Levasseur PL.4
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name=PL.4 | image=Levasseur PL-4.jpg | caption=Deck landing of a Levasseur PL.4 }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft | national origin=France | manufacturer=Levasseur | designer= | first flight=1926 | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user=Aéronavale | number built=40 | developed from= | developed into= Levasseur PL.8 | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Levasseur PL.4, aka Levasseur Marin, was a carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft produced in France in the 1920s.
Design and development
The PL.4 was a conventional, single-bay biplane that carried a crew of three in tandem, open cockpits. Purchased by the Aéronavale to operate from the aircraft carrier Béarn, it incorporated several safety features in case of ditching at sea. Apart from small floats attached directly to the undersides of the lower wing, the main units of the fixed, tailskid undercarriage could be jettisoned in flight, and the underside of the fuselage was given a boat-like shape and made watertight. Additionally, the crew can survive a crash by ejecting the landing gear.{{Cite web |title=Levasseur PL.4 |url=https://tvd.im/aviation/1253-levasseur-pl-4.html |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=Military Equipment Guide With Photos}}
Variants
;PL.4 A3 R3b: to meet the 1924 A.3/R.3b (three seat observation and gunnery spotter aircraft) specification from the Service technique de l'aéronautique (STAé); 1 built.{{cite web|last1=Parmentier|first1=Bruno|title=Levasseur PL.4 A3 R3b|url=https://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9431&ID_CONSTRUCTEUR=816&ANNEE=0&ID_MISSION=0&MOTCLEF=|website=Aviafrance|accessdate=18 February 2018|location=Paris|language=French|date=6 December 2001}}
;PL.4: 3-seat shipboard reconnaissance aircraft for the Aéronautique Navale; 40 built.{{cite web|last1=Parmentier|first1=Bruno|title=Levasseur PL 4|url=https://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=2309&ID_CONSTRUCTEUR=816&ANNEE=0&ID_MISSION=0&MOTCLEF=|website=Aviafrance|accessdate=18 February 2018|location=Paris|language=French|date=6 December 2001}}
Operators
; {{flag|France}}
Specifications (PL.4)
File:Levasseur_PL.4_L'Aéronautique_December,1926.jpg
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928 {{cite book |title=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928 |editor1-last=Grey |editor1-first=C.G. |year=1928 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd |location=London |pages=18d–19d}} and Aviafrance:Levasseur PL.4
|prime units?=met
|crew=3
|length m=9.7
|span m=14.6
|width m=5.67
|width note=wings folded
|height m=3.915
|wing area sqm=60
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=1650
|gross weight kg=2550
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb
|eng1 type=W-12 water-cooled piston engine
|eng1 hp=450
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=fixed-pitch propeller
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop dia note=
|max speed kmh=175
|max speed note=at sea level; {{cvt|170|km/h|mph kn}} at {{cvt|3000|m}}
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=900
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range nmi=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=5 hours
|ceiling m=5000
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude={{cvt|3000|m}} in 20 minutes
|sink rate ms=
|sink rate ftmin=
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=43
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass={{cvt|0.0813|hp/lb|kW/kg|order=flip}}
|more performance=
|guns= defensive gun armament on a Scarff ring in the centre cockpit
}}
See also
{{aircontent
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|related=
|sequence=
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|lists=
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References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
{{commons category|Levasseur PL.4}}
- {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=574 }}
- {{cite journal |title=The Paris Aero Show 1926 |journal=Flight |date=2 December 1926 |pages=781 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1926/1926%20-%200881.html |accessdate=2008-09-21}}
{{Levasseur aircraft}}
Category:1920s French military reconnaissance aircraft
Category:Carrier-based aircraft