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Dorand AR

1917 WORLD WAR 1

Doland's AR Story

The Dorand AR series was developed for the Air France service to replace the outdated two-seater Falmain F. 40 observation aircraft, a "propeller" engine design that appeared in 1915 and was later used around the world many air services. However, the technology officially found its adversary in the evolving nature of World War I, and its use was limited to just over a year before the development of a successor aircraft was considered. This is how the "Dorand AR" ("Avion de Reconnaissance 1"), developed by French Captain Georges Lepere, first flew in September 1916, and after a short evaluation phase, the French Air Force officially commissioned the AR in April 1917 Origins dating back to the original Dorand DO are preserved.

January 1914. The aircraft received its official designation from Lieutenant Colonel (Dorand), who at the time headed the government-run Aviation Technology Department.

All in all, AR. The design of the 1 is very simple, and is characterized by its wide-span biplane wing configuration. The wings are two axles with parallel struts, set in their arrangement and operated by a network of cables.

The lower wing assembly is indirectly attached to the fuselage via heavy duty struts. The fuselage features a plate fairing, usually boxy in shape, with the engines housed in a compartment at the front of the design and the empennage in the stern.

The model consists of two pilots and an observer, the former sitting behind the engine and the latter in tandem below and behind the upper wing assembly, with both cockpits in an "open air" position. The aircraft has a wingspan of more than 13 meters and a barrel length of 9 meters.

The payload is 1,250 kg. Power (for the base production AR.1 model - see variants) is provided by a Renault 8 Bd V engine with 190 hp, a top speed of 153 km/h and a flight time of up to 3 hours. The listed service cap is closer to 5,500 meters. The engine drives a two-bladed wooden propeller system. The tail has one vertical tail and two full-surface moving horizontal tails.

The landing gear is fixed and consists of two single-wheel landing gear legs and a tail skid for basic ground support.

The pilot fired a solid forward shot. 303 caliber Vickers machine gun, while observers received a trainable Lewis machine gun mounted on a single or double gun mount.

The front guns can be used against enemy aircraft or ground targets, while the rear guns are designed to protect the vital rear quadrant of the aircraft from enemy aircraft. In addition to machine gun weapons, the AR can also be armed with up to 80kg of ordnance, all of which is stored internally.

The true essence of AR is in its reconnaissance and observation role - not as a cannon or bomb platform.

There are several notable variants of the Dorand design, starting with the original production form, simply called AR. 1. These are done with a 190 hp Renault 8 Bd series engine. ARL. 1 name labeled AR. 1 Production model modified to install a 185 hp Lorraine-Dietricj series engine.

The second major production hallmark is the improved AR. 2, it installed a Renault 8 Gdy series engine with 200 hp, a blade mounted radiator (as opposed to the front one) and smaller blades. Similar to ARL. 1 Conversion, ARL. 2 is nothing but a revised AR. 2 With 240 hp Lorraine Dietrich engine.

At the beginning of 1917, the first production Dorand AR models reached the skies of the Western Front, which later formed no less than 13 French Air Service Brigades. The model was also heavily used in five other French squadrons on the Italian front. In practice, Dorand's rather limited AR designs have proven to be very beneficial to those who should be driving them.

She displayed reasonable qualities and proved reliable, but overall performance generally suffered due to changing warfare techniques. By the end of her tenure, she was found to be far outnumbered by more modern offerings from both sides of the conflict. The Doland AR was in the inventory of the U.S. Expeditionary Force until December 1917, and they fought on the Western Front until 1918 and purchased more than 100 prototypes to support the shortage of available aircraft for the Americans. The guy wasn't very popular among Americans and eventually came up with the nickname "Antique Rattlesnake" to describe the guy.

The American Doland AR was relegated to training newly arrived American pilots as more suitable viewing racks became available.

In addition to France and the US, AR operators include Algeria, Greece and Serbia. From April 1918, the Kingdom of Serbia may have an inventory of four Doland AR squadrons.