Breguet 14

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Breguet 14

Type	Bomber
Manufacturer	Breguet
Maiden flight	November 21, 1916
Produced	1917-1928
Number built	ca 7,800

The Breguet 14 was a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war. Apart from its widespread usage, it was noteworthy for becoming the first aircraft in mass production to use large amounts of metal rather than wood in its structure. This allowed the airframe to be lighter than a wooden airframe of the same strength, in turn making the aircraft very fast and agile for its size, able to outrun many of the fighters of the day. Its strong construction was able to sustain much damage, it was easy to handle and had good performance. The Breguet 14 is considered one of the best aircraft of the war.

1 Development history
- 1.1 Variants
2 Combat history
3 Operators
4 Specifications (14B.2)
5 Related content

[edit] Development history

The aircraft was designed by Louis Breguet, who flew the first prototype (originally designated Breguet AV) on its first flight on November 21, 1916. The design was a come-back for Breguet to designing conventional planes, after designing pusher type aircraft Breguet BUM. Later that month, the French Army's Section Technique de l' Aéronautique (S.T.Aé.) issued requirements for four different new aircraft types. Breguet submitted his new design for two of those categories - reconnaissance aircraft, and bomber.

Following evaluation in February, the Breguet 14 was accepted for both these roles, and in March, orders were placed for 150 reconnaissance aircraft and 100 bombers, designated Breguet 14A.2 and 14B.2 respectively (renamed to Breguet XIV A2/B2 in 1918). The A.2 was equipped with a camera, with some carrying radio, while the lower wing of the 14B.2 was modified slightly in order to accommodate bomb racks (built by Michelin). Both variants featured automatic flaps but these were not fitted to production aircraft.

[edit] Variants

Other minor variants flown in small numbers during the war included the 14B.1 long-range single-seater bomber, the 14GR.2 long-range reconnaissance, the 14H floatplane, the 14S air ambulance and the 14E.2 trainer. Later variants 14bis A2 and 14bis B2 featured improved wing. An improved variant with bigger wings was the Breguet 16. There was also the two-seater fighter Breguet 17, which built in small numbers only.

[edit] Combat history

Following successful deployment by the French, the type was also ordered by the Belgian Army (40 aircraft) and the US Army Air Service (over 600 aircraft). Around half the Belgian and US aircraft were fitted with Fiat A-12 engines due to shortages of the original Renault 12F. By the end of World War I, some 5,500 Breguet 14s had been produced.

The type continued to be widely used after the war, equipping the French occupation forces in Germany and being deployed to support French troops in the colonies. A special version was developed for the harsh conditions encountered overseas, designated 14TOE (Théatres des Operations Extérieures). These saw service in putting down uprisings in Syria and Morocco, in Vietnam and in France's attempted intervention in the Russian Civil War. The last trainer examples were not withdrawn from French military service until 1932.

Other air arms using the type included Brazil (30), China (70), Czechoslovakia (10), Denmark, Finland (38), Greece, Japan, Siam, Uruguay (9) and Spain. Polish Air Force used 158 Breguet 14s, about 70 of them were used in combat in the Polish-Soviet war. In Japan, Breguet 14s were licence built by Nakajima.

Post war, Breguet had also begun to manufacture dedicated civil versions. The 14T.2 Salon carried two passengers in a specially modified fuselage. An improved version of this was the 14Tbis manufactured as both a land-plane and seaplane. The 14Tbis also formed the basis of an improved air ambulance, and 100 mailplanes custom-built for Pierre Latécoère's fledgling airline, Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère. After changing name to CGEA, the airline used among others 106 Breguet 14s for flights over Sahara desert. When production finally ceased in 1928, the total of all versions built had reached 7,800 (according to other sources, 8,000 or even 8,370).