Farman F.50

For the 1920s flying boat with the same name, see Farman F.50 (flying boat).

Farman F.50
Farman F.50, Mexican Air Force, 1920s.
Role	Biplane bomber
Manufacturer	Farman
First flight	1918
Introduction	1918
Retired	1920s
Primary user	French Air Force
Number built	>100

The Farman F.50 was a French twin-engined tactical night bomber designed and built by Farman as a replacement for the single-engined Voisin pusher biplanes in service with the French Air Force.

Development

The twin-engined F.50 flew for the first time in early 1918, powered by two 180 kW (240 hp) Lorraine 8Bb engines, as an unequal-span biplane with a slab-sided fuselage and a single fin and rudder. It had a fixed tailskid landing gear with twin wheels on the main gear, an open cockpit for the pilot and gunner/observer, and a gunner position in the nose. It was equipped with a 7.7 mm machine gun forward and aft.

The two engines, 205 kW (275 hp) Lorraine 8Bd V-8s on production aircraft, were mounted between the wings using vee bracing struts. With the Armistice, production was less than 100 aircraft, but the company designed a passenger conversion for civil use, designated F.50P, with the fuselage behind the cockpit raised and enclosed to create a glazed cabin for up to five passengers. One example was used by Compagnie des Grands Express Aeriens from July 1920 from Paris to London and Amsterdam.

Operational history

With the military designation Bn.2 (2-seat night bomber) the aircraft were delivered to squadrons within 1e Groupe de Bombardement. Three escadrilles (F114, F119, ?) had been equipped by the time of the Armistice in November 1918. With the end of the war the aircraft did not have time to influence the campaign and the aircraft continued to serve until at least 1922.

Two aircraft were sold to the United States after the war.

Variants

F.50

Twin-engine night bomber.

F.50P

Five-passenger conversion.

Operators

Farman F.50 at the Air Service, United States Army Air Service Production Center No. 2, Romorantin Aerodrome, France, 1918

France

• Air Union (F.50P)
• Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (F.50P)
• French Air Force

Japan

• Japanese Army one F.50

Mexico

• Mexican Air Force - Thirteen F.50 bought in September 1920.

Specifications (F.50)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1736/7

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 10.92 m (35 ft 10 in)
• Wingspan: 22.85 m (74 ft 11½ in)
• Height: 3.30 m (10 ft 10 in)
• Wing area: 101.60 m² (1093.6 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1815 kg (4001 lb)
• Gross weight: 2120 kg (6878 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Lorraine 8Db V-8 water-cooled piston engines, 205 kW (275 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph)
• Range: 420 km (261 miles)
• Service ceiling: 4750 m (15,580 ft)

Armament

2 x 0.303in (7.7 mm) machine-guns in nose

8 x 40 kg (88lb) bombs on underfuselage/wing racks

References

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1736/7