FABRIC - AEROPLANE

PIECE OF FABRIC (10 X 20- CM) AND INSCRIBED IN INK ON THE BACK; "AS PROMISED A PIECE OF AEROPLANE FABRIC FOR MA. THIS IS A FINE LINEN COVERED WITH BEST QUALITY CEULLON (SIC) DOPE. IT IS A PIECE OFF OUR FIRST AEROPLANE No. 7806. A MAURICE FARMAN."

The Maurice Farman training biplane was of two basic types, the MF.7 Longhorn and the MF.11 Shorthorn. Both were similar in that they were twin boom biplanes with a central nacelle that mounted the engine in a pusher configuration. The Longhorn had a forward elevator mounted in front of the nacelle. This was removed in the Shorthorn, hence the name adopted for the type. Both were pre-war designs by the Englishman Maurice Farman who lived in France. His brother Henry also designed aircraft that were designated as HF types. With their brother Richard they formed Avions Farman in 1908.

No. 7806 does not fit the known numbers of any British Farman and may be the French serial.

The Shorthorn served from the earliest days of the war for reconnaissance and as a bomber. It was one of the earliest types to mount a machine gun being of pusher configuration it did not require a synchronising mechanism. The type was withdrawn from the Western Front in 1915 but continued to serve on other fronts for some time. It was then used as a trainer in large numbers.

Irish linen was the desired fabric for aircraft as the fabric was treated with dope that caused the fabric to shrink and conform to the aircraft’s structure and was also waterproof. Cellon was a trade name and the “best quality Cellon Dope” mentioned would have been a cellulose acetate dope or the later cellulose nitrate dope developed by the company. A short history of the Cellon Company was published in Flight on 15 June 1961, P.835.