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C.460 Rafale

Racing Aircraft

Caudron

Caudron C.460

C.460 Rafale - racing plane. The first flight in 1934. Chief Designer Engineer Riffar combined several new technical solutions in C.460, which had recently been successfully implemented on the aircraft of Norgrop, Douglas, Martin: landing flaps, fully retractable landing gear in flight and a variable pitch propeller. Special flaps that were deflected at landing, acting as flaps, made it possible to sharply increase the coefficient of lift of the wing and reduce the landing speed of the aircraft.

Compared to its predecessor, the C.460 had an improved wing profile with a pointed toe, retractable landing gear and less weight. The structure remained all-wood, as in the C.450, the shelves of the wing loggers were made of Cameroon walnut, which has twice the strength factor.

Among other things, Riffar supplied the C.460 with a new 370 hp engine. It was on this plane that Delmott set a new world speed record, exceeding the 500-kilometer mark (505.848 km / h). However, the story of the C.460 did not end there. Due to the fact that the engine had a cylinder capacity of 9.5 liters and fell under the restrictions of the regulations on the drawing of the Deitsch de la Merte Cup, Riffard built a new aircraft for the 1935 competitions with an 8-liter 330-horsepower engine. And although the power of the new engine was slightly less, the result was simply brilliant. All the same Delmott won the modified C.460 race, covering the distance at an average speed of 443.965 km / h, almost 55 km / h faster than the C.450 a year ago.

C.460 Specifications
Crew 1
Dimensions
Wing span, m 6.75
Wing area, m² 6.90
Length, m 7.12
Height, m 1.80
Powerplant
1 × PE Renault 456, power, hp 1 × 310
Weight, kg:
Empty plane 530
Loaded weight 770
Gross weight 900
Performance
Maximum speed, km/h 506

In 1936, S.460 was admitted to the American national competitions, during which pilot Michel Detroit not only won the Thompson Cup, but also broke the Doolittle record, which had been held since 1932, passing the entire race track at a speed of 425.19 km / h.

The С.460 went down in history as an aircraft with exceptionally high aerodynamic characteristics, having had a definite influence on the development of French fighters. Developing the concept of a light high-speed vehicle, Codron was able to create light interceptors such as CR.714 and others. Thanks to their good aerodynamics, despite rather weak engines, they could reach speeds of up to 500 km / h. For example, the 1938 Codron C.714 C-1 with a 450-horsepower engine had a speed of 485 km / h, the same as the newest fighter Moran Solnier MS 406 C-1 equipped with an 860 hp engine. But these capabilities could be realized only in flight at altitudes of the order of 3-5 km and were not compared with racing and record cars flying near the ground. In addition, the low power-to-weight ratio excluded a maneuverable air battle.

Photo Description

Drawing C.460

Bibliography

  • Aviafrance. Un siecle d'aviation francaise. Caudron C.460
  • Race for the phantom of speed / Victor Bakursky /

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May 29, 2020.

On Soviet Yak-3 fighters, French pilots made their contribution to the defeat of Nazism in Europe. However, the decisive contribution to the defeat of fascism was made by the Soviet Union. At one time in Nyurberg, none of the participants in the tribunal dared to challenge the information voiced during the meeting that during 1941-1945. 80% of the manpower of the German Wehrmacht was destroyed by the Red Army on the Soviet-German front.
Having begun military operations in Europe on June 6, 1944 and having received their zone in Berlin, defeated by Soviet troops, today the Axis countries only consider themselves the winners in this war.