Breguet 14 A2 (3C30, BR-30) 

The Breguet 14 A2 is a two-seat bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of wood and metal construction. The fuselage structure and wing spars are made of duralumin with wood and steel reinforcements, while the wings are made of wood. The first flight of the Breguet 14 was in November 1916. Unlike in the other aircraft of the era, a significant proportion of its structure used light alloys. The type was fast and agile for an aircraft of its size, especially when compared to its wooden contemporaries. Pilots found its flight characteristics excellent. Of several variants of the type, the most important were the A2 reconnaissance version and the B2 bomber.

After the departure of the German military advisers from Finland in late 1918, the Finnish air service entered the so-called French era. As a natural continuation to the adviser support received from France, several French aircraft types were acquired, including 30 Breguet 14 A2s. They arrived in Finland in 1919 and 1921. Very soon a Breguet completed the air service’s first bombing sortie over enemy territory when Gunnar Holmqvist attacked the Bolshevik-held Kolomäki airfield near Petrograd on 25th October 1919.

The Breguets were based mainly in Utti throughout the 1920s. They were in active use in, among other tasks, aerial mapping and – equipped with radios – artillery spotting during field exercises. They also provided a temporary air link between Helsinki and Tallinn in the early 1920s. They participated in the “Flight around Finland” air rally on 16th and 17th April 1922 and completed the first flight to Petsamo ten days later. Three Breguets were equipped with floats for maritime operations during the open water season in 1922–1924.

The museum’s Breguet, 3 C 30, conducted the type’s last flight in Finland on 20th July 1927.