×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Pay Chart (2023) Military Ranks
Advertisements
HOME
AIRCRAFT / AVIATION
MODERN AIR FORCES
COUNTRIES
MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE
BY CONFLICT
BY TYPE
BY DECADE
WORLD WAR 1
Aviation / Aerospace

Caudron R.11


Escort Fighter / Light Bomber / Reconnaissance Aircraft [ 1918 ]



The Cau R.11 appeared in the last year of the war and evolved from armed reconnaissance to bomber escort.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/03/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
Advertisements
The Caudron R.11 was initially developed as an armed reconnaissance platform for the French Air Service and found its niche as a fighter escort during World War 1 (1914-1918). The aircraft was managed by a crew of three - a pilot and two machine gunners - and was of a large two-engine configuration with biplane wing arrangement - essentially a heavy fighter before the category ever existed. The R.11 was based on the existing R.4 twin-engined reconnaissance line though with an all-new, more streamlined nose and fuselage assembly and revised tail unit. Design of the aircraft was attributed to Paul Deville and achieved first flight in 1917. The initial French unit to receive the R.11 was Escadrille R.26. The aircraft series went on to see combat service throughout the final months of World War 1 and continued in active service until around 1922. Some 370 examples were produced despite a wartime order of 1,000 aircraft being issued. Appropriately, the end of the war in November of 1918 signaled a curtailing of orders.

The R.11 featured many refinements over preceding bomber-type aircraft utilized during the war. The 2 x 220 horsepower Hispano-Suiza engines (powering two-bladed wooden propellers) were housed in aerodynamically-refined nacelles, a design feature that would later become synonymous with all aircraft during the interwar years leading up to World War 2 (1939-1945). The fuselage was given a well-streamlined shape, contrasting the slab-sided, boxy designs of previous years. The R.11 also featured a large-area tail structure for added stability. Its undercarriage was of a typical "tail-dragger" arrangement utilizing two large, fixed landing gear legs each managing two landing wheels. The aircraft was defensed by no fewer than 5 x 7.7mm Lewis machine guns on trainable mountings to engage enemy aircraft at various angled. In the light bombing role, the R.11 carried an ordnance load of just 265 pounds, all externally. The crew of three were all positioned along the fuselage in three individual open-air cockpits with the pilot situated between the top and bottom biplane wing assemblies. The rear gunner was behind him and a bow gunner was found at the extreme forward end of the aircraft. The wings were of equal span with three bays and parallel struts.

The R.11 reported a maximum endurance of 3 hours and could manage a service ceiling up to 19,500 feet. Its top speed was 114 miles per hour from its twin engine output and aerodynamic design. The aircraft was eventually delivered to French squadrons R.46, R.239, R.240, R.241, R.242 and the R.246 and some stock fell to the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). The R.11 holds the distinction of becoming the last French production aircraft of World War 1, also forming the final French squadron (R.246) of the war.

Caudron also developed the R.12 based highly on the R.11 design though this form was never adopted. The R.14 emerged in the fighting of August 1918 and overtook any further design of the R.12.

The Caudron concern was founded in 1908 and produced military aircraft for both World War 1 and World War 2, producing over 4,000 aircraft for World War 1 service alone. It was absorbed by Renault in 1933 and the name survived into the mid-to-late 1930s.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
Advertisements

Specifications



Service Year
1918

Origin
France national flag graphic
France

Status
RETIRED
Not in Service.
Crew
3

Production
370
UNITS


National flag of France National flag of the United States France; United States
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.
Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.


Length
27.9 ft
(8.50 m)
Width/Span
38.7 ft
(11.80 m)
Height
9.5 ft
(2.90 m)
Empty Wgt
3,135 lb
(1,422 kg)
MTOW
4,773 lb
(2,165 kg)
Wgt Diff
+1,638 lb
(+743 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Caudron R.11 production variant)
Installed: 2 x Hispano-Suiza 8Ba liquid-cooled in-line engines developing 220 horsepower each driving two-bladed propeller units.
Max Speed
114 mph
(183 kph | 99 kts)
Ceiling
19,521 ft
(5,950 m | 4 mi)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Caudron R.11 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
STANDARD:
5 x 7.7mm (0.303") Lewis Machine Guns on flexible mountings.

OPTIONAL:
Up to 265 lb of external stores (conventional drop bombs).


Supported Types


Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun
Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition


(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 4


Cau R.11 - Base Series Designation
Cau R.12 - Experimental variant based on the R.11 but fitted with larger engines.
Cau R.14 - Variant of the R bomber series appearing in August of 1918.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 2
Image of the Caudron R.11
Image from the Public Domain.
2 / 2
Image of the Caudron R.11
Image from the Public Domain.


Advertisements




Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)