Caudron

Caudron
The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for the military in both World War I and World War II. From 1933 onwards, it was a subsidiary of Renault.
Alphonse (Gaston) (1882–1915) and René Caudron (1884–1959)
Born in Favières, Somme to parents who farmed nearby in Romiotte, the Caudron brothers were educated at a college in Abbeville. Gaston, as Alphonse was always known, intended to become an engineer but his education was cut short by health problems; René was interested in the development of mechanics and was a sportsman. After military service in an artillery regiment, they returned to work on the farm.
They began to build their first aircraft, a large biplane, in August 1908. Initially unable to obtain an engine, they flew it as a glider, towed by a horse, and tested it through the summer. In September 1909, they finally flew it under power. By April 1910, they were able to make a return flight of to Forest-Montiers.
Gaston Caudron died in an aircraft accident on 15 December 1915 at the airfield at Bron. René continued in the aircraft business until the fall of France at the start of World War II. He died in 1959.
Caudron Frères and Caudron-Renault
Needing a more convenient base than the farm, the brothers established their factory in nearby Le Crotoy, on the eastern side of the Somme estuary about from Abbeville and with a broad, flat, firm, south facing beach ideal for flying. They set up a flying school there which was functioning by 19 May 1910. This activity flourished and by early 1913 a second school had been set up at Juvisy with a combined capacity of 100–250. The War Ministry sent about 30 student pilots there in 1913. By then the company was based at Rue, Somme. During World War I, the company moved its production to Lyon and Issy-les-Moulineaux, as the Somme plant was too close to the battle front.
Designers of many aircraft like the two-seater Caudron G.3 that successfully landed on Mont Blanc in 1921, Caudron produced the trainers in which thousands of pilots got their first flying licence. The Caudron plants at Lyon and Issy-les-Moulineaux produced nearly 4,000 airplanes during World War I. In 1920, the Lyon plant stopped assembling and the Issy-les-Moulineaux site was consolidated as the headquarters and main production base. In 1933, Caudron was acquired by Renault, following pressure from the French Air Ministry, which was seeking consolidation in the aircraft industry. At the time, Renault was increasing its involvement in the aviation field. Renault took a controlling 55% stake while René Caudron kept the remaining 45%. both the Société des Avions Caudron and Renault's aircraft engine branch were integrated into the Renault Aviation division led by François Lehideux (as top manager), Marcel Riffard (as aircraft body chief designer) and Charles-Edmond Serre (aircraft engine chief designer). The Issy-les-Moulineaux plant improved synergies with the Billancourt engine plant, as both were in the Paris area. In 1937, Renault bought out René Caudron's minority stake.
As part of Renault, Caudron centred on producing light, sportier aircraft powered by either inline-four or inline-six cylinder engines, mirroring its automotive range at the time. Riffard was an expert on streamlined designs, which helped to achieve good speeds on low power. Caudron-Renault aircraft set several records in the 1930s. In August 1934, Hélène Boucher, on board her C 450, achieved the world record average speed for 100 kilometres, 1000 kilometres, and the world female speed record. In December 1934, Raymond Delmotte got a land aircraft world speed record of 505 km/h on board his C 460. According to Popular Aviation, by November 1935 Caudron-Renault was producing the following models: the C 272-3 Luciole (2-seat light biplane aircraft), the C 282-8 Phalene VIII (4-seat light monoplane), the C 360 (monoplane), the C 366 Atalante (a monoplane based on an earlier model), the C 440 (twin-engined low-wing cabin monoplane), the C 450 (1-seat racing monoplane), the C 460 (1-seat racing monoplane) and the C 530 Rafale (high-performance, 2-seat light monoplane).
By 1936, Renault was hit by the Great Depression and, in 1938, it spun off Caudron-Renault into a separate, autonomous subsidiary in order to focus on its core automotive business. After France was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II, Caudron-Renault produced trainers, auto bodies, Messerschmitt aircraft parts, Messerschmitt Bf 108s the Caudron's Simoun and Goéland ranges, the Siebel Si-204, for the Wehrmacht. It also repaired aircraft. In February 1942, Willy Messerschmitt requested that Caudron produce the Messerschmitt Me 164, a Si-104 rival, but that was sabotaged. The Issy-les-Moulineaux plant was almost completely destroyed by RAF and AAF bombings that took place in September 1943, leaving it permanently out of production. In 1944, the remaining Caudron-Renault operations were nationalised by the French government and became part of the Société Nationale de Construction aéronautique du Centre.
Aircraft
(Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères / Société des avions Caudron)
Hydroaéroplane Caudron-Fabre
Caudron Type A
Caudron Type B.2
Caudron Type C
Caudron Type D
Caudron Type E
Caudron Type F
Caudron Type G
Caudron G.2
Caudron G.3
Caudron G.4
Caudron G.6
Caudron Type H
Caudron Type J
Caudron Type K
Caudron Type L
Caudron Type M
Caudron Type N
Caudron Type O
Caudron Type P
Caudron R
Caudron R.3
Caudron R.3
Caudron R.4
Caudron R.5
Caudron R.6
Caudron R.8
Caudron R.9
Caudron R.10
Caudron R.11
Caudron R.12
Caudron R.14
Caudron R.15
Caudron R.19
Caudron C.02
Caudron C.20
Caudron C.21
Caudron C.22
Caudron C.23
Caudron C.25
Caudron C.27
Caudron C.33
Caudron C.37
Caudron C.39
Caudron C.43
Caudron C.51
Caudron C.59
Caudron C.60
Caudron C.61
Caudron C.61bis
Caudron C.65
Caudron C.66
Caudron C.67
Caudron C.68
Caudron C.74
Caudron C.77
Caudron C.81
Caudron C.91
Caudron C.92
Caudron C.97
Caudron C.98
Caudron C.99
Caudron C.101
Caudron C.103
Caudron C.104
Caudron C.107
Caudron C.109
Caudron C.110
Caudron C.113
Caudron C.117
Caudron C.125
Caudron C.127
Caudron C.128
Caudron C.128/2
Caudron C.140
Caudron C.150
Caudron C.157
Caudron C.159
Caudron C.160
Caudron C.161
Caudron C.168
Caudron C.180
Caudron C.183
Caudron C.190
Caudron C.191
Caudron C.192
Caudron C.193
Caudron C.220
Caudron C.221
Caudron C.230
Caudron C.232
Caudron C.240
Caudron C.250
Caudron C.251
Caudron C.270 Luciole
Caudron C.272 Luciole
Caudron C.272/2 Luciole
Caudron C.272/3 Luciole
Caudron C.272/4 Luciole
Caudron C.272/5 Luciole
Caudron C.273 Luciole
Caudron C.275 Luciole
Caudron C.280 Phalene
Caudron C.280/2 Phalene
Caudron C.280/6 Phalene
Caudron C.280/9 Phalene
Caudron C.282 Super Phalene
Caudron C.282/4 Super Phalene
Caudron C.282/8 Super Phalene
Caudron C.282/10 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286/2 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286/2.S4 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286/4 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286/5 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286/6 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286/7 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286/8 Super Phalene
Caudron C.286/9 Super Phalene
Caudron C.289 Super Phalene
Caudron C.289/2 Super Phalene
Caudron C.340 Micro Phalene
Caudron C.344 Phalène Junior
Caudron C.360
Caudron C.362
Caudron C.366
Caudron C.400 Super Phalene
Caudron C.401 Super Phalene
Caudron C.410 Super Phalene
Caudron C.430 Rafale
Caudron C.440 Goéland
Caudron C.441 Goéland
Caudron C.444 Goéland
Caudron C.445 Goéland
Caudron C.445/1 Goéland
Caudron C.445/2 Goéland
Caudron C.445/3 Goéland
Caudron C.445M Goéland
Caudron C.445R Goéland
Caudron C.446 Super Goéland
Caudron C.447 Goéland
Caudron C.448 Goéland
Caudron C.449 Goéland
Caudron C.449/1 Goéland
Caudron C.449/2 Goéland
Caudron C.449/3 Goéland
Caudron C.449/4 Goéland
Caudron C.449/5 Goéland
Caudron C.450
Caudron C.460
Caudron C.461
Caudron C.480 Frégate
Caudron C.490
Caudron C.491
Caudron C.500 Simoun I
Caudron C.510 Pélican
Caudron C.520 Simoun
Caudron C.530 Rafale
Caudron C.560
Caudron C.561
Caudron C.570
Caudron C.580
Caudron C.600 Aiglon
Caudron C.601 Aiglon
Caudron C.610 Aiglon
Caudron C.620 Simoun IV
Caudron C.630 Simoun
Caudron C.631 Simoun
Caudron C.632 Simoun
Caudron C.634 Simoun
Caudron C.635 Simoun
Caudron C.635M Simoun
Caudron C.640 Typhon
Caudron C.641 Typhon
Caudron C.660 Rafale
Caudron C.670 Typhon
Caudron C.680
Caudron C.684
Caudron C.685 Super Rafale
Caudron C.690
Caudron C.710 Cyclone
Caudron C.711 Cyclone
Caudron C.712 Cyclone
Caudron C.713 Cyclone
Caudron C.714 Cyclone
Caudron C.720 Cyclone
Caudron-Renault CR.760 Cyclone
Caudron-Renault CR.770 Cyclone
Caudron C.800 Epervier
Caudron C.801
Caudron C.810
Caudron C.811
Caudron C-815
Caudron C.860
Caudron C.870
Caudron C.880
Caudron KXC
Caudron Navy Experimental Type C Trainer
Caudron LEI
References
External links
Aviation Pioneers: An Anthology – Gaston & René Caudron
Caudron C.460 at air-racing-history.com
Aviafrance list of Caudron aircraft
La société des Frères Caudron
Renault
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France
Manufacturing companies established in 1909
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1944
French companies established in 1909
1944 disestablishments in France
1933 mergers and acquisitions