Salmson 2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmson_2

The Salmson 2, (given the military designation Salmson 2 A2) was a French
biplane reconnaissance aircraft made by Salmson. It was developed to a 1916
requirement. Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft
in use with the French army and the American Expeditionary Force's aviation
units in 1918. At the end of the First World War, one-third of French
reconnaissance aircraft were Salmson 2s.

During the First World War, the Salmson factory built aircraft engines,
generally 9- and later 18-cylinder water-cooled radial engines developed from
the Swiss Canton-Unné design, one of the earliest known non-rotary radial engine
designs ever used for military aircraft. The company's first entry into aircraft
design came with the Salmson-Moineau S.M. 1, an unusual three-seat
reconnaissance biplane with twin airscrews gear-driven from a single Salmson
engine in the nose of the fuselage. These aircraft, of which 155 were built,
were not especially successful.

The Salmson 2 developed from a requirement to replace the Sopwith 1½ Strutter
and Dorand A.R. reconnaissance aircraft in the A2 (tactical reconnaissance)
role. Salmson had built the 1½ Strutter under license, and the Salmson 2, while
an original design, owed more to the Sopwith than to the earlier
Salmson-Moineau. The aircraft was of conventional construction with a two-bay
biplane configuration, powered by the company's own Salmson 9Z water-cooled
radial engine of 230 bhp. Some minor control problems were quickly resolved in
early testing, but the main defect of the Salmson 2, shared with the
contemporary Airco DH.4, was that the pilot and gunner were seated rather far
apart, making communication difficult. Production was ordered after trials on 29
April 1917, and deliveries were underway by October of that year. Around 3,200
Salmson 2s were built in France, 2,200 by Salmson and the remainder by the
Latécoère, Hanriot, and Desfontaines, companies. Some of these were Salmson 2
D.2 dual control advanced training aircraft.


Role
Reconnaissance biplane

Manufacturer
Salmson

First flight
1917

Number built
3,200

In addition to its service with the French army, the Salmson 2 served during the
First World War with United States air units. Some 700 were purchased, and were
generally successful.

Post-war, Salmson 2s were purchased by Czechoslovakia, and remained in service
until 1924. Others were transferred to Poland, but were withdrawn by 1920, and
replaced by Bristol F.2Bs. Japan undertook license production as the "Army Type
Otsu 1", also known as the Kawasaki-Salmson. The number of aircraft built in
Japan is unclear: 300 were built by Kawasaki, and the same quantity by the
Imperial Japanese Army's Tokorozawa supply depot, although the total number of
aircraft produced may have been as high as 1,000.

Specifications

General characteristics
Crew: Two, pilot and gunner
Length: 8.5 m (27 ft 10½ in)
Wingspan: 11.75 m (38 ft 6½ in)
Height: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 37.27 m² (401 ft²)
Empty weight: 780 kg (1,716 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,290 kg (2,838 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Salmson 9Za radial piston engine, 172 kW (230 hp)

Performance
Maximum speed: 188 km/h (101 knots, 116 mph) at sea level
Range: 500 km (270 nm, 310 mi)
Service ceiling: 6,250 m (20,500 ft)


Time to altitude: 2,000 m (6,562 ft) in 7 minutes 13 seconds

Armament

Guns:
1 × forward synchronized 0.303 in Vickers machine gun
2 × rear, ring-mounted 0.303 in Lewis Guns





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