Lebed XII

Last updated
Type XII
Lebed XII (Rossia).jpg
RoleReconnaissance aircraft
National originRussia
Manufacturer Lebed
First flight28 December 1915
Primary user Imperial Russian Air Force
Number builtca 216

The Lebed XII was a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft produced during the First World War for the Imperial Russian Air Force. It was one of the few domestically designed aircraft to see production in Russia during the war, but was based on designs and techniques learned from Lebed's rebuilding of captured German types. The fuselage was a plywood structure of rectangular cross-section with seating for the pilot and observer in tandem, open cockpits. The wings were built around a pine spar and covered in fabric, and the empennage (tail assembly) was of welded steel tube with fabric covering.

Contents

Development

Test flights commenced on 28 December 1915, but were interrupted by bad weather in St Petersburg, where the Lebed factory was located. Testing was therefore moved to Kyiv, and then to the Anatra factory at Odessa on 11–15 February 1916. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich ordered 400 aircraft on February 23, but the final contract on 19 April was for 225 aircraft, 245 sets of spare parts and 10 static airframes for a total of 5,153,500 rubles.

Before production began, a number of handling difficulties noted by the test pilots were being corrected in the design, along with a new set of problems caused by a change in powerplant. The prototypes had been flown with 97 kW (130 hp) engines, but the production contract called mostly for 112 kW (150 hp) engines, plus some machines equipped with 104 kW (140 hp) engines for training. These heavier powerplants shifted the aircraft's centre of gravity, and the mountings for the engine and cooling system had to be revised before a final round of tests began in October. Serial production finally commenced in November and delivery to squadrons soon afterwards.

The Lebed XII started appearing on the front line in quantity in early 1917, but problems quickly became apparent. In particular, a number of engine fires and crashes due to structural defects led to deliveries of the type being suspended by mid-year while an investigation was held. Army test pilots concluded that the version with the more powerful engine was unfit for frontline service, and recommended that it be relegated to training use only, while the lower-power version was regarded as not even fit for training. Lebed disputed the findings, blaming the poor results on the inexperience of the test pilots and on poor weather while the tests were conducted. The Army therefore held a second inquiry. On 2 October 1917, this panel concluded that the type was obsolete and unfit for service, recommending that production be halted and the type withdrawn altogether. However, due to a shortage of aircraft, production continued into 1918, and eventually 214 of the original order were delivered.

Operational history

The Lebed XII saw limited frontline service in the North and North-western parts of the front with Germany, equipping four air divisions of the 38th Corps, 5th Army. Aircraft delivered in the second half of 1917 went mostly to training units, however. These included the Imperial aviation school, the Gatchinskoy military flying school, the Odessa flying school, Kyiv school for pilots and observers and the flying school of the Caucasus. Over 50 were supplied to the Navy's school of air combat in Krasnoye Selo alone.

Variants

Operators

Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union

Specifications

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sopwith Pup</span> British WW1 biplane fighter aircraft

The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good manoeuvrability, the aircraft proved very successful. The Pup was eventually outclassed by newer German fighters, but it was not completely replaced on the Western Front until the end of 1917. Remaining Pups were relegated to Home Defence and training units. The Pup's docile flying characteristics also made it ideal for use in aircraft carrier deck landing and takeoff experiments and training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2</span> 1912 military aircraft family by the Royal Aircraft Factory

The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including established aircraft manufacturers and firms new to aircraft construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol F.2 Fighter</span> British fighter aircraft used in World War One

The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, "Brisfit" or "Biff".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SPAD S.VII</span> French WW1 fighter aircraft

The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugged aircraft with good climbing and diving characteristics. It was also a stable gun platform, although pilots used to the more manoeuvrable Nieuport fighters found it heavy on the controls. It was flown by a number of the famous aces, such as France's Georges Guynemer, Italy's Francesco Baracca and Australia's Alexander Pentland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8</span> Royal Aircraft Factory First World War reconnaissance biplane

The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard Motors, Siddeley-Deasy and the Coventry Ordnance Works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albatros C.I</span> 1910s German aircraft

The Albatros C.I,, was the first of the successful C-series of two-seat general-purpose biplanes built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke during World War I. Based on the unarmed Albatros B.II, the C.I reversed the pilot and observer seating so that the observer occupied the rear cockpit which was fitted with a ring-mounted 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albatros B.II</span> Type of aircraft

The Albatros B.II, was an unarmed German two-seat reconnaissance biplane of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Russian Air Service</span> Military unit

The Imperial Russian Air Service was an air force founded in 1912 for Imperial Russia. The Air Service operated for five years and only saw combat in World War I before being reorganized and renamed in 1917 following the Russian Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Boxkite</span> Type of aircraft

The Boxkite was the first aircraft produced by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company. A pusher biplane based on the successful Farman III, it was one of the first aircraft types to be built in quantity. As the type was used by Bristol for instruction purposes at their flying schools at Larkhill and Brooklands many early British aviators learned to fly in a Boxkite. Four were purchased in 1911 by the War Office and examples were sold to Russia and Australia. It continued to be used for training purposes until after the outbreak of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airco DH.9</span> 1917 bomber aircraft family by Airco

The Airco DH.9 – also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 – was a British single-engined biplane bomber developed and deployed during the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airco DH.1</span> Type of aircraft

The Airco DH.1 was an early military biplane of typical "Farman" pattern flown by Britain's Royal Flying Corps during World War I. By the time the powerplant for which it was designed was sufficiently plentiful it was obsolete as an operational aircraft, and apart from a few examples sent to the Middle East it served as a trainer and Home Defence fighter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albatros B.I</span> Type of aircraft

The Albatros B.I, was a German military reconnaissance aircraft designed in 1913 and which saw service during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anatra DS Anasal</span> Type of aircraft

The Anatra DS or Anasal was a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Anatra D (Anade). It was built in the Anatra factory in Odessa in the Russian Empire and flown during World War I by both sides during the Russian Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieuport 12</span> French WW1 fighter and reconnaissance aircraft

The Nieuport 12 was a French sesquiplane reconnaissance, fighter aircraft and trainer used by France, Russia, Great Britain and the United States during World War I. Later production examples were built as trainers and served widely until the late 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorand AR</span> French WW1 reconnaissance aircraft

The Dorand AR.1 was a World War I French two-seat observation biplane aircraft used by the French Air Force, the American Expeditionary Force and, in small numbers, by Serbian Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saro Cloud</span> Type of aircraft

The Saro Cloud was a British passenger amphibian flying boat designed and built by Saunders-Roe as the A.19. It was later produced as the A.29 for the Royal Air Force for pilot and navigator training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LVG B.I</span> Type of aircraft

The LVG B.I was a 1910s German two-seat reconnaissance biplane designed by Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft for the Luftstreitkräfte.

The Junkers J 21 was a reconnaissance aircraft designed in Germany in the early 1920s and produced in the Soviet Union at the Junkers plant at Fili for use by the Soviet Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anatra Anadis</span> Type of aircraft

The Anatra Anadis was developed in 1916 as a single-seat fighter variant of the Anatra Anasal reconnaissance biplane. The main difference between the two aircraft was the streamlined fuselage, the lack of a rear seat in the Anadis, plans for a forward-firing gun and a different engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farman HF.30</span> Biplane model

The Henry Farman HF.30 was a two-seat military biplane designed in France around 1915, which became a principal aircraft of the Imperial Russian Air Service during the First World War. Although it was widely used on the Eastern Front, and by the factions and governments that emerged in the subsequent Russian Civil War, it is not well known outside that context: the HF.30 was not adopted by other Allied air forces, and the manufacturers reused the "Farman F.30" designation for the Farman F.30 in 1917.

References