The
Caudron G.3
was a single-engined
French
sesquiplane
built by
Caudron
, widely used in
World War I
as a
reconnaissance
aircraft and
trainer
.
Development
[
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]
The Caudron G.3 was designed by Rene and Gaston
Caudron
as a development of their earlier Caudron G.2 for military use. It first flew in May 1914 at their
Le Crotoy
aerodrome.
[2]
The aircraft had a short crew
nacelle
, with a single
engine
in the nose of the nacelle, and an open tailboom truss. It was of sesquiplane layout, and used
wing warping
for lateral control, although this was replaced by conventional
ailerons
fitted on the upper wing in late production aircraft. Usually, the G.3 was not armed, although sometimes light machine guns and small bombs were fitted.
It was ordered in large quantities following the outbreak of the First World War with the Caudron factories building 1423 of the 2450 built in France. 233 were also built in England and 166 built in Italy along with several other countries. The Caudron brothers did not charge a licensing fee for the design, as an act of patriotism.
[2]
It was followed in production by the
Caudron G.4
, which was a twin-engined development.
Operational history
[
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]
The G.3 equipped Escadrille C.11 of the French
Aeronautique Militaire
at the outbreak of war, and was well-suited for reconnaissance use, proving stable and having good visibility. As the war progressed, its low performance and lack of armament made it too vulnerable for front line service, and it was withdrawn from front line operations in mid-1916.
[2]
The Italians also used the G.3 for reconnaissance on a wide scale until 1917, as did the British
RFC
(continuing operations until October 1917), who fitted some with light bombs and machine guns for ground attack.
[2]
The
Australian Flying Corps
operated the G.3 during the
Mesopotamian campaign
of 1915?16.
It continued in use as a trainer until well after the end of the war. Chinese
Fengtian clique
warlord
Caudron G.3s remained in service as trainers until the
Mukden Incident
of 1931, when many were captured by the Japanese.
In 1921
Adrienne Bolland
, a French test pilot working for Caudron, made the first crossing of the
Andes
by a woman, flying between Argentina and Chile in a G.3.
Variants
[
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]
Most G.3s were the
A2
model, used by various airforces for artillery spotting on the Western front, in Russia and in the Middle East. The G.3
D2
was a two-seat trainer, equipped with dual controls and the
E2
was a basic trainer. The
R1
version (rouleur or roller) was used by France and the
United States Air Service
for
taxi training
, with the wing trimmed down to prevent its becoming airborne. The last version, the
G.3. L2
, was equipped with a more powerful 100 hp (75 kW)
Anzani 10
radial engine
. In Germany,
Gotha
built a few copies of the G.3 as the
Gotha LD.3
and
Gotha LD.4
(
Land Doppeldecker
? "Land Biplane").
Survivors
[
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]
Few Caudron G.3s survived and most of them are displayed in museums:
- one restored as s/n 324 at the
Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace
,
Paris
.
[3]
- one restored as s/n 2531 at the
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
,
Brussels
.
- one restored as 1E18 at the
Hallinportti Aviation Museum
in
Finland
.
- one restored as 3066, at the
RAF Museum Hendon
.
[4]
[5]
- one restored at the
Museu Aeroespacial
of
Rio de Janeiro
.
- one rebuilt from original parts displayed in the
Aeronautics Museum of Maracay
in
Venezuela
.
One Caudron G.3 is part of a private collection in France but unrestored.
Replicas
[
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]
A Caudron G.3 replica is part of the
rotary engined
contingent of accurately-built vintage aircraft reproductions, at the
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
living aviation museum, in
Rhinebeck, New York
.
[6]
In France, a replica is currently airworthy at La Ferte Alais, powered by a Walter radial engine.
As of 2017, another airworthy replica of the G.3 was introduced to the collections of the Aviation Museum of Metod?j Vlach in
Mlada Boleslav
, the
Czech Republic
. Though a replica visually accurate in dimensions and appearance, it was built on an ultralight basis. The project development began in 2009, and the replica was closely based on a Caudron G.3 displayed in the
Musee de l’air et de l’espace
in
Le Bourget
,
Paris
.
[7]
[8]
Operators
[
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]
-
Argentina
- Argentine Air Force
-
Australia
-
Belgium
- Belgian Air Force
-
Brazil
-
China
-
Colombia
- Colombian Air Force
? Three aircraft became Colombia's first military aircraft.
-
Denmark
- Royal Danish Air Force
-
El Salvador
- Air Force of El Salvador
? Three aircraft.
[10]
-
Finland
- Finnish Air Force
? 12 from France in 1920, six built in Finland by
Santahaminan ilmailutelakka
from 1921 to 1923. One from Flyg Aktiebolaget in 1923. Withdrawn 1924. Nicknamed
Tutankhamon
.
-
France
-
Greece
- Hellenic Air Force
-
Guatemala
-
Kingdom of Hejaz
-
Honduras
-
Kingdom of Italy
-
Japan
-
Peru
-
Portugal
- Portuguese Air Force
-
Poland
- Polish Air Force
-
Romania
- Romanian Air Corps
-
Russia
- Imperial Russian Air Force
-
Serbia
- Kingdom of Spain
-
Soviet Union
- Soviet Air Force
? ex-Imperial Russian Air Force.
-
Turkey
- Turkish Air Force
? Postwar.
-
United Kingdom
-
United States
-
Venezuela
- Venezuelan Air Force
[14]
Specifications (G.3)
[
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]
Data from
Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneet 1918-1939
[15]
General characteristics
- Crew:
1
- Length:
6.4 m (21 ft 0 in)
- Wingspan:
13.4 m (44 ft 0 in)
- Height:
2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
- Wing area:
27 m
2
(290 sq ft)
- Empty weight:
420 kg (926 lb)
- Max takeoff weight:
710 kg (1,565 lb)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Le Rhone 9C
9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine, 60 kW (80 hp)
- Propellers:
2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed:
106 km/h (66 mph, 57 kn)
- Endurance:
4 hours
- Service ceiling:
4,300 m (14,100 ft)
[2]
Armament
- Guns:
One light machine gun (optional)
- Bombs:
hand released bombs (optional)
See also
[
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]
Related development
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Holmes, Tony (2005).
Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide
. London: Harper Collins. p. 26.
ISBN
0-00-719292-4
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Donald, David, ed. (1997).
The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft
. Aerospace Publishing. p. 233.
ISBN
1-85605-375-X
.
- ^
"Caudron G.3"
.
Musee de l’Air et de l’Espace
(in French)
. Retrieved
8 February
2024
.
- ^
"Caudron G3"
.
Royal Air Force Museum
. Retrieved
8 February
2024
.
- ^
Simpson, Andrew (2013).
"Individual History [3066]"
(PDF)
.
Royal Air Force Museum
. Retrieved
8 February
2024
.
- ^
2014-archived Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome website detail page about their Caudron G.3 reproduction
- ^
"Collections of airworthy aircraft at the Aviation Museum of Metod?j Vlach in Mlada Boleslav"
.
letecke-muzeum-vetodeje-vlacha.cz
. Letecke muzeum Metod?je Vlacha
. Retrieved
22 March
2020
.
- ^
"Construction on the airworthy Caudron G.3 replica at the Aviation Museum of Metod?j Vlach in Mlada Boleslav (documentary video)"
.
Youtube.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-14
. Retrieved
22 March
2020
.
- ^
Jowett, Philip (2010).
Chinese Warlord Armies 1911-30
. Osprey Publishing. p. 35.
ISBN
978-1-84908-402-4
.
- ^
Hagedorn 1993, pp. 79. 81
- ^
Hagedorn 1993, p. 49
- ^
Hagedorn 1993, p. 64
- ^
Thetford, Owen (1994).
British Naval Aircraft Since 1912
. London: Putnam. p. 415.
ISBN
0-85177-861-5
.
- ^
Air International
September 1973, pp. 118?119.
- ^
Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari; Niska, Klaus (1976).
Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneet 1918-1939
(in Finnish). Helsinki: Tietoteos.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Beaubois, Henry (December 1972). "Le Caudron G.III".
Le Album de Fanatique de l'Aviation
(in French) (39): 15?18.
ISSN
0757-4169
.
- Hagedorn, Daniel P. (1993).
Central American and Caribbean Air Forces
. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.
ISBN
0-85130-210-6
.
- Herris, Jack (2013).
Gotha Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes
. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 6. Charleston, South Carolina: Aeronaut Books.
ISBN
978-1-935881-14-8
.
- Metzmacher, Andreas (2021).
Gotha Aircraft 1913-1954: From the London Bomber to the Flying Wing Jet Fighter
. Brimscombe, Stroud: Fonthill.
ISBN
978-1-78155-706-8
.
- "Venezuela Refurbishes Her Aerial Sombrero".
Air Enthusiast
. Vol. 5, no. 3. September 1973. pp. 118?124, 150.
- Lafille, Jean-Pierre (December 1972). "J'ai pilote le Caudron G.III" [I Flew the Caudron G.III].
Le Album de Fanatique de l'Aviation
(in French) (39): 19?20.
ISSN
0757-4169
.
Further reading
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]
External links
[
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]
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Letter designators & Early
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Gaston Caudron (G) types
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Rene Caudron (R) types
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Numerical Designations
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Messerschmitt-Caudron
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Names
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Company designations pre-1918
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Idflieg
designations 1914-1918
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RLM
designations 1933-1945
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Project numbers
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