Farman BN.4

Last updated
Farman BN.4
Farman BN.4 L'Aeronautique May,1922.jpg
General information
TypeLong-range night bomber
National originFrance
Manufacturer Farman
Number built1
History
First flightMarch 1922 [1]

The Farman BN.4, or Super Goliath, was a very large 1920s French biplane designed by Farman as a long-range night bomber. [2]

Contents

Development

Often known by the military designation BN.4 (Bombardement de Nuit Strategique, 4 places), some sources refer to it as the Super Goliath though that name was also applied to the Farman F.141. [1] It was a four-seat long range night bomber. The company exhibited the BN.4 at the 1921 Paris Salon de l'Aeronautique. The BN.4 was a four-engined three-bay biplane powered by four Lorraine piston engines mounted in tandem pairs on the lower wing. It had a biplane tail unit and a tailskid landing gear with twin-wheel main units. It had provision for a gunner in the nose section and amidships with additional machine guns that fired downwards and to the rear. [2]

By the time the aircraft was test flown a pair of twin nose wheels had been added to stop the aircraft nosing over on soft grass airfields. After the aircraft had performed a number of test flights the military had lost interest in spending on new equipment in the post-war era. A civil version was looked at but it would have been too large and the BN.4 was not ordered into production. [2]

Specifications

Farman BN.4 3-view drawing from Les Ailes December 8, 1921 Farman BN.4 3-view Les Ailes December 8,1921.png
Farman BN.4 3-view drawing from Les Ailes December 8, 1921

Data from [2]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Liron 1984, pp. 224–225
  2. 1 2 3 4 Orbis 1985, pp. 1774–1775

Bibliography