The Caudron G.3 was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as a development of their earlier Caudron G.2 for military use. It first flew in May 1914 at their Le Crotoy aerodrome. The aircraft had a short crew nacelle, with a single engine in the nose of the nacelle, and an open tailboom truss. It was of sesquiplane layout, and used wing warping for lateral control, although this was replaced by conventional ailerons fitted on the upper wing in late production aircraft. Usually, the G.3 was not armed, although sometimes light machine guns and small bombs were fitted. It was ordered in large quantities following the outbreak of the First World War with the Caudron factories building 1423 of the 2450 built in France. 233 were also built in England and 166 built in Italy along with several other countries. The Caudron brothers did not charge a licensing fee for the design, as an act of patriotism. It was followed in production by the Caudron G.4, which was a twin-engined development. It also has a maximum of 66mph or 80hp
Operational history
The G.3 equipped Escadrille C.11 of the French Aéronautique Militaire at the outbreak of war, and was well-suited for reconnaissance use, proving stable and having good visibility. As the war progressed, its low performance and lack of armament made it too vulnerable for front line service, and it was withdrawn from front line operations in mid-1916. The Italians also used the G.3 for reconnaissance on a wide scale until 1917, as did the British RFC, who fitted some with light bombs and machine guns for ground attack. The Australian Flying Corps operated the G.3 during the Mesopotamian campaign of 1915–16. It continued in use as a trainer until well after the end of the war. Chinese Fengtian cliquewarlord Caudron G.3s remained in service as trainers until the Mukden Incident of 1931, when many were captured by the Japanese. In 1921 Adrienne Bolland, a French test pilot working for Caudron, made the first crossing of the Andes by a woman, flying between Argentina and Chile in a G.3.
Variants
Most G.3s were the A2 model, used by various airforces for artillery spottingon the Western front, in Russia and in the Middle East. The G.3 D2 was a two-seat trainer, equipped with dual controls and the E2 was a basic trainer. The R1 version was used by France and the United States Air Service for taxi training, with the wing trimmed down to prevent its becoming airborne. The last version, the G.3. L2, was equipped with a more powerful Anzani 10radial engine. In Germany, Gotha built a few copies of the G.3 as the Gotha LD.3 and Gotha LD.4.
Survivors and reproductions
Caudron G.3s are displayed in several museums, including at the RAF Museum Hendon, the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Paris, the Royal Army and Military History Museum, Brussels and the Aerospace Museum, Rio de Janeiro. One aircraft is being restored at the Hallinportti Aviation Museum in Finland. An accurate, airworthy reproduction Caudron G.3 is part of the rotary engined contingent of accurately-built vintage aircraft reproductions, at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome living aviation museum, in Rhinebeck, New York. As of 2017, another airworthy reproduction of the G.3 was introduced to the collections of the Aviation Museum of Metoděj Vlach in Mladá Boleslav, the Czech Republic. Though a replica visually accurate in dimensions and appearance, it was built on an ultralight basis. The project development began in 2009, and the replica was closely based on a Caudron G.3 displayed in the Musée de l’air et de l’espace in Le Bourget, Paris.
Republic of China Air Force - Purchased 12 from France in 1913.
;:Colombian Air Force – Three aircraft became Colombia's first military aircraft. ;:Royal Danish Air Force ;:Air Force of El Salvador – Three aircraft. ;:Finnish Air Force – 12 from France in 1920, six built in Finland by Santahaminan ilmailutelakka from 1921 to 1923. One from Flyg Aktiebolaget in 1923. Withdrawn 1924. Nicknamed Tutankhamon. . ;:
