The Renard R.31 was a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
reconnaissance aircraft of the 1930s. A single-engined parasol
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
, 32 R.31s were built for the
Belgian Air Force, the survivors of which, although obsolete, remained in service when
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
invaded Belgium in 1940. The Renard R.31 was the only
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
operational military aircraft entirely designed and built in Belgium.
Design and development
![Renard R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Renard_R.32.jpg)
The Renard R.31 was designed by
Alfred Renard
Alfred Renard (21 April 1895 – 20 June 1988) was a Belgian aviation pioneer.
Biography
Alfred Renard was born in Anderlecht on 21 April 1895. As a youngster and inspired by the kites he saw his father make,André Hauet, ''Les avions Renard ...
of ''
Constructions Aéronautiques G. Renard'' to meet a requirement of the
Belgian Air Force for a short ranged reconnaissance and army co-operation aircraft. It first flew from
Evere Airfield, near
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, on 16 October 1932.
It was a parasol monoplane of mixed construction, powered by a
Rolls-Royce Kestrel
The Kestrel or type F is a 21 litre (1,300 in³) 700 horsepower (520 kW) class V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce, their first cast-block engine and the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interwar ...
engine, with a welded steel tubing structure with metal sheet covering the forward fuselage and fabric covering of the remainder of the airframe. The wing was held in position by a single Vee strut on each side, conjoined with its fixed under carriage.
An order for 28 R.31s was placed in March 1934, with six to be built by Renard and the remainder by
SABCA. One aircraft was fitted with a
Lorraine Petrel
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
engine for evaluation, but this was later replaced by the normal Kestrel engine. A second aircraft was fitted with an enclosed canopy and a
Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major
The Gnome-Rhône 14K ''Mistral Major'' was a 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial engine. It was Gnome-Rhône's major aircraft engine prior to World War II, and matured into a highly sought-after design that would see licensed production ...
radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...
, becoming the R-32, with this then being replaced by a
Hispano-Suiza 12Y
The Hispano-Suiza 12Y was an aircraft engine produced by Hispano-Suiza for the French Air Force before the Second World War. The 12Y became the primary French 1,000 hp (750 kW) class engine and was used in a number of famous aircraft, i ...
engine, but the R-32 did not show sufficiently improved performance to gain a production order. A further six R.31s were ordered in August 1935.
Operational history
The R.31 entered service with the Belgian Air Force in 1935,
replacing the
Breguet 19 Breguet or Bréguet may refer to:
* Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer
**Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker
** Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work
* Brégue ...
in the 9
e and 11
e ''Escadrilles d'Observation'' based at
Liège. In service, it was not popular, as it had poor handling, being vulnerable to entering flat spins if mishandled, with all aerobatics therefore being banned.
The R.31 was hopelessly obsolete, and those that were not destroyed on the ground in the early hours of the German Blitzkrieg invasion of Belgium in May 1940 were ravaged by German fighters as they bravely attempted to gather information on the German invasion. None apparently functioned as ground support aircraft during the brief Belgian Army resistance, instead flying fifty-four reconnaissance sorties in support of the Allied forces defending Belgium.
Their last sortie, flown on the afternoon of 27 May 1940, was also the final mission flown by the Belgian Air Force in its attempt to repel the Germans.
Following the German occupation of Belgium, the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
had no interest in the machines and those that had survived the initial onslaught were unused or were destroyed. Overall, these machines had no significant impact on the war although they were briefly involved.
Operators
;
*
Belgian Air Force
Specifications (Renard R.31)
See also
References
Further reading
*
* Pacco, John. "Renard R.31" ''Belgisch Leger/Armee Belge: Het militair Vliegwezen/l'Aeronautique militaire 1930-1940''. Aartselaar, Belgium, 2003, pp. 49–51. .
* Delannay, Alain de la Lindi, André Henry. "La Saga du R-31" . Brussels, Belgium:Fonds National Alfred Renard www.fnar.be, 2003, pp. 378.
External links
A Belgian Historical Aviation Archive
{{Renard aircraft
1930s Belgian military reconnaissance aircraft
R.31
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1932