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 fabric-covered.

Š-32
Role Airliner
National origin Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer Letov
Designer Alois Šmolik
First flight 1931
Primary user ČSA
Number built 5

ČSA bought and operated five 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 six passengers, but more usually configured for four or five
  • Length: 11.60 m (38 ft 1 in)
  • Wingspan: 17.24 m (56 ft 7 in)
  • Wing area: 39.9 m2 (429 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,850 kg (4,070 lb)
  • Gross weight: 2,760 kg (6,070 lb)
  • Powerplant: 3 × Walter Mars I , 108 kW (145 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 203 km/h (127 mph, 110 kn)
  • Range: 600 km (380 mi, 330 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 3,500 m (11,500 ft)

Notes
  1. Flight 1932, 36
  2. "Prager Tagblatt". 27 June 1934: 1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Letov Š-32.
  • 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.
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