Breguet 14

Infobox Aircraft
name=Breguet 14


caption=Polish Breguet 14 during the Kiev Offensive
type=Bomber
manufacturer=Breguet
designer=
first flight=November 21 1916
introduced= 1917
retired=
status=
primary user="Aéronautique Militaire"
more users=US Army Air Service Polish Air Force
produced= 1917-1928
number built=ca 7,800
program cost=
unit cost=
developed from=
variants with their own articles=The Breguet 14 was a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war. Apart from its widespread usage, it was noteworthy for becoming the first aircraft in mass production to use large amounts of metal rather than wood in its structure. This allowed the airframe to be lighter than a wooden airframe of the same strength, in turn making the aircraft very fast and agile for its size, able to outrun many of the fighters of the day. Its strong construction was able to sustain much damage, it was easy to handle and had good performance. The Breguet 14 is considered one of the best aircraft of the war.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed by Louis Breguet, who flew the first prototype (originally designated Breguet AV Type XIV) on its first flight on November 21 1916. The design was a come-back for Breguet to designing conventional planes, after designing pusher type aircraft Breguet BUM. Later that month, the French Army's "Section Technique de l' Aéronautique" (S.T.Aé.) issued requirements for four different new aircraft types. Breguet submitted his new design for two of those categories - reconnaissance aircraft, and bomber.

Following evaluation in February, the Breguet 14 was accepted for both these roles, and in March, orders were placed for 150 reconnaissance aircraft and 100 bombers, designated Breguet 14A.2 and 14B.2 respectively (by 1918 written Breguet XIV A2/B2). The A.2 was equipped with a camera, with some carrying radios, while the lower wing of the 14B.2 was modified slightly in order to accommodate bomb racks (built by Michelin). Both variants featured automatic flaps but these were not fitted to production aircraft.

Other minor variants flown in small numbers during the war included the 14B.1 long-range single-seater bomber, the 14GR.2 long-range reconnaissance, the 14H floatplane, the 14S air ambulance and the 14Et.2 trainer. Later variants 14bis A2 and 14bis B2 featured improved wing. An improved variant with bigger wings was the Breguet 16. There was also the two-seater fighter Breguet 17, which was built in small numbers only.

Operational history

Following successful deployment by the French, the type was also ordered by the Belgian Army (40 aircraft) and the US Army Air Service (over 600 aircraft). Around half the Belgian and US aircraft were fitted with Fiat A.12 engines due to shortages of the original Renault 12F. By the end of World War I, some 5,500 Breguet 14s had been produced.

The type continued to be widely used after the war, equipping the French occupation forces in Germany and being deployed to support French troops in the colonies. A special version was developed for the harsh conditions encountered overseas, designated 14TOE ("Théatres des Operations Extérieures"). These saw service in putting down uprisings in Syria and Morocco, in Vietnam and in France's attempted intervention in the Russian Civil War. The last trainer examples were not withdrawn from French military service until 1932.

Other air arms using the type included Brazil (30), China (70), Czechoslovakia (10), Denmark, Finland (38), Greece, Japan, Siamese Air Force, Uruguay (9) and Spain. Polish Air Force used 158 Breguet 14s, about 70 of them were used in combat in the Polish-Soviet war. In Japan, Breguet 14s were licence built by Nakajima.

Post war, Breguet had also begun to manufacture dedicated civil versions. The 14T.2 Salon carried two passengers in a specially modified fuselage. An improved version of this was the 14Tbis manufactured as both a land-plane and seaplane. The 14Tbis also formed the basis of the improved 14Tbis Sanitaire air ambulance version, and 100 mail planes custom-built for Pierre Latécoère's fledgling airline, Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère. After changing name to CGEA, the airline used among others 106 Breguet 14s for flights over Sahara desert. The 18T was a single 14T re-engined with a Renault Ja engine and equipped to carry four passengers. When production finally ceased in 1928, the total of all versions built had reached 7,800 (according to other sources, 8,000 or even 8,370).

Operators

;BEL;BRA;China as ROC;CZS;DNK;ESA: (one aircraft only);FIN;FRA;flag|Greece|old;GUA;JPN;flag|Lithuania|1918: (2 aircraft);flagicon|Iran|1925 Persia: (2 aircraft);POL;POR;ROM;flag|Serbia|1882;USSR;SWE: (one aircraft only);flagicon|Thailand Siam;TUR;USA;URY;flagicon|Yugoslavia|kingdom Kingdom of Yugoslavia

pecifications (14B.2)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref={name of first source}

crew=Two
capacity=
length main=8.87 m
length alt=29 ft 1 in
span main=14.36 m
span alt=47 ft 1 in
height main=3.30 m
height alt=10 ft 10 in
area main=47.50 m²
area alt=511 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main=1,010 kg
empty weight alt=2,227 lb
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=1,536 kg
max takeoff weight alt=3,386 lb
more general=

engine (prop)=Renault 12Fe
type of prop=
number of props=1
power main=224 kW
power alt=300 hp
power original=

max speed main=175 km/h
max speed alt=95 knots, 109 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main=900 km
range alt=486 nm, 560 mi
ceiling main=6,000 m
ceiling alt=19,685 ft
climb rate main=292 m/s
climb rate alt=960 ft/min
loading main=32 kg/m²
loading alt=6.6 lb/ft²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=0.14 W/kg
power/mass alt=0.09 hp/lb
more performance=
armament=
* 1 × fixed .303 Vickers machine gun
* 2 × flexible .303 Lewis Gun for observer
* 300 kg (660 lb) of bombs
avionics=

References

*Tomasz J. Kowalski, "Samolot Breguet 14", TBiU no.197, Warsaw 2002, ISBN 83-11-09461-6 (Polish language)

ee also

aircontent

related=
* Breguet 16 - Breguet 17

similar aircraft=
* Airco DH.4 - Airco D.H.9 - Salmson 2

sequence=
* ← 6 - 11 - 12 - 14 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 22 →

lists=
* List of military aircraft of France
* List of bomber aircraft
* List of reconnaissance aircraft

see also=