The definitive mark of the G.3 line became the G.3 A.2 which powered by a single French Le Rhone C series rotary engine of 80 horsepower output. Performance included a maximum speed of 68 miles per hour with a service ceiling of 14,100 feet. Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) reached 1,580lbs. This was followed by the two-seat, dual-control G.3 D.2 which was used in training new generations of airmen - many tasting flight for the first time in their lives. The G.3 E.2 designation marked basic single-seat trainer forms and ground-running (taxiing) training was done through the specially-modified, stripped G.3 R.1 model. The G.3 L.2 was a late-model addition by Caudron which installed the Anzani 10 series radial piston engine of 100 horsepower to maximize performance in the on-going war.
While generally unarmed, some G.3 aircraft carried a machine gun or pilots flew with a personal service rifle in hand for defense. The bomb-dropping capability of the aircraft was more or less based on the pilot's own skill - small-diameter bombs simply dropped by hand over the side of the aircraft onto a target area - typically at dangerously low altitudes that opened the aircraft up to ground-based fire.
There proved no urgency in procuring the new French aircraft until war broke out in Europe during the summer of 1914. The G.3 was then ordered in number with Caudron supplying as many as 1,423 aircraft by war's end. Other local French factories pushed the complete French total to about 2,450 aircraft and additional overseas production emerged (under license) in both Britain and Italy which added 233 and 166 respectively. Escadrille C.11 of the French Air Service became the first recipient of the type which proved a very reliable, robust airframe for the reconnaissance role early in the war. Eventually some 38 French squadrons formed as users of this oft-forgotten aircraft. However, the pace at which technology advanced in the coming war years rendered the G.3 cannon fodder to the new generation of interceptors, fighting scouts, and ground-based artillery. As such, the G.3 was removed from frontline work from the middle of 1916 onwards and relegated to the training role for the rest of the war. It saw extended service in foreign militaries thereafter, the last known models flying into the early-to-mid 1920s.
Interestingly, the Germans thought enough of the French G.3 series to copy the design under the LD.3 and LD.4 (LD = "Land Doppeldecker") designations - these manufactured by Gotha. Further development by Caudron led to the G.4 line detailed elsewhere on this site. The G.4 appeared in 1915 and some 1,421 examples followed in service with France, Belgium, the United States, and others.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.