| Potez 26 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Single seat fighterType of aircraft |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Henry Potez |
| First flight | August 1924 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Potez 25 |
The Potez 26 was a single seat fighter aircraft designed and flown in France in the mid-1920s. It did not reach production.
Design and development
The Potez 26 was a lighter, smaller span, single-seat fighter version of the two-seat biplane Potez 25 reconnaissance aircraft. Both types were sesquiplanes with markedly smaller lower wings. Both upper and lower wings were rectangular in plan, with long-span ailerons only on the upper plane. They were single bay biplanes, their wing interconnected by N-form interplane struts assisted by wire bracing. These interplane struts leaned outwards and narrowed to meet the closer spars of the smaller-chord lower wing. Centrally, the upper wing was held over the upper fuselage by two pairs of struts, a parallel pair forward and an inverted V at the rear forming a cabane. There was a semicircular cut-out in the upper trailing edge to improve the pilot's forward view.
The Potez 26 was powered by either a 340 kW (450 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12J V-12, or the 340 kW (450 hp) Lorraine 12Ed W-12, both cooled by a radiator under the rear of the engine cowling. The engine mounting enabled a rapid exchange of engines; the Lorraine W engine installation reduced the overall aircraft length by 350 mm (13.8 in). The mounting formed part of the forward fuselage structure, which had a plywood skinned central section containing the open cockpit, raised above the structural fuselage, with decking falling away ahead and behind and a wooden framed, fabric covered rear. At the rear, the tailplane was mounted on the upper fuselage structure and externally braced to it from below with pairs of inverted V struts. Its fin was small and round edged, carrying a broad, deep rudder which reached down to the keel.
The Potez 26 had a fixed tail wheel undercarriage with mainwheels on a split axle supported centrally by a V-strut, hinged on another pair of struts to the lower fuselage and with vertical, airfoil section shock absorbers. There was a sprung tailskid.
The Potez 26 made its first flight in August 1924 and was on display at the 1924 Paris Salon. Only one was built.
Specifications (Lorraine engine)
Data from L'Aérophile Salon-1924
General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Length: 7.65 m (25 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 12.0 m (39 ft 4 in)
- Height: 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
- Wing area: 32 m (340 sq ft) (upper 26.5 m (285 sq ft), lower 5.5 m (59 sq ft))
- Empty weight: 1,100 kg (2,425 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,550 kg (3,417 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lorraine 12Ed W-12 water-cooled piston engine, 340 kW (450 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed
Performance
- Maximum speed: 250 km/h (160 mph, 130 kn) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
- Service ceiling: 8,500 m (27,900 ft)
- Time to altitude: 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 20 minutes
- Landing speed: 90 km/h (56 mph)
Armament
- Two fixed, forward firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine guns on top of engine cowling.
References
- ^ "L'Aérophile Salon-1924". L'Aérophile. pp. 23, 25.
- ^ Serryer, J. (29 January 1925). "Le sesquiplane Henry Potez". Les Ailes (189): 2.
- ^ "Potez 26". Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- "Quelques characteristiques des Avions du Salon". L'Aérophile. 1–15 January 1925. p. 6.
| Potez and Potez-CAMS aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Potez | |
| Potez-CAMS | |