Letov S-31

The Letov Š-31 was a fighter aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s in a number of variants. All of the aircraft had metal tubular framing and fabric covering with a metal engine cowling.

The first flight of the definitive Š.231 version was on March 17, 1933. After testing at the Czech flight facility at Prague-Lethany, modifications were undertaken to improve the machine’s performance. It entered production the following year and began equipping Czech fighter units in June 1936. The machines remained in front line fighter status with the Czechoslovak Air Force until the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Historical records are very vague, but apparently none of these machines were ever in combat with the far superior German aircraft during the German invasion or with any Allied aircraft during World War II when the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia and controlled of the Czech Air Force. A few of these hopelessly obsolete Letov Š.231s were still serving as trainers and as secondary fighters for the small Czech Air Force during the early months of World War II. The only recorded combat seen by any Letov Š.231 fighter was in the service of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.

While the Š.31, Š.131, Š.231, and Š.431 had engines of 480 to 680 hp, the Š.331 had a Walter K14 engine with 900 hp. This powerful engine gave it extremely high speed and outstanding performance for an aircraft of the early 1930s.

In May 1935, the aircraft established a new Czechoslovak altitude record of 34,941 feet (10,650 m).

The sole Š.331 and almost all of the Š.231s were sold to representatives of the Spanish Republican government. The Š.231s fared poorly in the Spanish Civil War. The operational performance and ultimate fate of the Š.331 is unrecorded

Operators

Template:Country data Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia

Template:Country data Spain Spanish Republicans

Variants

• Š-31 - initial version with Walter-built Bristol Jupiter (33 built)
• Š-131 - racing version with BMW-built Pratt & Whitney Hornet (3 built)
• Š-231 - main production version with Walter-built Bristol Mercury engine
• Š-331 - version with Walter K.14 engine (1 built)
• Š-431 - version with Armstrong Siddeley Tiger engine (1 built)

Specifications (Š-231)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 7.80 m (25 feet 7 inches)
• Wingspan: 10.06 m (33 feet 0 inches)
• Height: 3.00 m (9 feet 10 inches)
• Empty weight: 1,280 kg (2,822 pounds)
• Loaded weight: 1,770 kg (3,902 pounds)
• Powerplant: 1× Walter Bristol Mercury V-S2, 9-cylinder, air-cooled radial piston engine , 412 kW (560 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 348 km/h at 5,000 m (216 mph at 16,405 feet)
• Range: 450 km (280 miles)
• Service ceiling: 7,800 m (25,590 feet)

Armament

• Guns: Two fixed forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 inch) machine guns mounted in fuselage nose, one similar weapon in pod beneath each lower wing,
• Bombs: Six small bombs at hard points beneath lower wings

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Letov S-31".