Franco-British Aviation

Franco-British Aviation
Founders	Louis Schreck, André Beaumont
Successor	Hydravions Louis Schreck FBA, Société des Avions Bernard
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Products	Military aircraft

Franco-British Aviation (usually known by its initials FBA) was an aircraft manufacturer of the early 20th century, headquartered in London and with its production facilities around Paris.^[1] Specialising in seaplanes, it was established in 1913 by Louis Schreck and André Beaumont.

History

The company was established in 1913 by Louis Schreck and André Beaumont.

Louis Schreck was technical director of the French subsidiary in Argenteuil. The first activity of the company was the development of a flying boat hull derived from Donnet-Leveque Type A. The aircraft, a biplane with a single engine mounted between the wings with a pusher propeller, was originally called FBA-Leveque, then it was renamed FBA Type A.

It is from this first model that the manufacturer derived various models that would be used by the forces of Triple Entente: France, United Kingdom and the Russian Empire.

During World War I, the company produced large numbers of small flying boats for the navies of France, Russia, Italy, and the UK.^[2]

Following the war, the company was reorganised as Hydravions Louis Schreck FBA as a purely French concern and continued building aircraft in the same class. One of these, the FBA 17, sold in quantity.

In 1922, Émile Paumier became technical director and developed the brand models from the FBA model Type 10. From the Type 19 on, the company abandoned the conventional configuration with pusher propeller to finally adopt the tractor propeller.

The company could not repeat its wartime successes. The lack of orders, especially for civilian models, led to production being stopped in 1931. In 1934, on the verge of collapse, the workshops of the factory were sold to Bernard. Bernard was also struggling and itself failed later in 1935.

Aircraft

Name	Type	Production	Notes	First flight	Operators
FBA Type A	Seaplane single engine biplane recognition		Also called FBA-Leveque	1913	Austria-Hungary, Brazil, Denmark, France, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Russia
FBA Type B	single engine biplane seaplane	150		1915	France, United Kingdom
FBA Type C	single engine biplane seaplane	78+		1916
FBA Type H	single engine biplane seaplane			1915
FBA Type S	single engine biplane seaplane			1917
FBA 10	single engine biplane seaplane	2		1922
FBA 11	single engine biplane training seaplane	1	Variant of Type C for training	1923
FBA 13	single engine biplane training seaplane	1		1922
FBA 14	single engine biplane seaplane	20	Development of Type 11 trainer		France
FBA 16	single engine biplane seaplane	1
FBA 17	Single-engine two-seater biplane training seaplane	348	Produced under licence in the United States as the Viking	1923	Brazil, France, Poland, United States
FBA 19	Amphibian biplane single-engine two-seat reconnaissance	9	A prototype version 19 HMT3 3 seater was built	1924
FBA 21	single-engine civil transport amphibious biplane	7	Civilianized Type 19 for 4 passengers	1925
FBA 171	Type 17 variant for use on catapult	1
FBA 172	Type 17 variant for use on catapult	7		1932
FBA 270	Biplane seaplane single engine two-seat	1		1929	France
FBA 271	Amphibian biplane single-engine two-seat	2		1930
FBA 290	Prototype amphibious seaplane single engine biplane 4 places	1		1931
FBA 291	Variant prototype amphibious type 290	1
FBA 293	Variant of the type 291 – four-seat amphibious liaison	6			France
FBA 294	Variant of the type 293 – four-seat amphibious liaison	2			France
FBA 310	amphibious touring monoplane	9		1930

References

^ Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers: From the Pioneers to the Present Day. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Pub. (2nd ed.), 2005, ISBN 978-0-7509-3981-2.
^ Mondey, David. The International Encyclopedia of Aviation. New York: Crown, 1977, ISBN 978-0-517-53157-0, p. 220.