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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0030.PDF
JANUARY 18, 1923 H El El Et SI El SI El El SI 13 El El H J3 H El El El El The Giant of the Show : The huge Latecoere four- e n g i n e d , all- metal biplane. S H H H S S S Thus there is a gunner's cockpit in the extreme nose, and another aft of the wings, formed by a projection shaped somewhat like the counter of a yacht, from which the gunner can sweep an entire semi-circle, or even slightly more. Constructionally the Latecoere bomber is of interest mainly on account of the fact that it is built of Duralumin. In spite of its great size the L.A.T.6 has but one pair of inter-plane struts on each side, and this in spite of the fact that the engines are mounted on the wings. The wings are built up of a number of spars, of which the two main ones are double. These are of the lattice type, as are also the single auxiliary spars or stringers. The ribs are little more than fiat bands passed over the main and secondary spars, being in fact of very flat trough section and serving mainly for the attachment of the sheet Duralumin covering. The wing bracing is of interest on account of the fact that the lift wires pass through the lower plane from the under- carriage struts, and are-attached at the top, not to the spars, as is usual practice, but to the large-diameter compression tube of the drag bracing. This tube passes through the centre of the spars, and by attaching to them the lift and anti- lift wires and inter-plane struts the fitting is considerably simplified. We have seen the same arrangement before, on, we believe, the Boulton and Paul all-metal two-seater shown at one of the Paris Aero Shows. The undercarriage has been entirely re-designed since the previous Show, when the fuselage of the L.A.T.6 was shown with two short wing roots and the undercarriage struts passing through the lower plane, inside which the shock absorbers were housed. At the recent Paris Show the machine was exhibited with a very wide undercarriage, consisting of a set of wheels under each pair of engines. Triangulation was by means of the wing bracing, no transverse bracing being employed between the two halves of the undercarriage. The main charactistics of the L.A.T. 6 are as follows:— Length, o.a., 51 ft. 8 in. ; span, 84 ft. ; height, 20 ft. 6 ins. ; wing area, 1,300 sq. ft.; total loaded weight, 11,600 lbs.; wing loading, 9 lbs. /sq ft. ; power loading (1,000 h.p.), 11.61bs./h.p. ; estimated speed near ground, 142 m.p.h. ; speed at 13,000 ft. 133 m.p.h. PIERRE LEVASSEUR, Paris ONE of the first, if not actually the first, French firms to take up the design and construction of torpedo planes was that of Pierre Levasseur, whose managing director is M. Charles Frechet. It is not, therefore, surprising that again this year one of the machines exhibited was a torpedo plane, while the second was a Navy type biplane, fitted with an undercarriage whose axle and wheels can be dropped if the machine has to alight on the sea. In addition to the complete machines P. Levasseur exhibited several examples of the variable pitch airscrews which this firm has developed during the last few years. The torpedo plane resembles in general outline the Black- burn " Swift," and, as a matter of fact, we believe that there is some working arrangement between the two firms by which the experience of one is made available to the other. Thus the P. Levasseur torpedo plane is obviously modelled upon, rather than slavishly copied from, the Blackburn machines, and conversely, we understand that the P. Levasseur variable pitch airscrews are being handled in this country by the Leeds firm. Having stated this, there is little need to go into great detail regarding the Levasseur torpedo plane, type A.T.I. The machine is largely constructed of steel tubing, the engine mounting and front portion of the fuselage being of this material. The engine fitted is a 600 h.p. Renault, and a wide speed range has been aimed at, not only in order that the machine may land more easily on the deck of an aircraft carrier, but also to facilitate the aiming and dropping of the torpedo. Needless to say, a divided undercarriage is provided in view of the torpedo carried, and flotation gear ensures that the machine will float if forced to come down on the sea. The main characteristics are as follows : Length, o.a., 10-65 m. (35 ft.); span 15-25 m. (50 ft.); wing area 72 sq. m. (775 sq. ft.); weight empty, 2,150 kgs. (4,750 lbs.); ET m a a m m The Pierre Levasseur Navy Type: This machine has a very unusual fuselage con- struction, con- sisting of a few panels of multi- ply wood, and should be ex- tremely cheap to build. El -H El El El H SI El El El El El H El El SI El SI El El SUE! 30
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