Wibault 7

Wibault 7
	Wibault 74
Role	Monoplane fighter
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Wibault
Designer	Michel Wibault
First flight	1924
Introduction	1929
Primary user	Aéronautique Militaire
Variants	Vickers Wibault

The Wibault 7 was a 1920s French monoplane fighter designed and built by Société des Avions Michel Wibault. Variants were operated by the French and Polish military and built under licence for Chile as the Vickers Wibault.

Development

Developed from the earlier Wib.3 the Wibault 7 was a C.I category single-seat high-wing braced parasol monoplane fighter powered by a 480 hp (360 kW) Gnome-Rhone 9Ad radial engine. The main difference from earlier aircraft was the use of an all-metal construction system which was patented by Wibault. The first prototype flew in 1924, and was followed by two more prototypes. Despite being placed only third in the competition (behind the Nieuport-Delage NiD 42 and the Gourdou-Leseurre GL.32), an order for 25 Wib.7s was placed in January 1927.^[1] These were followed in production by 60 aircraft for the Aéronautique Militaire as the Wib.72 which entered service in 1929. 26 Wib.7s were built for Chile under licence by Vickers in England.

Plans to sell the aircraft to Poland did not come about, but the PZL company bought a licence and manufactured 25 aircraft with Bristol Jupiter engines, designated in Poland as Wibault 70C1, to the Polish military.^[2] One or two of them were fitted with Wright Cyclone engine.^[2] The next variant was the Wib.73, with seven built for Paraguay. The French Navy bought some carrier-capable Wib.74s with a strengthened fuselage and arrestor hook.

Variants

Wib.7: Prototype powered by a 480 hp (358 kW) Gnome-Rhone 9Ad radial engine. Two further prototypes followed by 25 production aircraft.^[1]
Wib.71

Re-engined with a 400 hp (298 kW) Hispano 12 Jb engine but redesignated Wib.9 before completion.^[1]

Wib.72: Strengthened production aircraft for French Air Force and Poland. 85 built.^[1]
Wib.73: Production aircraft for Poland and Paraguay powered by 336 kW (451 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb W engine. 11 built .^[1]
Wib.74: Production navalised aircraft for the French Navy. 18 built.^[1]
Vickers Wibault Scout: Licensed production with a Bristol Jupiter engine for Chile, 26 built.
Wibault 70C1: Licensed production with a Bristol Jupiter engine for Poland, 25 built by PZL^[2]

Operators

Chile

Chilean Air Force

France

Paraguay

Paraguayan Air Force received 7 Wib.73s. Three remained in service at the outbreak of the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia.^[1]

Poland

Polish Air Force

Specifications (Wib 7)

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: one
Length: 7.45 m (24 ft 5.33 in)
Wingspan: 11.00 m (36 ft 1.13 in)
Height: 2.90 m (9 ft 6.13 in)
Wing area: 22.0 m² (236.8 sq ft)
Empty weight: 827 kg (1,823 lb)
Gross weight: 1,444 kg (3,183 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome et Rhône 9Ac , 313 kW (420 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 227 km/h (141 mph, 123 kn)
Range: 600 km (373 mi, 324 nmi)
Service ceiling: 8,500 m (27,900 ft) ^[3]
Rate of climb: 5.4 m/s (1,070 ft/min) ^[4]

Armament

2x 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 596.
^ ^a ^b ^c Morgała, Andrzej (2003), p. 29-31
^ Angelucci 1983, p. 116.
^ Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft):15.3 min.

Bibliography

Angelucci, Enzo. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. San Diego, California: The Military Press, 1983. ISBN 0-517-41021-4.
Bruner, Georges (1977). "Fighters a la Francaise, Part One". Air Enthusiast (3): 85–95. ISSN 0143-5450.
Cortet, Pierre (December 1996). "Courrier Lecteurs" [Readers Mail]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (45): 2. ISSN 1243-8650.
Cortet, Pierre (February 1997). "Courrier Lecteurs". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (42): 2–3. ISSN 1243-8650.
Cortet, Pierre (February 1996). "Le Wibault 7 et ses dérivés (1^e partie)" [The Wibault 7 and its Derivatives]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (35): 7–13. ISSN 1243-8650.
Cortet, Pierre (March 1996). "Le Wibault 7 et ses dérivés (2^e partie)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (36): 17–21. ISSN 1243-8650.
Cortet, Pierre (April 1996). "Le Wibault 7 et ses dérivés (3^e partie)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (37): 17–18. ISSN 1243-8650.
Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
Laureau, Patrick (August 1996). "En passant par l'Angleterre...: De la France au Chili: les Wilbault 7C1" [Passing Through England: From France to Chile]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (41): 28–31. ISSN 1243-8650.
Luczak, Wojciech (June 1996). "Les Wibault polonais" [The Polish Wilbault 7s]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (39): 33–34. ISSN 1243-8650.
Morareau, Lucien (May 1996). "Les Wibault 74 de la Marine" [The Naval Wibault 7s]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (38): 14–19. ISSN 1243-8650.
Morgała, Andrzej (2003). Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1924–1939 [Military aircraft in Poland 1924–1939], Warsaw: Bellona. ISBN 83-11-09319-9 (in Polish)
Sapienza, Antonio Luis (July 1996). "Les Wibault 73 C.1 paraguayens et brésiliens" [Paraguayan and Brazilian Wibault 73 C.1s]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (40): 15–18. ISSN 1243-8650.
Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.