Blanchard Brd.1

Last updated
Brd.1
Blanchard Brd.1 L'Aeronautique December,1926.jpg
RoleReconnaissance flying boat
Manufacturer Blanchard
First flight 1922
Introduction 1923
Retired 1926
Primary user Aéronautique Maritime
Number built24

The Blanchard Brd.1 was a French reconnaissance flying boat, to the 1923 STAé HB.3 specification, used by the French navy in the 1920s. It was a large biplane with two engines mounted in the gap between the wings, each engine driving a pusher propeller. In 1924, one Brd.1 was used to set several world altitude records for seaplanes.

France Republic with mainland in Europe and numerous oversea territories

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

Reconnaissance military exploration beyond the area occupied by friendly forces

In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration outside an area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about natural features and other activities in the area.

Flying boat aircraft equipped with a boat hull for operation from water

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water, that usually has no type of landing gear to allow operation on land. It differs from a floatplane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage. Flying boats were some of the largest aircraft of the first half of the 20th century, exceeded in size only by bombers developed during World War II. Their advantage lay in using water instead of expensive land-based runways, making them the basis for international airlines in the interwar period. They were also commonly used for maritime patrol and air-sea rescue.

Contents

Operators

Flag of France.svg  France

Units using this aircraft

Aéronautique Maritime

Specifications

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1924 [1] , Aviafrance:Blanchard Brd-1 [2]

General characteristics

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 175 km/h (109 mph; 94 kn)
  • Service ceiling: 3,500 m (11,500 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 30 minutes
  • Wing loading: 43 kg/m2 (8.8 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.1034 kW/kg (0.0629 hp/lb)

Power-to-weight ratio is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine or power source. It is also used as a measurement of performance of a vehicle as a whole, with the engine's power output being divided by the weight of the vehicle, to give a metric that is independent of the vehicle's size. Power-to-weight is often quoted by manufacturers at the peak value, but the actual value may vary in use and variations will affect performance.

Armament

  • 1 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-gun on flexible mount in bow
  • 1 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-gun in flexible mount in rear fuselage
  • 290 kg (640 lb) of bombs

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

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References

  1. Grey, C.G., ed. (1924). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1924. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. pp. 93b–94b.
  2. Parmentier, Bruno (22 February 1998). "Blanchard Brd-1, Hydravion de reconnaissance par Aviafrance". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

Further reading