Leduc 022
{{Short description|French prototype aircraft}}
{{good article}}
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| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name=022 | image=Leduc 022 Le Bourget FRA 002.JPG | caption=Leduc 022 preserved in the Musée de l'air et de l'espace at Le Bourget }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Research aircraft | national origin=France | manufacturer=Breguet | designer=René Leduc | first flight=26 December 1956 | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user= | number built=2 | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Leduc 022 was the prototype of a mixed-power French interceptor built in the mid-1950s. Designer René Leduc had been developing ramjet-powered aircraft since before World War II and had flown a series of experimental aircraft, the Leduc 0.10 and Leduc 0.21, throughout the 1950s before he was awarded a contract for two examples of a short-range supersonic interceptor armed with two air-to-air missiles (AAMs).
Intended for combat use, the 022 was able to take off from a runway as it was fitted with a supplementary turbojet engine, unlike his earlier aircraft which required a mother aircraft to carry them to altitude because ramjets cannot produce thrust while stationary. Development was cancelled by the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) in 1958 due to budgetary problems while flight testing was underway and before the second prototype was completed.
Background and description
In 1953 the French Air Force issued a specification for a high-performance interceptor that could intercept and destroy any aerial threat after taking off from a {{convert|940|m|adj=on}} grass runway. It ordered two prototype 022S aircraft in competition with the Nord Gerfaut and Griffon. Leduc used a more powerful version of the ramjet that he had been developing since 1938 and added a turbojet to allow for more autonomous operations. Air for the ramjet was provided by six air ducts surrounding the nose section that emptied into the hollow interior of the double-walled fuselage where fuel was injected and ignited by the exhaust of a Turbomeca Artouste gas turbine. The ramjet was expected to produce a thrust of {{convert|160|kN|lk=on}} and a time to {{convert|25000|m}} of only seven minutes, a climbing speed much faster than jet-powered aircraft.Buttler, pp. 49–50, 184–185Carbonel, p. 81–83
The 022S was generally similar in configuration aside from the 30° swept wings and tricycle landing gear. It retained the thick barrel-like monocoque fuselage and the protruding nose section housing the transparent Plexiglass cockpit, but added a range-only radar. The forward part of the nose formed an escape capsule for the pilot. The aircraft was provided with approximately {{convert|2728|L|impgal USgal|adj=on}} of fuel distributed between the fuselage, wings and wingtip tanks. Its intended armament consisted of a pair of Nord AA.20 guided missiles and 24 anti-aircraft rockets. Unlike all previous Leduc aircraft, it featured a coaxial turbojet-ramjet powerplant to enable unassisted operation. The turbojet was initially a {{cvt|15|kN}} Turbomeca Ossau engine, but this was changed during construction to a much more powerful {{cvt|31.3|kN}} SNECMA Atar 101D-3.Buttler, p. 50
This change caused the aircraft to be redesignated as the 022 and allowed the number of rockets to be increased to 40. First flown on 26 December 1956 on turbojet power alone, the ramjet was finally fired on the 34th flight, on 18 May 1957. It reached a speed of Mach 1.15 on 21 December 1957, but was damaged shortly afterwards when it caught fire while taking off. Construction of a second prototype had been cancelled in October and the flight testing contract was cancelled on 13 February 1958 after 141 flights had been made. The ongoing Algerian War was consuming more of the military budget and the more conventional Dassault Mirage III was selected to meet the interceptor requirement. The cancellation marked the end of Leduc's aircraft development activities.Buttler, pp. 50–51; Carbonel, p. 83
Surviving aircraft
The unflown second prototype 022 is on display at the Musée de l'air et de l'espace at Paris–Le Bourget Airport. It was donated by the Leduc family in 1979.Buttler, p. 51
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=*X-Planes of Europe II: Military Prototype Aircraft from the Golden Age 1946–1974Buttler, pp. 42, 50
|prime units? = met
|crew=1
|length m=18.21
|length ft=59
|length in=9
|span m=9.95
|span ft=32
|span in=8
|wing area sqm=21.1
|empty weight kg=
|max takeoff weight kg=8,975
|fuel capacity={{cvt|2728|L|impgal USgal}}
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Leduc ramjet
|eng1 kn=63.6
|eng1 note=@ {{cvt|1000|km/h}} at sea level
|eng2 number=1
|eng2 name=SNECMA Atar 101D-3 turbojet
|eng2 kn=31.3
|max speed kmh=1,200
|max speed mph=750
|max speed note=this speed was met in tests, which were cut short due to loss of first prototype
|max speed mach=1.15
|ceiling m=8800
|ceiling note=(achieved)
}}
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References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last1=Buttler |first1=Tony |title=X-Planes of Europe |date=2015 |publisher=Hikoki Publications |location=Manchester, UK |isbn=978-1-90210-948-0|volume=II: Military Prototype Aircraft from the Golden Age 1946–1974}}
- {{cite book |last1=Carbonel |first1=Jean-Christophe |title=French Secret Projects |date=2016 |publisher=Crecy Publishing |location=Manchester, UK|volume=1: Post War Fighters |isbn=978-1-91080-900-6}}
External links
{{commons category|Leduc 022}}
- [http://xplanes.free.fr/stato/stato-2.html A French-language page on the aircraft]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzUJrweHxso Les avions LEDUC], test flight footage for Leduc 0.10, 0.16, 0.21, and 0.22 from Youtuber [https://www.youtube.com/@DominiquePerruchon Dominique Perruchon]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx-59ivXI9I The fighter jet that was 'too fast' - The French Leduc 022], a YouTube presentation from [https://www.youtube.com/@FoundAndExplained Found And Explained]
{{Leduc aircraft}}
Category:1950s French fighter aircraft
Category:Ramjet-powered aircraft