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

Salmson 3 C1

  The Salmson 3 was designed to meet the C1 classification of 1918. As with the Hanriot HD.9 C1, the Salmson 3 was fitted with a 230-hp Salmson 9Z engine and a Ratmanoff CUH propeller. The prototype Salmson 3 was constructed of wood and covered with cloth. It was a two-bay biplane with equal span wings. The triangular tail surfaces featured a large rudder. The fuselage had four longerons made of steel. The tail was constructed from steel tubes. The airframe was noted to have a load coefficient of eight. The fuel and oil systems were the same as those utilized on the Salmson 2.
  The Salmson 3 was tested at Villacoublay on 2 May 1918 by a pilot named Barbot. He described its visibility as poor and complained that it was difficult to fly. The test pilot's reports mentioned the following points: the plane turned well but required a large amount of pressure on the controls, while climbing was easy. The plane was tiring to fly. Stability was good. Cockpit visibility was poor because the seat was too low and the pilot was located between the wings. The large fuselage and location of the struts caused problems, contributing to pilot fatigue. Other criticisms of the Salmson 3 included the inaccessibility of the machine guns; it was recommended they be moved back 15 centimeters.
  Later, the Salmson 3 was fitted with a 260-hp Salmson 9Zm engine but that did not result in a significant performance improvement. While the aircraft's speed at altitude was marginally better than the SPAD 13, its climb rate was decidedly inferior to the SPAD's and it was not selected for production. Only the single example was built.


Salmson 3 Single-Seat Fighter with 260-hp Salmson 9Zm
   Span 9.85 m; length 6.40 m; height 2.48 m; wing area 23.936 sq. m
   Empty weight 696.7 kg; loaded weight 1,026.7 kg
   Maximum speed:
2,000 m 215 km/h
4,000 m 207 km/h
5,000 m 202 km/h
6,000 m 190 km/h
   Climb:
1,000 m 2.73 minutes
2,000 m 5.43 minutes
4,000 m 13.28 minutes
5,000 m 21 minutes
6,000 m 34.10 minutes
   Ceiling 7,000 m; range 350 km
   Armament: two 7.7-mm Vickers machine guns
   One built