Caudron R.4

what is it?

The Caudron R.4 (officially Caudron 40 A.3) was a French World War I twin-engine biplane reconnaissance/artillery cooperation aircraft and the progenitor of a series of successful aircraft that filled a variety of roles with the French Aéronautique Militaire.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 21.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 136 km/htop speed
• range 500 kmwithout refuelling
• size 2,337 kgmax take-off weight
• built 249made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 111 years ago, in 1915.
• 🚗Wingspan of 21.1 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1915-06

introduced

1916

retired

1918

status

retired

number built

249

role

reconnaissance

makers

Caudron

engines

2× Renault 12Db

length

11.8 m

wingspan

21.1 m

height

3.6 m

max take-off weight

2,337 kg

top speed

136 km/h

range

500 km

ceiling

4,600 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.