Borel military monoplane

The Borel Military Monoplane was a French single-engine, two-seat aircraft designed shortly before World War I in response to a French Army requirement for an aircraft to seek and destroy enemy balloon airships.

Design
The Military Monoplane had an unconventional design, owing to its unique mission requirement. The pilot and observer sat side by side in an open cockpit within a pod that also carried a high monoplane wing and the engine driving a pusher propeller. The pod also featured windows on each side, near the crewmembers' feet to facilitate downwards visibility when hunting balloons. A cruciform empennage was carried on an open truss of triangular cross-section, the upper longeron of which passed through the propeller hub. Despite reportedly good flying characteristics, the idea never passed beyond the construction of a single prototype.