Packard-Le Père LUSAC-11 | |
|---|---|
| Land | Usa |
| Rolle | Kampfflugzeuge |
| Erstflug | 15 May 1918 |
| Gebaut | 30 |
das LUSAC-11 (Lepère United States Army Combat) was an early American two-seat fighter aircraft. It was a French design, commissioned and built in the United States during World War I and ordered in large numbers by the United States Army Air Corps, but these were cancelled at the end of the war, and only 30 were built. The type was used for experimental purposes, setting several altitude records during the 1920s.
| Packard LePere LUSAC-11 Walk Around | |
|---|---|
| Fotograf | Wladimir Nikolajewitsch Jakubow |
| Lokalisierung | Nationalmuseum der USAF |
| Fotos | 35 |
Siehe auch:
A French Design with American Muscle
das Packard LePère LUSAC-11 (Lepère United States Army Combat) was a two-seat fighter designed by Captain Georges LePère of the French Air Service for production in the United States. While it arrived too late to see combat in World War I, it became a legendary testbed in the early 1920s. Armed with the powerful American Liberty Engine, it was one of the fastest and highest-climbing aircraft of its era, serving as the platform for pioneering research into high-altitude flight and turbocharging.
| Attribute | Technical Specification (LUSAC-11) |
|---|---|
| Rolle | Two-Seat Fighter / Reconnaissance |
| Crew | 2 (Pilot and Observer/Gunner) |
| First Flight | May 15, 1918 |
| Triebwerk | 1 × Liberty L-12 water-cooled V-12 engine |
| Horsepower | 425 hp (317 kW) |
| Höchstgeschwindigkeit | 136 mph (219 km/h) |
| Service Ceiling | 20,200 feet (Standard) / 34,500+ feet (Modified) |
| Bewaffnung | 2 × .30 cal Marlins (Forward); 2 × .30 cal Lewis guns (Rear) |
Engineering for the Stratosphere
- The Liberty Engine Integration: Unlike many contemporary biplanes that used lower-powered rotary engines, the LUSAC-11 was designed specifically around the liquid-cooled Liberty L-12. This engine provided a massive power-to-weight ratio for the time.
- Veneer Fuselage: The aircraft featured a plywood-veneer monocoque fuselage, which was much stronger and more aerodynamic than the traditional fabric-on-wood-frame construction used on most WWI fighters.
- Turbo-Supercharging Research: The LUSAC-11 was famously used by Dr. Sanford Moss to test the first exhaust-driven turbo-superchargers. This allowed the engine to maintain power even as the air thinned at high altitudes.
- Staggered Wings: The biplane wings were staggered to improve the pilot’s visibility and aerodynamic efficiency, a hallmark of LePère’s clean French design philosophy.
A Legacy of Records
- Shattering the Ceiling: On September 28, 1921, Lieutenant John A. Macready flew a specially modified LUSAC-11 to a world-record altitude of 34,509 feet. At this height, the air was so thin and cold that Macready required a primitive supplemental oxygen system.
- The McCook Field Era: Most LUSAC-11s spent their careers at McCook Field in Ohio, the center of U.S. Army Air Service engineering. They were used to test everything from new propellers to early flight instruments.
- Late to the Fight: Of the 3,500 units originally ordered, only about 25 were completed before the Armistice led to mass cancellations. Only two were actually shipped to France before the war ended.
- Survivor: The only remaining LUSAC-11 is a centerpiece of the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, restored to represent the aircraft used in the 1921 record flight.
Aufrufe : 1586
Sie können auch sehen:
Messerschmitt Me 410 – Fotos & Video
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet – Fotos & Video
Mitsubishi A6M Zero – Zu Fuß um
Hawker Hurricane – Walk Around
Bell P-39N Airacobra – WalkAround
Konsolidierter B-24M Liberator – WalkAround
P-47D Thunderbolt – WalkAround
A-20 Havoc – WalkAround
TBM-3E Avenger – Spaziergang
Fiat G-55 Centauro – Zu Fuß um