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Farman F.211

1932 GOLDEN AGE X-PLANE

Fallman F. 211 Story

In 1929, the French Air Ministry proposed a new specification calling for a four-seater night bomber with inherent daytime capability. The Farman F.211 was developed by Farman Aeronautical Engineering and first flew in early 1932. The large aircraft is powered by four engines arranged in a unique "push-pull" configuration (see below).

The design was not adopted by the French Air Force and remained in prototype state during its flight life. Attention then turned to the larger-sized F. 220, which also got more power from the engine, and the model was more successful.

The F. 211 is largely a product of that period - it has seen ugly looks in many interwar bombers produced by different companies around the world. The nose section is mostly glass to allow several crew members a meaningful view "from the cockpit". Wheeled "trails" were used, but fixed in flight. The high-wing installation of the main aircraft was a step in the right aerodynamic direction, but the four-engine configuration was placed in two nacelles (one on each side of the fuselage), one in front of the other - with one engine "pulling" and another "push".

The nacelle is also mounted on short wings attached to the underside of the fuselage and must be supported by struts on the underside of the main aircraft of the wing.

The bomber is powered by 4 Gnome-Rhone "Titan" 7Kcrs 7-cylinder radial piston engines, 300 hp each. The plane has a top speed of 140 mph, a range of up to 620 miles, and a service ceiling of 16,405 feet.

The aircraft has a total length of 15.9 meters, a wingspan of 23 meters and a height of 4.2 meters. Empty weight is 11,135 pounds and maximum takeoff weight is 16,315 pounds. Internally, the bomber could carry a wartime load of 2,315 pounds.

Defence is 1 dual 7.7mm machine gun mounted on the nose, one 7.7mm machine gun on the dorsal side and one 7.7mm machine gun on the ventral side.

As the French authorities were not interested in the F.211 model, Farman pursued the F.212, an improved form now mated to Gnome-Rhone 7Kds radial piston engines, each producing 350 hp. The war load also increased to 3,085 pounds.

This version appeared in 1934, but did not reach the prototype stage until the end.

The F. 215 is a proposed airliner variant based on the F. 211/F, designed to comfortably accommodate 12 people. 212 themes. The model has not yet been made into physical form.

The larger F. 220 model series in 1935 was even more successful - 80 were produced until 1938, including various models based on the F. 220 series, including the F. 222, France's largest interwar bomber.