Country of origin:

France

Description:

Two-seat reconnaissance biplane

Power Plant:

One 97 kw (130 hp) Renault 8C twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled engine

Specifications:

Armament:

One 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis machine gun; provision for 240 kg (529 lb) of bombs; in the F.40P model provision for ten Le Prieur rockets between the wings

History:

General Hirschauer, the director of military aviation in France in 1915, sought that the Farman brothers, Henri and Maurice, design an aircraft to replace the MF.7 and MF.11. They designed an aircraft around a cockpit which was ovoid in shape, was suspended between the wings and had a more streamline appearance than the earlier designs. It had two tail booms converging to a point on which the horizontal stabiliser and rudder were affixed. The observer was seated ahead of the pilot in the nacelle and there were three radiators on either side of the fuselage. The three-bay wings were of unequal span and the engine most commonly fitted was the Renault 8C.

The type was introduced to the Western Front in June 1915 but pilots complained about the aircrafts lack of manoeuvrability. Initial plans were to equip ten Escadrilles with the type.

Large numbers were built, with production reaching up to 10 aircraft a day. However, by September 1916 it was found the type was obsolete and, although it could climb well, it was too slow in a dive and required fighter escort to survive over the front. It saw extensive service in the reconnaissance and army co-operation role, being used for artillery co-operation.

The type also saw limited service as a day and night bomber and was able to carry a bomb-load of 150 kg (331 lb) on short range raids, having a radius of action with 300 litres (66 Imp gals) of fuel and a supplemental oil supply of 300 km (186 miles).

A number of variants of the Farman F.40 were available. These included the F.40 with the 97 kw (130 hp) Renault 8C engine or the 97 kw (130 hp) Dion Bouton 12B engine; the F.40H two-seat seaplane trainer with the Renault 8C engine; the F.40bis with a 119 kw (160 hp) Renault 8Gc engine; the F.40ter with a 112 kw (150 hp) Lorraine 8A engine; and the F.40QC with the Renault 8C engine, all being for the reconnaissance role.

The F.40 saw extensive service with other countries. Examples were supplied to Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and the United Kingdom. Thirty were supplied to the American Expeditionary Force and used as trainers but none of these made their way to America.

The United Kingdom purchased approximately 50 Farman F.40bis from France in 1916 for the Royal Naval Air Service, the aircraft being fitted with 112 kw (150 hp) Renault engines and being flown directly from the Farman factory in Paris to the naval base at Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. The first batch of 20 saw service at Hendon, Eastchurch, Grain and Dunkirk and operated with Nos 1 and 2 Wings. A second batch was based at Eastchurch.

In late 2012 The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL) based at Wellington, New Zealand exchanged with the RAF Museumat Hendon a Sopwith Snipe, an RAF RE.8 and an Albatros D.Va for a surviving Farman F.40 that had been in storage for many years, and a Hanriot HD-1. These aircraft left the United Kingdom in December 2012, arriving in Wellington in early 2013 for restoration to airworthiness.

The history of this F.40 aircraft is interesting. It commenced life as the prototype of the Farman F.40 series. It is known it was flying up to 1936 with the registration F-FARB and from August 1959 it was said to be carrying the registration F-HMFI. It is said to have been constructed in either 1915 or 1916. It was constructed at Buc and was acquired by the Royal Aeronautical Society fitted with a 97 kw (130 hp) Renault 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. At some stage it was rebuilt as a Farman F.41, a derivative of the F.40.

There is some confusion over which aircraft it actually is. It is believed to have been the personal property of Maurice Farman. The fuselage was painted dark blue. Some records have indicated an F.40 aircraft was registered F-HMFI (c/n 6799), receiving Certificate of Registration 26, being registered to M M Farman at Toussus-le-Noble on 22 December 1919, and to M Gaubert, Ville d’Avray in January 1933. However, another Farman F.40 F-FARB (c/n 6814) received Certificate of Registration No 299 and was registered to M M Farman on 19 August 1920 based at Toussus-le-Noble but was exported in December 1935.

It would seem the latter aircraft c/n 6814 became part of the Nash Collection in the United Kingdom at some stage. It is known to have landed on a beach at Boulogne in France on 6 September 1931. It then had a number of owners until acquired by R G Nash in 1936, total flying time at that stage being 1,040 hrs. At that time it was assembled and flown to Brooklands in Surrey. It was then re-assembled in the RAF workshops at Hendon and flew on 27 June 1936 at the RAF Hendon Air Pageant. At this time it carried the registration F-FARB and the number “3” on the rudder. On 26 June 1937 it was again flown at the Hendon Air Pageant by Wg Cdr D V Carnegie in Event No 5, Big Game Shooting, carrying a sportsman armed with a double-barrel shotgun and “shot down a barrage balloon masquerading as a monster from the stratosphere”.

On 13 June 1954 the Farman and other aircraft from the Nash Collection were displayed at the Royal Aeronautical Society Garden Party at London Airport; and on 15 July 1956 it was displayed at the Royal Aeronautical Society Garden Party at Wisley in Surrey. In 1958 it was placed in storage at RAF Hendon; and in 1961 it was in storage at Heathrow. In 1963 it was at RAF Upavon; in 1964 it was moved in a dismantled state from RAF Odiham to RAF Benson; and in September 1966 it was at RAF Benson for the Battle of Britain Open Day. In 1968 the Farman was stored at Henlow in Bedfordshire; and in 1976 at Cardington in Bedfordshire.

In March 1992 it was purchased, along with the remainder of the Nash Collection, by the Ministry of Defence and allotted the RAF Maintenance serial 9202M. Following the closure of Cardington it was stored at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire; and in January 2002 it was moved to the RAF Museum restoration centre at Cosford in Shropshire. It seems some restoration work was carried out until it was eventually shipped to New Zealand in 2012 where it is expected to be rebuilt to airworthy condition.