Loening M 8

Development

The first design by Grover Loening after he had formed his company was a two-seat braced-wing monoplane fighter the M-8. It had a fixed tailskid landing gear and was powered by a nose-mounted Hispano-Suiza engine with a tractor propeller. The pilot and gunner had tandem open cockpits. The first aircraft was flown in 1918 and after testing the United States Army Air Corps ordered 5000 aircraft to be built. Only two aircraft were delivered to the Army and one to the United States Navy with the designation M-8-0. At the end of the war the order was canceled. The Navy ordered 46 aircraft in two variants for use as observation aircraft. The Navy also ordered six M-8-S twin-float seaplane versions. A single-seat version was developed for the Army as the Loening PW-2.

Variants

M-8

Production variant for the United States Army Air Corps, two prototypes, 5000 cancelled.

M-8-0

One M-8 for evaluation by the United States Navy.

M-8-0

Production version for the United States Navy, 10 built.

M-8-1

Second production variant for the United States Navy, 36 built by the Naval Aircraft Factory.

M-8-S

Seaplane variant for the United States Navy, six built.

Operators

 United States

United States Army Air Corps

United States Navy

Specifications (M-8-0)

Data from United States Navy Aircraft since 1911

General characteristics

Crew: 2

Length: 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)

Wingspan: 32 ft 9 in (9.98 m)

Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)

Wing area: 229 ft² (21.3 m²)

Empty weight: 1,623 lb (738 kg)

Gross weight: 2,068 lb (940 kg)

Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine, 300 hp (224 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 145 mph (233 km/h)

Endurance: 5 hours  30 min

Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,700 m)

Armament

Twin 0.3in (7.62mm) Lewis machine gun