Maurice Farman "Shorthorn"

Shorthorn

The Maurice Farman "Shorthorn" carried it's crew tandem, the observer in front, the pilot behind. The British used MF 1914s as bombers in 1914 in the Dardanelles, in Africa and Mesopotamia, with 80 assigned to the Royal Navy. The French used early types on the eastern front and in Macedonia. The 1914s assigned to the Belgans flew bombing missions against German submarines and Zeppelin bases. A Farman of 1 Wing was credited with destroying a Zeppelin at Evere. By 1915 the plane became useless against the mounting aerial opposition from the Germans, who had a new Fokker monoplane, and it was quickly relegated to training pilots in England.

Technical Details
There were too many types and subtypes of the early Farman aircraft to be able to describe them easily. The early MF 1912 was 12 m long with a wing span of 15 m. Three models were labelled MF 1914, but the basic structure was the same. It was a biplane with the upper wing longer than the lower. The wings were supported by wooden struts and braced with steel wire. The engine was a "pusher" type mounted aft of the cabin. Generally it was a 70 hp rotary Renault.

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