Background The Breguet 14 was designed by aviation pioneer and
aeronautical engineer Louis Breguet. Breguet had already built a reputation for producing capable aircraft and for having innovative ideas, including the use of metal in aircraft construction. The outbreak of the
First World War in 1914 led to Breguet-built aircraft being ordered by the military air services of several
Triple Entente nations. In spite of the French official preference for pushers, Breguet remained a proponent of tractor aircraft. In June 1916, he began a new design for a military two-seater, the
Breguet AV. The
French Army's ''Section Technique de l' Aéronautique'' (STAé) recommended that Breguet use the
Hispano-Suiza 8A V-8 engine of . Two variants of the Breguet AV (
Type XIII and
Type XIV to the French authorities) were built. Both had a boxy shape that was complemented by a rectangular frontal radiator and the unusual
negative or back stagger of its wings. The airframe's structure was constructed primarily of
duralumin, an aluminium alloy which had been invented in Germany by
Alfred Wilm only a decade previously. Many sections, such as the duralumin
longerons and spacers, were attached using
welded steel-tube fittings and braced using
piano wire. The wing
spars were rectangular duralumin tubes with either
oak or
ash shims at the attachment points, wrapped in a sheet steel sheath. In November 1916, the S.T.Aé. had issued requirements for four new aircraft types, and Breguet submitted the XIV for two of those -
reconnaissance and
bomber. By mid-1917, the French authorities ordered a substantial increase in production. Various other companies were contracted to manufacture the type. An improved model of the standard engine, the Renault 12Ff, appeared in summer 1918 and was used on some late production aircraft. Other minor variants of the Breguet 14 were flown in small numbers during the Great War; these included the
XIV B.1 (
Bombardement) long-range single-seat bomber, the
XIV GR.2 (
Grande Raid) long-range reconnaissance/bomber, the
XIV H (
Hydro)
floatplane, the
XIV S (
Sanitaire)
air ambulance and the
XIV Et.2 (
Ecole)
trainer. Later variants, such as the
XIVbis A.2 and
XIVbis B.2, had improved wings. A variant with enlarged wings was produced as the
XVI Bn.2 (
Bombardement de nuit) night bomber. Further derivatives of the aircraft included the
XVII C.2 (
Chasse) two-seat fighter, which was only built in small numbers due to the end of the war. Production of the Breguet 14 continued long after the end of the war, only ending in 1926. ==Operational history==