Voisin L
| Voisin L | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Reconnaissance, Trainer |
| Manufacturer | Voisin Anatra |
| Designer | Gabriel Voisin |
| First flight | 1912 |
| Primary users | Aéronavale
Imperial Russian Air Service |
| Number built | 70 (France) |
| Developed into | Voisin III |
The Voisin L was a pusher biplane developed for the French Army's 1912 trials[1] where it performed successfully. About 70 were built in France with a small number manufactured under license in the Russian Empire.[2] The aircraft was the first in a series of military pusher biplanes from Voisin all of which had similar design characteristics.[1]
Design
The Voisin L had equal-span wings with no dihedral. A cruciform tail was attached to the wings with booms. A streamlined nacelle carried a pilot and observer in front with a single rotary engine at the rear.[1] Steel tubing was used throughout the structure making the Voisin-L a robust aircraft for its time-period.[3]
Land-based versions of the aircraft featured a distinctive quadricycle landing gear. A floatplane version was produced with the quadricycle landing gear replaced with three flat bottomed pontoons.[1]
Voisin-Ls can be identified as they used air-cooled rotary engines and so lacked the bulky radiators seen on later Voisin pushers which were powered by water-cooled Salmson 9, Peugeot 8Aa and Renault 12Fe aero-engines.[4]
Operational history
At the start of World War I, Voisin L aircraft (types 1 and 2) were in service with four French squadrons. The aircraft were used for artillery observation and as daylight bombers.[3] Voisin-Ls were in front line service till 1915 when the French airforce was reorganised with production focused on a smaller number of dedicated types. One of the types selected for mass production was the Voisin III.[5]
In the Russian Empire, Voisin L aircraft were manufactured by Anatra, an Odesa based company who produced licensed versions of a number of French aircraft including the Voisin III.[6] Voisin L aircraft remained in front line service into 1916.[7]
Variants
- Type 1 or Voisin I - Fitted with the
- Type 2 or Voisin II - Fitted with Gnome rotary engines. Some later examples used the seven-cylinder variant of the Gnome Monosoupape.[1][4]
Type 1 and 2 are designations applied retrospectively.[4] Contemporary names for the aircraft included the Voisin model 1912[1] and Voisin 13.5 meter.[8] In all cases Voisin L was the aircraft's factory designation.[1]
Operators
- French Air Force
- French Navy
Specifications (Type 1)
Data from Renato[4]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
- Wingspan: 13.5 m (44 ft 3 in)
- Height: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 42 m2 (450 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 825 kg (1,819 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,100 kg (2,425 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Le Rhône 9C rotary engine, 60 kW (80 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch pusher propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 95 km/h (59 mph, 51 kn)
- Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 11 minutes[9]
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
- ^ ISBN 9781526758750.
- ISBN 9781891268090.
- ^ ISBN 9780668017688.
- ^ a b c d e Pinto, Renato (1981). "Voisin L". Perfiles Historia De La Aviacion [History of aviation] (in Spanish). Vol. 1. Spain: Viscontea. pp. 65–72.
- ISBN 9781783463381.
- ISBN 085685574X.
- ISBN 9781780960609.
- ISBN 0764307525.
- ^ "Naval and Military Aeronautics". The Aeroplane. United Kingdom. 22 January 1914. p. 86.