Caudron_C.59 Knowpia

C.59
	A C.59 (foreground) in flight with a Häfeli DH-5
Role	Multi-purpose aircraft
Manufacturer	Caudron
First flight	August 1921
Introduction	1922
Primary users	French Air Force; Bulgarian Air Force; Turkish Air Force; Finnish Air Force
Produced	1922–1924
Number built	1,800+
Variants	Caudron C.60

The Caudron C.59 was a French, two-seat biplane with a single engine and a canvas-covered fuselage, produced between 1922 and 1924. Suitable for a variety of roles, more than 1,800 Caudron C.59s were manufactured.

Operational history edit

The Caudron C.59 was used in a variety of countries, including: France, Bulgaria, China, Finland, Turkey and in the Spanish Civil War.

Finland edit

The Finnish Air Force purchased three Caudron C.59s from France in 1923. The aircraft first carried the air force designation codes 2E3-2E5 and from 1927 on CA-48 – CA-50. The manufacturing numbers of the aircraft were 5407–5409. The aircraft were equipped with wheel landing gear, but at least one aircraft (2E3) was fitted with floats. The aircraft were accepted into service on March 8, 1923, and the last one was taken out of service in 1931.

Variants edit

C.59: Original design.
59/2: Fitted with 230 hp (170 kW) Lorraine 7Ma Mizar radial engine.
C.77: Single-seat basic trainer version; intended for 1923 ET.1 competition^[1]
C.320: c.1932, Original C.59s but refitted with 250 hp (190 kW) Renault 9A 9-cylinder radial engine. Some later returned to their original Hispano engines.^[2]

Survivors edit

The surviving C.59

Päijänne Tavastia Aviation Museum in Asikkala, Finland has one Caudron C.59 in storage.^[3]

Operators edit

Specifications (C.59) edit

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928,^[5] Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneet^[6]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 10.24 m (33 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 26 m² (280 sq ft)
Empty weight: 700 kg (1,543 lb)
Gross weight: 988 kg (2,178 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 8Ab V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 130 kW (180 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)
Endurance: 3 hours 30 minutes
Wing loading: 38.5 kg/m² (7.9 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.13476 kW/kg (0.08197 hp/lb)

References edit

^ "Caudron designations". 7 April 2010.
^ Hauet, André (2001). Les Avions Caudrons. Vol. 1. Outreau: Lela Presse. p. 241. ISBN 2 914017-08-1.
^ Ogden, Bob (2009). Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe. Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-85130-418-2.
^ "República - Armas - Otros aviones". www.sbhac.net (in Spanish).
^ Grey, C.G., ed. (1928). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 95c.
^ Keskinen, Kari Stenman, Klaus Niska, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari; Niska, Klaus (1976). Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneet 1918–1939 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Tietoteos.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)