The Farman F.220 and its derivatives were thick-sectioned, high-winged, four engined French monoplanes from Farman Aviation Works. Based on the push-pull configuration proven by the F.211, design started in August 1925 and the first flight of the prototype was on 26 May 1932. The largest bomber to serve in France between the two world wars was the final F.222 variant. One variation was intended to be an airliner.[1]
After testing the sole F.220 prototype, Farman made a number of changes to the design, including a new tail fin, fully enclosing the nose and ventral gunners' positions, and changing from V-engines to radials. The first example of this version, dubbed the F.221 flew in May 1933, and was followed by ten production examples delivered to the Armee de l'Air from June 1936. These machines featured hand-operated turrets for the three gunners' stations. Meanwhile, the prototype F.220 was sold to Air France, where christened Le Centaur, it flew as a mail plane on the South Atlantic route. This led to a batch of four similar aircraft being built for the airline.
The F.222 variant began to enter service with Armee de l'Air in the spring of 1937. Unlike its predecessor, this plane featured a retractable undercarriage. Twenty-four aircraft were produced with redesigned front fuselages and dihedral added to the outer wing. During World War II these planes were used in leaflet raids over Germany and then night bombing raids during May and June 1940. These resulted in three losses.
The Farman F.222 was involved in a notable operation carried out by French fighter pilot James Denis. On 20 June 1940, realising that the Battle of France was lost, Denis borrowed a Farman F.222 from an airbase near Saint-Jean-d'Angély. He flew to Britain with twenty of his friends, and joined the Free French Air Force, in which service he subsequently became an ace, shooting down nine German aircraft.[2]
The F.223 (redesignated NC.223 when Farman was absorbed into SNCAC) incorporated significant changes, including a twin tail and a considerably refined fuselage. The first prototype was ordered as a long-range mail plane[3] and in October 1937 established a record by flying 621 miles with a 22,046 lb payload. The Ministère de l'Air ordered a production run of 8 of the NC223.3 variation which was commenced in 1939. A variant NC 223.4 Jules Verne, a mail delivery plane converted back into a bomber after requisition in the beginning of World War II, of French Naval Aviation was the first Allied bomber to raid Berlin: on the night of 7 June 1940 aircraft of this variant dropped eight bombs of 250 kg and 80 of 10 kg weight on the German capital.[4] This operation, which was of a primarily psychological-warfare nature, was repeated three days later.
The first NC 223.3 bombers were delivered in May 1940 and participated in night bombing attacks on Germany before being transferred to North Africa in June 1940. The bombers were subsequently relegated to transport roles, seeing service with both the Vichy regime and the Free French.
The F.224 was a dedicated civil variant able to seat 40 passengers. Six machines were produced for Air France, but were ultimately rejected because the 224 could not maintain altitude on three engines. The aircraft went on to serve in the Armée de l'Air instead with a reduced payload. Much of the known variants provided light carpet bombings of up to 52, 250kg bombs. Known as one of the largest payloads to ever be dropped from an aircraft.
Variantsedit
Farman F.220
Farman F.220.01 - prototype with Hispano-Suiza 12Lbr engines (1 built)
Farman F.220B - mailplane (converted from F.220)
Farman F.220-0 - production version of the F.220B (4 built)
Farman F.221
revised version with enclosed gunners' positions, powered by 4x Gnome-Rhône 14Kdrs engines, (10 built, plus one F.221.01 prototype).
Farman F.222
definitive production version
Farman F.222.1 - revised version with retractable undercarriage and turrets, powered by 4x Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs engines (11 built)
Farman F.222.01 prototype converted from the F.221.01
Farman F.222.2 - F.222.1 with redesigned nose, powered by 4x Gnome-Rhône 14N-11 engines, (24 built).
Farman F.2220 - airliner prototype for Air France as Ville de Dakar, powered by 4x Hispano-Suiza 12Xgrs engines, (1 built).
^. Flight. December 12, 1935. p. 624. Archived from the original (pdf) on October 22, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
^"James Denis". The Times. London. 2003-06-30. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
^William Green, War Planes of the Second World War, Volume 8, 1967
^Donald A. Bertke,Don Kindell,Gordon Smith, "World War II sea war: France falls, Britain stand alone: Day-to-Day Naval Actions April 1940 through September 1940.", p.205 [1]
^Parmentier, Bruno (1999-01-10). "Aviafrance Farman 224" (in French). France: Aviafrance.com. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
^"Flying Club Car Is Channel Ferry De Luxe" Popular Mechanics, May 1937
^Parmentier, Bruno. "Farman F-222/2". www.aviafrance.com (in French). Retrieved 23 October 2019.
Bibliographyedit
Bousquet, Gérard (January 1996). "Courrier Lecteurs" [Readers Mail]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (34): 40. ISSN 1243-8650.
Cortet, Pierre (March 1989). "Le fin du F-APUZ" [The End of F-APUZ]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (232): 38–39. ISSN 0757-4169.
Cortet, Pierre (January 1995). "Les Farman 220 à 224 (1re partie)" [The Farman 220 to 224, part 1]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (23): 10–14. ISSN 1243-8650.
Cortet, Pierre (May 1995). "Les Farman 220 à 224 (4e partie)" [The Farman 220 to 224, part 4]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (26): 22–25. ISSN 1243-8650.
Ketley, Barry, French Aces of WWII, Osprey Publishing
Leyvastre, Pierre (May–June 1969). "Le bombardier strategique français de 1940: Farman 220 – 221 – 222" [The French Strategic Bomber of 1940: The Farman 220 – 221 – 222]. Le Album de Fanatique de l'Aviation (in French) (1): 19–23. ISSN 0757-4169.
Liron, Jean (1984). Les avions Farman. Collection Docavia. Vol. 21. Paris: Éditions Larivière. OCLC 37146471.
Mombeek, Eric (May 2001). "Les trésors de Cazaux" [The Treasures of Cazaux]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (98): 44–47. ISSN 1243-8650.
Morareau, Lucien (October 1996). "Courrier Lecteurs" [Readers Mail]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (43): 31. ISSN 1243-8650.
Narbonne, Roland de (May 2008). "Les quadrimoteurs Farman: Des avions sans mode d'emploi" [The Four-engined Farmans: Planes Without Instructions]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (462): 18–29. ISSN 0757-4169.
Young, Edward M. (1984). "France's Forgotten Air War". Air Enthusiast. No. 25. pp. 22–33. ISSN 0143-5450.
Further readingedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farman F.220.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 379.
World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. File 894 Sheet 16.
William Green, War Planes of the Second World War, Volume 8, 1967
January 01, 1970
farman, derivatives, were, thick, sectioned, high, winged, four, engined, french, monoplanes, from, farman, aviation, works, based, push, pull, configuration, proven, design, started, august, 1925, first, flight, prototype, 1932, largest, bomber, serve, france. The Farman F 220 and its derivatives were thick sectioned high winged four engined French monoplanes from Farman Aviation Works Based on the push pull configuration proven by the F 211 design started in August 1925 and the first flight of the prototype was on 26 May 1932 The largest bomber to serve in France between the two world wars was the final F 222 variant One variation was intended to be an airliner 1 F 220 Farman F 221 bombers in May 1936 Role Heavy bomber National origin France Manufacturer Farman Aviation Works First flight 26 May 1932 Primary user French Air Force Produced 1935 1938 Number built ca 80 Farman F 223 Contents 1 Development 2 Variants 3 Operators 4 Specifications F 222 2 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 Bibliography 7 Further readingDevelopment editAfter testing the sole F 220 prototype Farman made a number of changes to the design including a new tail fin fully enclosing the nose and ventral gunners positions and changing from V engines to radials The first example of this version dubbed the F 221 flew in May 1933 and was followed by ten production examples delivered to the Armee de l Air from June 1936 These machines featured hand operated turrets for the three gunners stations Meanwhile the prototype F 220 was sold to Air France where christened Le Centaur it flew as a mail plane on the South Atlantic route This led to a batch of four similar aircraft being built for the airline The F 222 variant began to enter service with Armee de l Air in the spring of 1937 Unlike its predecessor this plane featured a retractable undercarriage Twenty four aircraft were produced with redesigned front fuselages and dihedral added to the outer wing During World War II these planes were used in leaflet raids over Germany and then night bombing raids during May and June 1940 These resulted in three losses The Farman F 222 was involved in a notable operation carried out by French fighter pilot James Denis On 20 June 1940 realising that the Battle of France was lost Denis borrowed a Farman F 222 from an airbase near Saint Jean d Angely He flew to Britain with twenty of his friends and joined the Free French Air Force in which service he subsequently became an ace shooting down nine German aircraft 2 The F 223 redesignated NC 223 when Farman was absorbed into SNCAC incorporated significant changes including a twin tail and a considerably refined fuselage The first prototype was ordered as a long range mail plane 3 and in October 1937 established a record by flying 621 miles with a 22 046 lb payload The Ministere de l Air ordered a production run of 8 of the NC223 3 variation which was commenced in 1939 A variant NC 223 4 Jules Verne a mail delivery plane converted back into a bomber after requisition in the beginning of World War II of French Naval Aviation was the first Allied bomber to raid Berlin on the night of 7 June 1940 aircraft of this variant dropped eight bombs of 250 kg and 80 of 10 kg weight on the German capital 4 This operation which was of a primarily psychological warfare nature was repeated three days later The first NC 223 3 bombers were delivered in May 1940 and participated in night bombing attacks on Germany before being transferred to North Africa in June 1940 The bombers were subsequently relegated to transport roles seeing service with both the Vichy regime and the Free French The F 224 was a dedicated civil variant able to seat 40 passengers Six machines were produced for Air France but were ultimately rejected because the 224 could not maintain altitude on three engines The aircraft went on to serve in the Armee de l Air instead with a reduced payload Much of the known variants provided light carpet bombings of up to 52 250kg bombs Known as one of the largest payloads to ever be dropped from an aircraft Variants editFarman F 220 Farman F 220 01 prototype with Hispano Suiza 12Lbr engines 1 built Farman F 220B mailplane converted from F 220 Farman F 220 0 production version of the F 220B 4 built dd Farman F 221 revised version with enclosed gunners positions powered by 4x Gnome Rhone 14Kdrs engines 10 built plus one F 221 01 prototype Farman F 222 definitive production versionFarman F 222 1 revised version with retractable undercarriage and turrets powered by 4x Gnome Rhone 14Kirs engines 11 built Farman F 222 01 prototype converted from the F 221 01 Farman F 222 2 F 222 1 with redesigned nose powered by 4x Gnome Rhone 14N 11 engines 24 built Farman F 2220 airliner prototype for Air France as Ville de Dakar powered by 4x Hispano Suiza 12Xgrs engines 1 built dd Farman F 223 version with twin tail and revised aerodynamics 1 100 hp 820 kW Hispano Suiza 14AA 08 Hispano Suiza 14AA 09 enginesS N C A C NC 223 1 prototype built as mailplane Laurent Guerrero 1 built S N C A C NC 223 01 bomber prototype with Hispano Suiza 12Xirs engines 1 built S N C A C NC 223 2 bomber version with Gnome et Rhone 14N engines not built S N C A C NC 223 3 bomber version with 910 hp 679 kW Hispano Suiza 12Y 29 engines 8 built S N C A C NC 223 4 mailplane version 3 built Camille Flammarion Jules Verne and Le Verrier S N C A C NC 2230 A single postal transport powered by 4x Hispano Suiza 12Xirs engines S N C A C NC 2233 A Bomber version of the F 233 powered by 4x Hispano Suiza 12Y 29 engines 15 built S N C A C NC 2234 Three airliners built for Air France powered by 4x Hispano Suiza 12Y 37 engines dd Farman F 224 40 seat airliner with Gnome Rhone 14N 01 5 engines for Air France but rejected 6 built 6 Farman F 224TT F 224s converted to troop transports for the Air Force dd Operators edit nbsp France Armee de l Air Air France AeronavaleSpecifications F 222 2 editData from AviaFrance Farman F 222 2 7 General characteristicsCrew 5 Length 22 57 m 74 ft 1 in Wingspan 35 65 m 117 ft 0 in Height 6 38 m 20 ft 11 in Wing area 184 6 m2 1 987 sq ft Empty weight 11 000 kg 24 251 lb Gross weight 18 700 kg 41 226 lb Powerplant 4 Gnome Rhone 14N 11 14 cylinder air cooled radial piston engines 690 kW 920 hp each 2 pusher and 2 tractor in tandem nacelles Propellers 3 bladed variable pitch metal propellers 2x tractor and 2xpusher Performance Maximum speed 360 km h 220 mph 190 kn at 3 960 m 12 990 ft Cruise speed 280 km h 170 mph 150 kn at 3 960 m 12 990 ft citation needed Range 2 200 km 1 400 mi 1 200 nmi Service ceiling 8 000 m 26 000 ft Time to altitude 4 000 m 13 000 ft in 13 minutes 30 seconds Armament Guns three 7 5mm MAC 1934 manually aimed in nose turret dorsal and ventral positions Bombs 2 200 kg 4 900 lb of bombsSee also editRelated lists List of interwar military aircraft List of aircraft of World War II List of military aircraft of France List of bomber aircraftReferences editNotes edit Commercial Aviation Flight December 12 1935 p 624 Archived from the original pdf on October 22 2012 Retrieved November 11 2009 James Denis The Times London 2003 06 30 Retrieved 2010 05 02 William Green War Planes of the Second World War Volume 8 1967 Donald A Bertke Don Kindell Gordon Smith World War II sea war France falls Britain stand alone Day to Day Naval Actions April 1940 through September 1940 p 205 1 Parmentier Bruno 1999 01 10 Aviafrance Farman 224 in French France Aviafrance com Retrieved 27 September 2011 Flying Club Car Is Channel Ferry De Luxe Popular Mechanics May 1937 Parmentier Bruno Farman F 222 2 www aviafrance com in French Retrieved 23 October 2019 Bibliography edit Bousquet Gerard January 1996 Courrier Lecteurs Readers Mail Avions Toute l aeronautique et son histoire in French 34 40 ISSN 1243 8650 Cortet Pierre March 1989 Le fin du F APUZ The End of F APUZ Le Fana de l Aviation in French 232 38 39 ISSN 0757 4169 Cortet Pierre January 1995 Les Farman 220 a 224 1re partie The Farman 220 to 224 part 1 Avions Toute l aeronautique et son histoire in French 23 10 14 ISSN 1243 8650 Cortet Pierre May 1995 Les Farman 220 a 224 4e partie The Farman 220 to 224 part 4 Avions Toute l aeronautique et son histoire in French 26 22 25 ISSN 1243 8650 Ketley Barry French Aces of WWII Osprey Publishing Leyvastre Pierre May June 1969 Le bombardier strategique francais de 1940 Farman 220 221 222 The French Strategic Bomber of 1940 The Farman 220 221 222 Le Album de Fanatique de l Aviation in French 1 19 23 ISSN 0757 4169 Liron Jean 1984 Les avions Farman Collection Docavia Vol 21 Paris Editions Lariviere OCLC 37146471 Mombeek Eric May 2001 Les tresors de Cazaux The Treasures of Cazaux Avions Toute l Aeronautique et son histoire in French 98 44 47 ISSN 1243 8650 Morareau Lucien October 1996 Courrier Lecteurs Readers Mail Avions Toute l aeronautique et son histoire in French 43 31 ISSN 1243 8650 Narbonne Roland de May 2008 Les quadrimoteurs Farman Des avions sans mode d emploi The Four engined Farmans Planes Without Instructions Le Fana de l Aviation in French 462 18 29 ISSN 0757 4169 Young Edward M 1984 France s Forgotten Air War Air Enthusiast No 25 pp 22 33 ISSN 0143 5450 Further reading edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farman F 220 Taylor Michael J H 1989 Jane s Encyclopedia of Aviation London Studio Editions p 379 World Aircraft Information Files London Bright Star Publishing File 894 Sheet 16 William Green War Planes of the Second World War Volume 8 1967 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Farman F 220 amp oldid 1216934065, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
