Designed by Paul Deville, the Caudron C.270 Luciole (“Firefly”) was a sporting, touring and trainer aircraft derived from the C.230.
It was a conventional biplane with single-bay, unstaggered wings of equal span. The pilot and a single passenger sat in tandem open cockpits. It featured a fabric-covered fuselage in place of the C.230’s wooden one, and other refinements including revised control surfaces and undercarriage, and an improved and simplified wing-folding mechanism.
Over 700 were built in the decade leading up to World War II. Of these, 296 were purchased by the French government for its pilot training programme, the Aviation Populaire. Some were operated by the Spanish Republican Air Force. Many examples saw wartime service as liaison aircraft, and those surviving the conflict saw postwar use as glider tugs in the Ecole de l’Air.
Variants:
C.270 – first production version with Salmson 7Ac radial engine (82 built)
C.270/1 – version with Salmson 7Ac2 engine
C.271 – version with Lorraine 5Pc engine (1 built)
C.271/2 – version with Lorraine 5Pb engine
C.272 – version with Renault 4Pb inline engine (52 built)
C.272/2 – version with Renault 4Pci engine and taller, more pointed tail fin (22 built)
C.272/3 – version with Renault 4Pdi engine and wheel brakes (15 built)
C.272/4 – version with Renault 4Pei engine and wheel brakes (21 built)
C.272/5 – version with Renault 4Pgi engine(80 built)
C.273 – version with Michel 4A-14 engine (14 built)
C.274 – version with Chaise 4Ba engine for 1932 Paris Salon de l’Aéronautique (1 built)
C.275 – main production version derived from C.272/5 but without wing folding (433 built)
C.276 – version with de Havilland Gipsy III engine
C.276H – version with Hirth HM 504A-2 engine (2 re-engined from C.276)
C.277 – similar to C.272/4 with non-folding wings (9 built)
C.272R – C.275 re-engined with Renault 4Po3 after the war (1 converted)
C.278 – version with new undercarriage and Salmson 9Nc engine to compete in Challenge 1932 (1 built)
Specifications:
C.272
Engine: 1 × Renault 4Pb, 71 kW (95 hp)
Length: 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 9.90 m (32 ft 5 in)
Height: 2.76 m (9 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 24.0 m2 (258 ft2)
Empty weight: 516 kg (1,138 lb)
Gross weight: 780 kg (1,720 lb)
Maximum speed: 158 km/h (98 mph)
Range: 500 km (311 miles)
Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,120 ft)
Crew: One pilot
Capacity: 1 passenger
C.277 Luciole
Engine: Renault 4 Pei, 140 hp
Wing span: 32 ft 5.5 in
Wing area: 248.2 sq.ft
Length: 25 ft 2 in
Height: 9 ft
Empty weight: 1067 lb
Loaded weight: 1848 lb
Max speed: 107 mph / 93 mph at 3280 ft
Range: 388 mi
All Aero 