Top speed 300 km/h Length 6.38 m | Wingspan 9.14 m | |
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The Fletcher FD-25 Defender was a light ground-attack aircraft developed in the United States in the early 1950s.
Contents
Design and development
The Defender was a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Provision was made for two machine guns in the wings, plus disposable stores carried on underwing pylons. Construction throughout was all-metal, and the pilot sat under a wide perspex canopy.
Operational history
Three prototypes were built, two single-seaters and a two-seater, but no orders were placed by the US military. In Japan, however, Toyo acquired the rights to the design, and built around a dozen aircraft, selling seven (three single-seater attack versions and three two-seat trainers) to Cambodia, and four to Vietnam. One example remains extant and in an airworthy condition today, and appeared at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow in 2010. Built under licence in New Zealand from the mid-1950s in many variations, its much improved descendants are available under the Fletcher name in 2014.
Specifications
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
