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

Coanda-Delaunay-Belleville

  Henri Coanda is best remembered for his 1910 design flowered by what many feel to have been the first "jet" engine in history. At the outbreak of the First World War Coanda offered his services to France and was subsequently assigned to the aircraft firm of Delaunay-Belleville.
  In 1916/17 Coanda designed a unique plane for the Delaunay-Belleville firm. It featured a torpedo-shaped fuselage and two-bay, staggered biplane wings. There was an unconventional tail unit with twin fins and rudders. Power was supplied by a 300-hp liquid-cooled engine located in the middle of the fuselage. Twin shafts extended from the engine to the tail and drove two propellers which were mounted behind each of the rudders. The pilot was seated in the extreme nose just ahead of the wing.
  Coanda's machine was tested at the French experimental test center at Etampes in 1917. It is not known how successful this design was, but photographs show that the machine was eventually destroyed in a crash. It appears that no further development was undertaken and Coanda turned his attention to designing a twin-engine bomber for the S.I.A. firm.
  The RNAS ordered five machines (as "Delaunay-Bellevilles") and assigned them serial Nos.1395-1399. The order, of course, was later canceled.