Comte AC-1

Single-Seat Fighter Prototype [ 1927 ]

The Swiss Comte AC-1 was outclassed by the French Dewoitine D.27 when it came time to fulfill a Swiss Air Force demand for such an aircraft.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/09/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

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The Comte AC-1 was a late-1920s attempt by local Swiss aero-industry to deliver - for service to the Swiss Air Force - a viable single-seat fighter aircraft of modern design. The system was designed by Swiss aviation pioneer Alfred Comte and intended to meet a standing Swiss Air Force requirement for such a combat aircraft. It eventually featured many qualities of contemporary aircraft of the period - an open-air cockpit, fixed "tail-dragger" undercarriage and forward-mounted wings. The wing mainplanes were given a high-mounted placement (ahead and above the pilot's position), braced by struts leading down to the underside of the fuselage. The aircraft carried a metal-skinned fuselage with wings and tail surfaces covered over in fabric. Proposed armament became 2 x machine guns over the nose synchronized to fire through the two-bladed propeller unit. Power was had from a French Gnome et Rhone radial piston engine of 420 horsepower, a licensed-produced copy of the British Jupiter IX series.

The completed aircraft, though still in prototype form, was flown for the first time on April 2nd, 1927. This led to its purchase by Swiss Fliegertruppe (Swiss Air Force) for formal evaluation. From this the aircraft was bypassed in favor of the French Dewoitine D.27 to fulfill the local fighter requirement.

The AC-1 continued to fly a bit longer as it was purchased by the Military Technical Service in mid-1928. Given the wings of a Dewoitine D.9 series aircraft, the AC-1 was able to achieve an altitude of 34,120 feet - a Swiss air record of the day. K+W handled the conversion work. Beyond this, it appears that the sole prototype managed very little before being given up for good.

As designed, the AC-1 could manage a maximum speed of 152 miles per hour with a range out to 280 miles. Empty weight was 920 kilograms against a MTOW of 1,320 kg. Dimensions included a length of 7.13 meters, a wingspan of 12 meters and a height of 3.12 meters.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1927

Origin

Switzerland

Crew

1

Production

1
UNITS

Alfred Comte - Switzerland

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Switzerland (cancelled)

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

Length

23.5 ft
(7.15 m)

Width/Span

39.4 ft
(12.00 m)

Height

10.3 ft
(3.15 m)

Empty Wgt

2,028 lb
(920 kg)

MTOW

2,910 lb
(1,320 kg)

Wgt Diff

+882 lb
(+400 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Comte AC-1 production variant)

Installed: 1 x Gnome Rhone (Bristol Jupiter IX) radial piston engine developing 420 horsepower and driving two-bladed propeller at the nose.

Max Speed

152 mph
(245 kph | 132 kts)

Ceiling

29,528 ft
(9,000 m | 6 mi)

Range

280 mi
(450 km | 833 nm)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Comte AC-1 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

PROPOSED:
2 x Machine guns set over the nose and synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 0

AC-1 - Base series designation; single example completed.

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