×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Pay Chart (2023) Military Ranks
Advertisements
HOME
AIRCRAFT / AVIATION
MODERN AIR FORCES
COUNTRIES
MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE
BY CONFLICT
BY TYPE
BY DECADE
COLD WAR
X-PLANE
Aviation / Aerospace

Fletcher FD-25 (Defender)


COunter-INsurgency (COIN) Aircraft [ 1953 ]



Fewer than twenty total examples greeted the Fletcher FD-25 COIN aircraft project of the 1950s.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 02/08/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
Advertisements
"COinter-INsurgency" ("COIN") aircraft are a specialized breed of warplane designed to attack and contain insurgent/guerilla forces. This generally defines an airframe capable of long loitering times with inherently excellent low-altitude, low-speed controlling. During the 1950s and 1960s, there proved a need for such aircraft for the various low-level conflicts emerging across the globe after World War 2 (1939-1945). During this period, the Fletcher FD-25 "Defender" was developed by one John Willard Thorp (1912-1992), an aerospace engineer with extensive experience in light and very-light aircraft.

While it failed to impress the United States military, it went on to see limited sales to foreign parties in Cambodia (6) and Vietnam (4) by way of Japan-based Toyo - the company having purchased the rights to the American aircraft. Cambodia took on three single-seat attackers along with three twin-seat trainer variants.

The FD-25 development phase constituted three total prototype forms of which a pair was built to the basic single-seat standard. The third offering became a twin-seat derivative. The aircraft flew for the first time in 1953 and, true to form, was a lightweight, single-seat, single-engine platform with low-mounted straight mainplanes and a conventional tri-plane tail unit (single rudder). The undercarriage remained fixed during flight and was of the "tail-dragger" configuration. At center mass of the aircraft was the single-seat cockpit under a clear view canopy offering excellent vision. Construction of the warplane was largely of metal.

Dimensions of the light aircraft included a running length of 20.10 feet, a wingspan measuring 30 feet, and a height of 6.2 feet. Empty weight reached 1,230lb against an gross weight near 2,500lb.

Each wing mainplane was given four weapons hardpoints to which various air-launched and air-dropped munitions could be affixed, as well as fuel tanks to increase operational ranges. Typical supported stores included 2 x 250lb conventional drop bombs and air-launched rockets of various caliber - 4 x 127mm, 20 x 80mm, or 40 x 70mm. The mainplanes were also home to 2 x 7.62mm machine guns embedded in each member, these in fixed, forward-firing mountings.

Performance was handled by a single Continental E-225-8 series 6-cylinder air-cooled piston engine developing 225 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose. Specifications included a maximum speed of 190 miles-per-hour, a cruising speed near 160mph, a range out to 630 miles, and a service ceiling up to 16,500 feet. Rate-of-climb reached 1,725 feet-per-minute.

Including the aforementioned prototypes, just thirteen FD-25 Defender aircraft were completed in all.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
Advertisements

Specifications



Service Year
1953

Origin
United States national flag graphic
United States

Status
CANCELLED
Development Ended.
Crew
1

Production
13
UNITS


Fletcher Aviation Corporation - USA / Toyo - Japan
(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)
National flag of Vietnam Cambodia; Vietnam
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
Close-Air Support (CAS)
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.
Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.
X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.


Length
20.9 ft
(6.38 m)
Width/Span
30.0 ft
(9.15 m)
Height
6.3 ft
(1.91 m)
Empty Wgt
1,235 lb
(560 kg)
MTOW
2,502 lb
(1,135 kg)
Wgt Diff
+1,268 lb
(+575 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the Fletcher FD-25 production variant)
Installed: 1 x Continental E-225-8 air-cooled, 6-cylinder engine developing 225 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose in puller fashion.
Max Speed
186 mph
(300 kph | 162 kts)
Ceiling
16,404 ft
(5,000 m | 3 mi)
Range
621 mi
(1,000 km | 1,852 nm)
Rate-of-Climb
1,725 ft/min
(526 m/min)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Fletcher FD-25 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)
STANDARD (Fixed, Forward-Firing):
2 x 7.62mm machine guns in wings.

OPTIONAL (Mission-Specific, All Held Underwing):
40 x 2.75" rockets.
20 x 3.15" rockets.
4 x 5" rockets.

Up to 2 x 250lb conventional drop bombs. Also supported were 2 x External fuel tanks at inboard-most weapon station.


Supported Types


Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun
Graphical image of aircraft aerial rockets
Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition
Graphical image of an aircraft external fuel tank


(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 10


FD-25 "Defender" - Base Series Designation; three prototypes (two single-seaters and one twin-seater) completed followed by twelve aircraft manufactured by Toyo of Japan.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 1
Image of the Fletcher FD-25 (Defender)
Image from the Public Domain.


Advertisements




Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing all American military medals and ribbons.


© www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003- (yrs)