W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters

DE MARCAY 4 France

   During World War I, the SAECA Edmond de Marcay built substantial numbers of SPAD fighters under licence, and it was hardly surprising, therefore, that the first original de Marcay fighter should bear some resemblance to the SPAD S.XIII, although, in fact, there was no commonality between the aircraft. The initial design was based on the use of an eight-cylinder Liberty engine, but the difficulties experienced with this power plant led to revision of the design to take a 300 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Fb eight-cylinder water-cooled engine as the de Marcay 2 C1. An unequal-span staggered single-seat biplane with horn-balanced ailerons on the upper wing only and an armament of two synchronised 7,7-mm Vickers machine guns, the de Marcay 2 C1 was completed early in 1919. Although it was the fastest fighter participating in the 1919 Service Aeronautique contest held at Villacoublay, no production order was placed for the de Marcay 2 C1 and only one prototype was completed.

Max speed, 156 mph (252 km/h) at sea level, 144 mph (232 km/h) at 9,840 ft (3 000 m).
Time to 16,405 ft (5 000 m), 16.27 min.
Span, 30 ft 4 1/8 in (9,25 m).
Length 21 ft 8 3/5 in (6,62 m).
Wing area, 269.1 sqft (25,00 m2).

C.Owers French Warplanes of WWI. Volume 1: Fighters (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 43)

The de Marcay C.1

  Edmund de Marcay was involved in aviation before the Great War. The de Marcay Moonen monoplane with folding wings was displayed at the January 1912 Paris Aero Show, and later appeared as a "waterplane" at a Monaco meeting. These aircraft were paid for by de Marcay, however, there is no evidence that he had a part in their designs.
  The Construction Aeronautique Edmond de Marcay company was founded in 1917 with headquarters at 100 Avenue de Suffren, Paris, by Comte de Marcay and his brother-in-law, Pierre Verrier, formerly a well-known pilot at Hendon. As the firm grew a branch was established at Bordeaux. The firm specialised in fighter machines turning out about 2,000 Spad fighters during the war. M. De Marcay's understanding of mass production saw the Paris works produce 1,400 Spad 7.C.1 fighters in a year. The Bordeaux works were close behind produced 400 Spad fighters although it was later in starting production.
  De Marcay wanted to produce a scout of his own and a report of 7 September 1918, noted that the author of this project having been requested to complete and modify his plans, presents a C.1 Type with 8.Pb 300 H.P. Hispano Engine instead of a Liberty. De Marcay was not an aircraft designer and it is thought that the design was undertaken by the engineer Botali. What type of Liberty was proposed for the machine is not known. J. M. Bruce suggested that the eight-cylinder L-8 was most likely the proposed power-plant. The L-8 however, proved unsuccessful and was abandoned after only eight had been completed.

  The report continued to give details of the proposed aircraft:
  Description: Pursuit bi-plane, single-seater with staggered cellule (520 m/m towards the front for the upper plane). Twin machine guns firing through the propeller.
  Fore part of fuselage is steel tube, rear part of wood. Hispano 300 H.P. engine mounted on aluminium cradle. Radiator in the wing.
  Landing gear with rubber cords in the fuselage type G.L.
  Characteristics: Total surface 28 square meters. Total anticipated weight, 1050 kgs. Load per square meter, 57 kg. 5.
  Construction: The calculations presented show that the airplane would be likely to show a coefficient of 15 in the static tests.
  The de Karcay (sic) airplane is similar to the Spad 17. Its performances should be of the same order. This machine is accepted by the S.T.A. but under the strict reserve that it will be constructed by the de Marcay firm, with the means at its disposal.

  This last sentence meant that the machine was to be built by de Marcay as a private venture. Apparently the first design for the Liberty motor was designated the de Marcay 1 and the revised design de Marcay 2.
  M de Marcay "designed and constructed" a scout machine just before the end of the war and the first tests of this were taking place when the Armistice was signed according to an article in La Vie Aerienne. However, a STAe test report of 29 November 1918, states that the de Marcay C1 HS 8Fb 300-hp scout's fuselage was completed but the wings were still under construction. At the end of November the engine had just been delivered and the fuselage assembled with its forward panels applied. The wings were still under construction. J.M. Bruce states that the machine was not completed until 1919.
  The machine that emerged post-Armistice was similar in appearance to a Spad in the fuselage. The wings were of unequal span with the lower wing appreciably shorter than the upper wing. The overhang was braced by oblique struts that were fixed to the lower ends of the normal interplane struts that provided a single-bay of normal bracing. Unusually shaped horn balanced ailerons were fitted to the upper wing only. A large cut-out was provided in the trailing edge of the upper wing to improve the pilot's upward view, and the lower wing roots were also provided with cut-outs to improve downward vision. The tailplane was mounted on the top longerons and the elevators were of a semi-elliptical shape. A triangular fin preceded a rounded rudder.
  The engine was more closely cowled than on Spad machines, with the camshaft covers fully covered by fairings, and with liberal louvers to assist cooling. The radiator was not an aerofoil type in the upper wing but a conventional car type mounted in a circular cowl in front of the engine behind the airscrew. As with contemporary Spads a jettisonable fuel tank was mounted between the undercarriage struts where it conformed to the fuselage contours. Twin synchronised Vickers guns were the armament.
  The fuselage showed some resemblance to a Spad and the myth arose that the machine used Spad components. It may have used some Spad construction techniques but owed no major component to any Spad type.
  According to La Vie Aerienne the performance of the machine was such that no previous service machine had attained such speeds carrying armament and instruments. It was tested by Lt Lebeau in the C1 or single-seat fighter category of the 1919 Service Aeronautique competition held at Villacoublay and its speed made it one of the fastest fighters of its time. It was stated to have a factor of safety of 14. Its rate of climb was inferior to that of the Nieuport 29 C.1, and this machine was selected as the post-war standard fighter adopted by the French. What is not known is why nothing was done with this incredible machine, the de Marcay would have been an ideal record breaking or racing aircraft. The aircraft was advertised for sale by SAAECA de Marcay through most of the 1920s, its ultimate fate is unrecorded.
  The de Marcay 3 was to have been another single-seat fighter powered by a 300-hp Hispano-Suiza engine but with an all-metal monocoque fuselage. It was never built.
  Reporting on the 1919 Paris Aero Show Flight noted that de Marcay, this well-known French constructor is exhibiting a standard Spad, built under licence, a machine which is so well known as to need no reference here beyond the statement of its presence on the stand. The other aircraft displayed was the light sports-plane the passe-partout.
  De Marcay went on to build low-powered sporting aircraft for a market that did not arise until too late for the firm.


de Marcay C.1 Fighter Specifications
Source 1 2 3
Span upper, m 9.250 9.250 9.25
Span lower, m 5.750 5.750 -
Length, m 6.620 6.620 6.50
Wing Area, m2 25 25 -
Load in kg - 339 339
Speed in km/h
   at ground level 252 252 -
   at 3000 m 232 232 237
   at 5000 m 218 218 220
   at 6000 m 208 208 208
Climb to 5,000 m - 16 min 16 sec -
Engine 300 H.P. 300-hp Hispano-Suiza 8Fb 300-hp Hispano-Suiza
Sources:
1) "The Marcay Machines", translation of article in La Vie Aerienne, No.163, 25.12.1919. TNA AIR1/2114/207/54/6.
2) British translation of French report on "The Marcay Machines." Stamped: 20 Jan 1910. Copy in TNA AIR1/2114/207/54/6. Bruce, J.M. repeats these specifications in Warplanes of the First World War - Fighters, Vol.4. Macdonald &. Co, UK, 1972. P.82.
3) Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 1919.

Журнал Flight

Flight, December 25, 1919.

The Paris Aero Show 1919

Edmond de Marcay has a very striking exhibit, consisting of three very pretty biplanes, all very small. The smallest of them is, perhaps, the smallest biplane ever built, and, as we have already mentioned, looks as if another 20 sq. ft. of wing surface would not do it any harm. The second machine is an extremely neat-looking single-seater with monocoque fuselage and rotary engine with a spinner over the propeller boss. The third machine, although the largest of the three, is also quite small, and is a limousine in as far as the upper third of the passenger occupies a cabin-like superstructure added to the top of the fuselage. The lower two-thirds of the passenger, or his better half, travels en fuselage ordinaire.