Caudron C.440 Goéland
Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.The Caudron C.440 Goéland ('Seagull') was a French twin-engined light transport for six passengers, a wooden low-wing monoplane with retractable main gear, designed by Marcel Riffard in 1934. It first flew on 5 March 1935 and was built in many versions before, during and after the Second World War, until 1948: 1,702 according to the most widely quoted figure, although other sources give fewer than 1,500. It served as an airliner, mailplane, liaison aircraft, air ambulance and crew trainer with Air France, Air Bleu, Régie Air Afrique, the French Air Force and Navy, the Luftwaffe and post-war operators such as Sabena and Aigle Azur.
Specifications
Figures for the C.445 variant, the most representative of the family
The type first flew in 1935 (91 years ago) · About 1,702 units built · Production ended in 1948
Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.
The story of the type
Design and development
It was a conventionally configured low-wing cantilever monoplane with tailwheel undercarriage. The main undercarriage units retracted into the engine nacelles. Construction was wooden throughout, with wooden skinning everywhere but the forward and upper fuselage sections, which were skinned in metal. As usually configured, the cabin seated six passengers with baggage compartments fore and aft, and a toilet aft.
Operational history
Apart from private buyers, the C.440 was also bought by the Armée de l'Air, Aéronavale, Aéromaritime, Régie Air Afrique and Air France, and some were exported for service with Aeroput. Production of the C.440 and its subtypes continued until the outbreak of World War II, at which time many C.440s were impressed into military service. Following the fall of France, some were operated by the German Luftwaffe and Deutsche Luft Hansa. Another user was the Slovak Air Force – it ordered 12 aircraft as the C.445M in 1942.
Production began again after the war for military and civil use as a transport and as a twin-engined trainer. In the postwar reorganisation of the French aircraft industry, Caudron became part of SNCA du Nord and the aircraft became the Nord Goéland; 325 of these were built. Postwar commercial operators included Air France, SABENA, Aigle Azur and Compagnie Air Transport (CAT).
Variants
C.440 - prototype (three built)
C.441 - version with Renault 6Q-01 engine and dihedral added to outer wing panel (four built)
C.444 - first version with counter-rotating propellers, adopted on all later versions (17 built)
C.445 - similar to C.444, but dihedral of outer wing panels increased (114 built)
C.445/1 - two built
C.445/2 - three built
C.445/3 - postwar production version (510 built)
C.445M - militarised version (404 built)
C.445R - long-range version (one built)
C.446 Super Goéland - one built
C.447 - air ambulance version (31 built)
C.448 - version with supercharged engines (seven built)
C.449 - final production version (349 built, including subtypes below)
C.449/1
C.449/2
C.449/3
C.449/4 - photographic survey version
C.449/5
Overview and history adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · technical figures from the manufacturer’s published specifications and standard aviation references
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This page was last updated on October 11, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 11). Caudron C.440 Goéland. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/c440
MLA
“Caudron C.440 Goéland.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 11 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/model/c440. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Caudron C.440 Goéland.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 11, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/c440.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Caudron C.440 Goéland. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/c440 (Accessed: 16 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_model_c440,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Caudron C.440 Goéland}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-11},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/c440},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/c440}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/c440 |title=Caudron C.440 Goéland |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-11 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}