FBA Type A

The FBA Type A and the almost identical Type B and C were a family of reconnaissance flying boats produced in France immediately prior to and during World War I. The design was based on patents by Donnet-Lévêque and reflected the general configuration of that company's aircraft. The Type A was an unequal-span pusher two-bay biplane flying boat with a single step hull made of ash longerons covered in 3-ply, divided by bulkheads into eight compartments. The empennage was carried on an upswept curved extension of the hull made from steel tubing. The pilot and observer sat side by side in the open cockpit.

Operational history
The earliest examples sold entered service with the Austro-Hungarian Navy and Danish Navy prior to World War I, but large-scale use began with sales to the RNAS, Aéronautique Maritime, and Italian Navy in 1915.

Variants

 * Type A - powered by Gnome Monosoupape.
 * Type B - powered by Gnome 9B-2.
 * Type C - powered by Clerget 9B.
 * Type 11 HE.2 - two-seat elementary flying-boat.
 * Type 14 - Two-seat training flying-boat for the French Navy. 20 built.
 * Type H -The most produced variant, slightly enlarged and with typically with a Hispano-Suiza 8B engine.
 * Type S - lengthened hull and wings, powered by Hispano-Suiza 8B.

Operators
~116 aircraft
 * Austria-Hungary
 * Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine
 * Two Type B aircraft.
 * Danish Navy
 * Aéronautique Maritime
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 * Italian Navy
 * Portuguese Naval Aviation - Three Type B aircraft.
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 * Royal Naval Air Service
 * Portuguese Naval Aviation - Three Type B aircraft.
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 * Royal Naval Air Service