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The Caudron G.3 was a single engined French biplane built by Caudron. This machine was in widespread use during WWI as a reconnaissance aircraft and trainer. In comparison to its competitors, it had a better rate of climb and it was considered especially suitable in mountainous terrain. The aircraft was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as a development of the earlier Caudron G.2 for military use. It first flew in May 1914 at the Caudron brothers aerodrome at Le Crotoy.
The aircraft had a short crew nacelle, with a single engine in the nose of the nacelle, and twin open tailbooms. It was of sesquiplane layout, and used wing warping for lateral control, although this was replaced by conventional ailerons fitted on the upper wing in late production aircraft.
Following the outbreak of the First World War, it was ordered in large quantities, with 1423 aircraft being built by Caudron Factories, with the type being built by several other companies, the Caudron brothers not charging any licence fee as an act of patriotism, with a total of 2450 being produced in France. In addition, 233 machines were manufactured in Britain, and a further 166 were produced in Italy.
Usually, the G.3 was not equipped with any weapons, although sometimes light, small calibre machine guns and some hand released small bombs were fitted to it.
It was followed in production by the Caudron G.4, which was a twin engined development.
The G.3 equipped Escadrille C.11 of the French Aéronautique Militaire, at the outbreak of war, and soon proved well suited for reconnaissance use, proving tough and reliable. As the war went on however, its low performance and the fact that it was unarmed made it vulnerable in front line service, and so the French withdrew it from front line operations in mid-1916. The Italians also used the G.3 for reconnaissance on a wide scale until 1917, as did the RFC (continuing operations until October 1917),who also fitted some with light bombs and machine guns for ground attack.
It continued in use after ceasing combat operations as a trainer until after the end of the war. Caudron G.3 in Chinese hands, namely, the air force of Fengtian clique warlords remained in service in training roles until the Mukden Incident, when most of them were captured by Japanese, and their fate afterward remained unknown.
The majority of the G.3s were of the A.2 model. This model was used by various airforces for fire spotting on the West front, in Russia and in the Middle East. G.3 D.2 was a two-seated trainer aircraft, equipped with dual controls and the E.2 was a basic trainer. The R.1 version, which had been developed from the basic version was used by France and by the USA for taxi training, with fabric removed from large areas of the wing to prevent it becoming airborne. The last version, the G.3.12, was equipped with a more powerful 100 hp Anzani 10 radial engine.
Caudron G.3s are on display at a number of museums, including at the RAF Museum Hendon, the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Paris and the Royal Army and Military History Museum, Brussels.
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