Aircraft for my Belle Époque project

Now that I can access my toy/wargame room, I’ve begun to think about doing some work on my Belle Époque project. I wanted to add some early aircraft to the armed forces of the larger imagi-nations, and a quick search on eBay led me to purchase two Corgi diecast models of the Blériot Type XI monoplane in which he crossed the English Channel in 1909.

The Blériot Type XIs entered service with the Italian and French armed forces in 1910, and in 1911 some were used by Italy in North Africa during the Italo-Turkish War. This was the first use of heavier-than-air aircraft in a war. By 1912 the French and Spanish had used Blériot XIs to bomb Rif tribesmen in Morocco and the Royal Flying Corps had taken delivery of its first Blériot XIs.

By the start of World War I military versions of the Blériot XIs were in service with eight French, six British, and six Italian squadrons. They were mainly used for observation duties and as trainers, but some single-seaters served as light bombers that could carry a bomb load of up to 55lbs/25kg.

The Blériot XI’s characteristics were:

• Crew: 1
• Dimensions:
• Length: 7.62m (25ft)
• Wingspan: 7.79m (25ft 7in)
• Height: 2.69m (8ft 10in)
• Wing area: 14 sq m (150 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 230kg (507lbs)
• Propulsion: 1 × Anzani 3-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine driving a 2-bladed Chauvière Intégrale propeller
• Performance:
• Maximum speed: 75.6km/h (47.0mph, 40.8 knots)
• Service ceiling: 1,000m (3,300ft)