Levasseur PL.2

The Levasseur PL.2 was a French biplane torpedo bomber designed by Pierre Levasseur for the French Navy.

Levasseur PL.2
Levasseur PL.2, June 1926
Role	Torpedo-bomber biplane
Manufacturer	Levasseur
Designer	Pierre Levasseur
First flight	November 1922
Introduction	1926
Retired	1932
Primary user	French Navy
Produced	1922-1923
Number built	11

Design and development

The second design of Pierre Levasseur was the PL.2, a single-seat unequal-span biplane inspired by designs from Blackburn Aircraft. It had a fixed tailskid landing gear and was powered by a nose-mounted Renault engine. The first of two prototypes first flew in November 1922. The second aircraft had a four-bladed propeller and other powerplant improvements. Nine production aircraft were built in 1923, these were fitted with ballonets and jettisonable landing gear for operations at sea.^[1]

Operational history

The aircraft entered service in 1926 aboard the French aircraft carrier Béarn and continued in use until they were scrapped in 1932.

Variants

• PL 2 AT-01 : First torpedo-bomber prototype.
• PL 2 AT-02 : Second prototype, equipped with a four-blade propeller.
• PL.2 : Single-seat torpedo-bomber aircraft, nine built for the French Navy.

Operators

 France

• French Navy
  • Escadrille 7B2

Specifications

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 14.9 m (49 ft 8.50 in)
• Wingspan: 15.15 m (49 ft 8.5 in)
• Height: 3.9 m (13 ft 3.25 in)
• Gross weight: 3,653 kg (8,053 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Renault 12Ma , 433 kW (580 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 180 km/h (112 mph, 97 kn)
• Range: 700 km (435 mi, 378 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 2,454 m (8,052 ft)

Armament

• 1 x 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-gun
• 450Kg (992lb) Torpedo or bombs