The Caudron Simoun was a 1930s

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

four-seat touring

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

. It was used as a

mail plane The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

Air Bleu Air Bleu (Société Anonyme Air Bleu) was a French airline between 1935 and 1940 that specialised in the delivery of mail within France. Air Bleu started operations on the 10 July 1935 with Caudron Simoun aircraft operating four different airmail ...

, flew record-setting long-range flights, and was also used as a

liaison aircraft A liaison aircraft (also called an army cooperation aircraft) is a small, usually unarmed aircraft primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messages. Operation The concept developed before Worl ...

by the ''

Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The aircraft later was used as an inspiration to the famous Mooney "M series" aircraft by Jacques "Strop" Carusoam.

Variants

;C.500 Simoun I:Experimental, one built. ;C.520 Simoun:Experimental, one built. ;C.620 Simoun IV:Experimental, one built. ;C.630 Simoun:Initial production version with Renault Bengali 6Pri engine, 20 built. ;C.631 Simoun:Modified version with a Renault 6Q-01 engine, three built. ;C.632 Simoun:Similar to C.631, one built. ;C.633 Simoun:Modified fuselage with a Renault 6Q-07 engine, 6 built. ;C.634 Simoun:Modified wing and take-off weight with either a Renault 6Q-01 or Renault 6Q-09 engine, 3 built. ;C.635 Simoun:Improved cabin layout and either a Renault 6Q-01 or Renault 6Q-09 engine, 46 built and conversions from earlier versions. ;C.635M Simoun:Military version with either a Renault 6Q-09 or Renault 6Q-19 engine, 489 built.

Operators

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Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air and Space Component (, ) is the Air force, air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force (; ). It was founded in 1909 and is one of the world's oldest air services. ...

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Aeronavale French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: (contraction of ), or , or more simply ) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is . Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval pat ...

; *''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' (small numbers)Ketley, Barry, and Rolfe, Mark. ''Luftwaffe Fledglings 1935–1945: Luftwaffe Training Units and their Aircraft'' (Aldershot, GB: Hikoki Publications, 1996), p.11. ; *

Royal Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force (, ), is the air force branch of the Military of Hungary, Hungarian Defence Forces. The primary focus of the present Hungarian Air Force lies in defensive operations. The flying units operate are organised into a single ...

; *

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

No. 267 Squadron RAF No. 267 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force that served during World War I & World War II. The squadron has been formed a total of four times. History The squadron was formed at RAF Kalafrana, Malta on 27 September 1918 from Nos. 360 ...

; *

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Specifications (C.630)

Notes

References

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External links