The Dorand AR.1 was a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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), ...

two-seat observation

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 ...

aircraft used by the

French Air Force 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 ...

, the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

and, in small numbers, by Serbian Aviation.

Design and development

Farman F.40 The Farman F.40 was a French Pusher configuration, pusher biplane reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft was also used as light bomber aircraft in the early part of World War I and later it was used as a Trainer aircraft, trainer. Development D ...

pusher aircraft, Dorand AR-series were two-seater reconnaissance biplanes that were named after the STAé director, Lt. Col. Dorand. They were characterized by backward-staggered two-bay wings and angular all-moving tail surfaces. The pilot sat beneath the leading edge of the upper wing, with the observer's cockpit being under the trailing edge, and there were cut-outs in both wings to improve the latter's field of view. Rather unusually for a single-engine

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 of the era, the lower wing was not directly attached to the fuselage, instead being somewhat below it, supported by struts. Production of these aircraft began in a state-owned French Army Aircraft Establishment (or S.T.Aé.) factory at

Chalais-Meudon Chalais-Meudon is an aeronautical research and development centre in Meudon, to the south-west of Paris. It was originally founded in 1793 in the nearby Château de Meudon and has played an important role in the development of French aviation. ...

, near

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, after flight testing had been completed in the autumn 1916.

Operational history

The first of the thirteen squadrons which flew Dorands on the Western Front received their aircraft in the spring 1917. Five other French squadrons used the type on the Italian Front. These aircraft were withdrawn from the combat units in early 1918. In 1917 the

ordered the Renault-engined varieties of the Dorand, the first of 22 AR.1s being delivered in December 1917 and the first of 120 AR.2s in following February. The Americans operated these types on the Western Front for the first half 1918, until replacing them with the

Salmson 2 The Salmson 2 A.2, (often shortened to Salmson 2) was a French biplane reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Salmson to a 1916 requirement. Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft of the French army in 1918 a ...

. After being retired from fighting duties, the surviving examples were used as trainers. A small number of Dorand AR.1s were also supplied to

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

, which operated these aircraft in four squadrons from April 1918 onwards. While the Dorand AR-types didn't have a particularly distinguished career in either French or American service, having a rather mediocre performance for a late-war daytime reconnaissance aircraft and suffering from having low priority for engine supplies, it is a testimony to the general soundness of the design that after the war, many AR.1s and AR.2s appeared in the French civil register, being used as 2/3-passenger transports by companies like Compagnie Aérienne Française and Réseau Aérien Transafricain. Private users found the aircraft useful for training and joy-flights as well.

Variants

There were following variants of the design: ;AR.1 A2 160 :Early production version powered by a Renault 8Gd engine ;AR.1 A2 200 :Mid production version powered by a Renault 8Gdy engine ;AR.1 A2 190 :Late production version powered by a Renault 8Gd engine ;ARL.1 A2 :AR.1s modified with a Lorraine-Dietrich engine ;AR.1 D2:Trainers powered by Renault 12d air-cooled V-12s. ;AR.2 A2 :2nd production version powered by a Renault 8Ge engine ;ARL.2 A2 :AR.2s modified with a Lorraine-Dietrich engine The AR.1 and ARL.1 had a wing span of , and used frontal radiators, while the AR.2 and ARL.2 were slightly smaller aircraft, with a wingspan of , the wing area being only 45 square metres, and wing mounted radiators. All these types had "A.2" added to their names in French service, indicating that they were two-seater reconnaissance aircraft.

Operators

; *

Aéronautique Militaire 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 ...

; *

Hellenic Air Force The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...

; * Operated a single example. ; *

Serbian Air Force The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence (), is the air force of Serbia and service branch of the Serbian Armed Forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Serbian airspace, and jointly with the Serbian Army, to protect territ ...

; *

Specifications (AR.1)

References

* Munson, Kenneth - Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914 - 1919 {{ISBN, 0-7537-0918-X * Owers, Colin - The French AR Biplanes, Windsock International Vol 6 #5 (Sept-Oct 1990) & Vol 7 #1 (Jan-Feb 1991)

External links

For the photographs of the Dorands see following pages: * http://jnpassieux.chez-alice.fr/html/DorandAR1.php
A history of military equipment of Modern Greece (1821-today): Dorand A.R.1
* http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/ar1and2.htm 1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft Biplanes with negative stagger Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft manufactured in France Aircraft first flown in 1916