View source for FBA Type A

{{short description|French WW1 reconnaissance aircraft}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{|{{Infobox Aircraft Begin
 |name=FBA Type A, B, and C
 |image=Ministry of Information First World War Miscellaneous Collection Q33809 (cropped).jpg
}}{{Infobox Aircraft Type
 |type=Reconnaissance flying boat
 |manufacturer=[[Franco-British Aviation|FBA]]
 |first flight=1912
 |introduced=1912
 |status=Retired
 |primary user=France [[Aéronautique Maritime]]
 |more users=[[Royal Naval Air Service]]
 |number built=ca. 250
 |developed into =[[FBA Type H]]
}}
|}

The '''FBA Type A''' and the similar '''Type B''' and '''C''' were a family of reconnaissance [[flying boat]]s produced in [[France]] prior to and during [[World War I]].  

==Development==
All three were unequal-span [[pusher configuration|pusher]] [[biplane]] flying boats with a single step hull with [[fraxinus excelsior#Uses|ash]] [[longerons]] covered in [[plywood|laminated plywood]], divided by [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]] into eight compartments. The [[empennage]] was carried on an upswept curved extension of the hull made from steel tubing. The pilot and observer sat side by side in the open cockpit.<ref name=Taylor>Taylor, 1989, p.381</ref>

The design originated with patents by [[Donnet-Lévêque]] and initially reflected the general configuration of that company's aircraft.
The Type A had a [[interplane struts#Bays|single-bay]] wing, while the larger Type B and C had two bay wings which otherwise only differed in the engine installed, with the type B using a {{cvt|100|hp|disp=flip}} [[Gnome Monosoupape]] and the type C using a {{cvt|130|hp|disp=flip}} [[Clerget 9B]]. The RNAS contracted for 20 type B's from [[Norman Thompson]], who was responsible for building flying surfaces for hulls provided from France, which differed most noticeably by having a rectangular all-flying rudder in place of the D-shaped rudder used on French examples. The Type A was the only version with a fin attached to the rudder although some aircraft had a field modification with a fin being added between the hull and the tailplane. The Type H was developed from the Type C but was larger, had a new hull that wasn't attached directly to the tailplane, had an oval rudder and used a [[Hispano-Suiza 8]] stationary engine.

==Operational history==
[[image:RNAS FBA Type B Ministry of Information First World War Miscellaneous Collection Q33780.jpg|thumb|RNAS FBA Type B, which used British-built flying surfaces with a French-built hull]]
The earliest examples sold entered service with the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Navy]] and [[Denmark|Danish Navy]] prior to World War I, but large-scale use began with sales to the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS) who initially ordered 20 Type B's from Norman-Thompson before receiving additional Type Cs from France. The French [[Aéronautique Maritime]], and [[Italian Navy]] followed with orders for Type Bs and Cs in 1915. The FBA flying boats were used for naval patrols and frequently encountered their opposing German and Austro-Hungarian Navy counterparts which led to some being converted to single seaters armed with a machine gun. Three Type Bs were the first aircraft operated by the [[Portuguese Navy]].

==Variants==
;Type A: (1913) - powered by a {{cvt|50|hp|disp=flip}} [[Gnome Omega]], initial aircraft from 1913.
;Type A: (production) - powered by a {{cvt|80|hp|disp=flip}} [[Gnome Monosoupape 7 Type A]], enlarged production aircraft.
;Type B: powered by a {{cvt|100|hp|disp=flip}} [[Gnome Monosoupape 9 Type B-2]]. Over 150 built. The 20 Norman-Thompson built Type B for the RNAS had different flying surfaces.
;Type C: powered by a {{cvt|130|hp|disp=flip}} [[Clerget 9B]]. 78 built.
;Type 11 HE.2: two-seat elementary flying-boat.
;Type 14 HE.2: Two-seat training flying-boat for the French Navy. 20 built.
;FBA 100ch: French Navy nomenclature for the Type B
;FBA 130ch:French Navy nomenclature for the Type C

==Operators==
[[File:Aviation Officer's School First season 22.jpg|thumb|Beached Imperial Russian Navy FBA Type C]]
[[File:Lisboa em1018 2103651 (26330326018).jpg|thumb|Former Portuguese Navy FBA Type B, at the Maritime Museum, Lisbon]]
;{{flag|Austria-Hungary}}
*''[[Austro-Hungarian Navy|Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine]]''
;{{BRA}}
*[[Brazilian Naval Aviation]] - Two Type B aircraft.
;{{DNK}}
*[[Danish Navy]]
;{{FRA}}
*''[[Aéronautique Maritime]]''
;{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}
*[[Italian Navy]]
;{{POR}}
*[[Portuguese Naval Aviation]] - Three Type B aircraft.
;{{flagcountry|Russian Empire|1914}}
*[[Imperial Russian Air Service]]
*[[Imperial Russian Navy]]
;{{flagcountry|UKGBI}}
*[[Royal Naval Air Service]] - 116 aircraft<ref name=Thetford>Thetford, 1982, p.461</ref> including 20 Type B aircraft.
*[[Gosport Aircraft Company|Gosport Aircraft and Engineering Company]]<ref name=Mulder>Mulder, 2015</ref>

==Survivor==
A single example of a type B survives in the [[Museu de Marinha]] in Lisbon. This aircraft was reassembled from parts from the [[Portuguese Navy]]'s first two aircraft. 

==Specifications (Type C)==
[[File:Franco British Aviation (FBA) Type C drawing.jpg|thumb|FBA Type C drawing]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=French aircraft of the First World War,<ref name="Davilla">Davilla, 2002, 259</ref> and The Rand McNally encyclopedia of military aircraft, 1914-1980<ref name=Angelucci>Enzo, 1983, p.88 </ref>
|prime units?=met
|crew=Two, pilot and observer
|length m=9.14
|span m=13.71
|height m=3.05
|wing area sqm=32
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=640
|gross weight kg=907
|max takeoff weight kg=
|fuel capacity=
<!-- Powerplant-->
|eng1 number=1|eng1 name=[[Clerget 9B]]|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine|eng1 hp=130
|prop blade number=2|prop name=fixed-pitch pusher propeller
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!-- Performance -->
|max speed kmh=110
|cruise speed kmh=
|stall speed kmh=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed kts=
|range km=320
|endurance=2.75 hours
|ceiling m=
|time to altitude={{cvt|2000|m}} in 25 minutes
|wing loading kg/m2=
<!-- Armament -->
|guns= 1 x {{cvt|7.7|mm}} machine-gun
|bombs= 2 x {{cvt|11|kg}} bombs
}}

==References==
{{Commons category multi|FBA Type B|FBA Type C}}
===Citations===
{{Reflist|2}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book |last1=Davilla |first1=Dr. James J. |last2=Soltan |first2=Arthur M. |title=French aircraft of the First World War |year=2002 |publisher=Flying Machines Press|isbn=1891268090|page=259}}
*{{cite book|last1=Durkota|first1=Alan|last2=Darcey|first2=Thomas|last3=Kulikov |first3=Victor |title= The Imperial Russian Air Service &mdash; Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War I|year=1995|publisher=Flying Machines Press|location=Mountain View, CA |isbn=0963711024}}
*{{cite book|last=Enzo|first=Angelucci|title=The Rand McNally encyclopedia of military aircraft, 1914-1980|date=1983|publisher=Military Press|location=San Diego|isbn=0517410214|page=88}}
*{{cite book|last1=Morareau|first1=Lucien|title=Les Aeronefs de l'Aviation Maritime|publisher=ARDHAN (Association pour la Recherche de Documentation sur l'Histoire de l'Aeronautique Navale|location=Paris, France|year=2002|isbn=2-913344-04-6|pages=44–47}}
*{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Michael J.H.|title=Jane's encyclopedia of aviation|date=1989|publisher=Portland House|location=London|isbn=0517691868| page=381}}
*{{cite web|last1=Mulder|first1=Rob J M|title=THE BRITISH AIRCRAFT ON THE ELTA OF 1919|url=http://www.europeanairlines.no/the-british-aircraft-on-the-elta-of-1919/|website=European Airlines|publisher=EUROPEAN AIRLINES / ROB MULDER|accessdate=10 February 2017|date=2015}}
*{{cite book|last1=Thetford |first1=Owen|title=British naval aircraft since 1912|date=1982|publisher=Putnam|isbn=0370300211|edition=5th|page=461}}
*{{cite magazine|title=The Franco-British Aviation Co Ltd. |magazine=Flight |date=27 December 1913 |volume=V (No. 52) |issue=261 |page=1405 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1913/1913%20-%201379.html |accessdate=10 December 2018}}

<!--==External links==-->

{{FBA aircraft}}

[[Category:1910s international military reconnaissance aircraft]]
[[Category:1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft]]
[[Category:FBA aircraft]]
[[Category:Flying boats]]
[[Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft]]
[[Category:Biplanes]]
[[Category:1910s French patrol aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1912]]
[[Category:Rotary-engined aircraft]]