FBA Type A

The FBA Type A and the almost identical Type B and C were a family of reconnaissance flying boats produced in France immediately prior to and during World War I. The design was based on patents by Donnet-Lévêque and reflected the general configuration of that company's aircraft. The Type A was an unequal-span pusher two-bay biplane flying boat with a single step hull made of ash longerons covered in 3-ply, divided by bulkheads into eight compartments. The empennage was carried on an upswept curved extension of the hull made from steel tubing. The pilot and observer sat side by side in the open cockpit.^[1]

Operational history

The earliest examples sold entered service with the Austro-Hungarian Navy and Danish Navy prior to World War I, but large-scale use began with sales to the RNAS, Aéronautique Maritime, and Italian Navy in 1915.

Variants

• Type A (1913) - powered by a 37 kW (50 hp) Gnome Omega, initial aircraft from 1913.
• Type A (production) - powered by a 60 kW (80 hp) Gnome Monosoupape 7 Type A, enlarged production aircraft.
• Type B - powered by a 75 kW (100 hp) Gnome Monosoupape 9 Type B-2.
• Type C - powered by a Clerget 9B.
  • Type 11 HE.2 - two-seat elementary flying-boat.
  • Type 14 - Two-seat training flying-boat for the French Navy. 20 built.
• Type H -The most produced variant, slightly enlarged and with typically with a Hispano-Suiza 8B engine.
• Type S - lengthened hull and wings, powered by Hispano-Suiza 8B.

Operators

 Austria-Hungary

• Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine

 Brazil

• Brazilian Naval Aviation - Two Type B aircraft.

 Denmark

• Danish Navy

 France

• Aéronautique Maritime

 Italy

• Italian Navy

 Portugal

• Portuguese Naval Aviation - Three Type B aircraft.

 Russia

 United Kingdom

• Royal Naval Air Service

~116 aircraft^[2]

Specifications (Type C)

General characteristics

• Crew: Two, pilot and observer
• Length: 9.14 m (30 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 13.71 m (45 ft 0 in)
• Height: 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)
• Gross weight: 910 kg (2,000 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Clerget 9B, 97 kW (130 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 110 km/h (67 mph)
• Range: 320 km (200 miles)
• Service ceiling: 3,500^[3] m (11,480 ft)

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FBA aircraft.

• "The Franco-British Aviation Co." Flight International, 27 December 1913