The Farman F 400 was a 1930s

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 ...

three-seat cabin high-winged monoplane which was designed and built by

Farman Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French national ...

Design and development

The Farman series "400" was a revolution for its builder because it had a thin, cantilever-constructed, high wing, with round edges, which could be dismounted for better storage and transportation. The aeroplane had mixed construction. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

was made of steel tubes, while the wings had a wood frame. The fuselage and the wings are both covered with

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

. This version, the Farman F 402, had a

Lorraine 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 Gr ...

5 Pb 5-cylinder

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 ca ...

of , but the plane in the picture had it changed for a 9-cylinder radial engine

Salmson Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century, returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services ...

of . The F 402 has an unusual feature, which is that the control stick hangs from the ceiling of the cockpit, and the rudder control is a vertical steering wheel. The fuel tanks, which are placed inside the wings, have a capacity of 200 liters. The

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

structure is constructed of iron bars, which allows this plane to land "hardly" in short space. This aircraft served, among other countries, in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, during the 1936-1939

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, on both sides.

Variants

;F.400 :Three-seat cabin monoplane. ;F.402 :Powered by a 120hp (89-kW)

Lorraine 5Pb The Lorraine 5P, also called the Lorraine 100CV, Lorraine 110CV and Lorraine 120CV, was a family of five-cylinder air-cooled radial engines designed and built in France by Lorraine-Dietrich during the 1920s and 1930s. Nominal engine powers were ...

radial piston engine. ;F.403 :Powered by a 150hp (112-kW) Farman 7Ed engine. ;F.404 :Similar to the F.403, powered by a 140hp (89kW)

Renault 4Pei The Renault 4P, also called the Renault Bengali Junior, was a series of air-cooled 4-cylinder inverted inline aero engines designed and built in France from 1927, which produced from to . Design and development Charles Lindbergh's Atlantic Ocea ...

engine. ;F.405 :Powered by a 110hp (82kW)

radial piston engine. ;F.406 :Powered by a 125hp (93kW)

de Havilland Gipsy Major The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintag ...

piston engine.

Operators

; *

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; ...

; *

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...

Survivors

One aircraft of the

survives and is on display at the Spanish

Museo del Aire (Madrid) Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics ( es, Museo de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica), also known as Air Museum (), is an aviation museum located near of Madrid, is situated at Cuatro Vientos Air Base, Spain. The objective of the museum is to acqu ...

. This plane was used in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

as a transport, communication and ambulance aircraft.

Specifications (F 402)

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Farman F.402
{{Farman aircraft 1930s French civil utility aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft F.0400 Aircraft first flown in 1934