Comte AC-1

AC-1
Role	single-seat fighter
Manufacturer	Comte
First flight	2 April 1927
Primary user	Swiss Fliegertruppe
Number built	1

The Comte AC-1 was a 1920s Swiss single-seat monoplane fighter aircraft produced by Flugzeugbau A. Comte.

Design and development

The Swiss company Flugzeugbau A. Comte was established in the early 1920s to build German aircraft designs under licence. The company's first original design was the Comte AC-1, developed to meet a Swiss Fliegertruppe (Swiss Air Force) requirement for a single-seat fighter.

The AC-1 was a high-wing monoplane with fixed tailskid undercarriage. It was constructed of metal with fabric-covered wing and tail surfaces. The powerplant was a Gnome et Rhône radial engine driving a fixed-pitched two-blade propeller.

The AC-1 prototype first flew on 1927. Testing and evaluation did not result in any orders but the prototype was bought by the Swiss Fliegertrupppe. The prototype was the only unit constructed of this type.

Operational history

The prototype was acquired by the Swiss Fliegetruppe and later had the wing replaced with a wing from a Dewoitine D.9. With the new wing the aircraft was used to establish a Swiss altitude record on 19 November 1928.

Operators

  Switzerland

• Swiss Fliegertruppe

Specifications (AC-1)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 23 ft 4¾ in (7.13 m)
• Wingspan: 39 ft 4½ in (12.o m)
• Height: 10 ft 2¾ in (3.12 m)
• Wing area: 258.34 ft² (24 m²)
• Empty weight: 2,028 lb (920 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 2,910 lb (1320 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Gnome et Rhône licence-built Bristol Jupiter IX radial piston, 420 hp (313 kw)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 152 mph (245 km/h)
• Range: 280 miles (450 km)

Armament

intended to be two forward-firing machine guns

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Comte AC-1.

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.