Farman F.60 Goliath

F.60 Goliath
The passenger transport Goliath
Role Airliner
National origin France
Manufacturer Farman Aviation Works
First flight January 1919
Introduction February 1919
Retired c.1931
Number built approx. 60

The Farman F.60 Goliath was an airliner produced by the Farman Aviation Works from 1919. It was instrumental in the creation of early airlines and commercial routes in Europe after World War I.

Contents

Design and development

The Goliath was initially designed in 1918 as a heavy bomber capable of carrying 1,000 kg of bombs with a range of 1,500 km. It was a conventional fixed-undercarriage biplane of wooden construction with canvas covering, powered by two Salmson Z.9 engines. It had a simple and robust, yet light structure. The wings were rectangular with a constant profile. Hollow wooden main wing spars were used for the first time.

It was undergoing initial testing when World War I came to an end and Farman realized there would be no orders for his design. Nonetheless he was quick to understand that the big, box-like, fuselage of the Goliath could be easily modified to convert the aircraft into an airliner. Commercial aviation was beginning to appear and was in need of purpose-built aircraft. With the new passenger cabin arrangement, the Goliath could carry up to 12 or 14 passengers. It had large windows to give the passengers a view of the surroundings. The Salmson engines could be replaced by other types (Renault, Lorraine) if a customer desired it. Approximately 60 F.60 Goliaths were built. Between 1927 and 1929, eight Goliaths with various engines were built under licence in Czechoslovakia, four by Avia and four by Letov.

Operational history

Farman was quick to press the Goliath into service and made several publicity flights. On 8 February 1919, the Goliath flew 12 passengers from Toussus-le-Noble to RAF Kenley, near Croydon. As British authorities were refusing to give a commercial airliner permission to overfly British territory, Lucien Bossoutrot and his passengers were all ex-military pilots who wore uniforms and carried mission orders for the circumstance. The flight went well and lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes. The pilot and passengers were well received in England, the return flight being made on 9 February and lasting 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Other flights were made to publicize the Goliath. On 3 April 1919, 14 passengers were flown to an altitude of 6,200 m (20,341 ft). Later, on 11 August 1919, an F.60 flew eight passengers and a ton of supplies on a raid from Paris to Casablanca and Dakar, flying more than 4,500 km.

Airlines, which were appearing very quickly all over Europe, were quick to acquire the F.60. In 1920, the Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (CGEA) began scheduling regular flights between Le Bourget and Croydon. The Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes (CMA) soon followed suit. The Société Générale de Transports Aérien (SGTA) opened a Paris-Brussels route in July 1920, flown by the Goliath. In May 1921, this route was extended to Amsterdam. Belgian airline Société Nationale pour l'Etude des Transports Aériens (SNETA) also opened a Brussels-London route in April 1921.

Variants

FF.60
Designation of the first three prototype.
F.60
Civil passenger transport version, powered by two 260 hp (194 kW) Salmson CM.9 radial piston engines.
F.60bis
This designation was given to transport version, powered by two 300 hp (224 kW) Salmson 9Az engines.
F.60 Bn.2
Three-seat night bomber evolved from the F.60 Goliath. It was equipped with two 260 hp Salmson 9Zm engines, and 210 were delivered to French naval and army aviation.
F.60 Torp
Torpedo-bomber floatplane, powered by two Gnome-Rhone Jupiter radial piston engines.
F.60M
Blunt-nose version in 1924, powered by two 310 hp (231 kW) Renault 12Fy engines.
F.61
An F.60 equipped with two 300 hp (224 kW) Renault 12Fe engines, which gave it better performance. Only two were built.
F.62 BN.4
Export version for the Soviet Union, powered by two 450 hp (336 kW) Lorraine-Dietrich V-12 engines.
F.63 BN.4
Similar to the F.62 BN.4 export version, powered by two 450 hp (336 kW) Gnome-Rhone Jupiter radial piston engines.
F.65 
This version was built for the French Navy, it could be fitted with interchangeable float or landing gear.
F.66 BN.3
One Jupiter-powered aircraft was built, intended to be exported to Romania.
F.68 BN.4
Thirty-two Jupiter-powered bomber aircraft exported to Poland.
F.4X 
One special Goliath aircraft, powered by four Salmson radial piston engines in tandem pairs.
F.140 Super Goliath
Super-heavy bomber prototype, powered by four 500 hp (373 kW) Farman engines in tandem pairs.

Operators

Civilian operators

 Colombia
 France
 Belgium
 Czechoslovakia

Military operators

 France
 Czechoslovakia
 Italy
 Japan
 Poland
 Soviet Union
 Spain

Accidents and incidents

Survivors

No complete airframe survives. The forward fuselage of F-HMFU is exhibited at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Le Bourget, France.[21]

Specifications (F.60)

Data from Histoire Mondiale des Avions de Ligne[22]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Goods of German Origin." Flight, 13 October 1921, p. 675.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "French Pre-war Register: Version 120211." Air Britain. Retrieved: 8 March 2011.
  3. ^ "Forced Landing and Damage of a 'Goliath'." Flight, 16 March 1922, p. 162.
  4. ^ "ALLO! ALLO! Une hélice de rechange s’il vous plaît" (in French). Le Petit Journal, 2 September 1922, p. 3.
  5. ^ "Civil Aircraft Register - France, page 2". Golden Years of Aviation. http://www.goldenyears.ukf.net/reg_F-1.htm. Retrieved 28 January 2011. 
  6. ^ "Paris - London Flights In A Gale." The Times, Issue 42242, 28 October 1919, p. 12, column B.
  7. ^ "Mishap to Passenger Aeroplane." The Times, Issue 43725, 8 August 1925, p. 14, column F.
  8. ^ "When Goliath crashed down." Kent & Sussex Courier, 10 September 2010, p. 30.
  9. ^ Aviation News,December 2005.
  10. ^ "Aeroplane Crash At Lympne." The Times, 9 February 1925, Issue 43881 p. 9, column B.
  11. ^ "Air Accidents in the Fog." The Times, 17 October 1925, Issue 44095, p. 12, column D.
  12. ^ a b "Wrecked French Air Liner. Inquest On Victims." The Times, 13 March 1928, Issue 44840, p. 13, column E.
  13. ^ a b "French Air Liner Crash." Flight, 15 March 1928 p. 182.
  14. ^ "United Kingdom". BAAA/ACRO. http://www.baaa-acro.com/Pays/R/Royaume%20Uni-1920-1929.htm. Retrieved 20 February 2011. 
  15. ^ "French Machine Burned." The Times, Issue 45207, 20 May 1929, p. 12, column E.
  16. ^ "Mishap to French Aeroplane." The Times, Issue 45270, 1 August 1929, p. 16, column c.
  17. ^ "Plane Crash." The Marden History Group, 22 January 2011.
  18. ^ Humphreys 2001, p. 77.
  19. ^ Smith, Vic. "April 1931." orpheusweb.co.uk. Retrieved: 28 January 2011.}
  20. ^ Alderson et al. 2009, p. 11
  21. ^ "Farman F.60 Goliath" (in French). Jean-Noël Passieux, 4 March 2011.}
  22. ^ Pelletier, Alain. Histoire mondiale des avions de ligne depuis 1908(in French). Boulogne-Billancourt, France: ETAI, 2004. ISBN 978-2726893678.
Bibliography
  • Alderson, Catherine et al. Marden's Aviation History. Marden, UK: The Marden History Group, 2009.
  • Humphreys, Roy. Kent Aviation, A Century of Flight. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-7509-2790-9.

External links