Voisin VI

The Voisin VI, also called the Voisin Type 6, was a French pusher biplane bomber of the First World War. The first example entered service in 1916 and replaced the Voisin III on the production lines, powered by a 116 kW (155 hp) Salmson (Canton-Unne) P9 nine-cylinder water-cooled radial. Crews, who called it the Voisin 155 hp, held its Salmson engine in low regard: the payload was only marginally better than the III's, the maximum speed was only 113 km/h and the climb rate suffered substantially. About fifty were built and they served with the front-line escadrilles during 1916, carrying a single machine gun and 60 kg of bombs. A single example was fitted with a second Salmson in the nose of the fuselage driving a tractor propeller, apparently to test a twin pusher and tractor layout for a new Voisin bomber.