Historical Writings of the combat aircraft of the two World Wars

Caudron C.714 "Cyclone"

The Caudron C.714 was a continuation of France's trend towards elegant, sleek fighters. But like so many, it was too little too late. When Germany invaded, there were too few C.714s to make any difference whatsoever. Marcel Riffard, Caudron's designer since 1932, became renowned for an exceptional series of racing planes. He then had the idea that the lightweight planes might just give him the experience to make a fighter.

The C.710 prototype flew for the first time on 18 july 1936. Despite its small size, it showed great potential. This led to the C.713, first flown in December of 1937. It was generally similar in design, but had retractabe tailwheel type landing gear, and redesigned verticle tail surfaces. The final evolution of his design, was the C.714. The prototype was first flown in the summer of 1938.

Its performance on its maiden flight was excellent. It was handed over for CEMA trials in September 1938. In November, an order came for 100 C.714s. These were required to have four 7.5mm machine guns. The C,714 was an all-wood airplane. The wing section was so shallow that it was impossible to mount the machine guns in the conventional way, so the guns were mounted in specially streamlined pods, each carrying a pair of guns beneath each wing.

Production began in the summer of 1939, and 50 aircraft supposed to be used by France were diverted to the assistance of Finland, but only six had arrived by 12 March 1940, the balance being presumed to have been lost en route. It is believed that 40 C.714s were delivered to the French air force.

After 90 had been built, production was cancelled due to dissatisfaction with the type's rate of climb. They were used to equip an all-Polish squadron which became known as the 'Warsaw Group' (GC I/145). This unit saw action against the Germans between 2-13 June 1940. Following the collapse, a small number were used by the Vichy air force, and about 20 were confiscated by the Germans.

Technical Data

Origin: Caudron Aircraft
Type: Single seat fighter
Engine: One 336-kW (450hp) Renault 12Ro1 inline piston engine
Dimensions: Span 29ft 5 inches (8.97m); length 27ft 11 3/4 inches (8.53m); height 9ft 5in (2.87m); wing area 134.55 sq ft (12.5 meters squared.)
Weights: Empty 1400kg (3,086lb); maximum take-off 1750kg (3,858lb)
Performance: Maximum speed 301mph (485km/h); service ceiling 29,885 feet (9100m); range 559 miles (900km)
Armament: four 7.5mm (0.295-in) forward-firing machine guns.

 

 


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