Caudron C.710.
The C.710 were a series of light fighter aircraft developed by Caudron-Renault for the French Air Force just prior to the start of World War II.
The contract that led to the C.710 series was offered in 1936 to quickly raise the number of modern aircraft in French service, by supplying a "light fighter" of wooden construction that could be built rapidly in large numbers without upsetting the production of existing types.The contract resulted in three designs, the Arsenal VG-30, the Bloch MB.700, and the C.710. Prototypes of all three were ordered.
A common feature of the Caudron line was a long nose that set the cockpit far back on the fuselage.The nose housed the 450 hp Renault 12R-01, a supercharged inverted and air-cooled V-12 engine that resulted from putting together two 6Q engines.The landing gear was fixed and spatted, and the vertical stabilizer was a seemingly World War I-era semicircle instead of a more common trapezoidal or triangular design. Armament consisted of a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.9 cannon under each wing in a small pod.
The C.710 prototype first flew on 18 July 1936.[3] Despite its small size, it showed good potential and was able to reach a level speed of 292 mph during flight testing. Further development continued with the C.711 and C.712 with more powerful engines, while the C.713 which flew on 15 December 1937 introduced retractable landing gear and a more conventional triangular vertical stabilizer.
The final evolution of the 710 series was the C.714 Cyclone, a variation on the C.713 which first flew in April 1938 as the C.714.01 prototype. The primary changes were a new wing airfoil profile, a strengthened fuselage, and instead cannons, the fighter had four 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns in the wing gondolas. It was powered by the newer 12R-03 version of the engine, which introduced a new carburettor that could operate in negative g.
The French Air Force ordered 20 C.714s on 5 November 1938, with options for a further 180. Production started at a Renault factory in the Paris suburbs in summer 1939.Deliveries did not start until January 1940. After a series of tests with the first production examples, it became apparent that the design was seriously flawed. Although light and fast, its wooden construction did not permit a more powerful engine to be fitted,with the result that the Caudron was withdrawn from active service in February 1940.
In March, the initial production order was reduced to 90, as the performance was not considered good enough to warrant further production contracts. Eighty were diverted to Finland to fight in the Winter War. These were meant to be flown by French pilots,only six aircraft were delivered, and an additional ten were waiting in the harbour when deliveries were stopped.
On 18 May 1940, 35 Caudrons were delivered to the Polish Warsaw Squadron,I/145, stationed at the Mions airfield. After just 23 sorties, adverse opinion of the fighter was confirmed by frontline pilots who expressed concerns that it was seriously underpowered and was no match for contemporary German fighters.
On 25 May, only a week after it was introduced, French Minister of War Guy La Chambre ordered all C.714s to be withdrawn from active service. However,the French had no other aircraft to offer, the Polish ignored the order and continued to fly the Caudrons. Despite flying a fighter hopelessly outdated compared to the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, the Polish pilots scored 12 confirmed and three unconfirmed victories in three battles between 8 June and 11 June, losing nine in the air and nine more on the ground. Among the aircraft shot down were four Dornier Do 17 bombers, and also three Messerschmitt Bf 109 and five Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters.
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