It was designed in 1934 by Marcel Riffard, designer who would design other successful aircraft like the Caudron Simoun. The Goéland (french word for 'seagull') was a cantilever low-wing construction made out of wood and steel. Wood in the wing and fuselage, steel tube for the top and the back of the fuselage. The wing was equipped with flaps all along the trailing edge, under the fuselage too and retractable landing gear.
The prototype, C.440, of which 3 exemplars were made, flew for the first time on 5th March 1935 and by September it was sent to Istres to be officially tested by Caudron-Renault. The nose section was occupied by a baggage compartment, accesible by a lateral door. The crew was composed of two, pilot and co-pilot and had capacity for six passengers. It was produced for a very long period of time, as it was manufactured from 1935 until 1948, in several versions (C.440 to C.449) with modifications being related to Renault engines and slight variation in the structural design.
The C.441 was the name given to the second prototype of the C.440 as it was fitted with a pair of Renault 453 engines which delivered a power of 200 hp each. That aircraft, registered as F-ANKX was painted in Air France's colours for a demonstration flight on 31st August 1935.
The next big version was the C.444, retained the same wing style as the C.441, though bulkheads were added to the lower surface and the fin was rounded. It was powered by two Renault 6Q-00/01 contra-rotating engines, which would become the standard for every Goéland produced from that model onwards. A total of 17 machines of this variant were made.
The main version, the C.445 was externally almost identical to the C.444, though the aforementioned wing bulkheads were removed. Around 650 machines of this type were manufactured between 1936 and 1940 when France surrendered. It got the interest of the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) who asked Caudron to develop a military version with flexible interior fittings for either passengers or cargo. This version could also be employed for pilot and crew training and was called C.445M, was ordered on 18th March 1938 and a total of 90 machines were built.
A sanitary version was also made, the C.447 with capacity for four stretchers and a nurse and only 25 machines were made. The C.448 was a direct derivative of the C.444 with new supercharged Renault engines.
In civilian service it was employed in limited numbers, as three machines were used in 1936 by Air France, which, one year later, sold them to the Spanish Republic via a front company. Air Bleu used a single C.444 in 1937 and three C.445 in 1939 in the Paris-Pau night mail line. Air Afrique Regale used a total of seven C.444 in their secondary aerial routes between Gao and Bamako in the French Sudan. Aéromaritime, another French airline, operated two Goélands, on the Gao-Niamey route. Together with these airlines, many were sold to private owners and governmental charges, such as the governor-general of Madagascar to which post four Goélands were assigned.
In mainland France, the Armée de l'Air and the Aéronavale (French Navy's Air Arm) employed the type in the transport and trainer roles. They served in the Armée de l'Air's schools of Istres and Avord and also for liason purposes. In 1939 the French Navy placed an order for 60 machines which were transferred to several training and servitude sections.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudron_C.440_Goéland
2. https://www.passionair1940.fr/Armee%20de%20l%27Air/Appareils/Transport/Caudron-Goeland/EN-Caudron-goeland.htm
3. https://aviatechno.net/vilgenis/46-49/caudron440.php (translated)
4. https://www.valka.cz/Caudron-C-440-Goeland-t168115 (translated)
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