The Fletcher FD-25 Defender was a light

ground-attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...

developed in the United States in the early 1950s.

Design and development

John Thorp John Willard Thorp (June 20, 1912 – April 18, 1992) was an American aeronautical engineer who made significant contributions to aircraft design throughout his life. Born in French Camp, California, John Thorp grew up from age four in the ...

, the Defender was a conventional low-wing cantilever

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

with fixed tailwheel

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

. Provision was made for two machine guns in the wings, plus disposable stores carried on underwing pylons. Construction throughout was all-metal, and the pilot sat under a wide perspex canopy.

Operational history

Three prototypes were built, two single-seaters and a two-seater, but no orders were placed by the US military. In Japan, however, Toyo acquired the rights to the design, and built around a dozen aircraft, selling seven (five single-seater attack versions and two two-seat trainers) to

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

,Grandolini 1988, p. 39. and four to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. One example (FD-25B JA3051) served with the

Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) ( th, สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excludi ...

Survivors

One example (FD-25B N240D) remains in an airworthy condition today and appeared at the

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin ...

airshow in 2010. Two (a single-seater and a two-seater) are on museum display at the

Tokyo Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

in Japan.

Related development

The wing design of the

Fletcher FU-24 The Fletcher FU-24 is an agricultural aircraft made in New Zealand. One of the first aircraft designed for aerial topdressing, the Fletcher has also been used for other aerial applications as a utility aircraft, and for sky diving. Design and ...

aerial topdressing Aerial topdressing is the aerial application of fertilisers over farmland using agricultural aircraft. It was developed in New Zealand in the 1940s and rapidly adopted elsewhere in the 1950s. Origins Previous aerial applications The first k ...

plane was loosely based on that of the FD-25 Defender. Almost 300 were built under licence in New Zealand from the mid-1950s and used for agricultural and skydiving operations.

Specifications

References

Notes Bibliography *Bridgeman, Leonard (ed.). ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955–56''. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. *Grandolini, Albert. "L'Aviation Royale Khmere: The first 15 years of Cambodian military aviation". ''Air Enthusiast'' (Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll) (Thirty-seven, September–December 1988): pp. 39–47. ISSN 0143-5450. * Taylor, Michael J. H. ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. London: Studio Editions. 1989. p. 393. . * ''World Aircraft Information Files''. London: Bright Star Publishing, 1985, pp. File 894 Sheet 25.

External links

''Flivver Plane Totes Guns and Bombs''
November 1951

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

article on FL-25—rest of article and photos on following page {{Fletcher aircraft FD-25 1950s United States attack aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1953