Lioré et Olivier LeO 7

Design and development

The LéO 7 was three-seat bomber escort biplane developed from the LéO 5 ground-attack biplane. Appearing in 1922 the production version (the LéO 7/2) had a wide-track landing gear and gunner's cockpits in the snub nose and amidships. The pilot was located in a cockpit just behind the wing trailing edge.

Operational history

Twenty LéO 7/2s were built followed by 18 LéO 7/3s which were a navalised version with increased wingspan.

Variants

LéO 7

Prototype

LéO 7/2

Production version for the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force), 20 built

LéO 7/3

Production version for the Aéronautique Navale (French Naval Aviation), 18 built.

Operators

 France

French Air Force

French Navy

Specifications (LéO 7/2)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft

General characteristics

Crew: 3 (pilot and two gunners)

Length: 11 m (38 ft 0.75 in)

Wingspan: 18.59 m (60 ft 11¾ in)

Height: 3.9 m (13 ft 2.25 in)

Wing area: 68 m² ( ft²)

Powerplant: 2 × Hispano-Suiza 8Fb V-8 engines, 223 kW (300 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 190 km/h (118 mph)

Service ceiling: 7,010 m (23,000 ft)

Armament

400kg (882lb) bombs