Initially a Breguet design known as the Br.960 “Vultur” and designed as a conventional strike aircraft, the Br.960 grew into the Br.965 as French Navy requirements changed. The resulting Br.965 later became the definitive anti-submarine warfare system designated as the Br.1050 Alize (Tradewind).
Breguet received a development contract in 1954 for a three seat ASW version. Power was provided by a 2,100 eshp Rolls Royce Dart turboprop, and the first Dart powered prototype flew on 6 October 1956 followed by five pre-production aircraft.
The Br.1050 is a most distinct-looking aircraft, particularly in the design of the nose assembly. A crew of three monitors the various systems aboard the craft and the wings are designed to be carrier-friendly and fold for storage.
Fuel is in four tanks in the inner wings and one fuselage tank, with a total capacity of 462 Imp.Gal. There was provision for a 105 Imp.Gal auxiliary tank.
The Alize carried three depth charges or a torpedo in the internal weapon bay, sonobuoys in the wheel housings, and more depth charges, rockets, or two AS.12 air to-surface missiles on under-fuselage/wing stations. The racks under the inner wings hold two depth charges of up to 385 lb each.
Orders for 75 production Alizes were placed by the French Navy and the first was officially delivered on 20 May 1959. Sixty-five were in service by May 1961. Two French Navy squadrons operated Alizes on board the carriers Foch and Clemenceau.
A further contract for Alizes was received subsequently from the Indian Navy and 12 were delivered, plus two ex-French aircraft.
Breguet Br 1050 Alizé Engine: Rolls Royce Dart R Da 21, 2100 shp, 1450kW Length: 45.505 ft / 13.87 m Height: 14.993 ft / 4.57 m Wingspan: 51 ft 2 in / 15.6 m Wing area: 36.0 sq.m / 387.50 sq ft Max take off weight: 18081.0 lb / 8200.0 kg Empty weight: 5700 kg / 12566 lb Max. speed: 243 kts / 450 km/h Cruise speed: 370 km/h / 230 mph Service ceiling: 20505 ft / 6250 m Range: 1550 nm / 2870 km Maximum Range: 1,785miles (2,872km) Crew: 3 Armament: 1 x Tordedo or 3 x Depth Charges (held in an internal bay) 2 x Depth Charges (externally held) 6 x RP or 2 x air-to-surface missiles (underwing) Hardpoints: 8
Br 1050-ASM Engine: Rolls-Royce Dart R.Da.7 Wingspan: 51 ft 2 in Wing area: 387.5 sq.ft Length: 40 ft 4.25 in Loaded weight: 18.078 lb Max speed: 276 mph Endurance: 4 hr
In response to a NATO requirement for a single-seat lightweight strike fighter, Breguet designed a small mid-wing monoplane with swept wings and tail surfaces. The retractable tricycle landing gear was designed especially for operation on unprepared strips. The fuselage accommodated the pilot in an enclosed cockpit well forward, and housed a Bristol Orpheus BOr.3 turbojet. In competition with other proposals, Breguet’s design won an order for three prototypes, the first of these making its maiden flight on 26 July 1957. The second prototype incorporated minor aerodynamic improvements and had a slightly lengthened fuselage.
To enhance high-speed performance, improved area ruling was provided by the introduction of aerodynamic bulges at the wing roots, these serving also to house additional fuel. In this configuration, the Br.1001 Taon (gadfly) set an international speed record for a 1000km closed circuit, reaching 1046.65km/h at 7620m on 25 April 1958. Three months later, on 23 July, the Talon raised this figure again for the same record to 1075km/h. Despite this high-speed performance, development was discontinued, and only the two prototypes were built.
Breguet 1001 Taon Engine: 1 x Bristol Orpheus BOr.3 turbojet, 2200kg Take-off weight: 5560 kg / 12258 lb Loaded weight: 3425 kg / 7551 lb Wingspan: 6.80 m / 22 ft 4 in Length: 11.68 m / 38 ft 4 in Height: 3.7 m / 12 ft 2 in Wing area: 14.50 sq.m / 156.08 sq ft Max. speed: 1194 km/h / 742 mph
Initially a Breguet design known as the Br.960 “Vultur” and designed as a conventional strike aircraft, the Br.960 grew into the Br.965 as French Navy requirements changed. The resulting Br.965 aerodynamic test vehicle later became the definitive anti-submarine warfare system designated as the Br.1050.
The Br.965 was actually the second prototype Type 960 Vultur with the 1320 hp Armstrong Siddeley Mamba A.S.Ma.3 turboprop retained but the 5000 lb thrust Hispano-Suiza Nene 104 deleted, provision made for a third crew member, and radar equipment mounted on the wing.
The 965 first flew on 26 March 1955 and a pre-production batch of five generally similar Type 1050-ASM were ordered.
Louis Breguet produced his third “Gyroplane” in 1949; the Model G.IIE. The GIIE had a streamlined fuselage and T-tail and cabin space for a pilot and four passengers. Constructed on behalf of the Societe Francaise du Gyroplane by Breguet, the prototype had an all-metal fuselage with a tall fin and small T-tailplane. It had a cabin for five people and a fixed tricycle undercarriage. The 240hp Potez 9E engine was buried in the fuselage behind the cabin, and three-bladed all-metal rotors were used.
First flew on 21 May 1949, at Villacoublay-Velizy to the south of Paris, the G.IIE was found to be underpowered and it was re-engined with a 450hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior – in which form it became the G.III, first flown in 1950.
Following testing in 1951 development was discontinued and F-WFKC was donated to the Musee de l’Air.
Built to an official requirement of 1928 for a two-seat observation aircraft, the Breguet 270 was designed by a distinguished team led by Marcel Vuillerme and including Rene Dorand, Rene Leduc and Paul Deville. The prototype Bre.270.01 made its maiden flight on 23 February 1929 with Bucquet, chief Breguet test pilot, at the controls. A two-seat all-metal sesquiplane, it introduced a number of interesting design features. High-tensile steel replaced aluminium alloys, and the short fuselage, engine, lower wing and tail boom were all attached to a steel chassis, resulting in a very tough aircraft. Following early tests, the prototype was returned to the company’s Velizy-Villacoublay workshops where the tail unit was redesigned with a more angular fin/rudder assembly and lower-set horizontal tail-plane. Nine further prototypes under the Bre.270/271 designations were completed, two of them being displayed at the 1930 Paris Salon de I’Aeronautique. Despite a rather poor overall performance, orders for a total of 85 Breguet 270s were received during 1930, all for the French Armee de I’Air. In 1932, an order was placed for 45 examples of the Breguet 271, powered by an engine delivering 112kW more than the original Hispano-Suiza 12Hb, and capable of lifting an increased useful load. Several Bre.270s were subsequently modified for VIP liaison duties, with a ‘glasshouse’ covering both cockpits. In 1932 the original prototype registered F-AJRC and fitted with a supplementary ventral fuel tank, made a longdistance flight across Africa to Madagascar. Besides small batches of Bre.270s bought by Brazil and Venezuela, 15 examples of the Breguet 273 reconnaissance-bomber development were exported to Venezuela and six to China. The Bre.273 prototype had flown in April 1934. Powered by a 641kW Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs engine with a frontal radiator (all previous versions had ‘chin’ radiators), the Bre.273 had improved performance and bombload increased to 400kg.
Experimental versions of the basic design included the Bre.272 TOE fitted with a radial engine, initially a Gnome-Rhone 9K and finally a Renault 9Fas, and the Bre.274 with a 567kW Gnome-Rhone 14K. The latter, intended as a bomber, was subsequently operated by sporting Frenchwoman Maryse Hilsz, who flew it to victory in the 1936 Coupe Helene Boucher contest, averaging 277km/h. A series of experimental Breguet 41 twin-engined biplanes, which shared the same ‘chassis’ and tailboom construction as the Breguet 270, met with initial success and secured an order for the Armee de I’Air, which intended them for the ‘multiplace de combat’ role, capable of fighting, bombing or reconnaissance. With the appearance of more promising rival designs, the order was cancelled before deliveries had commenced.
Bre.272 TOE
On 1 January 1936 Bre.270s and Bre.271s were still in service in the French observation escadrilles. At the outbreak of World War II a number of Groupes Aeriens d’Observation (manned largely by reserve pilots) had Bre.27s on charge. These included GAOs 509, 543 and 547. A number of Bre.27s were shot down while on reconnaissance patrols across the Rhine before being withdrawn from service at the end of 1939.
Breguet 270 Engine: 1 x Hispano-Suiza 12Hb inline piston engine, 373kW Take-Off Weight: 2393 kg / 5276 lb Loaded Weight: 1756 kg / 3871 lb Wingspan: 17.01 m / 55 ft 10 in Length: 9.76 m / 32 ft 0 in Height: 3.55 m / 11 ft 8 in Wing Area: 49.67 sq.m / 534.64 sq ft Max. Speed: 236 km/h / 147 mph Ceiling: 7900 m / 25900 ft Range: 1000 km / 621 miles Armament: 3 x 7.7mm machine-guns, 120kg of bombs
The first prototype Bre 19.01 was displayed at the Salon Aeronautique in 1921 while fitted with a 335.3kW Breguet-Bugatti engine. However, for the first flight in March 1922 (piloted by Marcel Vuillermet), a similarly rated Renault 12Kb was installed.
The Bre 19 was mostly of metal construction, with fabric covering only the unequal-span wings, aft fuselage and tailplane. Large-scale production of A2 (observation) and B2 (day bomber) versions, powered by Renault 12K or Lorraine 12 engines, was undertaken; ‘Amenagement 1926’ machines having increased fuel capacity.
Breguet XIX main fuel tank
The aircraft featured a biplane design with I-type struts, the upper wing substantially wider than the lower section and the aircraft was armed with 3 (or 4) .303 machine guns. The landing gears were covered. It being a day-time bomber, it could carry a payload of over 1,500lbs of ordnance.
In 1923 the prototype won a Spanish international military aircraft contest and the 11 pre-production machines under construction in France were inspected by a Yugoslav delegation. Sales to both countries followed. More than 1,000 were built for French service, the type equipping many Groupes of the French Aeronautique Militaire from 1925; the last escadrilles did not relinquish their aircraft until 1935. Included in the total were a number of night fighter (Cn2) variants.
Spain imported 19 aircraft, and CASA then produced 26 aircraft from French components before building another 177 with Lorraine (127 with licence-built and the other 50 with imported engines). The type was widely used in action within Spain’s North African territories, and 135 were still on strength in 1936, the majority of them in Spain where each side had about 60 aircraft. The Nationalists bolstered their numbers with 20 ex-Polish machines to create five units (1-G-10 to 5-G-10), but after considerable ground-attack and coastal patrol service in 1937 the survivors were retired on both sides to training.
1923 Bre.19 for Poland
Foreign deliveries went to Poland (250), Yugoslavia (160, plus 190 built under licence at Kraljevo), Romania (108), China (74), Greece (30), Argentina (25), Turkey (20), Spain (19, plus 177 built under licence by CASA), Venezuela (12), Bolivia (15), Belgium (6, plus 146 built under licence by SABCA) and Brazil (5). One hundred and three Yugoslav Bre 19 were still in service in 1939, many powered by 313kW Gnome Rhone Jupiter radial engines.
From 1926 twenty Bréguet XIX B-2 were licence built by Türk Hava Kurumu / THK, assembled in the halls of the Türk Tayyare Cemiyeti / TTaC.
THK- Bréguet XIX B2
Many record flights were made by Breguet 19 including one made by the ‘Grand Raid’ version named Nungesser-Coli, which was flown from Paris to San Francisco and Tokyo to Paris by Diudonne Costes and Joseph Le Brix, covering 57,000km in 350 hours flying time, powered by a 600 hp Hispano-Suiza.
Pilot Lt Pelletier d’Olsy during the Paris-Peking rally of 1926
Piloted by Lucien Girier and Dordilly the first non-stop air crossing of the South Atlantic, from St.Louis, Mauritania to Natal, Brazil, on 14 October 1927 (2356 miles in 27 hours).
Also, in September 1929 a Breguet 19 ‘Super Bidon’ named Point d’Interrogation was flown by Costes and Bellonte from Le Bourget to Manchuria to set up a new world distance record of 7,905km. A year later it was the first aircraft to fly non-stop from Paris to New York. It also flew Paris-Jask, Iran (3472 miles in 32 hours) piloted by Coatws and Jean Rignot.
After a total of 74,400 miles in 650 flight hours it was donated to a museum by the Breguet company.
In 1928 the Breguet 19ter was developed into the improved Breguet 19.7, with a 484.3kW Hispano-Suiza 12Nb engine, new wings with semi-elliptical tips, redesigned vertical tail-plane and increased fuel tankage. Yugoslavia built 75 and a small batch built by Breguet went to Romania. Fifty similar aircraft were exported to Turkey in 1932 and were the last of the breed to be built by Breguet. Forty-eight Yugoslav-built Breguet 19.8 had Wright Cyclone 580kW radials with long chord cowlings, the last being completed in 1937. Yugoslav Breguets were used later by Croat forces, and two recaptured by Tito’s troops were flown during 1945.
2700 units of the Bréguet XIX were produced worldwide.
Engine: 1 x HS 12Nb, 480kW Take-off weight: 6700 kg / 14771 lb Empty weight: 2190 kg / 4828 lb Wingspan: 18.3-11.5 m / 60 ft 0 in-37 ft 9 in Length: 10.7 m / 35 ft 1 in Height: 4.1 m / 13 ft 5 in Wing area: 60.0 sq.m / 645.83 sq ft Max. speed: 245 km/h / 152 mph Ceiling: 6500 m / 21350 ft Range: 950 km / 590 miles Armament: 1 x 12.7mm machine-guns Crew: 2
Breguet Bre.19 Engine: 1 x Renault 12Kc water-cooled inline, 550hp. Length: 29.17ft (8.89m) Width: 48.56ft (14.80m) Empty Weight: 3,272lbs (1,484kg) Maximum Take-Off Weight: 5,093lbs (2,310kg) Maximum Speed: 149mph (239kmh; 129kts) Maximum Range: 497miles (800km) Service Ceiling: 25,591ft (7,800m; 4.8miles) Armament: 3 or 4 x .303in machine guns 1,543 lbs (700 kg) of external ordnance Accommodation: 2 Hardpoints: 2
Bre.19A2 Engine: l x Lorraine l2Ed, 336kW (450 hp). Wing span: 14.83m (48ft 7.75in). Length: 9.61m (31 ft 6.25in). Max T/O weight: 2500 kg (5,511 lb). Max speed: 133 mph at sea level. Operational range: 497 miles. Armament: 3 x 7.7-mm (0.303-in) mg plus light bombs.
Bréguet XIX B2 Engine: Lorraine 12Ed, 336kW (450 hp) Wingspan 14.83 m Wing area: 50 sq.m Length: 9,61 m Height: 3.69 m Empty weight: 1387 kg MTOW: 2500 kg Maximum speed: 214 km / h Range: 800 km Service ceiling: 7200 m
The Breguet 17 looked very similar to the Breguet 14. However, it had a larger tail fin and rudder, a shorter wingspan, a deeper under-camber and increased armament. The prototype of the Breguet 17 two-seat fighter flew in June 1918 but there were problems and the aircraft wasn’t available until after the Armistice. Production was planned for at least 1,000 series aircraft in 1919 but, after the Armistice, orders were cut back and only ten of the aircraft were built during the early 1920s.
The Bre.17, like the Bre.14, was an unequal-span two-bay biplane, powered by a 313kW Renault 12K engine and had much better performance. Ailerons were fitted to the upper wing only and were horn-balanced. The prototype was tested as a night-fighter, but no development in that role took place.
Production aircraft were powered by the Renault 12KI engine of slightly higher power, and had revised vertical tail surfaces. The rudder had rounded contours and was horn-balanced. Armament included twin Vickers machine-guns mounted on top of the engine cowling, synchronised to fire through the propeller disc, twin Lewis guns carried on a ring mount in the observer’s cockpit, and a third Lewis gun which could fire downwards and under the tail through a trap in the fuselage floor.
Bre.17s flew with a number of French escadrilles, but did not form the sole equipment of any single unit.
Engine: 1 x Renault 12KI, 336kW Take-Off Weight: 1840 kg / 4057 lb Wingspan: 14.28 m / 46 ft 10 in Length: 8.1 m / 26 ft 7 in Height: 3.42 m / 11 ft 3 in Wing Area: 43.3 sq.m / 466.08 sq ft Max. Speed: 218 km/h / 135 mph Ceiling: 7500 m / 24600 ft Armament: 5 x 7.7mm machine-guns
At the same as the Breguet 16 was being developed, a two-seat fighter, a version of the Breguet 14, was being built. It had originally been on the drawing board back in 1916, and had been submitted to the STAe for consideration. Rejected by them, the design had stayed on the drawing board, but the requirement for a long-range escort fighter at the beginning of 1918 caused it to be resurrected.
An enlarged version of the Breguet 14 appeared at the beginning of 1918, the Breguet 16 Bn2. This was designed for use as night-bomber, and the increased wingspan of 17m enabled it to carry sufficient fuel for long missions, as well as armament for major attacks.
The Breguet 16 had three pairs of inter-plane struts either side instead of two, and differently shaped vertical tail surfaces.
Maximum bomb load was 550kg. Breguet 16s remained in service in Morocco and Syria until March 1927.
The Breguet 13, or AV 1, as it was known at the time, had a conventional look. The prototype took to the air on 21 November 1916 powered by a 220 hp Renault engine, with Louis Bleriot at the controls. After extensive trials by company test pilots, the aircraft was delivered to Aviation Militaire in January 1917 for their assessment. It immediately became apparent that the aircraft was far in advance of anything the British or the Germans had.
The STAe (Section Technical Aeronautique) had stipulated earlier in November that they wanted four types of aircraft, a three seat, long-range reconnaissance plane, a three-seat bomber, a two-seat army co-operation plane, and a two-seat fighter. Breguet submitted the aircraft stating variants of the aircraft could cover all the requirements.
The Breguet 14 has two-bay wings, each with two aluminium spars, wooden leading-edge and ribs and fabric covering. The fuselage was of aluminium tube with fabric covering, except for metal top decking around the cockpits. Tail surfaces were fabric covered steel-tube structures. Conventional controls, with ailerons on the top wing only. Full span flaps on the lower wings dropped automatically at 70 mph to increase lift. Fuel was in two fuel tanks aft of the engine.
The 14B.2 bomber version was fitted with Michelin bomb racks.
Breguet factory in 1918 assembling XIV A2
On 6 March 1917, impressed by the aircraft, the Aviation Militaire ordered 150 Breguet AV 1s (Breguet 13) to be used for reconnaissance. At the same time, the Michelin Company received an order for 150 Breguet AV 2s (Breguet 14), the bomber version. Because the aircraft were almost identical, it was decided to use the same designation for both – Breguet 14. In the months up until September 1917, orders totalling another 475 aircraft were placed.
Because demand was now outstripping supply, other companies were brought in to build the Breguet 14 under licence: Ballenger (3), Darracq (330), Farman (22), Sidam (300) and Paul Schmitt (275). The Paul Schmitt Company was already in the process of building a bomber, but the Breguet 14 had to take precedence, although they still managed to complete their own orders.
As far as the military was concern, the Breguet 14 was adaptable. It underwent numerous modifications, none of which affected its performance. On some of the aircraft, the wingspan and flap size was reduced. Different engines were tried, and various types of armament were installed and tested. Among these was one of the first air ambulances – the Breguet 14S (Sanitaire). The fuselage was modified to enable two stretchers to be carried inside.
Almost every escadrille was supplied with the Breguet 14, including the overseas units. During the short period of the war in which the USAS was involved, they purchased almost 400 of the aircraft. The first of their bombardment units, the 96th Aero Squadron carried out their first mission in June 1918 using Breguet 14 bombers.
Renault 300 hp and metal fuselage
Powered by a Renault 12 Fcy water-cooled inline engine of 300hp / 238.5kW, the metal cowling was extensively louvred and a distinctive frontal radiator was fitted. The pilot was seated in the front and the gunner/observer behind. The Bre 14 A2 was armed with a single 7.7mm forward-fixed Lewis machine gun on the left side of the fuselage and an additional set of 7.7mm Lewis machine guns on a mounting in the rear cockpit. External stores could be carried when in the full bomber role.
Breguet XIV Observer position and camera
The prototype flew for the first time on 21 November 1916.
Türk Hava Kuvvetleri assembled 16 Bréguet XIV A-2 in 1924 for the Turkish Air Force.
The reconnaissance version was followed into production by the bomber in the summer of 1917, the latter differing in having Breguet-designed automatic trailing-edge flaps on the lower wings and transparent panels in the sides of the observer’s cockpit. Late production examples of both versions had horn-balanced ailerons, the B2 aircraft thus equipped doing away with the trailing-edge flaps.
Breguet XIV A2 camera position
The B2 version could be fitted with an additional Lewis gun that fired downwards through the rear fuselage floor and had a maximum bomb load of 256kg, carried on underwing racks. A single-seat long-range version, known as the Bre 14 B1, was also built in limited numbers during 1918, and was intended to bomb Berlin. In fact it was little used and never mounted an attack on the German capital. Breguet 14 also equipped American and Belgian units during World War I, some powered by Italian Fiat A-12 and A-12bis engines. The Bre 14 A2 reconnaissance version and the Bre 14 B2 bomber equipped at least 71 French escadrilles on the Western Front by November 1918 and were also used by units in Serbia, Greece, Macedonia and Morocco. Many ex-French aircraft were handed over to Poland in 1919 and these took part in the fighting with Russia in 1920. The type formed part of the initial equipment of the Czech air arm, and others were operated in Brazil, China (70 with 298kW Lorraine-Dietrich engines), Denmark, Finland, Greece, Japan, Portugal and Spain. The Spanish equipped four squadrons in Morocco in 1922, using them on missions against Riff tribesmen. A further 40 were obtained in 1923. A small number of float variants were also built, mostly with a central main float and small wingtip stabilising floats. During 1919 Breguet 14 made a number of long-distance flights and Louis Breguet founded the Compagnie des Messageries Aeriennes with them, making regular air mail flights linking Paris with Brussels and London. These Bre 14 had special mail containers fitted under the wings. A cabin version with provision for two passengers was built as the Breguet 14T. Later came the improved Bre 14Tbis and the three-passenger Breguet 14T2. During the 1920s, the Lignes Aeriennes Latecoere company used more than 100 Breguet 14 in various versions on its routes between Toulouse and Dakar (West Africa) and between Natal and Santiago di Chile in South America. The Br 14S air ambulance, adapted from the Breguet 14T, was widely operated in the 1920s during the campaigns in Morocco and Syria. Each could carry two stretchers in the rear fuselage.
The Forges et Ateliers de Construction Latecoere began its interest in aviation in 1917 with an aircraft works at Toulouse-Montaudron. In 1917 P-G Latécoère turned from making munitions to licence-building aircraft for the Aviation Militaire Française. Total wartime production amounted to 800 licenced Breguet XIV and Salmson 2A.2 2-seat reconaissance bomber biplanes.
Initially, these licenced airframes do not seem to have received Latécoère designations. The licenced XIVs were refered to as Breguet-Latécoère 14s (or sometimes Latécoère Breguets). The designation Laté 1 may have been applied to licenced Brequets but there is some confusion with a 1918 2-seat fighter (of original Latécoère design?).
Latécoère converted large number of Breguet XIVs for civilian used in 1921-23 (190 for use by Aéropostale alone). None of these civil conversions seem to have received distinct Laté-x designations. Namings were as follows:
The ‘Torpedo’ name comes from the designation of Breguet’s own 14T and 14Tbis passenger conversions. Like the 14Ts, the Breguet-Latécoère 14 Torpedo was an aft cabin conversion as distinct from the cabin 14 ‘Salon’ conversions.
Breguet XIX TF Super Bidon Point d’Interrogation
Production was spread over seven manufacturers, in addition to the Louis Breguet factory at Velizy, near Paris, and 7800 of the type were built up to 1926, more than 2,500 appearing after the war ended in 1918.
The Breguet 14s were sold to 22 countries. There were fourteen variations that included using a number of engines and a large number of modifications. The type would continually see service in frontline French forces up until 1932.
Br.13 Engine: 1 x Gnome, 160 hp Wingspan: 49 ft 7 in / 15.3 m Length: 27 ft 10 in / 8.5 m Height: 10 ft 9 in / 3.3 m Empty weight: 2094 lb / 950 kg Loaded weight: 2876 lb / 1350 kg Max speed: 62 mph / 100 kph Armament: 1 x Hotchkiss mg Bombload: Flechettes
Breguet Bre.14A Engine: 1 x Renault 12Fcx, 220kW Wingspan: 14.4 m / 47 ft 3 in Length: 9.0 m / 29 ft 6 in Height: 3.3 m / 10 ft 10 in Wing area: 49.0 sq.m / 527.43 sq ft Take-off weight: 1740 kg / 3836 lb Empty weight: 1140 kg / 2513 lb Fuel capacity: 57.2 gal Max. speed: 180 km/h / 112 mph Ceiling: 6000 m / 19700 ft Range: 900 km / 559 miles Crew: 2 Armament: 3 machine-guns, 300kg of bombs
Breguet Bre.14B2 Engine: 1 x Renault 12 Fcy water-cooled inline, 300hp. Length: 29.10ft (8.87m) Wing span: 48.92ft (14.91m) Height: 10.83ft (3.30m) Empty Weight: 2,282lbs (1,035kg) Maximum Take-Off Weight: 3,483lbs (1,580kg) Fuel capacity: 57.2 gal Maximum Speed: 121mph (195kmh; 105kts) Maximum Range: 301miles (485km) Cruise: 75 mph. Service Ceiling: 13,993ft (4,265m; 2.7miles) Armament: 1 x 7.7mm Lewis machine gun in forward-fixed firing position. 2 x 7.7mm Lewis machine guns on mounting in rear cockpit. Up to 573lbs of external ordnance. Accommodation: 2 Hardpoints: 4
Breguet XIX Super Bidon Point d’Interrogation Engine: Hispano-Suiza 12 LB, 650 hp Wingspan: 18.30 m Length: 10.72 m Height: 4.08 m Wing area: 59.94 m² Max weight: 6375 kg Max speed: 250 km/h Ceiling: 6700 m Range: 9000 km
Towards the end of the 1920s Louis Breguet returned to the study of helicopters and in 1929-30 took out patents for systems for stabilising aircraft of this type while in flight. In 1931 Louis Breguet formed the Syndicat d’Etudes du Gyroplane, with Rene Dorand (who had joined the Breguet company in 1924) as technical director, and began the design and construction of an experimental machine known as the Gyroplane Laboratoire.
In 1935, with the cooperation of René Dorand, Louis Breguet completed the coaxial Gyroplane Laboratoire, which was the first helicopter to meet the aviation industry’s control and performance expectations for a practical design. Returning to his lifelong fascination with helicopters, an older Louis Breguet oversaw but did not participate directly in the construction and testing of this compact single-seater.
Intended originally to be powered by a 240hp Breguet-Bugatti engine, it consisted basically of a steel-tube open framework supporting the engine, fuel tank, flight controls and pilot, with rear booms carrying the plywood-covered tail surfaces. An unusually wide track main undercarriage was mounted on outriggers from the central framework, with a small tailwheel and a nosewheel to prevent the machine tipping forward on landing. The transmission from the big radial engine drove a pair of co-axial, counter-rotating, 2-blade metal rotors whose blades had an aerofoil section and an unusually large diameter. One rotor shaft turned inside the other, each rotor thus cancelling out the torque created by the other. Novel features for the time were the use of a cyclic pitch control for lateral and longitudinal movement, and collective pitch for movement in the vertical plane.
The Gyroplane was badly damaged in a ground accident at the end of 1933. Rebuilt with extensive modifications and tested conservatively on the ground, it resumed flight tests in June 1935. Breguet then committed it to maneuvering, speed, altitude, and endurance requirements far in excess of anything so far accomplished by a helicopter.
The Gyroplane Laboratoire set four world records in 1936 when test pilot Maurice Claisse flew the craft at 98 kph (61 mph) (September 11), to a height of 158 m (518 ft), over a distance of 43 km (27 miles), and for a duration of 62 minutes.
In 1937 (after a similar achievement by the Fw 61 in Germany) it made its first ‘engine off’ landing using autorotation. The Gyroplane was badly damaged in June 1939 during autorotation tests. It was subsequently destroyed by Allied bombing of historic Villacoublay Airfield in 1943.
It is not certain whether the Bugatti engine was ever installed; the aircraft did most or all of its flying with the more powerful Hispano engine.
Engine: Hispano-Suiza, 225kW Rotor diameter: 15.89m Length: 8.92m Height: 2.79m Max take-off weight: 1950kg Empty weight: 1430kg Speed: 98 kph (61 mph) Ceiling: 158 m (518 ft Range: 43 km (27 miles) Endurance: 62 minutes. Crew: 1
