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

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Data from Monografie: Letov Š-32[3]

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: 39.92 m2 (4.0 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,884 kg (4,154 lb)
  • Gross weight: 2,750 kg (6,063 lb)
  • Powerplant: 3 × Walter Mars I nine-cylinder radial engine, 107 kW (143 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)
  • Range: 600 km (370 mi, 320 nmi) [4]
  • Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,000 ft)

Notes

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  1. ^ Flight 8 January 1932, p. 36
  2. ^ "Prager Tagblatt". 27 June 1934: 1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ Kaše & Pirič Letectví + Kosmonautika 1992 No. 11, p. 666
  4. ^ Stroud 1966, p. 41

References

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  • Kaše, Jan; Pirič, Vladimír (1992). "Monografie: Letov Š-32: Část I.". Letectví + Kosmonautika (in Czech). Vol. LXVIII, no. 9. pp. 536–540. ISSN 0024-1156.
  • Kaše, Jan; Pirič, Vladimír (1992). "Monografie: Letov Š-32: Část II". Letectví + Kosmonautika (in Czech). Vol. LXVIII, no. 10. pp. 600–603. ISSN 0024-1156.
  • Kaše, Jan; Pirič, Vladimír (1992). "Monografie: Letov Š-32: Část III". Letectví + Kosmonautika (in Czech). Vol. LXVIII, no. 11. pp. 664–667. ISSN 0024-1156.
  • "Letov S.32". Flight. Vol. XXIV, no. 1202. 8 January 1932. pp. 36–37. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  • Němeček, Václav (1968). Československá letadla. Prague: Naše Vojsko.
  • "Pallenberg tödlich abgestürzt". Prager Tagblatt. 27 June 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  • Stroud, John (1966). European Transport Aircraft. London: Putnam.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 573.