The Breguet Type IV was an aircraft built by

Breguet Aviation The ''Société anonyme des ateliers d'aviation Louis Breguet'' (), also known as Breguet Aviation (), was a French aircraft manufacturer. The company was set up in 1911 by the aviation pioneer Louis Charles Breguet. Breguet Aviation was extreme ...

. It was first flown in 1911, and was the first Breguet aircraft to be produced in quantity. It was used by the French Army and the British

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

. It is notable for the extensive use of metal in its construction, unusual in an aircraft of its time.

Design and development

The Bréguet Type IV was developed from the Bréguet Type III which had appeared during 1910. It was a

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

with a

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

Variants and nomenclature

The Bréguet Type IV was produced in a number of variants, differing in their seating arrangement and in the engine fitted. Although Bréguet's earlier aircraft were referred to using a type number, the aircraft produced after the Type III were generally referred to using an airframe number and a letter/number combination denoting the type of engine fitted.Opdycke 1999 p.74 *G, later G.1 powered by a

Gnome Omega The Gnome 7 Omega (commonly called the Gnome 50 hp) is a French seven-cylinder, air-cooled aero engine produced by Gnome et Rhône. It was shown at the Paris Aero Salon held in December 1908 and was first flown in 1909. It was the world's ...

* G.2 powered by a

Gnome Lambda The Gnome 7 Lambda was a French designed, seven-cylinder, air-cooled rotary aero engine that was produced under license in Britain and Germany. Powering several World War I-era aircraft types it was claimed to produce from its capacity of alt ...

* G.3 powered by a Gnome Double Omega * G.4 powered by a Gnome Double Lambda * R.1 powered by a REP * R.2 powered by a REP * L.1 powered by a

Renault 50/60 hp The Renault 50/60 hp aircraft engines were a series of air cooled 90° V-8 engines with a bore and stroke of built by the French Renault company in the years from 1908 to about 1911. Design and development The first precursor of the Rena ...

(the 'L' for Louis Renault) * L.2 powered by a 70 hp (52kW) Renault * L.3 powered by a 90 hp (67kW) Renault * C.1 powered by a Chenu * C.2 powered by an Chenu * U.1 powered by a 7-cylinder Canton-Unné * U.2 powered by an 9-cylinder Canton-Unné * D.1 powered by a Dansette * O.1 powered by an

Le Rhône 9C The Le Rhône 9C is a nine-cylinder Rotary engine, rotary aircraft engine produced in France by '' Société des Moteurs Le Rhône'' / Gnome et Rhône. Also known as the Le Rhône 80 hp in a reference to its nominal power rating, t ...

Survivors

An example, an R.U.1, is on display at the

Musée des Arts et Métiers The Musée des Arts et Métiers (; English: Museum of Arts and Crafts) is an industrial design museum in Paris that houses the collection of the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, which was founded in 1794 as a repository for the preser ...

in Paris.

Specifications (L-1 Cruiser)

Notes

References

* * * {{Breguet aircraft IV 1910s French experimental aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1911 Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft