Fairchild KR-34CA
Encyclopedia
The Fairchild KR-34CA was first the Kreider-Reisner
C-4C Challenger. Amron Kreider and Lewis Reisner of Hagerstown, Maryland
, built the Kreider-Reisner C-4C Challenger, as a light, efficient biplane, and as a replacement for the aging Curtiss Jenny. Beginning in 1926, Kreider-Reisner built a series of three-place, open-cockpit aircraft equipped with a Wright J-6 engine.
In April 1929, Kreider-Reisner became a subsidiary of the Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Company, which redesignated the C-4C Challenger line as the Fairchild KR-34
. C-4s and KR-34s flew as sport aircraft, air taxis, and press planes, and in the 1929 National Air Tour.
In 1930, the KR-34CA, a military version of the Fairchild KR-34 based on the Kreider-Reisner C-4C Challenger design, was built in Farmingdale, New York
. A light attack craft, it had two 30 caliber Browning machine guns mounted on the nose, firing through the propellers. The Chinese version had bomb racks under the fuselage. Two of this military version of the Fairchild KR-34 were sold to the warlord generals Liu Wenhui
and Liu Xiang
in Szechwan Province.
Dimensions:
Materials:
Kreider-Reisner
The Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company was a former American flying service and aircraft manufacturer from 1923-1929.-History:The Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company was formed at Hagerstown, Maryland in 1923 as a sub-contractor. By 1925 the company was operating a general flying service. In 1926 it...
C-4C Challenger. Amron Kreider and Lewis Reisner of Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
, built the Kreider-Reisner C-4C Challenger, as a light, efficient biplane, and as a replacement for the aging Curtiss Jenny. Beginning in 1926, Kreider-Reisner built a series of three-place, open-cockpit aircraft equipped with a Wright J-6 engine.
In April 1929, Kreider-Reisner became a subsidiary of the Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Company, which redesignated the C-4C Challenger line as the Fairchild KR-34
Fairchild KR-34
-References:* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft , 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1674...
. C-4s and KR-34s flew as sport aircraft, air taxis, and press planes, and in the 1929 National Air Tour.
In 1930, the KR-34CA, a military version of the Fairchild KR-34 based on the Kreider-Reisner C-4C Challenger design, was built in Farmingdale, New York
Farmingdale, New York
The Village of Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States...
. A light attack craft, it had two 30 caliber Browning machine guns mounted on the nose, firing through the propellers. The Chinese version had bomb racks under the fuselage. Two of this military version of the Fairchild KR-34 were sold to the warlord generals Liu Wenhui
Liu Wenhui
Liu Wenhui was one of the warlords of Sichuan province during China's Warlord era. Liu who rose to prominence in Sichuan in the 1920s and 1930s, came from a peasant family. At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the Kuomintang , commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1927 to...
and Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang (warlord)
Liu Xiang or Liu Hsiang, 劉湘 was one of the warlords controlling Sichuan province during the Warlord era of 20th century China....
in Szechwan Province.
Dimensions:
- Wingspan: 9.1 m (30 ft)
- Length: 7.1 m (23 ft 5 in)
- Height: 2.8 m (9 ft 3 in)
- Weight, empty: 650 kg (1,435 lb)
- Weight, gross: 1,087 kg (2,400 lb)
- Top speed: 209 km/h (130 mph)
- Engine: Wright J-6, 150 hp
Materials:
- Steel tube fabric biplane
Sources
- Suanne Woodring, Fairchild Aircraft, Arcadia Publishing, 2007, ISBN 0738544396, 9780738544397. Length 128 pages photo and description Pg.18.
- National Air and Space Museum Collections Database; Kreider-Reisner C-4C Challenger
- World Air Forces - Historical Listings, China Warlords
- RON DUPAS COLLECTION, No. 4467. Fairchild KR-34CA Photographed ca. 1929, courtesy The Fairchild Corporation Several KR-34CA light bombers were sold to Chinese provincial warlords, note the bomb racks under the fuselage.