Phönix 20.24

The Phönix 20.24 was a prototype German fighter plane built in the last months of World War I.

Phönix 20.24
Role	Biplane fighter
National origin	Austria-Hungary
Manufacturer	Phönix Flugzeug-Werke
First flight	1918
Primary user	KuKLFT
Number built	2
Developed from	Phönix D.III

Development

The Phönix 20.24 was similar to the D.III but differed in having a semi-monocoque fuselage and an Austro-Daimler engine. Two prototypes were built with the serials 20.24 and 20.25, entered in the July 1918 fighter competition but remained at the prototype stage only.^[1][2]

Production aircraft would very likely have been allocated the LFT designation Phönix D.IV, according to Phönix company records.^[1]

Specifications (20.24)

Data from Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 6.6 m (21 ft 8 in)
• Upper wingspan: 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
• Lower wingspan: 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
• Height: 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
• Wing area: 23.5 m² (253 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 665 kg (1,466 lb)
• Gross weight: 950 kg (2,094 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Hiero 6 water-cooled 6-cylinder piston engine, 170 kW (230 hp) (20.25 235 hp (175 kW) Austro-Daimler 6)
• Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 185 km/h (115 mph, 100 kn)
• Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 2 minutes 10 seconds; 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 18 minutes

Armament

• Guns: provision for machine-guns, installation unspecified