Engineering:Aviméta 121
| Aviméta 121 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Bomber |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Aviméta |
| First flight | 1928 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Aviméta 121 (sometimes referred to with the ambiguous designation Aviméta 21[1][2]) was a prototype French bomber aircraft[1][3] flown in 1928.[3] It was built to a 1926 French Army requirement for a new Multiplace de Combat ("multi-seat combat") aircraft for bombing and reconnaissance.[3] The Aviméta 121 was not selected for production, and only a single prototype was built.[3][4] A proposed torpedo bomber seaplane version remained unrealised.[3][4]
Design
The Aviméta 121 was a shoulder-wing, strut-braced monoplane of conventional layout.[5] Power was supplied by two W12 piston engines[1][4] mounted in nacelles on the leading edge of the wings.[5] These drove four-bladed tractor propellers.[1][5][4] The main units of the fixed, tailskid undercarriage were enclosed in large aerodynamic sponsons.[1][5] The pilot sat in an open cockpit, but the bombardier had an enclosed position in the nose.[1] Defensive armament included two open machine-gun positions, one in the nose, and the other behind the cockpit.[1]
Unusually for the time, construction was of metal throughout, more specifically, a special alloy developed by Aviméta and branded Alférium.[1][4]
Development
In 1926, the French Army issued a specification for a new Multiplace de Combat ("multi-seat combat") aircraft for bombing and reconnaissance.[3] Several French manufacturers responded with designs including the Amiot 140, Aviméta 120, Blériot 137, Breguet 410, Dyle et Bacalan 20, Nieuport-Delage NiD.53, and SPCA 30, and the Army ordered prototypes of several of these.[3][6] The Aviméta 120 was designed to be powered by Gnome-Rhône Jupiter radial engines,[3][6] but the prototype ordered in 1927 as the Aviméta 121 was powered by the Lorraine 12Eb W-12 engine instead.[3][6][4]
The prototype flew in 1928,[3][6] first piloted by Adjutant Louis[4] Moutonnier.[3][6] The Aviméta 121 was found to be too heavy and unmaneuverable,[6][4] [7] and the Amiot 140 was ordered for production instead (as the Amiot 143).[3] Losing this contract was part of the reason Aviméta withdrew from aircraft manufacturing.[3][8]
A seaplane version was proposed as a torpedo bomber,[3][4] and although one pontoon was constructed, this project went no further.[3]
Variants
- Aviméta 120
- Original design with radial engines (not built)
- Aviméta 121
- Prototype with W engines (1 built)
- Seaplane version (proposed but not built)
Specifications (Aviméta 121 prototype)
Data from Liron 1992, p.37
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Wingspan: 21.80 m (71 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 70 m2 (750 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 2,400 kg (5,291 lb)
- Gross weight: 3,700 kg (8,157 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Lorraine 12Eb liquid-cooled, 12-cylinder, W engine, 336 kW (451 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)
- Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,000 ft)
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1982, p.378
- ↑ Claveau 1991, p.40
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Liron et al. 2000, p.26
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Bondoux 2007, p.27
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Liron et al. 2000, p.26–27
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Liron n.d.
- ↑ Liron et al. 2000, p.27
- ↑ Passaqui 2020, p.19
Bibliography
- Bondoux, Georges (February 2007). "Schneider et compagnie: Constructeur aéronautique". Bulletin de l'académie François Bourdon (Le Creusot: L'académie François Bourdon) (8): 22–28.
- Claveau, Charles (March–April 1991). "Les Constructeurs Français 1919–1945 (10)". Le Trait d'Union (Paris: La Branche Français d'Air Britain) (136): 39–48.
- Liron, Jean (n.d.). Les muliplaces de combat Schneider et Aviméta. unpublished essay. quoted in "Les Constructeurs Français 1919–1945: Additions et Corrections I". Le Trait d'Union (Paris: La Branche Français d'Air Britain) (144): 37. July–August 1992.
- Liron, Jean; Borget, Michel; Bénichou, Michel (February 2000). "Quand le Groupe Schneider fasait de l'Aviation de Guerre". Le Fana de l'Aviation (Le Creusot: Editions Lariviere) (363): 14–27.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
- Passaqui, Jean-Philippe (2020). "Schneider, les alliages légers et l'aviation (1916-1939)". E-Phaïstos: Revue d'histoire des techniques (OpenEdition Journals) 8 (2).
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