Farman HF.20

HF.20
Role Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer Farman
Designer Henri Farman
First flight 1913




An HF.20 biplane at Nicopolis airfield, near Preveza, in December 1912

The Farman HF.20 and its derivatives were a family of reconnaissance aircraft produced in France shortly before and during the First World War. It was a refined version of the Farman MF.11 "Shorthorn" that did away with the type's distinctive landing skids, and incorporated design features from Henri Farman's designs. It entered service with the French Belgian and Serbian armies in 1913 (two aircraft conducted reconnaissance during the Siege of Shkodër in the First Balkan War and one crashed), and with the British RFC and RNAS shortly after the outbreak of war. The type was also licence-built in the UK by Airco and Grahame-White.

The HF.20 was seriously underpowered, and a variety of engines were trialled in the hope of correcting this, none with much success. The problem was eventually solved only when an engine of twice the power of the original powerplant was fitted to the HF.27 variant, by which time the aircraft was already obsolete. Nevertheless, the performance of the HF.20 made it adequate for use on secondary fronts.


Variants

Operators

HF-20 of the Swiss Air Force during the First World War
 Argentina
 Belgium
 Denmark
 France
 Greece
 Kingdom of Italy
 Japan
 Netherlands
 Romania
 Russia
 Serbia
 Soviet Union
 Sweden
  Switzerland
 United Kingdom
South Africa Union of South Africa


Specifications (HF.20)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament


References

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