The Arsenal-Delanne 10 was an
experimental
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...
fighter aircraft of
French origin. The plane had a rear cockpit and a distinctive tandem wing.
Design and development
The Arsenal-Delanne 10-C2 two-seat fighter, designed by
Maurice Delanne and built by the
Arsenal de l'Aéronautique
Arsenal de l'Aéronautique (commonly named Arsenal) was a national military aircraft manufacturer established by the French Government in 1936 at Villacoublay. In the years before World War II, it developed a range of technically advanced fighter ...
, was of so-called Nenadovich biplane or
tandem wing QAC Quickie Q2
A tandem wing is a wing configuration in which a flying craft or animal has two or more sets of wings set one behind another. All the wings contribute to lift.
The tandem wing is distinct from the biplane in which the wings are ...
configuration, the tandem-mounted wings providing a continuous
slot effect and offering exceptional
center of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force ma ...
range. The fighter was of all metal stressed-skin construction, which used a sandwich technique, with a smooth
dural
Dural is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire. Dural is part of the Hills District ...
skin welded to a corrugated sheet. Pilot and gunner sat in tandem under a single canopy at the rear of the fuselage, which was level with the rear wing, which carried twin tailplanes. This arrangement gave the gunner a clear field of fire for his planned armament of two
7.5 mm machine guns, which was to be supplemented by a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and two more machine guns in the wing. The aircraft was fitted with a retractable
tailwheel undercarriage
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
and was powered by a single
Hispano-Suiza 12Y
The Hispano-Suiza 12Y was an aircraft engine produced by Hispano-Suiza for the French Air Force before the Second World War. The 12Y became the primary French 1,000 hp (750 kW) class engine and was used in a number of famous aircraft, i ...
crs 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine.
The Arsenal-Delanne 10-C2 prototype was virtually complete at
Villacoublay when German forces occupied the factory in June 1940. Work on the aircraft continued in a desultory fashion and the first flight test was made in October 1941. After completion of the initial test programme, the aircraft was ferried to Germany for further trials.
Specifications
See also
*
Miles M.35 Libellula
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Artist's impression in 1938 ''Flight''Picture at histaviation.com
{{Arsenal de l'Aéronautique
1940s French experimental aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1941
Delanne 10
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Tandem-wing aircraft
Gull-wing aircraft