Gourdou-Leseurre GL.2

__NOTOC__ Infobox Aircraft
name=Type B, GL.2


caption=Gourdou-Leseurre GL.22 at the Aviation Museum of Central Finland.
type=Fighter
manufacturer=Gourdou-Leseurre
designer=
first flight=avyear|1918
introduced=
retired=
status=
primary user=French Air Force and Navy
more users=Finnish Air Force, Czechoslovakian Air Force, Estonian Air Force
produced=
number built=
unit cost=
developed from=
variants with their own articles=The Gourdou-Leseurre GL.2 (originally, the Gourdou-Leseurre Type B) was a French fighter which made its maiden flight in 1918. It was a development of the Gourdou-Leseurre Type A which had shown pleasing performance during testing but which had been ultimately rejected by the "Aéronautique Militaire" due to concerns about the rigidity of the wing. The Type B featured not only a new wing design, now braced by four struts on either side in place of the two per side on the Type A, but also a revised fin and rudder for improved directional stability, and strengthened undercarriage. Twenty examples were delivered in November 1918, designated GL.2C.1 in service, but the end of the war meant a loss of official interest.

Gourdou-Leseurre continued development anyway, and by 1920 had an improved version, designated GL.21 or B2 ready for exhibition at the Paris "Salon de l'Aéronautique" that year. This differed from the GL.2 mostly in having revised ailerons and a batch of twenty were purchased by the "Aéronautique Militaire" as the, with another one being purchased by Finland for evaluation.

Two years later, a further revision of the design appeared as the GL.22 or B3. This featured a redesigned wing of greater span, and modified horizontal stabiliser and landing gear. This proved to be a moderate success for Gourdou-Leseurre, selling to the "Aéronautique Maritime" as the GL.22C.1, as well as Finland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Yugoslavia. This was followed by a small series of test aircraft designated GL.23 or B4 before manufacture of the GL.22 resumed in an unarmed version known internally to the company as the B5 and purchased by both the "Aéronautique Militaire" and "Aéronautique Maritime" as the GL.22ET.1 for use as an advanced trainer ("Ecole de Transition"). One of these aircraft was used for trials aboard the aircraft carrier "Béarn".

The GL.24 version was produced in small numbers in 1925 for various trial purposes, including one two-seat trainer conversion, and one air ambulance (TS - "Transport Sanitaire") exhibited at an international medical conference held in Paris that year.

The GL.2 was also used as a display aircraft, with Gourdou-Leseurre test pilot André Christiany flying one to win the speed trial in the 1923 Coupe Michelin, and two ET.1s painted in the tricolore giving displays throughout France and North Africa the same year. Even well into the 1930s, specialised aerobatic versions were produced as the B6 and B7 for Jérôme Cavalli and Fernand Malinvaud respectively, with a second B7 built for Adrienne Bolland.

Variants

* B/GL.2 - Initial wartime version (20 built)
* B2/GL.21 - G.2 with revised ailerons (21 built). Also known as the GL.21C.1.
* B3/GL.22 - New wing, tail, landing gear (71 built). Also known as the GL.22C.1.
* B4/GL.23 - Test versions (9 built). Also known as the GL.23C.1.
** GL.23TS - Air ambulance version (1 built)
* B5/GL.22ET - Unarmed version of B3. Also known as the ET.
* GL.24 - Test versions
** GL.24X - Test aircraft to investigate the effects of overloading (1 built)
* B6 - Aerobatic version for Jérôme Cavalli with Hispano-Suiza 9Qd engine (1 built)
* B7 - Aerobatic version for Fernand Malinvaud and Adrienne Bolland with Lorraine 9Na engine (2 built)

Operators

; flag|France
* "Aéronautique Militaire"
* "Aéronautique Maritime"; flag|Czechoslovakia
* Czechoslovakian Air Force - 15 × GL.22; flag|Estonia
* Estonian Air Force - 15 × GL.22; flag|Finland
* Finnish Air Force - 1 × GL.21, 18 × GL.22, plus one extra built from spare parts; flag|Latvia
* 1 × GL.22; flag|Kingdom of Yugoslavia

pecifications (GL.22C.1)

aerospecs
ref=
met or eng?= met

crew=One pilot
capacity=
length m=6.50
length ft=21
length in=4
span m=9.40
span ft=30
span in=10
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=2.52
height ft=8
height in=4
wing area sqm=18.4
wing area sqft=198
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3=
volume ft3=
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=590
empty weight lb=1,800
gross weight kg=880
gross weight lb=1,940
lift kg=
lift lb=

eng1 number=1
eng1 type=Hispano-Suiza 8Ab
eng1 kw= 134
eng1 hp= 180
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kw=
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max speed kmh=257
max speed mph=153
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
range km=450
range miles=280
endurance h=
endurance min=
ceiling m=7,500
ceiling ft=24,600
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=4.8
climb rate ftmin=940
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=2 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Vickers machine guns
armament2=
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armament5=
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ee also

aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
lists=
* List of military aircraft of France
* List of aircraft of the Finnish Air Force
* List of fighter aircraft
see also=

References

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* [http://www.aviafrance.com/406.htm Gourdou Leseurre GL.21]