Farman MF.11
{{short description|French WW1 reconnaissance aircraft}}
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = Farman MF.11
| image = Farman Shorthorn MF11.jpg
| caption =
| type = Reconnaissance / Bomber
| manufacturer = Farman Aviation Works
| designer = Maurice Farman
| first_flight = 1913
| introduction = May 1914
| retired =
| status =
| primary_user = French Air Force
| more_users = Royal Flying Corps
| produced =
| number_built =
| unit cost =
| developed_from = Farman MF.7
| variants =
}}
The Maurice Farman MF.11 Shorthorn is a French aircraft developed before World War I by the Farman Aviation Works. It was used as a reconnaissance and light bomber during the early part of World War I, later being relegated to training duties.
The Maurice Farman Shorthorn was the aircraft in which Biggles, Capt W.E. Johns' fictional character, first took to the air in "Biggles Learns To Fly".
Design and development
A pusher configuration unequal-span biplane like the earlier Farman MF.7, the MF.11 differed in lacking the forward-mounted elevator, the replacement of the biplane horizontal tail surfaces with a single surface with a pair of rudders mounted above it, and the mounting of the nacelle containing crew and engine in the gap between the two wings. The aircraft was also fitted with a machine gun for the observer, whose position was changed from the rear seat to the front in order to give a clear field of fire.
Its nickname in British service was derived from that of the MF.7 Longhorn, as it lacked the characteristic front-mounted elevator and elongated skids of its predecessor. The aircraft was also referred to by British pilots as the Rumpty.
From 1914, Farman built a modified version of the MF.11 for French army with a larger wingspan of {{cvt|21|m|0}} and powered by a 100 hp Renault V-12 which was known as the Farman MF.12 or Type Armee XXVI.Liron, J. Les Avions Farman. pg 46. Lariviere, 1984.
Operational history
File:MF11 WW1 aircraft reco.jpg
On 6 September 1914, the first air-sea battle took place when a Japanese Farman MF.11 aircraft launched by the seaplane carrier {{ship|Japanese seaplane carrier|Wakamiya||2}} unsuccessfully attacked SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth with bombs.Donko, Wilhelm M.: „Österreichs Kriegsmarine in Fernost: Alle Fahrten von Schiffen der k.(u.)k. Kriegsmarine nach Ostasien, Australien und Ozeanien von 1820 bis 1914“ (epubli, Berlin, 2013) - Page 4, 156-162, 427.
The MF.11 served in both the British and French air services on the Western Front in the early stages of the war. It flew the first bombing raid of the war when, on 21 December 1914, an MF.11 of the Royal Naval Air Service attacked German artillery positions around Ostend, Belgium.
The MF.11 was withdrawn from front-line service on the Western Front in 1915 but continued to be used by the French in Macedonia and the Middle East, while the British also used it in the Dardanelles and Africa. The Australian Flying Corps (AFC), provided with the MF.11 by the British Indian Army, operated it during the Mesopotamian campaign of 1915–16.
Following its withdrawal from frontline service, the MF.11 continued to be used by the British in flight schools where it became known as the RumptyYeates, VM. Winged Victory. pg 78. David Yeates, 2011. {{ASIN|B005FA3W8C}} (or Rumpety). Despite its archaic looks, the MF.11 was regarded as a good aircraft for trainee pilots as its sturdy build meant that bad landings rarely caused damage to the undercarriage.Senior, Michael. Victory on the Western Front: The Development of the British Army, 1914–1918. pg 66. Pen & Sword Military, 2016. {{ISBN|9781783400652}}
Italy's Società Italiana Aviazione, a Fiat company, licence-built a number of MF.11s under the designation SIA 5 from early 1915, fitted with a fixed forward machine gun and a 74.5 kW (100 hp) Fiat A.10 engine.Taylor, Michael J H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. pg 805. Portland House, 1989. {{ISBN|0-517-69186-8}}
In 1916, the AFC also bought some MF.11s for training purposes.
Operators
;{{AUS}}
- Australian Flying Corps
- No. 5 (Training) Squadron AFC in United Kingdom
- Mesopotamian Half Flight
- Central Flying School AFC at Point Cook, Victoria
;{{BEL}}
;{{flag|French Third Republic|name=France}}
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy|name=Italy}}
;{{flag|Kingdom of Greece|name=Greece}}
;{{flag|Kingdom of Hejaz}}
- Hejaz Air Force - Two Farman MF.11s were obtained from Italy in 1921.
;{{flag|Empire of Japan|name=Japan}}
;{{NOR}}
;{{POR}}
;{{flag|Kingdom of Romania|name=Romania}}
;{{flag|Russian Empire|name=Russia}}
;{{SAU}}
;{{flag|Kingdom of Serbia|name=Serbia}}
;{{ESP}}
;{{SUI}}
;{{UKR}}
- Ukrainian Air Force - One aircraft only.
;{{UK}}
Surviving aircraft
- The Canada Aviation Museum has an MF.11 manufactured by Airco for the Royal Flying Corps and sent to Australia in 1917.{{cite web |title=Maurice Farman S.11 Shorthorn |url=http://www.ingeniumcanada.org/aviation/artifact/maurice-farman-s11-shorthorn |website=Canada Aviation and Space Museum |access-date=9 March 2024}}
- Farman F.11A-2, Royal Army and Military History Museum, Brussels, Belgium.
- Farman MF.11 Shorthorn (#CFS-15), RAAF Museum at Point Cook, Victoria, Australia.{{cite web |title=Maurice Farman Shorthorn CFS-20 |url=http://airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/exhibitions/training_hang/shorthorn.htm |website=RAAF Museum Point Cook |access-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104090913/http://airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/exhibitions/training_hang/shorthorn.htm |archive-date=4 January 2018}}
Specifications (Farman MF.11)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=British and Allied Aircraft Manufacturers of the First World WarTreadwell, Terry, British and Allied Aircraft Manufacturers of the First World War, Amberley, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-4456-0101-4}}
|prime units?=met
|crew=2 (pilot & observer/gunner)
|length m=9.3
|length note=
|span m=15.7
|span note=
|height m=3.1
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=654
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=928
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
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|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Renault 80 hp
|eng1 type=V-8 air-cooled piston engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 note=
|prop blade number=4
|prop name=fixed-pitch pusher propeller
|prop dia m=
|prop dia note=
|max speed kmh=116
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
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|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
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|combat range km=
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|guns=1 × 7.62 mm (0.30 in) machine gun
|bombs=
|avionics=
}}
See also
{{aircontent|
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
- List of military aircraft of France
- List of pusher aircraft by configuration
- List of World War I Entente aircraft
|see also=
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite journal |last1=Cony|first1=Christophe|title=Aviateur d'Observation en 14/18 (deuxième partie) |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=July 1997 |issue=52 |pages=10–15 |trans-title=Observation Aircraft of 14/18 |language=fr |issn=1243-8650}}
- {{cite book |last1=Liron |first1=Jean |title=Les avions Farman |year=1984 |publisher=Éditions Larivière |location=Paris |oclc=37146471|series=Collection Docavia|volume=21}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234752/http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmi/itf/mf7lh.htm Luftfahrtmuseum]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005121/http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/artifacts/aircraft/MauriceFarmanS11Shorthorn.shtml Canadian Aviation Museum]
{{Farman aircraft}}
Category:1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft
Category:1910s French bomber aircraft
Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft