(Leduc) 010, 016 & 021 @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Leduc 010 Leduc 010
    Leduc 010
  • René Leduc - 1898-1968 René Leduc - 1898-1968
    René Leduc - 1898-1968
  • The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris) The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris)
    The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris)
  • The Leduc 010<br>and the Languedoc The Leduc 010<br>and the Languedoc
    The Leduc 010
    and the Languedoc
  • Jean Gonord - 1903-1988 Jean Gonord - 1903-1988
    Jean Gonord - 1903-1988
  • Jean Sarrail<br>1919-2012 Jean Sarrail<br>1919-2012
    Jean Sarrail
    1919-2012
  • Yvan Littolff - 1915-1991 Yvan Littolff - 1915-1991
    Yvan Littolff - 1915-1991
  • The Leduc 010 and the Languedoc The Leduc 010 and the Languedoc
    The Leduc 010 and the Languedoc
  • Leduc 010 Leduc 010
    Leduc 010
  • The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris) The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris)
    The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris)
  • The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris) The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris)
    The Leduc 010 (Ex 016) at Le Bourget museum (Paris)
  • SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc & Leduc 021 SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc & Leduc 021
    SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc & Leduc 021
  • SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc & Leduc 021 SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc & Leduc 021
    SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc & Leduc 021
  • Leduc 016 Leduc 016
    Leduc 016
  • Leduc 021 Leduc 021
    Leduc 021
  • Leduc 021 Leduc 021
    Leduc 021
  • Leduc 021 Leduc 021
    Leduc 021
  • Leduc 021 Leduc 021
    Leduc 021
  • Leduc 021 Leduc 021
    Leduc 021
  • Leduc 021 Leduc 021
    Leduc 021

Leduc 010, 016 and 021

The Leduc experimental aircraft were designed and built by French engineer René Leduc. Four types succeeded with increasing performances, the Leduc 010, 016,021 and 022. They all had in common two original features: their ramjet engine and general shape.

Design

The ramjet propulsion (also called thermo propulsive nozzle by René Leduc), which had already been studied by René Lorin in 1913, does not require any rotating part, is suitable for high speeds but has the disadvantage of not ensuring takeoff. To allow the aircraft to take off and reach the ignition conditions for his ramjet, René Leduc successively adopted two formulas:

  • The Leduc 010, 016 and 021 were installed on the back of a carrier aircraft and dropped in flight. The aircraft carriers used were the SE.161 Languedoc and, exceptionally, a Heinkel He 274.
  • The Leduc 022 was equipped with a booster turbojet.

Their particular form, very recognizable, brought them to be nicknamed "the flying stove pipes".

The development had begun before the war and spread mainly over the period 1945-1958. The Leduc Company was created for this purpose, and based in Argenteuil, near Paris. Six prototypes were built for flight tests: two 010, one 016 (later transformed into a 010), two 021 and one 022. There was a second 022 completed at 80%, but mass production was never started.

Flight tests were conducted over a period of eleven years (November 1946 to December 1957). They were held in Toulouse, Brétigny and Istres, with test pilots Jean Gonord, Yvan Littolff and Jean Sarrail.

Several Leduc projects did not lead to any production: the 011 (fighter), 012 (Bomber), 015, 020, 030 (supersonic twin nozzle interceptors with straight wing), the 040 (light interceptor), the 050 (a bomber in two versions: single nozzle and twin nozzle).

In February 1958, because of the many development difficulties not yet solved and increasing budgetary constraints, the French government took the decision to stop the work on these aircraft. However, the French Nord 1500 Griffon, the only other experimental aircraft equipped with a turbo-ramjet combination, and direct competitor of the Leduc 022, continued its trials for three years, and accumulated numerous records, with test pilot André Turcat at the controls.

Leduc 0.10

The Leduc 010 was the first type produced. Two aircraft were built. The 010-01, commissioned by the French government in 1937, had its construction suspended during the war. It made its first flight mounted on its SE.161 Languedoc carrier aircraft on November 19, 1946 at Toulouse-Blagnac. Its first un-motorized flight (dropped from the Languedoc) on October 21, 1947, and its first self powered flight on April 21, 1949. It was the first flight in the world of a ramjet powered aircraft, with test pilot Jean Gonord at the controls. Commander Perrin was the pilot of the Languedoc carrier aircraft and René Leduc sat on board of a Junkers 88 as an observer. Both Leduc 010 were destroyed during test flights: the 010-01 on July 25, 1952 and 010-02 on November 27, 1951.

Leduc 0.16

The Leduc 016 was an evolution of Leduc 010, equipped with two 250 kgp (550 lbs thrust) Turboméca Marboré jet engines placed at the wing tips to help controlling the plane at low speeds, especially during the landing phase. However, the power of the Marborés was not sufficient to allow autonomous take-offs. First composite flight happened during conveying from Les Mureaux to Istres on February 1, 1951, the first un-motorized flight was conducted on February 8, 1951, and the first flight with nozzle ignition on May 2, 1951. There was a single drop attempt from the Heinkel He 274 No.2 on October 9, 1952. The last flight took place on January 19, 1954. Engine synchronization problems and deformation of the wing profile caused by those engines eventually led René Leduc to replace the Marborés with inert masses and rename the aircraft "010-03". This model can be seen at the Le Bourget Air Museum, near Paris.

Leduc 0.21

The Leduc 0.21 was a research aircraft built in 1953 to refine the practicalities of ramjet propulsion. Initially proposed as the 0.20, it was essentially similar to its predecessor, the Leduc 0.10, but scaled up by around 30%, with tip tanks added to the wings. Again, it was not capable of take-off under its own power, and had to be carried aloft and released.

Two examples were built and completed a very detailed flight test program from 1953 to 1956 to develop automated, operationally viable throttle controls for the ramjet. This included a total of 284 free flights. Designed for subsonic speeds only, the 0.21 reached a top speed of Mach 0.95.

Legacy

On the Istres air base, there is a railway track section named the "Leduc Way", on which ground tests of the Leduc thermo propulsive nozzle were made.

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Specifications (010)

  • Crew : 1.
  • Length : 10.25 m (33 ft 7 in).
  • Height : 3.39 m (11.1 ft).
  • Wingspan : 10.52 m (34 ft 6 in).
  • Wing area : 16 m² (172 ft²).
  • Empty weight : 1,700 kg (3,740 lb).
  • Gross weight : 2,800 kg (6,173 lb).
  • Maximum speed : 800 km/h (500 mph).
  • Ceiling : 12,000 m (39,370 ft).
  • Powerplant : One Leduc ramjet.
  • Thrust : 15.7 kN (3,520 lbf).

Specifications (016)

  • Crew : 1.
  • Length : 10.25 m (33 ft 7 in).
  • Height : 3.39 m (11.1 ft).
  • Wingspan : 10.49 m (34 ft 5 in).
  • Wing area : 16 m² (172 ft²).
  • Gross weight : 3,250 kg (7,165 lbs).
  • Ceiling : 12,000 m (39,370 ft).
  • Powerplant : One Leduc "5 viroles" ramjet and two Turboméca Marboré I turbojets.
  • Thrust of the Marboré I's : 250 kgf (550 lbf) each.

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This text stays aircraftube.com©´s property, before its full or partial integration to Wikipedia.
Leduc 010, 016 & 021 : Your comments on this subject
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