World War 2 In Review: Arsenal-Delanne 10: French Experimental Fighter

Arsenal-Delanne 10.

The Arsenal-Delanne 10 was an experimental fighter aircraft of French origin. The plane had a rear cockpit and a distinctive tandem wing.

General Information

Type: Fighter

Manufacturer: Arsenal de l'Aéronautique

Designer: Maurice Delanne

Number built: 1

Introduction date: 1940– 41

First flight: October 1941

Design and Development

The Arsenal-Delanne 10-C2 two-seat fighter, designed by Maurice Delanne and built by the Arsenal de l’Aéronautique, was of so-called Nenadovich biplane or tandem wing configuration, the tandem-mounted wings providing a continuous slot effect and offering exceptional center of gravity range. The fighter was of all metal stressed-skin construction, which used a sandwich technique, with a smooth dural skin welded to a corrugated sheet. Pilot and gunner sat in tandem under a single canopy at the rear of the fuselage, which was level with the rear wing, which carried twin tailplanes. This arrangement gave the gunner a clear field of fire for his planned armament of two 7.5 mm machine guns, which was to be supplemented by a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and two more machine guns in the wing. The aircraft was fitted with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage and was powered by a single 860 hp (641 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine.

The Arsenal-Delanne 10-C2 prototype was virtually complete at Villacoublay when German forces occupied the factory in June 1940. Work on the aircraft continued in a desultory fashion and the first flight test was made in October 1941. After completion of the initial test program, the aircraft was ferried to Germany for further trials. Sometime during July 1943 the sole example was transferred by DFS to German soil for what is perceived to be additional testing and evaluation. It does not appear that any additional notable work on the design was undertaken.

Specifications

Crew: 2

Length: 7.328 m (24 ft 0.5 in)

Wingspan: 10.11 m (33 ft 2 in)

Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)

Wing area: 22.50 m2 (242.2 sq ft)

Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs liquid-cooled v12 engine, 640 kW (860 hp)

Maximum speed: 550 km/h (342 mph, 297 kn) at 5,415 m (14,764 ft)

Endurance: 1.5 hr

Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,810 ft)

Time to altitude: 6.5 min to 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

Armament:

Guns: (proposed)

1 × fixed forward firing 20 mm cannon and 2 × wing mounted 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns

2 × flexibly mounted 7.5 mm machine guns in rear cockpit

Bibliography

Cuny, Jean (January 1989). "Delanne: une certaine formule (2): le Delanne 10 C2" Delanne: A Certain Formula, Part 2: The Delanne 10 C2]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (230): 14–20.

Cuny, Jean & Lebourg, J. (February 1989). "Delanne: une certaine formule (3): le Delanne 10 C2" Delanne: A Certain Formula, Part 3: The Delanne 10 C2]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (231): 33–35.

Green, William (1967). War Planes of the Second World War: Fighters. Vol. I. London: Macdonald.

Arsenal-Delanne 10.

Early artist sketch of Arsenal-Delanne 10.

Arsenal-Delanne 10 under construction.

Arsenal-Delanne 10 in French colors.

Arsenal-Delanne 10.

Arsenal-Delanne 10 French and Luftwaffe color scheme details.

Arsenal-Delanne 10C.2 speculative French color scheme

Arsenal-Delanne 10.C2 in speculative French color scheme.

Arsenal-Delanne 10-C2 prototype; color scheme is speculative based on photos.

Speculative production version with armament in typical French color scheme.

Arsenal-Delanne 10 in the first Luftwaffe color scheme as D-AXWP. Note the black swastika on a white disc over a red background on the tail fin. Villacoublay July 1943.