| C.23 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Night bomber andtransport aircraft |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Caudron |
| Designer | Paul Deville |
| Number built | 54 |
| History | |
| First flight | February 1918 |
TheCaudron C.23 was a French long range twin enginenight bomber, flown in the last year ofWorld War I. Post-war some machines were modified to carry passengers.
The C.23 BN.2 was designed to be a night bomber able to reachBerlin with a 600 kg (1,323 lb) bomb load. The French BN.2 military category indicated a two-seat night bomber but the C.23 had a crew of three. It had much in common with theCaudron C.22 but was almost 50% larger in span, requiring an extrabay and more powerful engines. It was a largefive bay biplane, withfabric covered, constantchord, unswept wings with angled tips. The upper wing, which carried theailerons, had a slightly greater (4%) span and a smaller chord. There was nostagger, so the sets of parallelinterplane struts were vertical;flying wires braced each bay. Pairs of V-form engine bearing struts, which supported the two neatlycowled 194 kW (260 hp)Salmson 9Z nine cylinder water-cooledradial engines just above the lower wing, defined the inner two bays.
The C.23 had a flat sidedfuselage. There was a gunner's position in the nose, equipped with twinLewis guns. A roomy opencockpit was positioned under the wingleading edge, with a separate gunner's cockpit behind it under a large, roundedtrailing edge cut-out. This was fitted with another pair of Lewis guns and a further gun firing downwards through a trapdoor in the floor. A low, broadfin carried a broadbalanced rudder which extended down to the keel. Thetailplane, angular in plan and of very lowaspect ratio, was mounted on top of the fuselage and itselevators had cut-outs for rudder movement.[1]
The bomber had a fixedtailskid undercarriage, with mainwheels in pairs, their axles mounted on longitudinal bars attached to the wing, under the engines, by N-formstruts.
The Caudron C.23 first flew in February 1918, piloted byJules Védrines. Higher power engines, the 447 kW (600 hp)Salmson 18Z or the 224 kW (300 hp)Hispano-Suiza 8Fb, were considered in April 1918 but the Salmson was not yet fully developed and trials with the Hispano led nowhere.[1]
By the time of theArmistice in November 1918 fifty-four C.23s had been delivered to theFrench Air Force. Some served with the 22nd squadron until their replacement by the more powerfulFarman Goliath in February 1920.[1]
Very soon after the war some C.23s were modified to carry twelve passengers in an open cockpit formed by an opening between the cockpit and mid-upper gunner's position. On 10 February 1919 one made the first passenger flight betweenParis andBrussels, carrying five passengers tightly packed together. One C.23, designatedC.23 bis, was modified to carry fifteen passengers internally.[1]
Jules Védrines and his engineer Guillian were killed in a C.23 when an engine failed whilst trying to establish a route from Paris toRome.[1]
Data from Hauet (2001) pp.139-141[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
