DORAND AR.1

History

A mid-WWI design of French origin, the the Greek-French 532nd and 533rd squadrons fighting in Macedonia would take delivery of 22 Dorand ARs (a mix of AR.1s and AR.2s, which differed in design and powerplant used) in December 1917. Here it would see extensive use as a reconnaissance platform until the end of the war. During this period, the aircraft retained their French markings.

Post-1918, the aircraft were transferred to Sedes, in North-eastern Greece, and used as advanced trainers. Here the aircraft were given the standard Hellenic markings and livery. Later, during the Greco-Turkish war, at least two of the aircraft were used on bombing and recon duties, both of which were destroyed during the war. The remaining aircraft stayed at Sedes until 1923, when they were struck from service.

The aircrafts performance was considered lacklustre, especially for a military aircraft of it's time, but it was not disliked - as it was easy to handle and had a generally sound and reliable design. Many ex-military Dorands saw service after 1918 as civil airliners, which speaks volumes about the aircrafts perceived safety.

The aircraft had a mostly grey livery, with the vertical stabiliser as a fin flash and roundels on the upper and lower wings, omitted on the fuselage. The engine nacelle was left as bare metal.

Design

The Dorand AR was originally designed as a reconnaissance platform that would replace the obsolescent Farman F.40 in service. The aircrafts construction featured a mix of aluminium, for the engine nacelle, wood and fabric for the fuselage, and steel tubes for the empennage. Cut-outs in both wings were present to improve visibility for the observer, and rather unusually the lower wing was not directly connected to the fuselage, but rather suspended below it by struts.

The AR.1 was a late production variant featuring a 190 hp Renault 8Gd engine, whilst the AR.2s had a smaller wingspan, wing-mounted radiators and were powered by 1 99 hp Renault 8Ge engine.