| FD-25 Defender | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Counter-Insurgency aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Fletcher |
| Designer | John Thorp |
| First flight | 1953 |
| Primary users | Royal Cambodian Air Force South Vietnamese Air Force |
| Number built | 13 |
The Fletcher FD-25 Defender was a light ground-attack aircraft developed in the United States in the early 1950s.
Design and development[]
The Defender was a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Provision was made for two machine guns in the wings, plus disposable stores carried on underwing pylons. Construction throughout was all-metal, and the pilot sat under a wide perspex canopy.
Operational history[]
Three prototypes were built, two single-seaters and a two-seater, but no orders were placed by the US military. In Japan, however, Toyo acquired the rights to the design, and built around a dozen aircraft, selling seven (three single-seater attack versions and three two seat trainer) to Cambodia,[1] and four to Vietnam. One example remains extant and in an airworthy condition today, and appeared at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow in 2010.
Specifications[]
Fletcher Defender at Fullerton, California, in 1971
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Length: 20 ft 11 in (6.38 m)
- Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
- Height: 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
- Wing area: 150 ft2 (13.9 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,421 lb (645 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,696 lb (1,223 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Continental E-225-8, 225 hp (167 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 190 mph (300 km/h)
- Range: 834 miles (1,335 km)
- Service ceiling: 16,400 ft (5,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,720 ft/min (8.8 m/s)
Armament
See also[]
- SIAI Marchetti SF.260
- American Electric Piranha
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ Grandolini 1988, p.39.
- Bibliography
- Grandolini, Albert. "L'Aviation Royale Khmere: The first 15 years of Cambodian military aviation". Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. pp. pp. 39–47. ISSN 0143-5450.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 393.
- World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 894 Sheet 25.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fletcher FD-25. |
- Flivver Plane Totes Guns and Bombs November 1951 Popular Science article on FL-25—rest of article and photos on following page
The original article can be found at Fletcher FD-25 and the edit history here.