Bréguet 14, part two. North American Users.

 

The Bréguet 14 was a French multiuse biplane bomber which also served as a reconnaissance aircraft during the World War I years and beyond. It was mass produced and was used all throughout the world with the United States of America (USA), being one of those users.

When USA  entered World War I, they did it under the idea that a powerful bombing force could help to shorten - or even finish - the war. The Aviation Section of the US Signal Corps had not, however, indigenous aircraft to perform aerial raids, so they had acquired some Liberty-engined Airco DH-4 bombers. However, as the Frenchs promised to deliver 1.500 Bréguet 14, they accepted the deal as an interim solution while waiting for the DH-4. Eventually, at the day of the German Armistice, only 290 were delivered. 

The initial American order comprised just 376 being 100 of them of the Et.2 trainer variant, 229 Br.14A.2 recon aircraft and 47 Br.14B.2 bombers with around half of them being powered by the Italian Fiat A-12 or A-12bis engine. 

The first Br.14s were eventually delivered to the American squadrons based in French and so, the 96th Aero Squadron was the first unit to fly the Br.14B.2 operationally, having done some previous training at the Michelin Brothers testing field on 1st December 1917.

The 96th Aero Squadron (which was also the first American operational day bombardment unit) took 10 Br.B2 to Amanty airfield, in the Meuse department on 18th March 1918. According to various reports, the supplied machines were in poor state and, given the lack of French supplies, squadron's mechanics had to make use of modified farm machinery parts. Their first raid took place on 12th June. However, the Br.14B.2s were in such bad condition that many other raids had to be cancelled. Given the bad status of the aircraft, no American day bomber units took part in the Chateau-Thierry offensive in July, with the exception of a smaller raid carried out on 10th July when six Br.14B.2 took off to bomb the railroad yards at Conflans, in the Seine-et-Oise department, with the result of all the six pilots being captured because of their lack of experience.

On 10th September 1918, two days before the beginning of the St. Mihiel offensive, the 96th Aero Squadron was assigned to the 1st Day Bombardment Group. During this offensive, they carried out ground support missions and bombed rail centers. Given the muddy state of many airfields, a lot of Br.14s were damaged when landing, causing the lost of 16 men and 14 airplanes in just five days; the worst loss rate of any American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during the war. The 96th had to be reconstituted with new crew members and aircraft and was ready again on time for the Meuse-Argonne offensive in September. However, because of bad weather, they only could fly for two days in November. 

Other squadrons in the 1st Day Bombardment Group were equipped with the Liberty-engined Airco DH-4. It was, however, believed that the Br.14B.2 was better as the Gorrel Report stated that the Br.14 was faster at higher altitudes, carried a heavier amount of bombs and was equipped with an excellent defensive weaponry system. It had also a protected upper fuel tank and a droppable lower fuel tank. To top it off, the Michelin bomb rack was also praised by the report.

Other American units that employed the Br.14 were the 9th Aero Squadron (AKA 9th Night Reconnaissance Squadron) which employed the Br.14A.2 recon variant on various day observation missions, as well in various night recon and harassment missions, these last ones with mixed results. This unit operated over the Toul section of the front from 30th August to 11th September 1918 and saw action in both St. Mihiel and Argonne offensives. 

The US Army's 99th Corps attached observation squadron, had also some Br.14A.2 for a short period of time. 

The trainer variant, Br.14Et.2 was also employed by various Aviation Instruction Centres of the AEF in France, among them, the 7th and the 2nd in Aulnat and Tours aerodromes respectively.

After the war one single Br.14B.2 was shipped to the USA, where it was modified with corrugated-metal fuselage, fitted with floaters, converted into a transport aircraft and received the name of Yackey BRL-12 Transport, as the conversion was made by Yackey Aircraft Company, in Chicago. 

One machine was converted in 1926 for Dr. Matthew Stirling to take part in his New Guinea Expedition at the cost of $7.500 of the time. After two months subjected to the moist tropical climate of New Guinea, the glue on the wooden floats deteriorated and the aircraft was abandoned at the banks of the Mamberamo river in New Guinea.

Sources:

1st Flying Machines Press - French Aircraft of the First World War

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bréguet_14

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/96th_Aero_Squadron

4th http://all-aero.com/index.php/57-planes-x-y-z/18683-yackey-brl-12

BAT F.K.22/23 Bantam

Friedrich Koolheven's first design for the British Aerial Transport Company (BAT) was the F.K.22 single-seat fighter. It was a two-bay wooden biplane and was planned to be powered by a 120hp A.B.C. Mosquito radial engine, but, as that engine failed, it was fitted with a 170hp A.B.C. Wasp I in the first and third aircraft, while the second aircraft was fitted with a 100hp Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine and was the first aircraft to fly at Martlesham Heath in January 1918.
Originally six of them were ordered as development aircraft but three of them were built as the F.K.23 Bantam I with the second prototype being renamed as Bantam II. The Bantam I had the same wooden structure but it was slightly smaller. Two more prototypes were built, followed by at least 9 development aircrafts. One of them was delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment on 26th July 1918. One more was delivered to Villacoublay, in France to be evaluated by the French Aéronautique Militaire and a further one more was delivered to the United States Army Air Corps at Wright field in 1922.
Given the unsatisfactory spin characteristics of the prototypes, the production Bantam had to be modified. However, due to continuous engine problems and the downsizing of the Royal Air Force after the World War I, made that no further orders for the Bantam to be placed. Koolhoven returned to the Netherlands after the war with one aircraft which was re-engined with a 200hp Armstrong-Siddeley Lynx radial engine and several examples were used as civil racing aircrafts.
As we couldn't find graphical evidence of most of these ones, the French, Dutch and American ones should be considered as speculatives.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAT_Bantam
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 - Foreign Users part two

Note: Just another post to cope with the new nation tags. Nothing new.

• South Africa: The SE.5a was the backbone of the newly created South African Air Force in 1921. It may have taken part in the suppression of the Second Rand Rebellion in 1921.
• Soviet Union: Apparently the Bolshevik forces captured the Polish airplane and it was used in the Russian Civil war.
• Spain: The Spanish government bought at least one (some sources claim that they were two) SE.5a from the surplus of the Great War.
• USA: The SE.5a served with the USAAS (United States Army Air Service) and was locally produced by the Austin aviation company who manufactured 1650 exemplars of it. Curtiss also manufactured one of it out of 1000 planned. Eberhart company also manufactured it's own trainer version out of spare parts and they served as advanced trainers well into the late 20s.

Aeromarine PG-1

We start this week with one of the first American armoured fighter-bombers in history.

The Aeromarine PG-1 was an American single-seat Pursuit & Ground Attack airplane of the 1920s. It was developed by the Engineering Division of the United States Army and was manufactured by the Aeromarine Plane & Motor Company.

It was intended to be developed for the US Army as an airplane capable of destroying enemy armoured attack aircrafts, like those armoured German airplanes like the Junkers D.I or the Junkers J.I that saw some service at the closing stages of the World War I and at the same could provide some ground support with its strafing capability.

The design team that created this airplane was leaded by Isaac M. Laddon and they created a single-bay biplane with ailerons in the upper wing only, V-type interplane struts and a narrow-chord lower-wing. The gap between the upper wing and the forward fuselage decking was just nominal and the centre section of the wing was cut away in order to fit the cockpit which was provided with a 6,30mm armoured protection.

Another particular innovative feature of this airplane was the installation of a 37mm Baldwin cannon fitted in the forward part of the fuselage in order to fire through the propeller hub plus a single forward-firing 12.7mm machine-gun. It was intended to be powered by a 330hp Wright K-2 eight cylinder water cooled engine and the contract to manufacture the first three prototypes was granted to Aeromarine Plane & Motor Company of Keyport, New Jersey in May 1921.

The first of the prototypes flew on 22nd August 1922 and was powered by a 346hp Packard 1-A1116 engine because the intended Wright K-2 still had to be cleared for flight tests.

When a second prototype was completed, both were evaluated at McCook Airfield in Dayton, Ohio by the Army Air Service but it found to be highly disappointing since it suffered from very poor visibility, high vibration levels and the most dangerous of it all, it had a tendency to spin when stalled. After those unsuccessful tests, the project was abandoned.

Sources:
1. The Complete Book of Fighters
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeromarine_PG-1

Ansaldo SVA - Foreign Users, Third Entry

We finish the foreign users for this airplane, by adding the remaining users:

• Poland: It is known that the Polish Wojska Lotnicze employed some of them in the Polish-Soviet war as scouts.
• USSR: It is known too, that the Soviet Air Regiment used some (apparently captured from the Polish front) SVA as scouts also.
• Spain: The Spanish Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautic) employed some SVA.5 in the scout role in North Africa, during the Rif War.
• Uruguay: The Uruguayan Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica (Military School of Aeronautics) employed some SVA.10 in order to teach their pilots. They remained active until 1932.
• USA: The USAAS and later, the USAAC, employed an SVA.5 and, weirdly, the military attache in Rome, had an Ansaldo A.202 as his personal airplane. It's not very common to own a prototype as your personal airplane.
• Yugoslavia: The Royal Yugoslavian Army Aviation Detachment employed some SVA.5. As we couldn't find info about those airplanes. All we could do, was to speculate.