Aircraft

Bernard H.V.120

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The H.V.120 was a wooden single-seat mid-wing cantilever monoplane seaplane designed and built by Bernard to compete in the Schneider Trophy race.

Powered by a 1,680 hp (1,253 kW) Hispano Suiza 18R W-18 piston engine, the first H.V.120 flew for the first time at Hourtin on 25 March 1930. Development was delayed due to engine problems, as well as technical issues. It was overweight and the engine mount and forward fuselage had to be re-designed. The first aircraft had a direct drive three-bladed propeller but the second had a reduction gear to drive a four-bladed Chauvière propeller. The second aircraft crashed into the water on its first flight in July 1931 killing pilot Georges Bougault.

In 1933 the prototype was converted into a racing landplane as the Bernard V.4 with a 1,125 hp (839 kW) Hispano-Suiza 18Sb engine and shorter span wings. The V.4 had widely spaced main landing gear with streamlined wheel spats. It was moved to Istres in December 1933 to try and achieve a French Air Ministry prize for a French aircraft to beat the world speed record before January 1934. It was due to make an attempt to fly on 27 December 1933 but strong winds kept the aircraft grounded. Further attempts in February 1934 to fly were thwarted by engine problems and lack of government finance. The project was abandoned without the aircraft have flown.

Gallery

H.V.120-01
Engine: 1 × Hispano Suiza 18R W-18, 1,253 kW (1,680 hp)
Propeller: 3-bladed
Length: 8.24 m (27 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 8.65 m (28 ft 5 in)
Height: 3.60 m (11 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 11.00 m2 (118.4 sq ft)
Max takeoff weight: 2,100 kg (4,630 lb)
Maximum speed: 530 km/h (329 mph; 286 kn)
Crew: 1

Bernard SIMB AB 10

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The Bernard SIMB AB 10 or Bernard SIMB AB 10 C 1 single-seat fighter (the AB in this name stood for Adolphe Bernard and C for chasseur – English: fighter – with 1 indicating single-seat), was an all-metal aircraft with straight-edged, slightly tapered wings which had straight wing tips tips rounded at the leading edge designed by Jean Hubert. Ailerons extended to the tips. The tail surfaces had straight swept leading edges but had rounded trailing edges on the control surfaces. The tailplane was mounted on top of the fuselage and the rudder extended to the bottom of the fuselage, moving between separate elevators.

Its fuselage, rounded in cross-section, tapered to the rear and curved down forwards over the engine to the low-mounted two-blade propeller. The open cockpit, with a brief, faired headrest, was placed over the middle of the wing. It had a conventional undercarriage with a pair of single mainwheels and a tailskid, but the mainwheel mounting was unusual, a wide-chord faired inverted T-shaped pylon. The engine was a 224 kW (300 hp) Hispano-Suiza V-8, cooled by a pair of Lamblin radiators placed horizontally side by side below the fuselage.

During its development the AB-C.1 was displayed at the Paris Aero Show in December 1922, though without its radiators. Over twenty months passed before the first flight of what became the SIMB AB 10. In this period the wing structure was revised and the span extended by 800 mm (2.6 ft) with more squared-off tips. The fin area was increased with a curved leading edge and the elevator trailing edge straightened. The SIMB AB 10 had its radiators close to each other, vertical and side by side, just ahead of the central undercarriage member. A late alteration braced the faired axle with vertical V-form struts on each side.

It flew in August 1924, piloted by Florentin Bonnet, but it was judged too radical and expensive and no production order was awarded. Only the one was built.

Engine: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 8Fb V-8, 220 kW (300 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed
Wingspan: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 19.20 m2 (206.7 sq ft)
Length: 7.00 m (23 ft 0 in)
Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
Gross weight: 1,350 kg (2,976 lb)
Maximum speed: 245 km/h (152 mph; 132 kn)
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
Crew: 1

Bernard AB.1 / AB.2 / AB.3 / AB.4

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The Adolphe Bernard AB 1 two engine biplane medium bomber, built near the end of the First World War, was the first original design from the Adolphe Bernard factory, which had previously produced SPAD aircraft to government contracts. It was a twin engine biplane bomber, carrying 600 kg (1,323 lb) of bombs.

Designed by Louis Béchereau, the AB 1 was a wooden three bay biplane, without stagger but with greater span on the upper planes. Only the lower wings carried dihedral. The outer and mid interplane struts were outward leaning pairs but the inner bay was defined by a complex of struts supporting the engines midway between the wings. Head on, these appeared as a V based on the lower wing but had M and W arrangements seen side-on above and below the engine. The AB 1 used Hispano-Suiza V-8 piston engines, of which type there was a surplus after the Armistice. It had ailerons on both upper and lower wings, externally connected.

The fuselage of the AB 1 was flat-sided, with a narrowed but flat topped decking. There was a gunner’s position in the extreme nose fitted with a 7.7 mm machine gun on a TO 4 mounting. The fuselage tapered rearwards with the cantilever tailplane, which carried separate elevators, mounted on top. The fin carried a horn balanced rudder which extended down to the bottom of the fuselage, moving between the elevators.

Its main undercarriage had a wide track, with twin wheels on short axles mounted below each engine on inverted V struts, themselves further braced to the lower fuselage longerons.

The first AB 1 was built in 1918 and flew in the late spring of that year and testing continued into early 1919. There were plans for a variant using more powerful Hispano-Suiza 8Ba engines, the AB 2, but this was not built. Post war, two civilian variants were started, the post-carrying AB 3 and the passenger only or passenger plus post AB 4. The AB 3, one of which was completed in 1920, could carry a useful load of 905 kg (1950 lb). The AB 4, which had the same engines as the proposed AB 2, carried a maximum of seven passengers. Its fuselage was on display at the 6th Paris Aero Show in December 1919, but it was not completed.

Ten AB 1s were produced after the Armistice but do not seem to have achieved squadron service.

Variants:

AB 1
The bomber version of 1918, as supplied to the Armée de l’Air. Eleven built.

AB 2
Proposed version with 200 hp (150 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8Ba engines. Not built.

AB 3
Post carrying civil version of AB 1, two Hispano 180 hp engines. One built 1920.

AB.3 M
Large twin boom monoplane bomber with three Hispano 12 G engines, two tractor and one pusher. One example started but unfinished.

AB.3 T
Civilian transport derivative of the AB.3 M, with three tractor engines. Project only.

AB 4
Airliner/post carrier version of AB 3, two Hispano 200 hp. Maximum seven passengers, depending on postal load. One part built 1919.

Specifications:

AB.1
Engine: 2 × Hispano-Suiza 8 Ab, 130 kW (180 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed (later 4)
Upper wingspan: 18.95 m (62 ft 2 in)
Length: 11.30 m (37 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.65 m (12 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 80.0 sq.m (861 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,570 kg (3,461 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,859 kg (6,303 lb)
Maximum speed: 167 km/h (104 mph; 90 kn)
Cruising speed: 135 kph
Service ceiling: 4,900 m (16,076 ft)
Rate of climb: 2.1 m/s (410 ft/min) to 2,000 m (6,560 ft)
Armament: 7.7-mm machine gun
Bombload: 600 kg / 1,323 lb
Crew: 2