View source for Farman MF.11

{{short description|French WW1 reconnaissance aircraft}}
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = Farman MF.11
| image = Farman Shorthorn MF11.jpg
| caption = 
| type = Reconnaissance / Bomber
| manufacturer = [[Farman Aviation Works]]
| designer = [[Maurice Farman]]
| first_flight = 1913
| introduction = May 1914
| retired = 
| status = 
| primary_user = [[French Air Force]]
| more_users = [[Royal Flying Corps]]
| produced = 
| number_built = 
| unit cost = 
| developed_from = [[Farman MF.7]]
| variants = 
}}
The '''Maurice Farman MF.11 ''Shorthorn''''' is a French aircraft developed before [[World War I]] by the [[Farman Aviation Works]].  It was used as a reconnaissance and light bomber during the early part of [[World War I]], later being relegated to training duties.

The Maurice Farman Shorthorn was the aircraft in which [[Biggles]], Capt [[W.E. Johns]]' fictional character, first took to the air in "Biggles Learns To Fly".

==Design and development==
A [[pusher configuration]] unequal-span biplane like the earlier [[Farman MF.7]], the MF.11 differed in lacking the forward-mounted [[Elevator (aeronautics)|elevator]], the replacement of the biplane horizontal tail surfaces with a single surface with a pair of rudders mounted above it, and the mounting of the [[nacelle]] containing crew and engine in the gap between the two wings.  The aircraft was also fitted with a machine gun for the observer, whose position was changed from the rear seat to the front in order to give a clear field of fire.

Its nickname in British service was derived from that of the [[Farman MF.7|MF.7 Longhorn]], as it lacked the characteristic front-mounted elevator and elongated skids of its predecessor. The aircraft was also referred to by British pilots as the ''Rumpty.''

From 1914, Farman built a modified version of the MF.11 for French army with a larger wingspan of {{cvt|21|m|0}} and powered by a [[Renault 100 hp V-12|100 hp Renault V-12]] which was known as the ''Farman MF.12'' or ''Type Armee XXVI''.<ref>Liron, J. Les Avions Farman. pg 46. Lariviere, 1984.</ref>

==Operational history==
[[File:MF11 WW1 aircraft reco.jpg|thumb|Reconnaissance version of the MF.11 with camera detail]]
[[File:WWI - Second Battle of the Isonzo - Farman MF.11 Shorthorn light bomber of the Italian air force.jpg|thumb|Italian air force MF.11]]

On 6 September 1914, the first air-sea battle took place when a Japanese Farman MF.11 aircraft launched by the [[seaplane carrier]] {{ship|Japanese seaplane carrier|Wakamiya||2}} unsuccessfully attacked [[SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth|SMS ''Kaiserin Elisabeth'']] with bombs.<ref>Donko, Wilhelm M.: „Österreichs Kriegsmarine in Fernost: Alle Fahrten von Schiffen der k.(u.)k. Kriegsmarine nach Ostasien, Australien und Ozeanien von 1820 bis 1914“ (epubli, Berlin, 2013) - Page 4, 156-162, 427.</ref>

The MF.11 served in both the British and French air services on the Western Front in the early stages of the war. It flew the first bombing raid of the war when, on 21 December 1914, an MF.11 of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] attacked German artillery positions around [[Ostend]], Belgium.

The MF.11 was withdrawn from front-line service on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] in 1915 but continued to be used by the French in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] and the Middle East, while the British also used it in the [[Dardanelles]] and Africa. The [[Australian Flying Corps]] (AFC), provided with the MF.11 by the [[British Indian Army]], operated it during the [[Mesopotamian campaign]] of 1915&ndash;16.

Following its withdrawal from frontline service, the MF.11 continued to be used by the British in flight schools where it became known as the ''Rumpty<ref>Yeates, VM. Winged Victory. pg 78. David Yeates, 2011. {{ASIN|B005FA3W8C}}</ref> (or Rumpety)''. Despite its archaic looks, the MF.11 was regarded as a good aircraft for trainee pilots as its sturdy build meant that bad landings rarely caused damage to the undercarriage.<ref>Senior, Michael. Victory on the Western Front: The Development of the British Army, 1914–1918. pg 66. Pen & Sword Military, 2016. {{ISBN|9781783400652}}</ref>

Italy's [[Società Italiana Aviazione]], a [[Fiat]] company, licence-built a number of MF.11s under the designation '''SIA 5''' from early 1915, fitted with a fixed forward machine gun and a 74.5&nbsp;kW (100&nbsp;hp) [[Fiat A.10]] engine.<ref>Taylor, Michael J H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. pg 805. Portland House, 1989. {{ISBN|0-517-69186-8}}</ref>

In 1916, the AFC also bought some MF.11s for training purposes.

==Operators==
;{{AUS}} 
* [[Australian Flying Corps]]
**[[No. 5 Squadron RAAF|No. 5 (Training) Squadron AFC]] in [[United Kingdom]]
**[[Mesopotamian Half Flight]]
**Central Flying School AFC at [[Point Cook, Victoria]]
;{{BEL}}
*[[Belgian Air Force]]
;{{flag|French Third Republic|name=France}}
*[[French Air Force]]
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy|name=Italy}}
*[[Corpo Aeronautico Militare]]
;{{flag|Kingdom of Greece|name=Greece}}
*[[Hellenic Air Force]]
;{{flag|Kingdom of Hejaz}}
*[[Hejaz Air Force]] - Two Farman MF.11s were obtained from Italy in 1921.
;{{flag|Empire of Japan|name=Japan}}
*[[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]]
;{{NOR}}
*[[Royal Norwegian Air Force]]
;{{POR}}
*[[Portuguese Air Force]]
;{{flag|Kingdom of Romania|name=Romania}}
*[[Romanian Air Corps]]
;{{flag|Russian Empire|name=Russia}}
*[[Imperial Russian Air Force]]
;{{SAU}} 
*[[Royal Saudi Air Force]]
;{{flag|Kingdom of Serbia|name=Serbia}}
*[[Serbian Air Force]]
;{{ESP}}
*[[Spanish Air Force]]
;{{SUI}}
*[[Swiss Air Force]]
;{{UKR}}
*[[Ukrainian Air Force]] - One aircraft only.
;{{UK}}
*[[Royal Flying Corps]]
**[[No. 2 Squadron RAF|No. 2 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 3 Squadron RAF|No. 3 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 4 Squadron RAF|No. 4 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 9 Squadron RAF|No. 9 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 14 Squadron RAF|No. 14 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 16 Squadron RAF|No. 16 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 19 Squadron RAF|No. 19 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 23 Squadron RAF|No. 23 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 24 Squadron RAF|No. 24 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 25 Squadron RAF|No. 25 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 29 Squadron RAF|No. 29 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 30 Squadron RAF|No. 30 Squadron RFC]]
**[[No. 65 Squadron RAF|No. 65 Squadron RFC]]
*[[Royal Naval Air Service]]
[[File:Farman F11-A2 BRU War Msm 26.07.65 edited-3.jpg|thumb|Belgian Air Force Farman F-11 A.2 in the Brussels War Museum in July 1965]]

==Surviving aircraft==
* The [[Canada Aviation Museum]] has an MF.11 manufactured by [[Airco]] for the Royal Flying Corps and sent to Australia in 1917.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maurice Farman S.11 Shorthorn |url=http://www.ingeniumcanada.org/aviation/artifact/maurice-farman-s11-shorthorn |website=Canada Aviation and Space Museum |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>
* Farman F.11A-2, Royal Army and Military History Museum, Brussels, Belgium.
* Farman MF.11 Shorthorn (#CFS-15), RAAF Museum at [[Point Cook, Victoria]], Australia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maurice Farman Shorthorn CFS-20 |url=http://airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/exhibitions/training_hang/shorthorn.htm |website=RAAF Museum Point Cook |access-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104090913/http://airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/exhibitions/training_hang/shorthorn.htm |archive-date=4 January 2018}}</ref>

==Specifications (Farman MF.11)==

{{Aircraft specs
|ref=British and Allied Aircraft Manufacturers of the First World War<ref>Treadwell, Terry, ''British and Allied Aircraft Manufacturers of the First World War'', Amberley, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-4456-0101-4}}</ref>
|prime units?=met
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=2 (pilot & observer/gunner)
|length m=9.3
|length note=
|span m=15.7
|span note=
|height m=3.1
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
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|empty weight kg=654
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=928
|gross weight note=
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|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Renault 80 hp]]
|eng1 type=V-8 air-cooled piston engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 note=

|prop blade number=4
|prop name=fixed-pitch pusher propeller
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
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        Performance
-->
|max speed kmh=116
|max speed note=
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|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range note=
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|ferry range note=
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|ceiling m=
|ceiling note=
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|wing loading kg/m2=
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|power/mass=
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|more performance=<!--<br />
*'''Take-off run:''' {{cvt||m|0}}
*'''Take-off run to {{cvt|15|m|0}}:''' {{cvt||m|0}}
*'''Landing run:''' {{cvt||m|0}}
*'''Landing run from {{cvt|15|m|0}}:''' {{cvt||m|0}}-->
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns=1 × 7.62 mm (0.30 in) machine gun
|bombs=

|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent|
|related=
* [[Farman MF.7]]
* [[Farman F.40]]

|similar aircraft=

|lists=
* [[List of military aircraft of France]]
* [[List of pusher aircraft by configuration]]
* [[List of World War I Entente aircraft]]
|see also=

}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal |last1=Cony|first1=Christophe|title=Aviateur d'Observation en 14/18 (deuxième partie) |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=July 1997 |issue=52 |pages=10–15 |trans-title=Observation Aircraft of 14/18 |language=fr |issn=1243-8650}}
*{{cite book |last1=Liron |first1=Jean |title=Les avions Farman |year=1984 |publisher=Éditions Larivière |location=Paris |oclc=37146471|series=Collection Docavia|volume=21}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234752/http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmi/itf/mf7lh.htm Luftfahrtmuseum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005121/http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/artifacts/aircraft/MauriceFarmanS11Shorthorn.shtml Canadian Aviation Museum]

{{Farman aircraft}}

[[Category:1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft]]
[[Category:1910s French bomber aircraft]]
[[Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft]]
[[Category:Biplanes]]
[[Category:Farman aircraft|MF.11]]
[[Category:1910s French military trainer aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1913]]