Levasseur PL.2

Levasseur PL.2

Levasseur PL.2, June 1926
Role	Torpedo-bomber biplane
Manufacturer	Levasseur
Designer	Pierre Levasseur
First flight	1922
Introduction	1926
Retired	1932
Primary user	French Navy
Produced	1922-1923
Number built	11

The Levasseur PL.2 was a French biplane torpedo bomber designed by Pierre Levasseur for the French Navy.

Design and development

The second design of Pierre Levasseur was the PL.2 a single-seat unequal-span biplane inspired by designs from Blackburn Aircraft. It had a fixed tailskid landing gear and was powered by a nose-mounted Renault engine. The first of two prototypes first flew in November 1922, the second aircraft had a four-bladed propeller and other powerplant improvements. Nine production aircraft were built in 1923, these were fitted with ballonets and jettisonable landing gear for operations at sea.^[1]

Operational history

The aircraft entered service in 1926 aboard the French carrier Béarn and continued in use until they were scrapped in 1932.

Variants

PL 2.01 : First torpedo-bomber prototype.
PL 2.02 : Second prototype, equipped with a four-blade propeller.
PL.2 : Single-seat torpedo-bomber aircraft, nine built for the French Navy.

Operators

France

French Navy
- Escadrille 7B2

Specifications

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft^[2]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 14.9 m (49 ft 8.50 in)
Wingspan: 15.15 m (49 ft 8½ in)
Height: 3.9 m (13 ft 3.25 in)
Gross weight: 3,653 kg (8,053 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Renault 12Ma, 433 kW (580 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 180 km/h (112 mph)
Range: 700 km (435 miles)
Service ceiling: 2454 m (8,052 ft)

Armament

1 x 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-gun
450Kg (992lb) Torpedo or bombs

References

Notes

↑ Taylor and Alexander 1969, pp. 102-103.
↑ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing. 1985, pp. 2317–2318.

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Levasseur PL.2.

Taylor, John W. R. and Jean Alexander. Combat Aircraft of the World. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-71810-564-8.
Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8.

Aircraft produced by Levasseur

PL.1 PL.2 PL.3 PL.4 PL.5 PL.6 PL.7 PL.8 PL.9 PL.10 PL.11 PL.12 PL.14 PL.15 PL.200 PL.400

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