Levasseur PL.4

Carrier-based Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft

France | 1926

"The French Navy took on a stock of forty Levasseur PL.4 biplanes for the maritime reconnaissance role."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Levasseur PL.4 Carrier-based Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft.

1 x Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb engine developing 450 horsepower.
Propulsion

111 mph
178 kph | 96 kts
Max Speed

16,404 ft
5,000 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

559 miles
900 km | 486 nm
Operational Range

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Levasseur PL.4 Carrier-based Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft.

3
(MANNED)
Crew

31.7 ft
9.67 m
O/A Length

47.9 ft
(14.60 m)
O/A Width

12.6 ft
(3.85 m)
O/A Height

3,748 lb
(1,700 kg)
Empty Weight

5,842 lb
(2,650 kg)
MTOW

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Levasseur PL.4 family line.

PL.4 - Base Series Designation

PL.4 A3 R3b - Prototype designation; single example.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/03/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Levasseur concern, established by Frenchman Pierre Lavasseur, managed several aircraft products that were adopted by the French Navy throughout the early 1900s and this included the Levasseur PL.4, a maritime reconnaissance platform based on the earlier PL.2, itself a naval torpedo-bomber design. The PL.4 was given a traditional biplane-winged arrangement which featured single bays and apparel struts. The undercarriage was of a conventional "tail-dragger" design with the main legs wheeled and the tail supported by a simple skid. The crew of three was seated inline across three separate open-air cockpits. A first-flight was had in 1926 and the type went on to be adopted by the French Navy to serve on FS Bearn, a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier commissioned in 1927.

The PL.4 was given certain qualities about it to better perform its overwater role: should the crew have to bail the aircraft, the fuselage was given a boat-like hull design and floats were installed under the lower wing assembly. Additionally the undercarriage could be jettisoned prior to crash landing - these features intended to give the crew a fighting chance at surviving a crash.

About forty of the type were produced with the French Navy becoming its sole global operator. The sole prototype used to prove the design sound was the PL.4 A3 R3b.

As completed the aircraft exhibited a length of 9.7 meters, a wingspan of 14.6 meters and a height of 3.8 meters. Empty weight was 1,700 kg against a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 5,800 kg. Power was from a Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb series engine developing a healthy 450 horsepower output and driving a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose. Performance specs included a maximum speed of 111 miles per hour, a range out to 560 miles and a service ceiling reaching 16,400 feet.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Levasseur PL.4. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 41 Units
Contractor(s): Levasseur - France

[ France ]

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Image from the Public Domain.

Going Further...
The Levasseur PL.4 Carrier-based Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft appears in the following collections:

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