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Caudron R.11

1918 WORLD WAR 1

Caudron R. 11 Stories

The Caudron R. 11 was originally developed as an armed reconnaissance platform for the French Air Force and found its place as a fighter escort during the First World War (1914-1918). The plane was flown by a crew of three - a pilot and two gunners - and had a large twin-engine configuration and a biplane wing array - essentially a heavy fighter before the category came into existence.

The R. 11 is based on the existing R. 4 twin-engine reconnaissance line, but features new, more streamlined nose and fuselage components and an improved tail. The design of this aircraft is credited to Paul Deville, and it first flew in 1917. The first French unit to receive an R. 11 was the Escadrille R. 26. This family of aircraft served in the final months of World War I and remained in service until around 1922. Although 1,000 aircraft were ordered, about 370 were produced.

The end of the war in November 1918 aptly heralded a reduction in orders.

The R. 11 had many improvements over previous bombers used during the war. 2 x 220hp Hispano-Suiza engines (driving two-bladed wooden propellers) were housed in an aerodynamically modified cabin, a design feature that would later become synonymous with all aircraft during World War II (1939-1945).

The fuselage adopts a streamlined design, in sharp contrast to the board-edge, boxy design of previous years. The R. 11 also features a large rear structure for added stability. Its landing gear had a typical "trailer" arrangement, using two large fixed gear legs, each controlling two gear wheels.

The aircraft is defended by no less than 5 x 7.7mm Lewis machine guns on trainable mounts to engage enemy aircraft from different angles. In the light bomb role, the R. 11 carried an ammunition load of only 265 pounds, all external.

All three crew members are housed in three separate open-air cockpits, with the pilot positioned between the upper and lower wing assemblies of the biplane. The tail gunner was behind him, and a nose gunner was spotted at the very front of the plane.

The wings are of equal span, with three brackets and parallel struts.

The R. 11 has a reported maximum battery life of 3 hours and is capable of a service cap of up to 19,500 feet. It has a top speed of 114 mph thanks to its twin-engine performance and aerodynamic design. The aircraft was eventually delivered to French squadrons of R. 46, R. 239, R. 240, R. 241, R. 242 and R. 246, with a portion of the inventory going to the American Expeditionary Force (AEF).

The R. 11 was the last French-produced aircraft in World War I and the last French squadron (R. 246) in World War I.

Caudron also developed R. 12, which was largely based on the design of R. 11, although this form was never adopted. The R. 14 appeared in battle in August 1918 and outperformed all other designs of the R. 12.

The Caudron Group was established in 1908 to produce military aircraft for World War I and World War II, producing over 4,000 aircraft in World War I alone. It was acquired by Renault in 1933, and the name remained until the mid-to-late 1930s.