Borel military monoplane

The Borel military monoplane (company designation: Bo.14)[1] was a French single-engine, two-seat aircraft designed shortly before World War I in response to a French Army requirement for an aircraft to seek and destroy enemy balloon airships.

Borel Military Type Monoplane
Role Anti-balloon fighter
Manufacturer Etablissements Borel
First flight 1913
Number built 1

Design and development

The Military Monoplane had an unconventional design, owing to its unique mission requirement. The pilot and observer sat side by side in an open cockpit within a pod or nacelle that also carried a high monoplane wing and the engine driving a pusher propeller. The pod also featured windows on each side, near the crew members' feet to facilitate downwards visibility when hunting balloons. A cruciform empennage was carried on an open truss of triangular cross-section, the upper longeron of which passed through the propeller hub. Despite reportedly good flying characteristics, the idea never passed beyond the construction of a single prototype.


Specifications
Rear view showing the pusher propeller arrangement.

General characteristics

  • Crew: two, pilot and observer
  • Length: 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in)
  • Wingspan: 11.58 m (38 ft 0 in)
  • Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
  • Wing area: 19.1 m2 (205 sq ft)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Gnome air-cooled rotary piston engine , 37 kW (50 hp)

Performance

See also

References
  1. "Borel designations".

Bibliography
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