The Villiers II was a French two-seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s intended for operation from the Aircraft carrierBéarn of the French Navy. It was a single-engined tractorbiplane with a waterproof hull in the form of a flying boat to allow the aircraft to be safely landed on water in an emergency. Two prototypes and 30 production aircraft were built, the type serving briefly with the French Navy, although never operated from an aircraft carrier.
In 1924, the French aircraft manufacturer Ateliers d'Aviation François Villiers was formed at Meudon near Paris.[1] One of its first designs was to meet a requirement of the French Navy for a two-seat shipboard fighter. Villier's design, the Villiers II was a single-engined sesquiplane (i.e. a biplane with the lower wing much smaller than the upper wing). Although of conventional tractor configuration with the engine in the nose driving a two-bladed propeller, and a tailwheel undercarriage, in order to allow safe ditching in the event of an emergency, it had a number of unusual features, with the fuselage being watertight and in the form of a flying boat hull, and the undercarriage being jettisonable.[2][3]
Two prototypes were ordered, under the designation Vil 2AMC2 (Avion Marin Chasse Biplace), one powered by a 450 hp (338 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12H V12 engine and the other with a similarly powered Lorraine-Dietrich 12EbW12 engine. After evaluation by the Aéronautique Maritime in May 1925, an order for 30 Vil 2AMC2 to be powered by the Lorraine-Dietrich engine, (together with an order for 20 of the competing Levasseur PL.5s) was placed on 19 December 1925.[2]
Operational historyedit
Villiers II after landing on water
The Villiers II entered service with Escadrille 5C1 based at Hyères near Toulon in Southern France in May 1927, with the aircraft never being operated from Béarn. It was replaced by the single-seat Gourdou-Leseurre GL.32, which did not have the same elaborate features for landing on water in September 1928.[2]
Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York:Smithmark, 1994. ISBN0-8317-3939-8.
Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Stroud, UK:Sutton Publishing, 2nd Edition, 2005. ISBN0-7509-3981-8.
"The Paris Airshow 1926". Flight, 2 December 1926, pp. 775–791.
External linksedit
aviafrance
January 01, 1970
villiers, french, seat, fighter, aircraft, 1920s, intended, operation, from, aircraft, carrier, béarn, french, navy, single, engined, tractor, biplane, with, waterproof, hull, form, flying, boat, allow, aircraft, safely, landed, water, emergency, prototypes, p. The Villiers II was a French two seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s intended for operation from the Aircraft carrier Bearn of the French Navy It was a single engined tractor biplane with a waterproof hull in the form of a flying boat to allow the aircraft to be safely landed on water in an emergency Two prototypes and 30 production aircraft were built the type serving briefly with the French Navy although never operated from an aircraft carrier Villiers II Role Fighter aircraft National origin France Manufacturer Ateliers d Aviation Francois Villiers First flight 1925 Introduction 1927 Retired 1928 Primary user Aeronautique Maritime Number built 32 Contents 1 Development and design 2 Operational history 3 Operators 4 Specifications Vil 2AMC2 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDevelopment and design editIn 1924 the French aircraft manufacturer Ateliers d Aviation Francois Villiers was formed at Meudon near Paris 1 One of its first designs was to meet a requirement of the French Navy for a two seat shipboard fighter Villier s design the Villiers II was a single engined sesquiplane i e a biplane with the lower wing much smaller than the upper wing Although of conventional tractor configuration with the engine in the nose driving a two bladed propeller and a tailwheel undercarriage in order to allow safe ditching in the event of an emergency it had a number of unusual features with the fuselage being watertight and in the form of a flying boat hull and the undercarriage being jettisonable 2 3 Two prototypes were ordered under the designation Vil 2AMC2 Avion Marin Chasse Biplace one powered by a 450 hp 338 kW Hispano Suiza 12H V12 engine and the other with a similarly powered Lorraine Dietrich 12Eb W12 engine After evaluation by the Aeronautique Maritime in May 1925 an order for 30 Vil 2AMC2 to be powered by the Lorraine Dietrich engine together with an order for 20 of the competing Levasseur PL 5s was placed on 19 December 1925 2 Operational history edit nbsp Villiers II after landing on water The Villiers II entered service with Escadrille 5C1 based at Hyeres near Toulon in Southern France in May 1927 with the aircraft never being operated from Bearn It was replaced by the single seat Gourdou Leseurre GL 32 which did not have the same elaborate features for landing on water in September 1928 2 Operators edit nbsp France Aeronautique Maritime Escadrille 5C1Specifications Vil 2AMC2 edit nbsp Villiers II 3 view drawing from NACA Aircraft Circular No 37 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Villiers II Data from The Complete Book of Fighters 2 General characteristicsCrew Two Length 9 50 m 31 ft 2 in Wingspan 13 00 m 42 ft 8 in Height 3 96 m 13 ft 0 in Wing area 40 0 m2 431 sq ft Empty weight 1 260 kg 2 778 lb Gross weight 1 900 kg 4 189 lb Powerplant 1 Lorraine Dietrich 12Eb 12 cylinder W engine 340 kW 450 hp Performance Maximum speed 217 km h 135 mph 117 kn at sea level Endurance 3 hr Service ceiling 6 250 m 20 510 ft 3 Time to altitude 28 min to 6 000 m 20 000 ft Armament Guns 2 fixed forward firing synchronised 7 7 mm 0 303 in Vickers guns 2 flexibly mounted Lewis guns in rear cockpitSee also editAircraft of comparable role configuration and era Levasseur PL 5References edit Gunston 2005 p 484 a b c d Green and Swanborough 1994 p 582 a b Flight 2 December 1926 p 789 Green William and Swanborough Gordon The Complete Book of Fighters New York Smithmark 1994 ISBN 0 8317 3939 8 Gunston Bill World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers Stroud UK Sutton Publishing 2nd Edition 2005 ISBN 0 7509 3981 8 The Paris Airshow 1926 Flight 2 December 1926 pp 775 791 External links editaviafrance Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Villiers II amp oldid 1067756917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
