Grigorovich M-5
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| M-5 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Reconnaissance flying boat |
| Manufacturer | Shchetinin |
| Designed by | Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich |
| Maiden flight | 1915 |
| Retired | 1920s |
| Primary users | Russian navy Finnish Air Force |
| Number built | ca 300 |
| Developed from | Curtiss Model K |
Grigorovich M-5 (alternative designation ShchM-5, sometimes also Shchetinin M-5) was a successful Russian WW1-era two-bay unequal-span biplane flying boat with a single step hull, designed by Grigorovich. It was the first mass production flying boat built in Russia.
In late 1914 Curtiss produced its Model K flying boat. The Russians found the model good and purchased 50 aircraft of the type in mid-1915. The aircraft designer Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich then took the aircraft[citation needed] and made some 300 aircraft more for the Russian navy at the Shchetinin company in Sankt Petersburg.
The M-5 was of a wooden construction, the hull was covered in plywood and the wings and tailplane were covered in fabric. Aft of the step the hull tapered sharply into little more than a boom, supporting a characteristic single fin and rudder tail unit, which was braced by means of struts and wires. It was normally powered by a 100 hp Gnome-Monosoupape engine mounted as a pusher between the wings, but some used 110 hp Le Rhône or 130 hp Clerget engines[1]. The pilot and the observer were accommodated side-by-side in a large cockpit forward of the wings, the observer provided with a single 7.62 mm Vickers machine gun on a pivoted mounting.
Most of the M-5s served in the Black Sea or in the Baltic, initially with the Imperial Russian naval air arm and later with both sides in the Russian Civil War. Some remained in service until the late 1920's as trainers, reconnaisance and utility aircraft[1].
One M-5 fell into Finnish hands when it was found drifting at Kuokkala in 1918. The aircraft was flown by the Finnish Air Force until 1919, when it sank.
Contents |
[edit] Versions
- M-5 - main version
- M-10 - smaller version built in 1916. Gnome Monosoupape engine.
- M-20 - Two seat recommaisance. Le Rhone 89 kW (120 hp) engine, built in limited numbers from 1916
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (M-5)
Data from Thulinista Hornettiin
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 8.60 m (28 ft 2 ½ in)
- Wingspan: 13.62 m (44 ft 8 ¼ in)
- Height: m (ft in)
- Wing area: 37.90 m² (408 ft²)
- Empty weight: 660 kg (1,455 lb)
- Useful load: kg (kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 960 kg (2,116 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Gnome-Monosoupape rotary piston, 75 kW (100 hp)
Performance
- Never exceed speed: km/h (knots, mph)
- Maximum speed: 105 km/h (knots, 65 mph)
- Cruise speed: km/h (knots, mph)
- Stall speed: km/h (knots, mph)
- Range: km (nm, mi, 4 h)
- Service ceiling: 3,300 m (10,825 ft)
- Rate of climb: 9.6 min to 1 km [1] (3280 ft)
- Wing loading: 25 kg/m² (5.2 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.08 W/kg (0.05 hp/lb)
Armament
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Gunston, Bill (1995). The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft from 1875 - 1995. Osprey Aerospace. ISBN 1-85532-405-9.
[edit] Sources
Heinonen, Timo: Thulinista Hornetiin - Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseon julkaisuja 3, Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseo, 1992, ISBN 951-95688-2-4
