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Ponnier M.1

1916 WORLD WAR 1

Ponnier M. 1 Story

While the early Ponnier L. 1 biplane reconnaissance aircraft (detailed elsewhere on this site) failed to impress the French authorities (though based on the D. III monoplane), it was the company's next The aircraft laid a solid foundation to provide - M.1 The design work of this aircraft is attributed to Emile Eugene Dupont, again manufactured under the Avions Ponnier brand. The first flight was recorded in 1915, with the First World War raging in Europe and beyond, followed by the introduction of the service in 1916.

However, the aircraft did not perform well as a combat platform, resulting in a rather short lifespan - they were phased out for deployment as early as November 1916. To make matters worse, only about 20 examples of this design were made.

Part of the failure for the early L.1 was the choice of a 50 hp engine. The fuselage is inherited from the D.III competition aircraft, adding the wing structure of the biplane. However, features of the design limited its performance as a military product, and no production contract was signed to award the work done. Building on this, the M.1 features an unequal-span biplane wing assembly with a single cabin and parallel struts, with "cuts" in both structures to improve the pilot's visibility outside the cockpit. Propulsion is now provided by an 80-horsepower Le Rhone 9C 9-cylinder rotary engine that drives the usual two-bladed wooden propeller in the nose of the aircraft.

A sizable propeller spinner was added for aerodynamic integrity, but engine cooling was found to be limited. Overall, the new aircraft had traditional combat-like qualities of the time, such as a side-paneled fuselage, an open-air cockpit, and a fixed-wheel and anti-skid landing gear arrangement.

Another important physical feature is the rather small rear wing used.

In January 1916, the prototype M.1 crashed in the control system with ace Charles Nungesser (Nungesser survived), but this was not enough to derail plans for a production order that would see a batch of aircraft built. At this time, Avions Ponnier was succeeded (as a brand label) by La Societe Anonyme Francaise de Constructions Aeronautiques, although Louis Ponnier still controlled his company. Despite the small number of productions, the Belgian air service units used the type, and the French flew some examples, although the aircraft did not receive official unit status of the latter. In Belgian service, the oversized propeller spinners were often removed to improve engine airflow, and several other control modifications were made, but none of these changes produced a suitable fighter.

Poor reviews from Belgian ace Willy Coppens all but failed the M.1, and its use was abandoned by the end of 1916.

The related Ponnier M.2 was an attempt at a two-seater version of the M.1, based on a larger overall size, designed to attract the interest of the Royal Flying Corps. This version was never developed.

When complete, the M.1 is capable of reaching speeds of 104 miles per hour and a rate of climb of 700 feet per minute. The weapon is a 7.7mm Lewis machine gun (0.303 caliber).

However, the M.1 lacked the breaker gear for this weapon, so it was placed along the upper wing unit to keep the rotating propeller blades clear when fired.