| Paul Schmitt P.S.3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | bomber/trainer |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Paul Schmitt |
| Designer | Paul Schmitt |
| Introduction | 1915 [1] |
| Status | retired |
| Primary user | Aéronautique Militaire |
| Number built | 6 [1] |
The Paul Schmitt P.S.3 was a French World War I biplane bomber that was built in small numbers but primarily used as a trainer. [1]
The P.S.3 was unusual in that the entire wing cellule was designed to have its angle of incidence adjusted from 0° to 12° while in flight. [2] When set at the maximum, this gave the aircraft a pronounced back-stagger. This was possible because the wing was attached to the fuselage by a single pivot, and controlled by a jackscrew in the cockpit. [2] This allowed for an unusually broad speed range, so that a minimum speed of only 35 km/h (22 mph) was achieved. [2] The fuselage was built up from welded steel tubes, with a square cross section forward tapering to a triangle section aft. [2]
One example was built as a floatplane, however unlike most of the landplanes, it was powered by a 150 hp (110 kW) Canton Unné P9 liquid cooled radial in place of the Gnome rotaries normally used.
Although intended as a bomber, it was only ever built in small numbers, and was quickly relegated to use as a trainer, partly because the Aéronautique Militaire had already chosen the Voisin III as their standard bomber.
Victorin Garaix set a number of speed and height records while carrying passengers in 1914. [3]
The floatplane was exported to a private buyer the US in 1916, [1] only to later be taken on strength by the United States Navy in April 1917 with the serial A-52, however it was used primarily as an instructional airframe at Pensacola for training groundcrew. [4]
France 
United States 
Data from Davilla, 1997, p.451
General characteristics
Performance
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