The Salmson 3 C.1 was a French World War I

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 ...

fighter aircraft developed by Salmson which lost out in competition to the SPAD XIII and Morane-Saulnier AI.

Design

The Sal 3 C1 was a biplane of all-wood construction, originally built with a

Salmson 9Z The Salmson water-cooled aero-engines, produced in France by Société des Moteurs Salmson from 1908 until 1920, were a series of pioneering aero-engines: unusually combining water-cooling with the radial arrangement of their cylinders. History ...

, but re-engined with a

Salmson 9Zm The Salmson water-cooled aero-engines, produced in France by Société des Moteurs Salmson from 1908 until 1920, were a series of pioneering aero-engines: unusually combining water-cooling with the radial arrangement of their cylinders. Histor ...

in an effort to rectify deficiencies in performance. Flight tests began in late 1917, but pilots complained of poor visibility and difficulties operating the machine. Although the Salmson 3 prototype was returned to the factory for modifications, further tests were unable remedy the deficiencies sufficiently, and the French military judged the Salmson 3 to be inferior to the SPAD XIII in performance.

Specifications (Sal 3 C1)

References

{{Salmson aircraft 1910s French fighter aircraft Biplanes Salmson aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1917