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The Dorand AR.1 was a World War I
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
two-seat observation
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
aircraft used by the
French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
, the
American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
and, in small numbers, by Serbian Aviation.


Design and development

Designed by Captain
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of the STAé to replace the obsolescent
Farman F.40 The Farman F.40 was a French pusher biplane reconnaissance aircraft. Development Developed from a mix of the Maurice Farman designed MF.11 and the Henry Farman designed HF.22, the F.40 (popularly dubbed the Horace Farman) had an overall s ...
pusher aircraft, Dorand AR-series were two-seater reconnaissance biplanes that were named after the STAé director, Lt. Col. Dorand. They were characterized by backward-staggered two-bay wings and angular all-moving tail surfaces. The pilot sat beneath the leading edge of the upper wing, with the observer's cockpit being under the trailing edge, and there were cut-outs in both wings to improve the latter's field of view. Rather unusually for a single-engine tractor biplane of the era, the lower wing was not directly attached to the fuselage, instead being somewhat below it, supported by struts. Production of these aircraft began in a state-owned French Army Aircraft Establishment (or S.T.Aé.) factory at
Chalais-Meudon Chalais-Meudon is an aeronautical research and development centre in Meudon, to the south-west of Paris. It was originally founded in 1793 in the nearby Château de Meudon and has played an important role in the development of French aviation. B ...
, near Paris, after flight testing had been completed in the autumn 1916.


Operational history

The first of the thirteen squadrons which flew Dorands on the Western Front received their aircraft in the spring 1917. Five other French squadrons used the type on the Italian Front. These aircraft were withdrawn from the combat units in early 1918. In 1917 the
American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
ordered the Renault-engined varieties of the Dorand, the first of 22 AR.1s being delivered in December 1917 and the first of 120 AR.2s in following February. The Americans operated these types on the Western Front for the first half 1918, until replacing them with the
Salmson 2 The Salmson 2 A.2, (often shortened to Salmson 2) was a French biplane reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Salmson to a 1916 requirement. Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft of the French army in 1918 ...
. After being retired from fighting duties, the surviving examples were used as trainers. A small number of Dorand AR.1s were also supplied to
Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
, which operated these aircraft in four squadrons from April 1918 onwards. While the Dorand AR-types didn't have a particularly distinguished career in either French or American service, having a rather mediocre performance for a late-war daytime reconnaissance aircraft and suffering from having low priority for engine supplies, it is a testimony to the general soundness of the design that after the war, many AR.1s and AR.2s appeared in the French civil register, being used as 2/3-passenger transports by companies like Compagnie Aérienne Française and Réseau Aérien Transafricain. Private users found the aircraft useful for training and joy-flights as well.


Variants

There were following variants of the design: ;AR.1 A2 160 :Early production version powered by a
Renault 8Gd The Renault 8G was a family of French liquid-cooled V-8 aero engines of the World War I era that produced from to . Design and development Construction used separate cast iron blocks for each pair of cylinders, mounted on a light-alloy crankc ...
engine ;AR.1 A2 200 :Mid production version powered by a Renault 8Gdy engine ;AR.1 A2 190 :Late production version powered by a
Renault 8Gd The Renault 8G was a family of French liquid-cooled V-8 aero engines of the World War I era that produced from to . Design and development Construction used separate cast iron blocks for each pair of cylinders, mounted on a light-alloy crankc ...
engine ;ARL.1 A2 :AR.1s modified with a Lorraine-Dietrich engine ;AR.1 D2:Trainers powered by Renault 12d air-cooled V-12s. ;AR.2 A2 :2nd production version powered by a Renault 8Ge engine ;ARL.2 A2 :AR.2s modified with a Lorraine-Dietrich engine The AR.1 and ARL.1 had a wing span of , and used frontal radiators, while the AR.2 and ARL.2 were slightly smaller aircraft, with a wingspan of , the wing area being only 45 square metres, and wing mounted radiators. All these types had "A.2" added to their names in French service, indicating that they were two-seater reconnaissance aircraft.


Operators

; * Aéronautique Militaire ; * Hellenic Air Force ; * Operated a single example. ; * Serbian Air Force ; *
American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...


Specifications (AR.1)


See also


References

* Munson, Kenneth - Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914 - 1919 {{ISBN, 0-7537-0918-X * Owers, Colin - The French AR Biplanes, Windsock International Vol 6 #5 (Sept-Oct 1990) & Vol 7 #1 (Jan-Feb 1991)


External links

For the photographs of the Dorands see following pages: * http://jnpassieux.chez-alice.fr/html/DorandAR1.php
A history of military equipment of Modern Greece (1821-today): Dorand A.R.1
* http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/ar1and2.htm 1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft Military aircraft of World War I Biplanes with negative stagger Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft manufactured in France Aircraft first flown in 1916