The Leduc 0.22 was the prototype of a Mach 2 fighter built in France in 1956.
The 0.22 was the first attempt at a practical application of the ramjet technology that had been developed in the 0.10 and 0.21 research aircraft over the previous years. Unlike all previous Leduc aircraft, it featured swept wings and a coaxial turbojet-ramjet powerplant to enable unassisted operation.
First flown on 26 December 1956 on turbojet power alone, the ramjet was finally fired on the 34th flight, on 18 May 1957. Another 80 flights took place before the cancellation of the project in favour of the more conventional Dassault Mirage III. A second prototype was under construction at the time.
Although intended to be a supersonic fighter, the 0.22 proved unable to exceed the speed of sound (Mach 1) because of the prohibitive drag induced by its non-area-ruledfuselage at near-sonic speeds. The cancellation of the project marked the end of René Leduc's aircraft development activities.
We are a non commercial community interested only in the discussion of all things military.
We do not sell or authorise the use of images hosted on our servers, if you wish to purchase or use imagery contact the uploader directly.(you will need to register). Any requests received to purchase or use imagery will be ignored. Thank you and welcome to MI.Net
You have been here as a guest for a while, I guess we are doing something right?
Register as a member and join in the discussions, its completely free and we would welcome your contributions.
All the best admin - MI.Net
We value your privacy
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.