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{{Infobox aircraft
 |name=Caudron G.3
 |image=Gervais-Courtellemont französisches Kampfflugzeug 1914 001.jpg 
 |caption= French Caudron G.3
 |type=Reconnaissance aircraft
 |manufacturer=[[Caudron]]
 |designer=
 |first_flight=Late 1913<ref name="Holmes"/>
 |introduction=1914<ref name="Holmes">{{cite book |last= Holmes |first= Tony |title=Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide |year=2005 |publisher=Harper Collins |location=London |isbn = 0-00-719292-4 |pages=26}}</ref>
 |retired=
 |status=
 |primary_user=[[History of the Armée de l'Air (1909-1942)|''Aéronautique Militaire'']]
 |more_users=[[US Army Air Service]]<br>[[Finnish Air Force]]<br>[[Polish Air Force]]
 |produced=
 |number_built=
 |unit cost=
 |developed_from=[[Caudron G.2]]
 |variants=
}}

The '''Caudron G.3''' was a single-engined [[France|French]] [[sesquiplane]] built by [[Caudron]], widely used in [[World War I]] as a [[reconnaissance]] aircraft and [[Trainer (aircraft)|trainer]].

==Development==
The Caudron G.3 was designed by René and Gaston [[Caudron]] as a development of their earlier Caudron G.2 for military use. It first flew in May 1914 at their [[Le Crotoy]] aerodrome.<ref name ="world aircraft">{{cite book |editor=Donald, David|title=The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft|publisher=Aerospace Publishing|year=1997|isbn= 1-85605-375-X |page=233}}</ref>

The aircraft had a short crew [[nacelle]], with a single [[Piston engine|engine]] in the nose of the nacelle, and an open tailboom truss. 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. Usually, the G.3 was not armed, although sometimes light machine guns and small bombs were fitted.

It was ordered in large quantities following the outbreak of the First World War with the Caudron factories building 1423 of the 2450  built in France. 233 were also built in England and 166 built in Italy along with several other countries. The Caudron brothers did not charge a licensing fee for the design, as an act of patriotism.<ref name ="world aircraft"/>

It was followed in production by the [[Caudron G.4]], which was a twin-engined development.

==Operational history==
[[File:Amiens. Biplan Caudron. Adjudant Bauer - Fonds Berthelé - 49Fi1874-14.jpg|thumb|French operational Caudron G.3]] 
[[File:800th Aero Squadron - Flight B Caudron G.3.jpg|thumb|Caudron G.3 operated by the American 800th Aero Squadron as a trainer]]
[[File:Caudron G.3 in Chinese service.jpg|thumb|Caudron G.3 floatplane trainer in Chinese service]] 
The G.3 equipped Escadrille C.11 of the French [[History of the Armée de l'Air (1909-1942)|''Aéronautique Militaire'']] at the outbreak of war, and was well-suited for reconnaissance use, proving stable and having good visibility. As the war progressed, its low performance and lack of armament made it too vulnerable for front line service, and it was withdrawn from front line operations in mid-1916.<ref name ="world aircraft"/>

The Italians also used the G.3 for reconnaissance on a wide scale until 1917, as did the British [[Royal Flying Corps|RFC]] (continuing operations until October 1917), who fitted some with light bombs and machine guns for ground attack.<ref name ="world aircraft"/> The [[Australian Flying Corps]] operated the G.3 during the [[Mesopotamian campaign]] of 1915–16.

It continued in use as a trainer until well after the end of the war. Chinese [[Fengtian clique]] [[Warlord era|warlord]] Caudron G.3s remained in service as trainers until the [[Mukden Incident]] of 1931, when many were captured by the Japanese.

In 1921 [[Adrienne Bolland]], a French test pilot working for Caudron, made the first crossing of the [[Andes]] by a woman, flying between Argentina and Chile in a G.3.

==Variants==
Most G.3s were the '''A2''' model, used by various airforces for artillery spotting on the Western front, in Russia and in the Middle East. The G.3 '''D2''' was a two-seat trainer, equipped with dual controls and the '''E2''' was a basic trainer. The '''R1''' version (rouleur or roller) was used by France and the [[United States Air Service]] for [[Taxiing|taxi training]], with the wing trimmed down to prevent its becoming airborne. The last version, the '''G.3. L2''', was equipped with a more powerful {{cvt|100|hp}} [[Anzani 10]] [[radial engine]]. In Germany, [[Gothaer Waggonfabrik|Gotha]] built a few copies of the G.3 as the '''Gotha LD.3''' and '''Gotha LD.4''' (''Land Doppeldecker'' – "Land Biplane").

==Survivors==
Few Caudron G.3s survived and most of them are displayed in museums:

- one restored as s/n 324 at the ''[[Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace]]'', [[Paris]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Caudron G.3 |url=http://www.museeairespace.fr/aller-plus-haut/collections/caudron-g-3 |website=Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace |access-date=8 February 2024 |language=French}}</ref>

- one restored as s/n 2531 at the [[Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History]], [[Brussels]].

- one restored as 1E18 at the [[Hallinportti Aviation Museum]] in [[Finland]].

- one restored as 3066, at the [[RAF Museum Hendon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Caudron G3 |url=http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/caudron-g3 |website=Royal Air Force Museum |access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Simpson |first1=Andrew |title=Individual History [3066] |url=http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/72-AF-1620-Caudron-G.III.pdf |website=Royal Air Force Museum |access-date=8 February 2024 |date=2013}}</ref>

- one restored at the [[Museu Aeroespacial]] of [[Rio de Janeiro]].

- one rebuilt from original parts displayed in the [[Aeronautics Museum of Maracay]] in [[Venezuela]].

One Caudron G.3 is part of a private collection in France but unrestored.

== Replicas ==
A Caudron G.3 replica is part of the [[rotary engine]]d contingent of accurately-built vintage aircraft reproductions, at the [[Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome]] living aviation museum, in [[Rhinebeck, New York]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150908041942/http://oldrhinebeck.org/ORA/caudron-g-iii/ 2014-archived Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome website detail page about their Caudron G.3 reproduction]</ref>

In France, a replica is currently airworthy at La Ferté Alais, powered by a Walter radial engine.

As of 2017, another airworthy replica of the G.3 was introduced to the collections of the Aviation Museum of Metoděj Vlach in [[Mladá Boleslav]], the [[Czech Republic]]. Though a replica  visually accurate in dimensions and appearance, it was built on an ultralight basis. The project development began in 2009, and the replica was closely based on a Caudron G.3 displayed in the [[Musée de l’air et de l’espace]] in [[Le Bourget]], [[Paris]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.letecke-muzeum-metodeje-vlacha.cz/exponaty/letadla-letuschopna/ |title=Collections of airworthy aircraft at the Aviation Museum of Metoděj Vlach in Mladá Boleslav |website=letecke-muzeum-vetodeje-vlacha.cz |publisher=Letecké muzeum Metoděje Vlacha |access-date=22 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lP4JOPpUIU  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/9lP4JOPpUIU |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|title=Construction on the airworthy Caudron G.3 replica at the Aviation Museum of Metoděj Vlach in Mladá Boleslav (documentary video) |website=Youtube.com |access-date=22 March 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Operators==
[[File:Caudron G3 musal.jpg|thumb|Caudron G.3 in the Airspace Museum ([[Museu Aeroespacial]]) in [[Rio de Janeiro]].]]
[[File:Caudron G-III E-2.JPG|thumb|A Caudron G.3 E2, one of the first aircraft of the [[Colombian Air Force]].]]
;{{ARG}}:[[Argentine Air Force]]
;{{AUS}}:
*[[Mesopotamian Half Flight]]
*Central Flying School AFC at [[Point Cook, Victoria]].
;{{BEL}}:[[Belgian Air Force]]
;{{BRA}}:
*[[Brazilian Air Force]]
;{{flagicon|Beiyang government}} [[Beiyang government|Republic of China]]
*[[Beiyang Army|Beiyang Army Aviation Corp]]  – (Purchased 12 from France in 1913.) <ref>{{cite book |last1=Jowett |first1=Philip |title=Chinese Warlord Armies 1911-30 |date=2010 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84908-402-4 |page=35}}</ref>
;{{COL}}:[[Colombian Air Force]] – Three aircraft became Colombia's first military aircraft.
;{{DEN}}:[[Royal Danish Air Force]]
;{{ESA}}:[[Air Force of El Salvador]] – Three aircraft.<ref name="hagp791">Hagedorn 1993, pp. 79. 81</ref> 
;{{FIN}}:[[Finnish Air Force]] – 12 from France in 1920, six built in Finland by ''[[Patria Aviation|Santahaminan ilmailutelakka]]'' from 1921 to 1923. One from Flyg Aktiebolaget in 1923. Withdrawn 1924. Nicknamed ''[[Tutankhamon]]''.
[[File:Caudron G.3.jpeg|thumb|Caudron G.3 replica in "Museo del Aire", [[Madrid]].]]
;{{FRA}}: 
*[[French Air Force]] – Operated by 38 ''escadrilles.<ref name="Holmes"/>
;{{flag|Greece|old}}: [[Hellenic Air Force]]
;{{flag|Guatemala}}:
*[[Guatemalan Air Force]]<ref name="hagp49">Hagedorn 1993, p. 49</ref>
;{{flag|Kingdom of Hejaz}}
*[[Hejaz Air Force]] – built in Italy
;{{HON}}:
*[[Honduran Air Force]]<ref name="hagp64">Hagedorn 1993, p. 64</ref> 
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}:
* [[Corpo Aeronautico Militare]]
;{{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}:
*[[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]]
;{{PER}}: 
*[[Peruvian Air Force]] – One aircraft only.
;{{POR}}:[[Portuguese Air Force]]
;{{POL}}:[[Polish Air Force]]
;{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Romania}}: [[Romanian Air Corps]]
;{{flagcountry|Russian Empire}}: [[Imperial Russian Air Force]]
;{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Serbia}}:
*[[Serbian Air Force and Air Defense]]
;{{flagicon|Spain|1785}} [[Kingdom of Spain]]:
*[[Spanish Air Force]] – Eighteen bought in 1919 for training at [[Getafe]], [[Seville]] and [[Los Alcázares]], replaced by [[Avro 504]]Ks in 1924.
;{{USSR}}: [[Soviet Air Force]] – ex-Imperial Russian Air Force.
;{{TUR}}: [[Turkish Air Force]] – Postwar.
;{{flagcountry|UK}}:
[[File:Hendon 190913 Caudron G.3 01.jpg|thumb|Caudron G.3 at the [[Royal Air Force Museum London]]]] 
*[[Royal Flying Corps]]
**[[No. 1 Squadron RAF|No. 1 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 4 Squadron RAF|No. 4 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 5 Squadron RAF|No. 5 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 19 Squadron RAF|No. 19 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 23 Squadron RAF|No. 23 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 25 Squadron RAF|No. 25 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 29 Squadron RAF|No. 29 Squadron RFC]]
*[[Royal Naval Air Service]] – operated 140 primarily as trainers<ref name=Thetford>{{cite book |last=Thetford|first=Owen|title=British Naval Aircraft Since 1912|location=London|publisher=Putnam|year=1994|isbn=0-85177-861-5|page=415}}</ref>
;{{flag|United States|1912}}
*[[American Expeditionary Force]]
*[[United States Army Air Service]]
;{{flag|Venezuela|1905}}:[[Venezuelan Air Force]]<ref>''Air International'' September 1973, pp. 118–119.</ref>

==Specifications (G.3)==
[[File:Caudron G.3 coloured drawing.jpg|thumb|Caudron G.3 drawing]]

{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneet 1918-1939<ref name=lento>{{cite book |last1=Keskinen |first1=Kalevi |last2=Stenman |first2=Kari |last3=Niska |first3=Klaus |title=Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneet 1918-1939 |date=1976 |publisher=Tietoteos |location=Helsinki |language=fi}}</ref>
|prime units?=met
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=1
|length m=6.4
|length note=
|span m=13.4
|span note=
|height m=2.5
|height note=
|wing area sqm=27
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=420
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=710
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Le Rhône 9C]]
|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine
|eng1 kw=60
|eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2
|prop name=fixed-pitch propeller
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed kmh=106
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=4 hours
|ceiling m=4300
|ceiling note=<ref name ="world aircraft"/>
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns= One light machine gun (optional)
|bombs= hand released bombs (optional)
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Aviation}}
{{aircontent
|related=
*[[Caudron G.4]] 
*[[Caudron R.4]]
*[[Caudron R.11]]}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal |last1=Beaubois|first1=Henry|title=Le Caudron G.III|journal=Le Album de Fanatique de l'Aviation |date=December 1972 |issue=39 |pages=15–18 |issn=0757-4169 |language=fr|trans-title=}}
* {{cite book |last=Hagedorn |first=Daniel P. |title=Central American and Caribbean Air Forces |year=1993 |location=Tonbridge, Kent, UK |publisher=Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd |isbn=0-85130-210-6}}
*{{cite book |last1=Herris |first1=Jack |title=Gotha Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes |date=2013 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |location=Charleston, South Carolina |isbn=978-1-935881-14-8|series=Great War Aviation Centennial Series|volume=6}}
*{{cite book |last1=Metzmacher |first1=Andreas |title=Gotha Aircraft 1913-1954: From the London Bomber to the Flying Wing Jet Fighter |date=2021 |publisher=Fonthill |location=Brimscombe, Stroud |isbn=978-1-78155-706-8}}
*{{cite magazine |title=Venezuela Refurbishes Her Aerial Sombrero |magazine=[[Air International|Air Enthusiast]] |date=September 1973 |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=118–124, 150}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Lafille|first1=Jean-Pierre|title=J'ai piloté le Caudron G.III|journal=Le Album de Fanatique de l'Aviation |date=December 1972 |issue=39 |pages=19–20 |issn=0757-4169 |language=fr|trans-title=I Flew the Caudron G.III}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Keskinen |first1=Kalevi |last2=Partonen |first2=Kyösti |last3=Stenman |first3=Kari |title=Suomen Ilmavoimat 1918-27 : Finnish Air Force |date=2005 |publisher=Kustannusliike Kari Stenman |location=Helsinki |isbn=9529943229|language=en}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Hirschauer |editor1-first=Louis |editor2-last=Dollfus |editor2-first=Charles |title=L'Année Aéronautique: 1919-1920 |date=1920 |publisher=Dunod |location=Paris |page=17 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6553380s/f29.item}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Hirschauer |editor1-first=Louis |editor2-last=Dollfus |editor2-first=Charles |title=L'Année Aéronautique: 1920-1921 |date=1921 |publisher=Dunod |location=Paris |page=23 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65534129/f35.item}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Caudron G.3}}
* [http://www.airminded.net/caug3/caug3.html Caudron G.3 (airminded.net)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070204051010/http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/caudron-g3.htm RAF Museum]
* [https://oldrhinebeck.org/caudron-g-iii/ Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's Caudron G.III page]

{{Caudron aircraft}}
{{Gotha aircraft}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft]]
[[Category:1910s French military trainer aircraft]]
[[Category:Caudron aircraft|G.3]]
[[Category:Sesquiplanes]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1913]]
[[Category:Rotary-engined aircraft]]