The 1918 Curtiss Pursuit is possibly a rebuild or modification from something surplus, possibly JN-4, and OX-5 powered.
Bought by B Larsen and E E Terrell of Oakland in 1928 and registered NC471 c/n TL100sub, it was reported overhauled in 1929, and registration cancelled by CAA on 7 May 1930 for unspecified reason.
An Australian ultralight circra 1983.
The Sanchez-Besa Demountable Biplane (Type Militaire) was a variant of Jose Luis Sanchez-Besa’s Renault powered 1912 biplane, identified as his third design.
Purportedly Salmson powered with slightly different dimensions. The tow vehicle is a 1910 model Delage type French roadster.
The 1909 Sanchis was designed and built by Sanchis in France
Span: 39’4″
Length: 37’9″
Hungary, 1948
The Beaumont Cup races were to be held in Istra, but by decision of the French club (l’Aéro-Club de France) they did not take place for several reasons, one of which was the lack of participants: only 5 aircraft were registered, all of which were French. Salmson created the SB 3 aircraft (numbered “5”), which was tested by Potez test pilot Gustave Douchy.
Salmson-Béchereau SB 3 originated from SB 2 and was distinguished by a rather stocky shape and a huge nose. Its wing was supported by Y-shaped struts, which relied on the oil-pneumatic shock absorbers of the chassis design Louis Bechereau, the patent for which he received July 6, 1922 (No.553710). The mechanism was also equipped with cushioning cords hidden in these struts. The 520-horsepower Salmson 18 CMb engine installed on the aircraft was supposed to be cooled with Lamblin sheet radiators located in the front edge of the wing next to the fuselage. The skin of the aircraft consisted of varnished unbleached canvas. During the tests, terribly inadequate engine cooling was detected and speed tests were restricted. It was sent to Istres in October 1923 where Loizeau, an engineer, installed several straight lines on the radiators increasing their area.
According to the Beaumont Cup race Rules, the races were supposed to be international, the cup was played in France during two competitions, each of which consisted of a flight at a maximum speed of 300 kilometers. The winner received a prize of 200,000 francs, which was to be divided into two parts of 25,000 francs each (the first intended for the pilot, and the second to the manufacturer of the aircraft, which showed the best speed in both flights) and two annual awards of 75,000 francs. The races in Istra took place on June 23, 1924 along a circular route 50 kilometers long, the starting point of which was the center of military aviation (Center d’Aviation militaire). At least fifteen days before the race, the aircraft had to complete a five-minute test flight. Observation with a pen went from 08-00 to 20-00, and during this period rivals had to start. Each participant had the right to start, but in case of incomplete passage of the route or the wrong route, the plane had the right to re-flight. The cup cannot be won at a speed less than 290 km / h.
In order to race this new Cup, Salmson upgraded its SB 3 (sometimes referred to unofficially as SB 3bis). In order to increase aerodynamic characteristics, the wing gained increased wingspan (10 m) and surface area (19 m²). The center of gravity of the aircraft was located at 35% of the length of the wing chord. However, the resistance caused by the thick struts of the first configuration led Beshero to install on the SB 3 bis braces above and below the wing. The engine drove a four-blade propeller formed by two two-bladed propellers mounted relative to each other at an angle of 90° with 60 cm in length. This displacement relative to the axis caused vibrations; to fix this, a flat cylindrical screen was placed in the gap between the screw and the engine. The sides of this deformable thin sheet absorbed spontaneous movement of the screws.
In late May 1924, Beshero had not yet found a pilot for the SB 3 bis. Thanks to the assistance of the Assistant Secretary of State for Aeronautics (sous-secrétaire d’Etat à l’Aéronautique), a volunteer was found – Lieutenant Georges Férigoule in Istra. After the test flight, Ferigul found a rather limited lateral control, but acknowledged that the aircraft has some interesting features. The only drawback was the completely insufficient cooling of the “forced” engine, which developed 800 hp on take-off. To solve this problem, Salmson installed a new pump to accelerate the passage of water in the radiators. But during the flight, the thin radiator bands were crushed by an overly powerful pump. The tank with engine cooling water, placed in an L-shaped fairing in front of the pilot, was depressurized and burned Ferigul’s face. Fortunately, his eyes were protected by flying goggles … Forced to land. the pilot refused to continue the competition that was won by Sadi Lecointe on the Nieuport 29.
1925 was the last race for the cup with this name. the new rules were almost identical to the rules of 1924, except that victory in the race required speeds of at least 300 km / h and that flights were conducted from 07-00 to 17-00. Only two aircraft fought for their victory: Nieuport-Delage with a 500-horsepower Hispano engine and the Salmson Béchereau SB-3, which again underwent changes. Since the designation SB 3ter (designation not found in the company’s documentation). To participate in races in 1925, Beshero installed a wing with a span of 8 meters and an area of 15 m² on SB 3 bis; The water circulation system on the machine was also revised.
On October 18, two competitors attended the launch: Sadi-Lekuant at Nieuport-Delage and Ferigul at Salmson-Béchereau. Ferigul took off first at 07-30, but after passing ½ turn he had to land. However, at 10-15 he performed a second take-off. However, after two laps, he landed because the engine was very hot. Despite numerous attempts to improve the cooling system, satisfactory results were not obtained. It can be added that the empty weight of SB 3 ter was 1350 kg, and the total weight reached 1580 kg. The maximum speed of SB 3 was estimated at 360 km / h, making it the fastest modification of SB 3.
SB 3 ter ended its days as a flying laboratory for the final tests of the 18 CMb engine, which was a supercharged version of the 18 CMa. It was then suspended from the ceiling of the Salmson workshop in Billancourt, where during the occupation was destroyed by fire during the Allied bombing.
SB-3
1923
Engine: 1 x 520 hp Salmson 18CMb
Wingspan: 8.16 m
Wing area: 17 m²
Length: 8.10 m
Empty weight: 1350 kg
Total weight: 1700 kg
Wing load: 100 kg / m²
Power load: 3.1 kg / hp
Max speed: 350 km / h
Range: 350 km
SB-3 / SB-3a
faired lower struts
SB 3bis / SB-3b
1924 ‘open’ struts, kingpost pylon
Engine: 520 hp Salmson 18CMb
Wingspan: 10 m
Wing area: 19 m²
Length: 8.10 m
Height: 2.50 m
Empty weight: 1400 kg
Normal takeoff weight: 1620 kg
Maximum speed: 320 km / h
Practical range: 350 km
Crew: 1
SB-3 ter / SB-3c
1925
Wingspan: 8.00 m
Wing area: 15 m²
Empty weight: 1350 kg
Total weight: 1580 kg
Max speed est: 360 km / h
The Salmson Cricri (“Cricket”) was a French light aircraft designed by Paul Deville. Salmson launched work on this new aircraft in 1935, intended primarily for the military for intermediate and advanced training missions.
It was a conventional, parasol-wing monoplane with fixed tailskid undercarriage and seating in tandem open cockpits for the pilot and passenger. The negative dihedral wing had the distinction of having a very small forward sweep. A very large tail had been installed. Built mainly in canvas wood but also with metal inserts, it was powered by a Salmson 9Adr engine of 60hp driving a three-blade metal and wood propeller. A relatively high, relatively wide gauge fixed landing gear had been installed on the aircraft. The pilot and his passenger took place in two tandem open cockpits, separated from each other.
Officially designated D.6 by the manufacturer, it received the name of Cricri. Its first flight took place on April 14, 1936. Immediately thirty planes were acquired by the Air Force.
Shortly after receipt of the first of these aircraft, the Navy ordered two fairly similar aircraft for the intermediate training of combat aircraft pilots. These two aircraft received the official designation of D.6-3.
In September 1936, the Air Ministry placed an order for a hundred aircraft under the so-called Popular Aviation program which aimed to promote tourist aviation for the greatest number. These planes were therefore sent to schools and flying clubs across the country.
When World War II broke out in September 1939, production of the Cricri was still underway and several copies were urgently ordered for Air Force schools. But several dozen of them were camouflaged and received tactical codes from combat aircraft. Although generally disarmed, some machines carried in the rear position a mobile Darne 7.5mm machine gun for its own defense. They were widely used for the observation of the battlefield, border surveillance in particular along the Maginot line, or even the direction of ground artillery fire. At least half of the French military D.6s were used for missions other than training.
The majority of Cricri were used during all the French part of the war, and when in 1940 the Franco-German armistice was signed several planes joined the ranks of the German aviation for various secondary missions like the towing of gliders or transport and light postal flights.
345 were built.
Following the war, CFA attempted to revive the design as the Cricri Major. This differed from its predecessor mainly in having a more powerful engine and an enclosed cabin.
Variants:
D6 Cricri
Engine: 1 × Salmson 9 ADr, 45 kW (60 hp)
Wingspan: 9.66 m (31 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 16.0 m2 (172 ft2)
Length: 6.89 m (22 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in)
Empty weight: 287 kg (633 lb)
Gross weight: 575 kg (1,268 lb)
Maximum speed: 150 km/h (94 mph)
Range: 500 km (310 miles)
Service ceiling: 2,450 m (8,040 ft)
Crew: One pilot
Capacity: 1 passenger
329 built
D63 Cricri
dedicated flight trainer version
2 built
The Salmson 2 (given the military designation Salmson 2 A2) developed from a requirement to replace the Sopwith 1½ Strutter and Dorand A.R. reconnaissance aircraft in the A2 (tactical reconnaissance) role to a 1916 requirement. Salmson had built the 1½ Strutter under license, and the Salmson 2, while an original design, owed more to the Sopwith than to the earlier Salmson-Moineau. The aircraft was of conventional construction with a two-bay biplane configuration, powered by the company’s own Salmson 9Z water-cooled radial engine of 230 bhp. Some minor control problems were quickly resolved in early testing, but the main defect of the Salmson 2 was that the pilot and gunner were seated rather far apart, making communication difficult.
Tested early 1917, with a Salmson (Canton-Unne) engine, production was ordered after trials on 29 April 1917, and deliveries were underway by October of that year. Around 3,200 Salmson 2s were built in France, 2,200 by Salmson and the remainder by the Latécoère, Hanriot, and Desfontaines, companies. Some of these were Salmson 2 D.2 dual control advanced training aircraft.
Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft in use with the French army and the American Expeditionary Force’s aviation units in 1918. At the end of the First World War, one-third of French reconnaissance aircraft were Salmson 2s.
In addition to its service with the French army, the Salmson 2 served during the First World War with United States air units. Some 700 were purchased, and were generally successful.
Post-war, Salmson 2s were purchased by Czechoslovakia, and remained in service until 1924. Others were transferred to Poland, but were withdrawn by 1920, and replaced by Bristol F.2Bs. Japan undertook license production as the “Army Type Otsu 1”, also known as the Kawasaki-Salmson. The number of aircraft built in Japan is unclear: 300 were built by Kawasaki, and the same quantity by the Imperial Japanese Army’s Tokorozawa supply depot, although the total number of aircraft produced may have been as high as 1,000.
Variants:
Salmson 4
An enlarged version fitted with light armour, designed to meet the Ab 2 ground attack role. Limited production in 1918, but cancelled at the end of the war.
Salmson 5
Modified Salmson 2 for A2 role, no production.
Salmson 7
Modified Salmson 2 for A2 role. The main change was that the pilot and gunner were seated back-to-back in a single cockpit. Production was planned on a very large scale, but the end of the war resulted in cancellation of the contract.
Salmson Limousine
Also known as Salmson 2 Berline. After the First World War, a number of ex-military Salmson 2s were converted into civilian passenger aircraft.
Military operators
France
United States – American Expeditionary Force
Belgian Air Force – One aircraft only.
Czechoslovakia
Imperial Japanese Army
Peruvian Air Force – One aircraft only.
Polish Air Force
Spain – One aircraft only.
Soviet Air Force
Specifications
Engine: 1 × Salmson 9Za radial piston engine, 172 kW (230 hp)
Length: 8.5 m (27 ft 10½ in)
Wingspan: 11.75 m (38 ft 6½ in)
Height: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 37.27 sq.m (401 sq.ft)
Empty weight: 780 kg (1,716 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,290 kg (2,838 lb)
Maximum speed: 188 km/h (101 knots, 116 mph) at sea level
Range: 500 km (270 nm, 310 mi)
Service ceiling: 6,250 m (20,500 ft)
Time to altitude: 2,000 m (6,562 ft) in 7 minutes 13 seconds
Armament: 1 × forward synchronized 0.303 in Vickers machine gun, 2 × rear, ring-mounted 0.303 in Lewis Guns
Crew: Two, pilot and gunner
In late 1915 Salmson turned to airplane construction. The Salmson company’s first entry into aircraft design came with the 1916 Salmson-Moineau S.M. 1. The S.M.1 A3 (later re-designated Salmson Sal. 1 A3) was developed by René Moineau for the Salmson company from 1915 to meet the French military A3 specification, which called for a three-seat long range reconnaissance aircraft with strong defensive armament. The S.M.1 was unconventional, powered by a single Salmson 9A liquid-cooled radial engine mounted in the fuselage powering two airscrews mounted between the wings with a system of gears and drive shafts. This layout was chosen by Moineau to minimise drag. The twin airscrew layout allowed a wide field of fire for the two gunner-observers, one seated in the nose and one behind the pilot. Both gunners operated ring-mounted flexible 37 mm APX cannon built by Arsenal Puteaux. The airframe itself was relatively conventional, the boxy fuselage mounted on a system of struts between the wings. The undercarriage included a nose wheel, intended solely to prevent the aircraft nosing over, and a tail skid.
One aircraft may have been fitted experimentally with a Salmson (Canton-Unne) P.9 engine. A single S.M.2 S2 aircraft, with an additional Salmson 9A engine in the nose driving a conventional tractor airscrew, was tested with poor results, due to inadequate engine cooling, in 1918.
The aircraft was tested in early 1916 and was sufficiently successful to receive an order for 100 aircraft although the performance was inferior to the Sopwith 1½ Strutter. In service the S.M.1 was not successful. The nose-wheel undercarriage would collapse if misused and this caused many accidents. The complicated transmission system was difficult to service in the field and the performance of the aircraft was poor. It appears that around 155 S.M.1s were built in total. The type was largely withdrawn from service in 1917 but a small number of aircraft remained in use until late 1918. Some S.M.1s were supplied to the Imperial Russian Air Service, but they were no better liked in Russia.
Variants
S.M.1 A3
The production 3-seat reconnaissance aircraft, powered by a single Salmson 9A2c radial engine laterally mounted in the fuselage driving two propellers via shafts and gearboxes.
S.M.2 S2
An enlarged S.M.1, for the S2 2-seater ground attack role, with extended upper wings with additional bracing, reinforced undercarriage and a second Salmson 9A2c in the nose driving a 2-bladed tractor propeller directly.
Specifications:
S.M.1 A3
Engine: 1 × Salmson 9A2c, 180 kW (240 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch propellers, one each side driven by shafts via gearboxes
Wingspan: 17.475 m (57 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 70 m2 (750 sq ft)
Length: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Gross weight: 2,050 kg (4,519 lb)
Crew: 3
Endurance: 3 hours
A two seat tandem gyrocopter. Pre-rotator spins up to 350 rpm. Airframe is bolted square and round tube aluminium. Shock mounted landing gear.
Engine: 64 hp Rotax 582
Prop: 2 blade wood standard, 3 blade composite optional
Rotor blades: Composite 23’ NACA 23012
All Aero 