Blériot 115

The Blériot Bl-115 was a French biplane airliner of the 1920s, best remembered for the part it played in the French exploration of Africa. For its day, it was a large aircraft, mounting one pair of engines on the upper wing and one pair on the lower. First flying on 9 May 1923, the prototype crashed on 23 June, killing its pilot, Jean Casale.

A refined version of the aircraft, the 115-bis was flown in June 1924.

Operational; history
The third and fourth machines built (christened Roland Garros and Jean Casale) were used in Colonel de Goÿs' attempts to create air routes to Africa. Commanded by Jean Dagnaux, they departed France on 18 January 1925, they arrived in Colomb-Béchar, Algeria, on 28 January. The expedition ended in disaster on 7 February in Niamey, Niger when the Jean Casale crashed on take-off, killing its radio operator and seriously injuring its two pilots, including Dagnaux. They had covered 4,137 km.

Variants

 * Blériot Bl-115
 * Four-engined airliner, powered by 4x 180 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Ac engines.


 * Blériot Bl-115bis
 * Improved version of the Blériot Bl-115, powered by 4x 180 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Ab engines.


 * Bleriot Bl-103
 * Projected bomber version. Not built.