Potez 23

The Potez 23 was a prototype French single-engine fighter biplane designed in 1923.

History[edit]

The Potez 23 was built by Potez in response to the C1 fighter program issued by the STAé in 1923. The C1 fighter specification called for a speed of 240 kilometres per hour (150 mph), an armament of two forward firing machine guns, and both armored tanks and drop tanks.^{[citation needed]}

The structure was made of wooden spars,^[1] the fuselage was covered with screwed and glued plywood, and the wings, empennage, and tail were covered in canvas. Wing tethering^{[clarification needed]} is simplified and builds on the experience gained on the Potez XV.^{[citation needed]}

The aircraft did achieve the required performance and was not accepted for production. However, it was developed into the Potez 25.^{[citation needed]}

Specifications[edit]

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 7.60 m (24 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 10.50 m (34 ft 5 in)
• Height: 3.12 m (10 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 32.00 m² (344.4 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 1,115 kg (2,458 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,540 kg (3,395 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lorraine-Dietrich 12Db water-cooled V12 engine, 300 kW (400 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 225 km/h (140 mph, 121 kn) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
• Time to altitude: 18 minutes to 4,000 m (13,000 ft)

Armament

• Guns: 2× 7.7mm machine-guns

References[edit]

• Green, William; Swanborough, Gordon (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark Publishers Inc. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.