pilot, is on level with his eyes, so that there is only the thickness of the plane to obscure his view, and this can easily be overcome by either stooping slightly in order to look under the plane or by stretching slightly in order to look over it. For scouting purposes this arrangement would seem to be ideal, and we understand that the French Army has purchased several of this model, which was only adopted as a standard type following the success of the first experimental machine in the hands of French officers. One gathers that there is no appreciable difference between flying one of these machines and one of the standard monoplanes with the wings placed further down, so that with all the good qualities of the standard Bleriot and the added advantages of total visibility, this machine should be a valuable addition to the list of military machines in this country, where they will be built as soon as the factory at Brooklands is ready.
Except for the raising of the main planes this machine is similar to the already well-known No. XI type. The engine - an 80 h.p. Gnome - is mounted between double bearings in the nose of the fuselage. Between the engine and the pilot's seat inside the fuselage are the two cylindrical petrol and oil tanks, whilst an additional supply of petrol is carried in another tank behind the pilot's seat. Petrol is forced from this main tank to the service tank in front by means of a hand-operated pressure pump on the right-hand side of the pilot's seat. Control is by means of a single vertical lever mounted on a longitudinal rocking shaft which carries at its rear end a sprocket from which a chain passes to another sprocket on the lower end of the bottom pylon. The warping wires pass round a pulley on the same shaft as the pylon sprocket and it will thus be seen that the "cloche" has been discarded. This applies to all the machines exhibited and we gather, to all future machines.
The main planes are mounted on four short struts resting on the upper longerons of the fuselage as shown in one of the accompanying sketches. Owing to the raised wings the angle on the lift wires is particularly good, as is also the angle on the upper bracing wires which are secured to a cabane of the usual type.
The tail planes are similar to those of earlier machines and they are protected against contact with the ground by a Malacca cane skid.
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Flight, July 17, 1914.
A NEW TWO-SEATER TYPE BLERIOT.
AMONG the machines exhibited by the Bleriot firm at the last Olympia Aero Show was, it will be remembered, a single-seater with the wings mounted a slight distance above the fuselage, so that the rear spar came practically on a level with the eyes of the pilot. The object of this arrangement, as explained at the time of the Show, is to give the pilot an unobstructed view in all directions. This type of machine has proved so successful after thorough tests that M. Bleriot decided to bring out a two-seater of the same type, and the accompanying photograph gives a good idea of its general arrangement. As in the ordinary Bleriot two-seater, pilot's and passenger's seats are arranged tandem fashion, the pilot occupying the rear seat. The observer's seat is placed immediately above the centre of gravity thus making it possible to fly the machine minus a passenger without any adjustments of the tail plane. Should it not be desired to carry a passenger, an auxiliary tank can be fitted in its place thereby increasing the range of flight of the machine. The centre portion of the wings has been cut away in order to provide an unrestricted view in an upward direction for the observer. This machine can be fitted with a 9-cylinder 90 h.p. Rhone engine or with a 100 h.p. monosoupape Gnome.
As it has been chiefly designed for military purposes, the question of dismantling has been carefully studied. The landing chassis can be lowered in ten seconds, thus letting the machine as a whole down close to the ground to facilitate removing or fitting the wings without the use of any trestles. The top pylon is hinged, and by undoing a single wing-nut the pylon can be brought down close to the fuselage without interfering with any of the wires or cables supporting the wings, so that no readjustment has to be made in erecting the wings again. As it is fitted with spring hinge-clips the rudder can be removed instantaneously, a safety lock preventing the clip from coming undone.
The width of the chassis of the new two-seater, is slightly greater than that of the standard type, being, in fact, exactly the same as the diameter of the propeller, so that there is no necessity for removing the latter for packing - a valuable feature in a military machine, which may have to be frequently transported on a lorry.
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