Breguet 27

270

Manufacturer: Breguet
First flight: 23 February 1929
Primary user: Armée de l'Air
Number built: over 150

The Breguet 27 was a 1930s French biplane military reconnaissance aircraft.

Design and development

The Breguet 27 was designed in response to a 1928 request for proposals by the Armée de l'Air. Breguet submitted a large all-metal sesquiplane with an unusual fuselage that ended abruptly aft of the two open cockpits. The empennage was mounted on a boom behind the fuselage.

The prototype exhibited mediocre performance during flight trials. Nonetheless the military placed orders for 85 aircraft in 1930 and 45 in 1932, this latter batch with a more powerful engine fitted. Two high-altitude reconnaissance versions were also built as the Breguet 33, but these did not lead to further production.

Operational history

Breguet 27s continued in military service through the outbreak of World War II, still equipping three Groupes at the time of the initial German offensive. After they began suffering combat losses, the Army withdrew all remaining examples from service.

The two Breguet 33 high-altitude reconnaissance prototypes were used to make significant long-distance flights. The first aircraft was flown from Paris to Hanoi in January 1932 by Paul Codos and Henri Robida in 7 days, 9 hours and 50 minutes, and back again in just 3 days 4 hours and 17 minutes. The second aircraft (christened Joé III) was flown by Maryse Hilsz on a tour of Asia, visiting Calcutta, Saigon, Hanoi, and Tokyo before returning to Paris via Saigon, eventually covering around 35,000 km (22,000 mi). Hilsz also won the 1936 Coupe Héléne Boucher flying a Breguet 27 at an average speed of 277 km/h (172 mph).

Variants

Breguet 27

Bre.270 Prototypes (10 built) and initial production version (143 built) powered by Hispano-Suiza 12H engine.

Bre.271 Version powered by the Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine, 45 built.

Bre.272TOE (Théatres des Operations Extérieures) Version optimised for harsh colonial conditions with Renault 9Fas radial engine, 1 built.

Bre.273 Reconnaissance-bomber variant for export, 18 built.

Bre.274 Version powered by the Gnome-Rhx´ne 14K engine, raced by Maryse Hilsz in 1936, 1 built.

Breguet 33

Bre.330 High-altitude version of Breguet 27 with Hispano-Suiza 12N engine, one later redesignated Bre.27S, 2 built.

Bre.330.01 Second Bre.330 prototype optimised for long-duration flight.

Bre.330.01

Operators

Brazil

Brazilian Air Force received small batch of Bre.270 aircraft.

China

Chinese Nationalist Air Force received 6 Bre.273 aircraft.

France

Armée de l'Air received 85 Bre.270 designated Bre.270A.2 and 45 Bre.271 designated Bre.271A.2.

Venezuela

Venezuelan Air Force operated 3 Bre.270 aircraft and 15 Bre.273 aircraft.

Specifications (Bre.270A.2)

General characteristics

Crew: Two, pilot and observer
Length: 9.76 m (32 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 17.01 m (55 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.55 m (11 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 50.0 m² (535 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,756 kg (3,871 lb)
Gross weight: 2,393 kg (5,276 lb)
Powerplant: 1 x— Hispano-Suiza 12Hb, 373 kW (500 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 236 km/h (147 mph)
Range: 1,000 km (621 miles)
Service ceiling: 7,900 m (25,920 ft)
Rate of climb: 3.4 m/s (670 ft/min)

Armament

1 x— fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) Vickers machine gun
2 x— trainable, rearward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) Lewis Guns for observer
120 kg (264 lb) of bombs

Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 199.
World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 890 Sheet 81.

Breguet 27 Pictures and Breguet 27 for Sale.

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Source: WikiPedia