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The Maurice Farman MF.11 Shorthorn is a French aircraft developed before World War I by the Farman Aviation Works. It was used as a reconnaissance and light bomber during the early part of World War I, later being relegated to training duties. The Maurice Farman Shorthorn was the aircraft in which Biggles, Capt W.E. Johns' fictional character, first took to the air in "Biggles Learns To Fly". Design and development A pusher configuration unequal-span biplane like the earlier Farman MF.7, the MF.11 differed in lacking the forward-mounted elevator, the replacement of the biplane horizontal tail surfaces with a single surface with a pair of rudders mounted above it, and the mounting of the nacelle containing crew and engine in the gap between the two wings. The aircraft was also fitted with a machine gun for the observer, whose position was changed from the rear seat to the front in order to give a clear field of fire. Its nickname in British service was derived from that of the MF.7 Longhorn, as it lacked the characteristic front-mounted elevator and elongated skids of its predecessor. Operational history On 6 September 1914 the first air-sea battle took place when a Japanese Farman MF.11 aircraft launched by the seaplane carrier Wakamiya unsuccessfully attacked SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth with bombs. The MF.11 served in both the British and French air services on the Western Front in the early stages of the war. It flew the first bombing raid of the war when on 21 December 1914 an MF.11 of the Royal Naval Air Service attacked German artillery positions around Ostend, Belgium. The MF.11 was withdrawn from front-line service on the Western Front in 1915, but continued to be used by the French in Macedonia and the Middle East, while the British also used it in the Dardanelles, and Africa. The Australian Flying Corps (AFC), provided with the MF.11 by the British Indian Army, operated it during the Mesopotamian campaign of 1915–16. Italy's Società Italiana Aviazione, a Fiat company, licence-built a number of MF.11s under the designation SIA 5 from early 1915, fitted with a fixed forward machine gun and a 74.5 kW (100 hp) Fiat A.10 engine. In 1916, the AFC also bought some MF.11s for training purposes. Operators  Australia Australian Flying Corps No. 5 (Training) Squadron AFC in United Kingdom Mesopotamian Half Flight Central Flying School AFC at Point Cook, Victoria  Belgium Belgian Air Force  France French Air Force  Italy Corpo Aeronautico Militare  Greece Hellenic Air Force  Kingdom of Hejaz Hejaz Air Force - Two Farman MF.11s were obtained from Italy in 1921.  Japan Imperial Japanese Army Air Service  Norway Royal Norwegian Air Force  Portugal Portuguese Air Force  Romania Romanian Air Corps  Russia Imperial Russian Air Force  Saudi Arabia Royal Saudi Air Force  Serbia Serbian Air Force  Spain Spanish Air Force  Switzerland Swiss Air Force  Ukraine Ukrainian Air Force - One aircraft only.  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps No. 2 Squadron RFC No. 3 Squadron RFC No. 4 Squadron RFC No. 9 Squadron RFC No. 14 Squadron RFC No. 16 Squadron RFC No. 19 Squadron RFC No. 23 Squadron RFC No. 24 Squadron RFC No. 25 Squadron RFC No. 29 Squadron RFC No. 30 Squadron RFC No. 65 Squadron RFC Royal Naval Air Service Surviving aircraft The Canada Aviation Museum has an MF.11 manufactured by Airco for the Royal Flying Corps and sent to Australia in 1917. Farman F.11A-2, Royal Army and Military History Museum, Brussels, Belgium. Farman MF.11 Shorthorn (#CFS-15), RAAF Museum at Point Cook, Victoria, Australia. Specifications (Farman MF.11) Data from Encyclopedia of Military AircraftGeneral characteristics Crew: 2 (pilot & observer/gunner) Length: 9.45 m (31 ft 0 in) Wingspan: 16.15 m (53 ft 0 in) Height: 3.18 m (10 ft 5 in) Wing area: 57 m2 (610 sq ft) Empty weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb) Gross weight: 928 kg (2,046 lb) Powerplant: 1 × Renault 8D V-8 air-cooled piston engine, 75 kW (101 hp) Propellers: 4-bladed fixed-pitch pusher propeller Performance Maximum speed: 106 km/h (66 mph, 57 kn) Endurance: 3 hours 45 minutes Service ceiling: 3,800 m (12,500 ft) Wing loading: 16 kg/m2 (3.3 lb/sq ft) Armament Guns: 1 × 7.62 mm (0.30 in) machine gun Bombs: 18 × 7.3 kg (16 lb) bombs See also Related development Farman MF.7 Farman F.40 Related lists List of military aircraft of France List of pusher aircraft by configuration List of World War I Entente aircraft References Bibliography Cony, Christophe (July 1997). "Aviateur d'Observation en 14/18 (deuxième partie)" [Observation Aircraft of 14/18]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (52): 10–15. ISSN 1243-8650. Liron, Jean (1984). Les avions Farman. Collection Docavia. Vol. 21. Paris: Éditions Larivière. OCLC 37146471. External links Luftfahrtmuseum Canadian Aviation Museum. Discover the John Farman popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John Farman books.