Letov Š-32

The Letov Š-32 was an airliner produced in small numbers in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. It was a trimotor monoplane with a high, cantilever wing, and was designed to meet a requirement by ČSA for a machine to service a night route between Prague, Bratislava, Uzhorod, and Bucharest. It could carry up to six passengers in a fully enclosed cabin which was praised at the time as being "particularly roomy and lofty".^[1] The wings were of all-metal construction, and the fuselage was built up from steel tube and was mostly skinned in metal, other than its very rear part, which, like the empennage, was skinned in fabric.

ČSA bought and operated four of these machines. On 26 June 1934, one of these (registered OK-ADB) crashed during final approach to Karlovy Vary, killing all three on board, most notably the famous Austrian actor Max Pallenberg.^[2]

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: Two pilots
• Capacity: Up to 6 passengers, but more usually configured for 4 or 5
• Length: 11.60 m (38 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 17.24 m (56 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 39.9 m² (429 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1,850 kg (4,070 lb)
• Gross weight: 2,760 kg (6,070 lb)
• Powerplant: 3 × Walter Mars, 108 kW (145 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 203 km/h (127 mph)
• Range: 600 km (380 miles)
• Service ceiling: 3,500 m (11,500 ft)

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Letov aircraft.

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 573. 
• Němeček, Václav (1968). Československá letadla. Prague: Naše Vojsko. 
• "Letov S.32". Flight: 36–37. 8 January 1932. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
• "Pallenberg tödlich abgestürzt". Prager Tagblatt: Front Page. 27 June 1934. Retrieved 24 January 2013.