- Yes, don’t care how
- Yes, as a researchable vehicle
- Yes, as a premium/event/squadron vehicle
- No
In this suggestion we’ll be looking at the final iteration of Caudron’s Cyclone, the C.R.770.
The C.R.770 is the result of a desire of the French air force to have a version of the C.R.714 with a more powerful engine. While the latter wasn’t a bad plane, its performance was still a bit of a let down, and a request for a set of more powerful fighter aircraft was released in 1937. Caudron responded to this with the idea of the C.R.715, a version of the C.R.714 that would be powered by a new 16- cylinder air-cooled engine which was under development by Renault at the time. Delays in development and production of the engine led to a lack of engines when they were needed in the development of the plane and an intermediate solution was found in the form of the 12-cylinder inverted-Vee Isotta-Fraschini Delta R.C.40 engine. Picking this engine would allow serial production to start while awaiting production of the Renault engine. The aircraft model powered by this engine was designated C.R.760. The C.R.770 was the model fitted with the correct Renault engine. Interestingly the C.R.770 ended up flying before the C.R.760. First taking to the skies in November of 1939. Its first -and only- flight was short but memorable. After just 10 minutes the plane suffered a broken crankshaft and had to return to land. A replacement crankshaft was ordered, but by that time the Germans had invaded France. The crankshaft was never delivered to Guyancourt and the aircraft was destroyed to stop it from falling into the hands of the advancing Germans.
As mentioned before, the C.R.770 differed from other Cyclone models by having a different engine. In this case it was powered by the Renault 62616-cylinder inverted- Vee air-cooled engine which provided 800 hp (at 4400m), a massive increase over the 450-500 hp that the engine of the original C.R.714 put out. The engine covering received some redesign to fit the new engine, and the plane also received a new air-intake.
The airplane’s fuselage was no longer made out of wood and stressed sking, but instead being made out of stressed skin over a frame of metal tubes. This increased the rigidity of the aircraft somewhat.
The wings were also a point of upgrade. These were redesigned to be less flexible and to just have a better aerodynamic profile.
All these changes resulted in impressive flight performance, though with only 10 minutes of flight time, a lot of the following numbers are estimates. In its short flight the airplane managed to reach a top speed (in level flight) of 590 km/h and climbed to 4000m in an impressive 4 minutes and 50 seconds. Cruise speed was estimated to be around 500 km/h and the range would be 1430 km.
Flight performance is not the only point where improvements were made. The armament of the aircraft was also upgraded compared to the C.R.714. Instead of the 4x 7.5mm MAC 34 machine guns, the C.R.770 carried 6 of them. These weapons were houses in pods of 3 under each wing.
General Characteristics
Crew: 1
Engine: 1x Renault 62616-cylinder inverted- Vee air-cooled engine producing 800 hp
Width: 9.00m
Length: 9.95m
Height: 2.90m
Max speed: 590 km/h
Cruise speed: 509 km/h
Range: 1430 km
Time to altitude (4000m): 4 mins 50s
Empty weight: 1750 kg
Total weight: 2250 kg
Armament
Guns:
- 6x 7.5mm MAC 34
Place in-game
The C.R.770 is a powerful early French propeller aircraft. If added it would give France a domestic aircraft that could compete with the Spitfire Mk.Ia both in flight performance and armament. As such it would be an ideal addition to rank 2 in the French tree. This rank could definitely benefit from having more vehicles, and what better to put there than a unique domestic vehicle. Considering its prototype status and limited flight time, the vehicle could also be implemented as a premium or event vehicle, but in my opinion that would be wasted potential as France doesn’t have too many options for fighters with similar abilities.
Sources
http://acversailles.free.fr/documentation/08~Documentation_Generale_M_Suire/Histoire/Avions_celebres/Caudron/Les_Caudron_experimentaux.pdf
https://www.aviafrance.com/caudron-cr-770-aviation-france-389.htm
Caudron C.770 - Destination's Journey
Caudron-Renault CR 770 - fighter
Caudron-Renault CR 760 - fighter
Caudron C.760 / C.770
Images
