Letov Š-31

__NOTOC__infobox Aircraft
name = Š.31
type = fighter
logo =
manufacturer = Letov


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designer =
first flight = 1929
introduction =
retired =
status =
primary user = Czech Air Force Flight School, Brno
more users = Spanish Republicans
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The Letov Š-31 was a fighter aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s in a number of variants. All of the aircraft had metal tubular framing and fabric covering with a metal engine cowling.

The first flight of the definitive Š.231 version was on March 17, 1933. After testing at the Czech flight facility at Prague-Lethany, modifications were undertaken to improve the machine’s performance. It entered production the following year and began equipping Czech fighter units in June 1934. The machines remained in front line fighter status with the Czechoslovak Air Force until the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Historical records are very vague, but apparently none of these machines were ever in combat with the far superior German aircraft during the German invasion or with any Allied aircraft during World War II when the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia and controlled of the Czech Air Force. A few of these hopelessly obsolete Letov Š.231s were still serving as trainers and as secondary fighters for the small Czech Air Force during the early months of World War II. The only recorded combat seen by any Letov Š.231 fighter was in the service of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.

While the Š.31, Š.131, Š.231, and Š.431 had engines of 480 to 680 hp, the Š.331 had a Walter K14 engine with 900 hp. This powerful engine gave it extremely high speed and outstanding performance for an aircraft of the early 1930s.

In May 1935, the aircraft established a new Czechoslovak altitude record of 34,941 feet (10,650 m).

The sole Š.331 and almost all of the Š.231s were sold to representatives of the Spanish Republican government. The Š.231s fared poorly in the Spanish Civil War. The operational performance and ultimate fate of the Š.331 is unrecorded

Operators

;flagicon|Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia;flagicon|Spain|1931 Spanish Republicans

Variants

* Š-31 - initial version with Walter-built Bristol Jupiter (33 built)
* Š-131 - racing version with BMW-built Pratt & Whitney Hornet (3 built)
* Š-231 - main production version with Walter-built Bristol Mercury engine
* Š-331 - version with Walter K.14 engine (1 built)
* Š-431 - version with Armstrong Siddeley Tiger engine (1 built)

Specifications (Š-231)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
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crew= 1
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 7.80 m
length alt= 25 feet 7 inches
span main= 10.06 m
span alt= 33 feet 0 inches
height main= 3.00 m
height alt= 9 feet 10 inches
area main=
area alt=
airfoil=
empty weight main= 1,280 kg
empty weight alt= 2,822 pounds
loaded weight main= 1,770 kg
loaded weight alt= 3,902 pounds
useful load main=
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thrust original=
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afterburning thrust alt=
engine (prop)=Walter Bristol Mercury V-S2, 9-cylinder, air-cooled radial piston engine
type of prop=
number of props=1
power main= 412 kW
power alt=560 hp
power original=
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max speed main= 348 km/h at 5,000 m
max speed alt= 216 mph at 16,405 feet
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range main= 450 km
range alt=280 miles
ceiling main= 7,800 m
ceiling alt= 25,590 feet
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guns= Two fixed forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 inch) machine guns mounted in fuselage nose, one similar weapon in pod beneath each lower wing,
bombs= Six small bombs at hard points beneath lower wings
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hardpoints=
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