Franco-British Aviation (FBA)
A company registered in London but building in Argenteuil turned out small flying boats by the hundred for four navies in the First World War, then sold 348 of its FBA 17 in peacetime.
Franco-British Aviation (FBA): the company and the aircraft that made its name
London paper, Paris hulls
Franco-British Aviation was founded in London in 1913, but its heart was always on the Seine. Its technical director was Louis Schreck, who ran the French subsidiary at Argenteuil, and its co-founder was the aviator André Beaumont. The firm’s first piece of work was a flying-boat hull derived from the Donnet-Lévêque designs, and from it grew the FBA Type A of 1913, sometimes called the FBA-Lévêque.
Flying boats for four navies
The war made FBA. It produced large numbers of small flying boats for the navies of France, Russia, Italy and Britain, single-engine pusher boats for coastal patrol and anti-submarine work. The Type B of 1915 ran to 150 examples and the Type C of 1916 to at least 78. After the Armistice the company was reorganised as a purely French concern, Hydravions Louis Schreck FBA, and in 1922 Émile Paumier became technical director.
The FBA 17 and the end
Peace brought FBA its biggest seller. The FBA 17 of 1923 was sold in quantity, 348 being built, and was licence-built in the United States as the Viking; FBA boats served from Brazil and Portugal to Poland and Denmark. But civil orders dried up. Production stopped in 1931, the FBA 310 of 1930 managing only nine examples, and in 1934 the workshops were sold to the Société des Avions Bernard, which itself failed in 1935.
Franco-British Aviation (FBA) in numbers
Společnost
- Stručně řečeno
- Founded 1913
- Registered in London, built at Argenteuil
- Founded by Louis Schreck and André Beaumont
- Reorganised as Hydravions Louis Schreck FBA after WWI
Výroba
- Nejznámější pro
- FBA Type B, C, 17
- 150 Type B, 1915
- At least 78 Type C, 1916
- 348 FBA 17 from 1923
Dnes
- Teď
- Zaniklý
- Production ended 1931
- Workshops sold to Avions Bernard, 1934
Čísla
- FBA 17 built
- 348
- Type B built
- 150
Every notable Franco-British Aviation (FBA) aircraft
Photos: Alan Wilson from Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
| Letadlo | Role | První let | Postavený | Postavení | Poznámka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBA Type A | Hydroplán | 1913 | V důchodu | Also called FBA-Lévêque | |
| FBA Type B | Hlídkový létající člun | 1915 | 150 | V důchodu | |
| FBA Type C | Hlídkový létající člun | 1916 | 78+ | V důchodu | |
| FBA 17 | Training and utility flying boat | 1923 | 348 | V důchodu | Licence-built in the US as the Viking |
| FBA 19 | Hydroplán | 1924 | V důchodu | ||
| FBA 310 | Cabin flying boat | 1930 | 9 | V důchodu |
Franco-British Aviation (FBA) aircraft in the world’s air forces
1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Franco-British Aviation (FBA) types. 0 z nich stále má jeden v provozu.
| Letectvo | V provozu | Dříve létal |
|---|---|---|
| Portugalské letectvo | Létající člun FBA typu B |
Where Franco-British Aviation (FBA) built, who led it, what it achieved
Továrny
- Argenteuil works · Argenteuil, Val-d’Oise — Main production site near Paris
Lidé
- Louis Schreck · co-founder, technical director — Ran the Argenteuil operation
- André Beaumont · co-founder, aviator
- Émile Paumier · technical director from 1922
Franco-British Aviation (FBA), year by year
Founded in London; Type A flying boat
Type B enters production (150 built)
Type C introduced
Émile Paumier becomes technical director
FBA 17 introduced (348 built)
Production ceases for lack of civil orders
Workshops sold to Avions Bernard
Everything people ask about Franco-British Aviation (FBA)
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Around Franco-British Aviation (FBA)