__NOTOC__ The Blériot Bl-115 was a French biplane airliner of the 1920s, best remembered for the part it played in the French exploration of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. For its day, it was a large aircraft, mounting one pair of

engines An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...

on the upper wing and one pair on the lower. First flying on 9 May

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

, the prototype crashed on 23 June, killing its pilot,

Jean Casale Sous Lieutenant Jean Pie Hyacinthe Paul Jerome Casale, was a French World War I flying ace credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was one of the few aces that survived the entire course of fighter aviation in the war.The Aerodrome website http ...

. A refined version of the aircraft, the 115-''bis'' was flown in June

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

Operational; history

The third and fourth machines built (christened '' Roland Garros'' and ''

'') were used in Colonel de Goÿs' attempts to create air routes to Africa. Commanded by Jean Dagnaux, they departed France on 18 January

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

, they arrived in Colomb-Béchar, Algeria, on 28 January. The expedition ended in disaster on 7 February in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesHispano-Suiza 8Ac The Hispano-Suiza 8 was a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914, and was the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hispano-Suiza 8A ...

engines. ;Blériot Bl-115bis :Improved version of the Blériot Bl-115, powered by 4x

Hispano-Suiza 8Ab The Hispano-Suiza 8 was a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914, and was the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hispano-Suiza ...

engines. ;Bleriot Bl-103 :Projected bomber version. Not built.

Operational; history

Specifications (Bl-115)

References

Further reading