Levasseur PL.5

__NOTOC__

The Levasseur PL.5 was a carrier-based fighter produced in France in the late 1920s. Taylor 1989, 574] It was a conventional, single-bay sesquiplane that carried a crew of two in tandem, open cockpits. Like other Levasseur naval designs of the day, it incorporated several safety features in case of ditching at sea. Apart from small floats attached directly to the undersides of the lower wing, the main units of the fixed, tailskid undercarriage could be jettisoned in flight, and the underside of the fuselage was given a boat-like shape and made watertight.

Four prototypes were evaluated by the Aéronavale in 1924, and following successful trials, an order for 20 machines was placed to equip the aircraft carrier "Béarn". These entered service in 1927.

Six examples of a trainer version with a lower-powered engine were purchased as the PL.9.

Variants

* PL.5
** prototypes with Hispano-Suiza 12Ha engine (3 built)
** prototype with Renault 12Kd engine (1 built)
** production version - fighter with Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb engine (20 built)
* PL.9 - trainer version with Hispano-Suiza 8Se engine

Operators

* France
** Aéronavale
*** Escadrille 7C1

pecifications

aerospecs
ref=
met or eng?= met

crew=Three
capacity=
length m=8.80
length ft=28
length in=10
span m=12.40
span ft=40
span in=8
swept m=
swept ft=
swept in=
rot number=
rot dia m=
rot dia ft=
rot dia in=
dia m=
dia ft=
dia in=
width m=
width ft=
width in=
height m=3.10
height ft=10
height in=2
wing area sqm=37.0
wing area sqft=398
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3=
volume ft3=
aspect ratio=
wing profile=
empty weight kg=1,150
empty weight lb=2,540
gross weight kg=1,800
gross weight lb=3,970
lift kg=
lift lb=

eng1 number=1
eng1 type=Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb
eng1 kw= 335
eng1 hp= 450
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kw=
eng2 hp=
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=

max speed kmh=225
max speed mph=141
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
stall speed kmh=
stall speed mph=
range km=800
range miles=500
endurance h=
endurance min=
ceiling m=
ceiling ft=
g limits=
roll rate=
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=
armament2=
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6= aircontent
see also=
related=
similar aircraft=
lists=

Notes

References

*
* [http://www.aviafrance.com/2309.htm aviafrance.com]