Farman F.211

Day-Night Four-Engined Heavy Bomber Prototype

France | 1932

"The Farman F.211 was a French interwar heavy bomber product that did not see serial production."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/07/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

In 1929, the French Air Ministry detailed a new specification calling for a four-seat night bomber with inherent daytime capabilities. The Farman F.211 was developed by Farman Aviation Works in response and took to the air for the first time in early 1932. The large aircraft was powered by four engines arranged in a unique "push-pull" configuration (detailed below). The design was not adopted by the French Air Force and remained in prototype status for the duration of its flying life. Attention was then moved to the dimensionally larger F.220 which also brought along with it more power from its engines and this model found considerably more success.

The F.211 was very much a product of the time - it held an ungainly appearance seen in many of the interwar bombers put forth by various companies of the world. The nose section was largely glazed over to provide meaningful vision "out-of-the-cockpit" for its multi-person crew. A "tail-dragger", wheeled undercarriage was used but fixed in place during flight. The high-wing mounting of the mainplanes was a step in the right aerodynamic direction but the quadruple engine configuration was set in two nacelles (one to either side of the fuselage) and arranged with one ahead of the other - one engine "pulling" and the other "pushing". The nacelles were further mounted on wingstubs fitted along the lower sides of the fuselage and had to be braced to the underside of the wing mainplanes by struts.

Power to the bomber came from 4 x Gnome-Rhone "Titan" 7Kcrs 7-cylinder radial piston engines developing 300 horsepower each. Maximum speed for the aircraft was 140 miles per hour with a range out to 620 miles and a service ceiling up to 16,405 feet.

Overall dimensions of the aircraft included a length of 15.9 meters, a wingspan of 23 meters and a height of 4.2 meters. Empty weight was 11,135 lb against a Maximum Take-Off Weight of 16,315 lb. Internally, the bomber could carry a war load of 2,315 lb. Defense was through 1 x 7.7mm twin machine guns at the nose, another station held dorsally, and a single 7.7mm machine gun at a ventral station.

With French authority disinterest in the F.211 model, Farman pursued the F.212, an improved form now fitting Gnome-Rhone 7Kds radial piston engines of 350 horsepower each. The war load was also increased to 3,085 lb. This version appeared in 1934 but also only ever managed to reach a prototyping stage before the end.

The F.215 was a proposed passenger airliner variant intended to seat twelve in comfort and based on the F.211/F.212 design. This model was not furthered into a physical form. The dimensionally larger F.220 model series of 1935 found more success - it was produced in eighty examples into 1938 and encompassed a variety of models based on the F.220 lineage including the F.222 which became France's largest bomber of the Inter-war period.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Farman F.211 Day-Night Four-Engined Heavy Bomber Prototype.

4 x Gnome-Rhone 7Kcrs "Titan" 7-cylinder radial piston engine developing 300 horsepower each.
Propulsion

137 mph
220 kph | 119 kts
Max Speed

16,404 ft
5,000 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

621 miles
1,000 km | 540 nm
Operational Range

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Farman F.211 Day-Night Four-Engined Heavy Bomber Prototype.

4
(MANNED)
Crew

52.5 ft
16.00 m
O/A Length

75.5 ft
(23.00 m)
O/A Width

13.8 ft
(4.20 m)
O/A Height

11,133 lb
(5,050 kg)
Empty Weight

16,314 lb
(7,400 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Farman F.211 Day-Night Four-Engined Heavy Bomber Prototype .

STANDARD:
2 x 7.7mm machine guns in nose position (twin-gunned mount).
2 x 7.7mm machine guns in dorsal position (twin-gunned mount).
1 x 7.7mm machine gun in ventral position (single-gunned mount).

OPTIONAL:
Up to 2,315 pounds of conventional drop ordnance.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Farman F.211 family line.

F.211 - Base Series Designation; Gnome-Rhone 7Kcrs "Titan" engines of 300 horsepower.

F.212 - Improved variant; fitted with Gnome-Rhone 7Kds radial piston engines of 350 horsepower; bombload of 3,085 pounds.

F.215 - Proposed passenger hauler with seating for twelve.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Farman F.211. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1 Units
Contractor(s): Farman Aviation Works - France

[ France (cancelled) ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 150mph

Lo: 75mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (137mph).

Graph Average of 113 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

1

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

GROUND ATTACK

X-PLANE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Going Further...
The Farman F.211 Day-Night Four-Engined Heavy Bomber Prototype appears in the following collections:

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