The Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M.F.3 was a reconnaissance

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

built by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service aircraft factory

Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk - ''The Navy's Flying Boat Factory'' - was the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service' aeroplane manufacturer. It was established in Horten in 1915 and produced 120 aircraft from then until it ceased to exist in 1940. Aircraft ...

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

. The aircraft was financed by extraordinary appropriations during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and served until October 1924.

Background

The M.F.3 was the last reconnaissance aircraft of the

Maurice Farman Maurice Alain Farman (21 March 1877 – 25 February 1964) was a British-French Grand Prix motor racing champion, an aviator, and an aircraft manufacturer and designer. Biography Born in Paris to English parents, he and his brothers Richard and ...

type built by the Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk.Hafsten 2003: 20 In the autumn of 1916 Captain

Halfdan Gyth Dehli Halfdan Gyth Dehli (15 June 1881 – August 1963) was a Norwegian businessperson and aviator. He was a son of barrister Ole Dehli (1851–1924) and women's health pioneer Maria Dehli, née Gyth (1851–1926). His sister Bergljot was married to C ...

proposed building a series of four aircraft for reconnaissance purposes. The proposal was approved by the Commanding Admiral of the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, 3 ...

on 30 October 1916 and by the

Norwegian Ministry of Defence The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence ( no, Det kgl. Forsvarsdepartement) is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of th ...

on 8 November of the same year.Hafsten 2003: 30 The production of the four aircraft was financed through the extraordinary appropriations to the Norwegian Armed Forces after the outbreak of the

Production

The production of the four M.F.3 aircraft was the first to be completed solely at the Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk and took place during 1917. The M.F.3 production marked the completion of full-scale production facilities at the factory in

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

. The factory at first had a production capacity of four aircraft per year. The four M.F.3s were given numerals between ''F.14'' and ''F.20''. The M.F.3 type had a larger gondola and a more powerful engine than the earlier types used by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service and was considered well suited to Norwegian conditions. The powerful engine made the aircraft able to take off from ice and snow, and tests at this were carried out at the Royal Norwegian Navy's main base of Karljohansvern in Horten during the winter of 1917–1918. The M.F.3's load carrying ability also enabled the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service to carry out its first experiments at dropping torpedoes from an aircraft. M.F.3 ''F.14'' carried out test drops of the Royal Norwegian Navy's Type 2 and Type 3 35 cm torpedoes during the autumn of 1918.Hafsten 2003: 210 The torpedo tests carried out in 1918, and further tests in 1923, led to the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service deciding to acquire dedicated torpedo bombers. In 1924 the 'Douglas DT-2B was ordered from the

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Service

The type's first flight occurred when ''F.14'' took off on 11 April 1917. ''F.16'' first flew on 10 May 1917, ''F.18'' on 3 July 1917 and ''F.20'' on 4 November 1917. All four M.F.3s flew with the First Aerial Group, operating out of Horten. ''F.14'' left the First Aerial Group in August 1918, the other three M.F.3s continuing to serve in the unit until 14 December 1918.Hafsten 2003: 21 None of the four aircraft were lost to accidents, ''F.14'', ''F.16'' and ''F.18'' being written off on 10 February 1921 and ''F.20'' on 2 October 1924. ''F.20'' had suffered damages in a crash in the inner harbour of Horten on 22 September 1924.

Specifications

References

Bibliography

* {{Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk aircraft 1910s Norwegian military reconnaissance aircraft MF03 Single-engined pusher aircraft Floatplanes Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1917