Farman Biplanes in 1914-1918

[Varese2002]

The bewildering variety of Farman biplanes which were in use during the Great War in French Service has been tabulated in a great manner here

When you look at this table, you will see that there is

• Model number used by Farman, like MF 7 sometimes with extensions bis or ter

• The number given by the S.F.A. in both Roman and arabic, so XLI and 41 and so on

The differentiation of the S.F.A. is far greater than the MF factory numbers. So the MF 7 has got the numbers I till V (1 - 5) to differentiate (probably) between the different engines or the configuration in the nacelle (pilot in front or in the back).

On sharp pictures the S.F.A. Roman code can be seen on the rudder. Some examples are given of the Farman XLI (41) here.

Cheers

Kees

[YavorD]

Thank you for the reference, Kees!
Is it a book about Farmans coming soon?
I would like to see something like Air-Britain accounts on Farmans in Britain too ... (as well as Grahame-White aeroplanes and Bristol Boxkites)
Regards,
Yavor

[Varese2002]

It would be great to have a full length study devoted to the Farman biplanes, but AFAIK till now nothing has been written as a study. There has been an excellent Docavia volume about all Farman machines by Jean Liron, but of necessity the part on the early Farman biplanes is limited.

A future writer (or writers) will have a heavy task roaming through the archives for instance held by the SHD (Service Historique de la Défense).

Le carton A51 du SHD AIR contient tous les plans en "bleu" des avions H et M Farman de 1914 à 1920 ainsi que divers considérations sur les moteurs.
Le carton A67 est consacré à tous les marchés passés avec Farman pendant la guerre.

It seems from this quote that blue prints of the machines built by Henry and Maurice Farman from 1914 till 1920 are in existence, but will all have to be analyzed in detail.

Cheers

Kees

[JFM]

This is great! Recently I've drawn some Belgian-flown Farmans and in photographs of same could not decipher the word before the engine reference numbers. In the linked photos above I could see "Type."

Thanks for posting!

[Varese2002]

I just tried this Maurice Farman tail as a test for the list.



Clearly on the fin can be read 'Type XXXVII', so according to the table this must be a MF 11bis.

The pilot should be in the back seat ==> right

'a réchauffauge de nacelle' ==> cannot be verified

'moteur rotatif' [rotary engine] ==> not correct, sure an inline or V-engine

The full picture of the machine can be seen here.

Cheers

Kees

[YavorD]

Good observation, Kees!
Engine power is correct, but all references to a rotary engine should be substituted with an air-cooled Renault V8 (70/80 hp) and V12 (130 hp), with an exception of SFA type VI with de Dion V8.
Regards,
Yavor

[gilles]

Be aware that the Farman table is a work in process and certainly not definitive.
Some datas come from official materials but others are dubious and need more checks.

Gilles

[YavorD]

Thanks to French colleagues, some original S.F.A. documents are available.
PDF version
JPG version
Regards,
Yavor

[Mic AG]

Thank you very much all of you for those details! I'm looking for data about the Baron Amaury de la Grange who flew MF11 at St Idesbald (Belgium) from 1915 to 1917 before being send in USA to help into the american decision of entry in war.

I have one picture of him with his plane but the rudder is not visible. I sometimes go the SHD (Service Historique de la Defense) where I'm conducting my researchs about him. I'll try to see the famous box "carton A51"

Again, thanks for these informations about a not so well known aircraft.

[Ray Watkins]

Hello Kees

I am a new member of the forum and as I was working my way through the various threads on the forum I came across yours on Farman Biplanes of 1914-1918.

I have a copy of French Aircraft of the First World War [James Davilla & Arthur Soltan, Flying Machines Press, 1997] which supposedly includes all the Farman types designed and built during WW1.

The aircraft described include a number that are not on the list you posted. Unfortunately there is little or no mention of applicable STA designations for the types described so that I can’t be sure in cross-referencing data with the specific types of sub-variants.

I have attached a list of the Farman model types which are described. I will go over the list and see if I can offer suggestions for filling in the gaps in the table.

My particular interest in the Farman types from WW1 is in the ‘High Seas’ flying boat which was a trimotor.

Best regards, Ray

________________________________________

M.F.7 bis
M.F.7 ter
M.F.7 seaplane
M.F.11
M.F.11 bis
M.F.12
H.F.20
H.F.21
H.F.22 (seaplane)
H.F.23
H.F.24
H.F.26
H.F.27
H.F.30
H.F.33
H.F.35
H.F.36
F.30C2
F.30A
F.30B type AR2
F.40
F.41
F.41 bis
F.41 bis H (seaplane)
F.51
F.1,40
F.1,41
F.1,40 bis
F.1,40 ter
F.1,40 H (seaplane)
F.1,41 bis
F.2,40
F.1,46
F.43
F.44
F.45
F.46E
F.47
F.48
F.49
F.31C3
F.51 ‘High Seas’ flying boat (2 engines)
F.? ‘High Seas’ flying boat (3 engines)
Farman-Renault Flying boat (1 engine)
+ 4 unknowns