Farman F.60 Goliath

F.60 Goliath
Farman F-68BN4 Goliath of the Polish Air Force
Role Airliner
National origin France
Manufacturer Farman Aviation Works
First flight January 1919
Introduction February 1919
Retired c.1931
Number built approx. 60
Farman Goliath of the CSA 1929

The Farman F.60 Goliath was a French airliner and bomber 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.

Design and development

The Goliath was initially designed in 1918 as a heavy bomber capable of carrying 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of bombs with a range of 1,500 km (930 mi). It was a fixed-undercarriage three-bay biplane of fabric-covered wood construction, powered by two Salmson Z.9 engines. It had a simple and robust, yet light structure. The wings were rectangular with a constant profile with aerodynamically balanced ailerons fitted to both upper and lower wings.

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 be developed 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. Since non-military flying was not permitted at that date, Lucien Bossoutrot and his passengers were all ex-military pilots who wore uniform and carried mission orders for the circumstances. The flight went well, taking 2 hours and 30 minutes. The pilot and passengers were well received in England. The return flight was made the following day and took 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 from Paris via Casablanca and Mogador to Koufa, 180 km (110 mi) north of Saint-Louis, Senegal, flying more than 4,500 km (2,800 mi).[1]

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 prototypes.
F.60
Civil passenger transport version, powered by two 190 kW (260 hp) Salmson CM.9 radial piston engines, sixty built.
F.60bis
This designation was given to transport version, powered by two 220 kW (300 hp) Salmson 9Az engines.
F.60 Bn.2
Three-seat night bomber evolved from the F.60 Goliath. It was equipped with two 190 kW (260 hp) Salmson 9Zm engines, and 210 were delivered to French naval and army aviation.[2]
F.60 Torp
Torpedo-bomber floatplane, powered by two Gnome-Rhône 9A Jupiter radial piston engines.
F.60M
Blunt-nose version in 1924, powered by two 230 kW (310 hp) Renault 12Fy engines.
F.61
Two aircraft equipped with two 220 kW (300 hp) Renault 12Fe engines.
F.62
A record breaking aircraft, derived from the F.60, powered by a single 370 kW (500 hp) Farman 12We. First flown on 7 August 1925, the F.62, piloted by Landry and Drouhin, broke the world record 4,400 km (2,700 mi; 2,400 nmi) closed circuit in 45 hours 11 minutes and 59 seconds.[3]
F.62 BN.4
Export version for the Soviet Union, powered by two 340 kW (450 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich V-12 engines.
F.62 BN.5
A 5-seat night bomber version, powered by 2x 300 kW (400 hp) Lorraine 12Db engines.[4]
F.63 BN.4
Similar to the F.62 BN.4 export version, powered by two 340 kW (450 hp) Gnome-Rhône 9A Jupiter radial piston engines, 42 built for the Aéronautique militaire francaise.
F.63bis
A single airliner, powered by 2x 272 kW (365 hp) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IIIA engines. Ten more were built powered by 2x 280 kW (380 hp) Gnome-Rhône 9Aa Jupiter engines.[5][5]
F.63ter
Three airliners, powered by 2x 280 kW (380 hp) Gnome-Rhône 9Aa Jupiter engines.[5]
F.65
Sixty floatplane torpedo-bombers built for the Aéronautique navale, fitted with interchangeable float or landing gear and powered by 2x 280 kW (380 hp) Gnome-Rhône 9Aa Jupiter engines.[6]
F.66
Two torpedo-bombers built for the Aéronautique navale, powered by 2x 190 kW (260 hp) Salmson CM.9 engines.[6]
F.66 BN.3
One Gnome-Rhône 9A Jupiter-powered aircraft was built, intended to be exported to Romania.
F.68 BN.4
Thirty-two bomber aircraft, powered by 2x 310 kW (420 hp) Gnome-Rhône 9Ab Jupiter, exported to Poland.[7]
F.140 Super Goliath
Super-heavy bomber prototype, powered by four 370 kW (500 hp) Farman 12We W-12 engines in tandem pairs.

Operators

Civilian operators

 Belgium
 Colombia
 Czechoslovakia
 France
 Romania

Military operators

 Belgium
 Czechoslovakia
 France
 Italy
 Japan
 Peru
 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.[31]

Specifications (F.60)

Data from Histoire Mondiale des Avions de Ligne[32]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. "Le Raid du Goliath". l'Aérophile (in French): 247. 1 August 1919.
  2. Parmentier, Bruno. "Farman F-60 BN2 'Goliath'". Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  3. Parmentier, Bruno. "Farman F-62". Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  4. Parmentier, Bruno. "Farman F-62 Bn5". Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Parmentier, Bruno. "Farman F-63bis". Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  6. 1 2 Parmentier, Bruno. "Farman F-65". Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  7. Parmentier, Bruno. "Farman F-68". Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "The story of Goliath". Aeroplane. Stamford: Key Publishing (October 2015): 56–61. ISSN 0143-7240.
  9. La máquina de la civilización - Farman F.60 Goliath
  10. "Goods of German Origin." Flight, 13 October 1921, p. 675.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "French Pre-war Register: Version 120211." Air Britain. Retrieved: 8 March 2011.
  12. "Forced Landing and Damage of a 'Goliath'." Flight, 16 March 1922, p. 162.
  13. "ALLO! ALLO! Une hélice de rechange s’il vous plaît" (in French). Le Petit Journal, 2 September 1922, p. 3.
  14. "Civil Aircraft Register - France, page 2". Golden Years of Aviation. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  15. "Paris - London Flights In A Gale." The Times, Issue 42242, 28 October 1919, p. 12, column B.
  16. "Mishap to Passenger Aeroplane." The Times, Issue 43725, 8 August 1925, p. 14, column F.
  17. "When Goliath crashed down." Kent & Sussex Courier, 10 September 2010, p. 30.
  18. Aviation News,December 2005.
  19. "Aeroplane Crash At Lympne." The Times, 9 February 1925, Issue 43881 p. 9, column B.
  20. "Air Accidents in the Fog." The Times, 17 October 1925, Issue 44095, p. 12, column D.
  21. 1 2 "Wrecked French Air Liner. Inquest On Victims." The Times, 13 March 1928, Issue 44840, p. 13, column E.
  22. 1 2 "French Air Liner Crash." Flight, 15 March 1928 p. 182.
  23. "United Kingdom". BAAA/ACRO. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  24. "French Machine Burned." The Times, Issue 45207, 20 May 1929, p. 12, column E.
  25. "Mishap to French Aeroplane." The Times, Issue 45270, 1 August 1929, p. 16, column c.
  26. "Plane Crash." The Marden History Group, 22 January 2011.
  27. Humphreys 2001, p. 77.
  28. Smith, Vic. "April 1931." orpheusweb.co.uk. Retrieved: 28 January 2011.
  29. Alderson et al. 2009, p. 11
  30. Aviation Safety Database record 19300709 Retrieved 26 December 2015
  31. "Farman F.60 Goliath" (in French). Jean-Noël Passieux, 4 March 2011.
  32. Pelletier, Alain. Histoire mondiale des avions de ligne depuis 1908(in French). Boulogne-Billancourt, France: ETAI, 2004. ISBN 978-2-7268-9367-8.
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.
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