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Caudron G.3

1914 WORLD WAR 1

Caudron G. 3 Stories

Like most aircraft used during the First World War (1914-1918), the French Caudron G.3 was an evolution of the existing design G.2, which further developed the battlefield along the lines of innovation and necessity. At the heart of the plane is a conventional biplane, with the engines mounted in the front and a seat in the rear. It is primarily used for reconnaissance missions, providing war planners and ground commanders with relatively up-to-date information on enemy positions and movements, while also helping with artillery targeting, etc.

The G.3 first flew before the war as a prototype in late 1913, and was introduced for combat in due course in 1914. She went on to lead various aviation services outside of France, including the United States, Poland and Finland.

From the outside, the G.3 appears to be a very bulky design, as it uses a stout, short, concentrated cabin shell that contains the engine, fuel storage, and pilot. The nacelle is located in a biplanar arrangement between the upper and lower wing assemblies, the span of which is significantly larger than the span of the lower wing assembly - a characteristic known as "half-wing" due to the reduced drag between the wings during flight. Early versions of the aircraft relied on basic "wing warp" for control, until later production models added ailerons. The front engine drives a two-bladed wooden propeller in a "puller" arrangement. These early planes had no fixed forward-firing machine guns - so no circuit breaker devices - that fired through rotating propeller blades.

The aircraft has two tail booms in its skeleton (bare) with two shark-fin rudders and a wide-span horizontal plane. The landing gear is fixed, with two two-wheeled main landing gear legs under the front mass of the aircraft.

A network of struts can be seen above the landing gear for support, while the wing elements are connected by parallel struts and cables.

The final branding of the G. 3 series became the G. 3 A. 2, powered by a French Le Rhone C series rotary engine rated at 80 hp. Performance includes a top speed of 68 mph and service is capped at 14,100 feet. Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) is 1,580 lbs. It was followed by the two-seater G.3 D.2 with dual controls, used to train a new generation of pilots - many of whom were trying to fly for the first time in their lives. The basic single-seat trainer form and floor running (roller) training marked with the designation G. 3 E. 2 is performed by a specially modified, streamlined G. 3 R. 1 model.

The G.3 L.2 is the latest model from Caudron, fitted with an Anzani 10 series 100hp radial piston engine to maximize performance in the ongoing war.

While generally unarmed, some G.3 aircraft carried machine guns or pilots armed with personal service rifles for defense. The bomb-delivery capability of an aircraft is more or less dependent on the pilot's own skill - small diameter bombs are simply dropped by hand on the side of the aircraft in the target area - usually at dangerously low altitudes, making the aircraft vulnerable to ground fire.

There was no rush to acquire new French aircraft until the outbreak of war in Europe in the summer of 1914. Large orders for the G.3 followed, and by the end of the war, Caudron had delivered no less than 1,423 aircraft.

Other local French factories increased the total French aircraft total to around 2,450, and additional overseas production (under license) also occurred in the UK and Italy, increasing by 233 and 166 respectively. The French Air Force's Escadrille C. 11 became the first receiver of this type and proved to be a very reliable, robust airframe for reconnaissance missions early in the war. Ultimately, around 38 French squadrons made up the users of this oft-forgotten aircraft. However, the rate of technological advancement in warfare over the next few years has made the G.3 gun the raw material for a new generation of interceptors, combat scouts and ground artillery.

As a result, the G.3 was withdrawn from front-line service in mid-1916 and relegated to a training role for the remainder of the war. It has since been used by foreign militaries, and the last known models did not fly until the early to mid-1920s.

Interestingly enough, the Germans thought enough about the French G.3 series and copied the design under the LD. 3 and LD. 4 (LD = "Land Doppeldecker") names - these are made by Gotha. Further development of the Caudron led to the G. 4 line, which is described elsewhere on this site.

The G.4 appeared in 1915 and subsequently saw some 1,421 in service in France, Belgium, the United States and other countries.