Wibault 220

The Wibault 220 or Wibault R.N.3 220 was a twin-engined French night reconnaissance aircraft. Two were built in 1930 to a government contract.

Wibault 220
Role Night reconnaissance aircraft
National origin France
Manufacturer Société des Avions Michel Wibault
Designer Michel Wibault
First flight May 1930
Number built 2

Design

Michel Wibault was one of the pioneers of all-metal aircraft, along with Hugo Junkers and Claudius Dornier.[1] The Wibault 220, designed for the night reconnaissance role and with a crew of three (hence the R.N.3 designation), had both metal structure and covering, the latter longitudinally corrugated for stiffness where required. Its high, cantilever wing had a rectangular plan centre-section and trapezoidal outer panels. The latter also tapered in section, mostly on the underside, providing a little dihedral.[2] High aspect ratio, unbalanced ailerons filled the outer panels' trailing edges. The wing was built around two І-section spars.[3] Like other Wibault aircraft built before the Wibault 280, the ribs projected through the wing surface, which was constructed from metal strips with turned up edges.[3][4]

The Wibault 220 was powered by two 450 hp (340 kW) Gnome-Rhône 9Ac Jupiter nine-cylinder radial engines, each wing-mounted under the outer centre-section. They were attached at three points on the front and rear spars by a system of duralumin plates and steel tubes and were enclosed in teardrop cowlings with their cylinder heads exposed for cooling.[2]

Its flat-sided fuselage was dural framed, with all sides covered in corrugated dural sheet. The upper- and undersides had rounded deckings. The nose was semi-cylindrical in plan and contained an open cockpit for the navigator, who was provided with a flexibly mounted pair of machine guns. The pilot was also in an open cockpit, which was built into the wing leading edge; the rear gunner/observer's position was a little behind the trailing edge, equipped with another pair of flexibly mounted guns. Its floor had an opening into which a reconnaissance camera could be fitted. The gunner also had access to a ventral gun position. Behind him the fuselage tapered slightly to a conventional, cantilever tail with its triangular tailplane mounted on top and carrying narrow chord elevators. The fin was also triangular, with a tall, trapezoidal rudder which extended to the keel.[3]

The Wibault 220 had fixed, conventional landing gear with its mainwheels on V-struts hinged to the lower fuselage frames. The wheels were positioned below the engines, to which they were connected by vertical Messier oleo legs so that the track was a generous 4.80 m (15 ft 9 in). The tailskid also had a Messier shock absorber and was steerable.[3]

Development

The French Senate approved the order for two examples of the Wibault 220 in March 1930[5] and both were reported as under construction in April.[6] By late May 1930 one was being tested at Villacoublay[7] and by early June Raoul Ribière had made several flights.[8] After that, nothing more about the 220 appears in the French aviation journals.

Specifications
Wibault 220 RN3 3-view drawing from Aero Digest October,1930

Data from L'Année aéronautique 1930-31[9] except where noted

General characteristics

  • Crew: Three: pilot, navigator, gunner
  • Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
  • Wingspan: 18.22 m (59 ft 9 in)
  • Height: 4 m (13 ft 1 in)
  • Wing area: 52.80 m2 (568.3 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 2,481 kg (5,470 lb)
  • Gross weight: 3,616 kg (7,972 lb)
  • Fuel capacity: 735 l (162 imp gal; 194 US gal)[3]
  • Powerplant: 2 × Gnome-Rhône 9Ac Jupiter [10] 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 340 kW (450 hp) each
  • Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 197 km/h (122 mph, 106 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft) (all performance figures with full load)
  • Range: 1,200 km (750 mi, 650 nmi) [10]
  • Service ceiling: 5,850 m (19,190 ft) reached in 43 min
  • Time to altitude: 10 min 34 sec to 3,000 m (9,800 ft)

Armament

  • Guns: 5 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis guns; 2 in nose, paired on flexible mount, 2 in dorsal cockpit, paired on flexible mount, 1 in a ventral mount. Some sources report a single Lewis gun in nose.[10]
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References
  1. Andrews, CF; Morgan, E.B. (1988). Vickers Aircraft since 1908 (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 208. ISBN 0 85177 815 1.
  2. Aircraft circulars Of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics no.124 (PDF). Washington: NACA. 1930.
  3. Frachet, André (31 July 1939). "L'avion Michel Wibault, type 220". Les Ailes (476): 3.
  4. "Wibault". Flight. XXII (90): 1435. 12 December 1930.
  5. Hirschauer (1930). Sénat no.124, Rapport Ministère de l'Air.
  6. "Visite aux usines Wibault". Les Ailes (459): 4. 3 April 1930.
  7. "D'aérodrome en aérodrome - A Villacoublay". Les Ailes (467): 12. 29 May 1930.
  8. "D'aérodrome en aérodrome - A Villacoublay". Les Ailes (467): 13. 5 June 1930.
  9. Hirschauer, L.; Dollfus, Ch. (1930–1931). L'Année aéronautique. Paris: Dunod. p. 51.
  10. Bruno Parmentier (28 November 2001). "Wibault 220". Retrieved 3 September 2016.
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