Caudron G.3 with an 80 H.P. Le Rhone C air-cooled rotary engine from Olde Rhinebeck Aerodrome, Rhinebeck, New York. At the beginning of the war, the Caudron was used for reconnaissance and artillery registration, and as a training plane. It was easy to fly and had a rapid rate of climb. Wingspan 43", length 23" 6', weight 1,619 lbs, speed 70 mph, ceiling 10,000 feet. The Aerodrome plane is original, and is flown over the airfield runway during the weekend shows, rising to a height of perhaps 20 feet. © 2015 John M. Shea
"March 14 [1916] saw foreign volunteers in the fore, as Sous-Lieutenant Leith Jensen, a Dane in Escadrille N.31, downed an enemy plane over Montfaucon, and Sergent Viktor Georgyevich Federov, an aggressive Russian Caudron G.4 pilot with C.42 who the French were calling the 'Don Cossack of the Air,' was credited with his second in cooperation with Soldat Pierre Lanero. Also actively serving alongside his fighters, de Rose claimed a German over Verdun, too far in enemy territory to be confirmed. But the French lost at least two Caudron G.4s that day, one being credited to Hans Berr."
French aviation units were based on the type of airplane flown by the unit. N.31 flew Nieuports, C.42 flew the Caudron, in the case of Federov, a Caudron G.4, G.4 being the model. In March, 1916, many of the best pilots were flying and fighting over the battlefield of Verdun.
The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft by Jon Gutman, page 46, copyright © 2009 Jon Gutman, publisher: Westholme Publishing, publication date: 2009
1916-03-14, 1916, March, Caudron, Federov, airplane, Nieuport
