Farman F.60 Goliath

infobox Aircraft
name = F.60 Goliath
type = Airliner

manufacturer = Farman Aviation Works

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caption = The passenger transport "Goliath"
designer =
first flight = January 1919
introduction = February 1919
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built = approx. 60
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The Farman F.60 Goliath was an airliner produced by the Farman Aviation Works from 1919. It was instrumental in the creation of early airlines and commercial routes in Europe after World War I.

Design and development

The "Goliath" was initially designed in 1918 as a heavy bomber capable of carrying 1000 kg of bombs with a range of 1500 km. It was a conventional fixed-undercarriage biplane of wooden construction with canvas covering, powered by two Salmson Z.9 engines. It had a simple and robust, yet light structure. The wings were rectangular with a constant profile. Hollow wooden main wing spars were used for the first time.

It was undergoing initial testing when World War I came to an end and Farman realized there would be no orders for his design. Nonetheless he was quick to understand that the big, box-like, fuselage of the Goliath could be easily modified to convert the aircraft into an airliner. Commercial aviation was beginning to appear and was in need of purpose-built aircraft. With the new passenger cabin arrangement, the Goliath could carry up to 12 or 14 passengers. It had large windows to give the passengers a view of the surroundings. The Salmson engines could be replaced by others types (Renault, Lorraine) if a customer desired it. Approximately sixty F.60 Goliath were built.

Variants

;FF.60 : Designation of the first three prototype.;F.60 : Civil passenger transport version, powered by two 260-hp (194-kW) Salmson CM.9 radial piston engines.;F.60bis : This designation was given to transport version, powered by two 300-hp (224-kW) Salmson 9Az engines.;F.60 Bn.2 : Three-seat night bomber evolved from the F.60 Goliath. It was equipped with two 260-hp Salmson 9Zm engines, and 210 were delivered to French naval and army aviation.;F.60 Torp: Torpedo-bomber floatplane, powered by two Gnome-Rhone Jupiter radial piston engines.;F.60M : Blunt-nose version of 1924, powered by two 310-hp (231-kW) Renault 12Fy engines.;F.61 : An F.60 equipped with two 300-hp (224-kW) Renault 12Fe engines, which gave it better performance. Only two were built.;F.62 BN.4 : Export version for the Soviet Union, powered by two 450-hp (336-kW) Lorraine-Dietrich V-12 engines.;F.63 BN.4 : Similar to the F.62 BN.4 export version, powered by two 450-hp (336-kW) Gnome-Rhone Jupiter radial piston engines.;F.65 : This version was built for the French Navy, it could be fitted with interchangeable float or landing gear.;F.66 BN.3 : One Jupiter-powered aircraft was built, intended to be exported to Romania.;F.68 BN.4 : Thirty-two Jupiter-powered bomber aircraft exported to Poland. ;F.4X : One special Goliath aircraft, powered by four Salmson radial piston engines in tandem pairs.;F.140 Super Goliath : Super-heavy bomber prototype, powered by four 500-hp (373-kW) Farman engines in tandem pairs.

Operational history

Farman was quick to press the Goliath into service and made several publicity flights. On February 8, 1919, the Goliath flew 12 passengers from Toussus-le-Noble to Kenley, near Croydon. As British authorities were refusing to give a commercial airliner permission to overfly British territory, Lucien Bossoutrot and his passengers were all ex-military pilots who wore uniforms and mission orders for the circumstance. The flight went well and lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes. The pilot and passengers were well received in England, the return flight being made on February 9 and lasting 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Other flights were made to publicize the Goliath. On April 3, 1919, 14 passengers were flown to an altitude of 6200 m (20,341 ft). Later, on August 11, 1919, An F.60 flew 8 passengers and a ton of supplies on a raid from Paris to Casablanca and Dakar, flying more than 4500 km.

Airlines, which were appearing very quickly all over Europe, were quick to acquire the F.60. In 1920, the Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (CGEA) began scheduling regular flights between Le Bourget and Croydon. The Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes (CMA) soon followed suit. The Société Générale de Transports Aérien (SGTA) opened a Paris-Brussels route in July 1920, flown by the Goliath. In May 1921, this route was extended to Amsterdam. Belgian airline SNETA also opened a Brussels-London route in April 1921.

Operators

Civilian operators

;FRA
*Farman Airlines (Société Générale des Transports Aériens, SGTA)
*Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (CGEA)
*Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes (CMA)
*Air Union;BEL
*Société Nationale pour l'Etude des Transports Aériens (SNETA);CZE
*Československé státní aerolinie (CSA)

Military operators

;FRA
*French Air Force
*French Navy;flag|Italy|1861;JPN ;POL;USSR
*Soviet Air Force

pecifications (F.60)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=Histoire Mondiale des Avions de Ligne, by Alain Pelletier [cite book
author=
title= Histoire mondiale des avions de ligne depuis 1908
last=Pelletier
first=Alain
date=2004-04-09
isbn=9782726893678
accessdate=
work=
publisher=
language=French]

crew=2
capacity= 12-14 passengers
length main= 14.33 m
length alt= 47 ft
span main= 26.50 m
span alt= 86 ft 11 in
height main= 5.00 m
height alt= 16 ft 5 in
area main= 161 m²
area alt= 1732 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 2500 kg
empty weight alt= 5,506 lb
loaded weight main= 4770 kg
loaded weight alt= 10,506 lb
useful load main= 3000 kg
useful load alt= 6,607 lb
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
engine (prop)=Salmson Z.9
type of prop=water-cooled radial engines
number of props=2
power main= 312 kW
power alt= 230 hp
power original=
max speed main= 140 km/h
max speed alt= 87 mph
cruise speed main= 120 km/h
cruise speed alt= 75 mph
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 400 km
range alt= 248 mi
ceiling main= 4000 m
ceiling alt= 13,123 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=

similar aircraft=

sequence=

lists=
* List of airliners
see also=

References

External links

* [http://warandgame.blogspot.com/2007/12/farman-goliath.html Farman Goliath]