Breguet 16

Last updated
16
Breguet Bre.16Bn.2 Patria.jpg
Portuguese Bre16Bn.2 "Patria"
RoleNight bomber
Manufacturer Breguet
Designer Marcel Vuillierme
First flight1 June 1918
Introduction 1921
Retired 1926
Number builtca. 200

The Breguet 16 was a bomber biplane produced in France toward the end of World War I.

Bomber Military aircraft for attack of ground targets with bombs or other heavy ordnance

A bomber is a combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry, firing torpedoes and bullets, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles.

Biplane Airplane wing configuration with two vertically stacked main flying surfaces

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage over a monoplane, it produces more drag than a similar unbraced or cantilever monoplane wing. Improved structural techniques, better materials and the quest for greater speed made the biplane configuration obsolete for most purposes by the late 1930s.

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.

Contents

Design and development

The design of the Breguet 16 was essentially a scaled-up version of Breguet's highly successful 14 — a conventionally configured biplane with two-bay, unstaggered, equal-span wings. Trials in 1918 proved promising, and mass production by several French manufacturers, under licence from Breguet, was planned for 1919. These plans were discarded upon the Armistice, but more limited production was revived in the early 1920s as the French Air Force began a programme of modernisation. [1]

Breguet 14 French WW1 bomber aircraft

The Breguet 14 was a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war.

Wingspan distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip of an airplane or an animal (insect, bird, bat)

The wingspan of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777-200 has a wingspan of 60.93 metres, and a wandering albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of 3.63 metres, the official record for a living bird. The term wingspan, more technically extent, is also used for other winged animals such as pterosaurs, bats, insects, etc., and other fixed-wing aircraft such as ornithopters. In humans, the term wingspan also refers to the arm span, which is distance between the length from one end of an individual's arms to the other when raised parallel to the ground at shoulder height at a 90º angle. Former professional basketball player Manute Bol stands at 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) and owns one of the largest wingspans at 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m).

French Air Force Air warfare branch of Frances armed forces

The French Air Force[aʀme də lɛʀ], literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1934. The number of aircraft in service with the French Air Force varies depending on source, however sources from the French Ministry of Defence give a figure of 658 aircraft in 2014. The French Air Force has 225 combat aircraft in service, with the majority being 117 Dassault Mirage 2000 and 108 Dassault Rafale. As of early 2017, the French Air Force employs a total of 41,160 regular personnel. The reserve element of the air force consisted of 5,187 personnel of the Operational Reserve.

Operational history

In service, the single-engine Breguet 16 was used to replace obsolete twin-engine Farman F.50s in the night bomber role as the Bre.16Bn.2. Some of the 200 aircraft built were deployed to Syria and Morocco, and Breguet also managed to sell some to the military air arms of China and Czechoslovakia. [2] A single Breguet 16 was acquired by the Portuguese Air Force in 1924 for an attempted flight between Portugal and Macau, but the attempt failed, with the aircraft being destroyed in a forced landing in India. [3]

Farman F.50 French WW1 bomber aircraft

The Farman F.50 was a French twin-engined night bomber designed and built by Farman as a replacement for the single-engined Voisin pusher biplanes in service with the French Air Force.

Syria Country in Western Asia

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans and Turkemens. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Isma'ilis, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Yazidis, and Jews. Sunnis make up the largest religious group in Syria.

Morocco Country in North Africa

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa with an area of 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi). Its capital is Rabat, the largest city Casablanca. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Morocco claims the areas of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, all of them under Spanish jurisdiction.

Variants

Bre.16Bn.2
Night bomber version.

Operators

Flag of the Republic of China.svg  China
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
Flag of France.svg  France
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal

Specifications

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

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References

Notes

  1. ↑ Taylor and Alexander 1969, pp. 74–75.
  2. ↑ Taylor 1989, p. 199.
  3. 1 2 Niccoli 1998, p. 23.

Bibliography

  • Niccoli, Riccardo (January–February 1998). "Atlantic Sentinels: The Portuguese Air Force Since 1912". Air Enthusiast . No. 73. pp. 20–35. ISSN   0143-5450.
  • Taylor, John W. R. and Jean Alexander. Combat Aircraft of the World. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN   0-71810-564-8.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN   0-517-69186-8.
  • World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing, File 890, Sheet 80–81.

Air Enthusiast was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as Air Enthusiast Quarterly, the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to Air International magazine. Air International was involved with current aviation topics and the Quarterly concerned itself with historical matters.

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