Letov Š-20

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Letov Š-20
Letov Š-20
Type: Fighter plane
Design country:

Czechoslovakia 1920Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia

Manufacturer:

Letov

First flight:

1925

Number of pieces:

approx. 118

The Letov Š-20 aircraft is a single-engine, single-seat biplane that was developed as a fighter aircraft . The first flight of the machine took place in 1925.

History and construction

The Š-20 was manufactured in the Letov factory in Letňany near Prague in Czechoslovakia . The construction came from Alois Šmolík . The landing gear was rigid and had a tail skid. The wings were braced and braced with an N-stem on both sides. The engine drove a two-bladed wooden propeller , which was aerodynamically adapted to the fuselage with a large cover.

The fuselage was largely round and traditionally constructed with wood. First 105 machines were built for the Czechoslovak Air Force. In 1925, the Lithuanian Air Force also ordered ten of the Š-20L series . These could be converted to a ski chassis so that they could take off and land on snow.

Some of the machines in Czechoslovakia remained in use until 1936. The models in Lithuania were taken out of service before 1935.

In addition to this variant, there was also a version Š-20R flown in 1927 with a modified fuselage. However, there was no series production. Also in 1927 a Š-20 was equipped with a 353 kW Walter Jupiter engine. This machine also remained a one-off, but served as a prototype for the Letov Š-31 . There is evidence that one of these two models was briefly made available to the Polish Air Force for testing in 1927 .

A machine of this type is in the Kbely Aviation Museum , Prague.

variants

Š-20J with Walter Jupiter radial engine
  • Š-20 - production version
    • Š-20M - revised version with a slimmed-down rear fuselage (main production version for Czechoslovakia)
    • Š-20L - export version for Lithuania, 10 built
    • Š-20R - version with further revised fuselage, 1 built
    • Š-20J - version with the Bristol Jupiter engine manufactured under license by Walter, 1 built
  • Š-21 - trainer version with Hispano-Suiza-8Aa engine, 1 built

Military use

Technical specifications

Three-sided view
Parameter Data
crew 1
length 7.44 m
span 9.70 m
height 2.56 m
Wing area 18.40 m²
Wing loading 58 kg / m²
Empty mass 728 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 1047 kg
Marching speed 225 km / h
Top speed 256 km / h
Rise time 13.50 min at 5000 m altitude
Service ceiling 7200 m
Range 528 km
Engine 1 × V8 engine Škoda HS 8 Fb with 221 kW (300 PS)
Armament 2 × 7.7 mm Lewis machine guns

See also

List of aircraft types

literature

  • Václav Němeček: Československá letadla. 2., přepracované a rozšířené vydání. Naše Vojsko, Prague 1968.
  • Michael JH Taylor (Ed.): Combat Aircraft of the World. Michael Joseph, New York 1969, ISBN 0-71810-564-8 .
  • Michael JH Taylor (Ed.): Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Studio Editions, London 1989, ISBN 1-85170-324-1 .

Web links

Commons : Letov Š-20  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files