- Yes, don’t care how
- Yes, as a researchable vehicle
- Yes, as a premium/event/squadron vehicle
- No
Welcome, in this suggestion we will be looking at the Caudron C.R.710, one of the predecessors of the C.R.714 .
The aircraft was designed in response to a 1934 French air force request for a new lightweight fighter to replace its outdated Dewoitine D.500 and Loire 46 aircraft. Caudron responded to this with a modification of its C.460 racing monoplane which had participated in the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe. The resulting aircraft was designated C.R.710. It was a low-wing single-seat aircraft of wooden stressed-skin construction with fixed landing gear. The idea behind the wooden construction was that it would be cheap and easy to produce, and would continue to be producible even when critical resources were in short supply.
The aircraft first took to the sky in June of 1936, powered by a 420hp Renault 12R engine, and was sent for testing at the Centre d’Essais de Matériels Aériens on the 15th of July of that same year. On the 26th of November 1937, a more powerful version of the aircraft was unveiled. This new version featured a more powerful engine that could produce up to 500hp. This new engine led to a notable improvement in performance. The aircraft continued to operate until it was lost in an accident in February of 1938.
In the end, the C.R.710 would not end up entering production, but after several iterations with increasingly better performance it would lead to the C.R.714. A model that did end up seeing service with the French air force.
Performance of the C.R.710 was rather decent for its time. Its 500hp engine could propel it to a maximum speed of 455km/h. Definitely a decent speed but design choices like the fixed landing gear posed certain limitations on the plane’s performance.
Perhaps the most interesting feature about this aircraft is its armament. This consisted of 2 wing-mounted Hispano-Suiza HS.404 20mm drum-fed autocannons. The size of these drums is a mystery to me, however, judging by other aircraft with this armament, it’s probably 60 rounds per gun.
General Characteristics
Crew: 1
Engine: 1x Renault 12R-01 producing 500hp
Width: 8.97 m
Length: 8.53 m
Height: 2.47 m
Empty weight: 1243 kg
Total weight: 1645 kg
Max speed: 455km/h
Armament
Guns:
- 2x Hispano Suiza HS.404 20mm autocannon
Place in-game
The C.R.710 would be a welcome addition to the lower aviation ranks of the French tree. It would be great to see this area of the tree expanded with the large variety of aircraft that France produced in that era, and the C.R.710 would be a great fit for such an expansion. The aircraft features a unique armament setup for a French plane of its br. While the amount of rounds is limited, it is still a very powerful armament for the BR range that the aircraft would probably slot in to. Teaching new pilots trigger discipline this early will also help them as they progress through the French tree. The 20mm cannons can also be useful against ground targets as they will be able to penetrate the lightly armored vehicles in rank 1. All-in-all I think it’s a unique and interesting aircraft which would be welcomed by fans of French aviation.
Sources
https://www.aviafrance.com/caudron-c-710-aviation-france-385.htm
Caudron-Renault CR.710 Cyclone (series): Photos, History, Specification
Caudron-Renault C 710 - fighter
Caudron C.710 Series - Destination's Journey
Caudron C.710 - Destination's Journey
Images
