It was the first attempt at a practical application of the ramjet technology that had been developed in the 0.10 and 0.21 research aircraft over the previous years. Unlike all previous Leduc aircraft, it featured swept wings and a coaxial turbojet-ramjet powerplant to enable unassisted operation.
Test flights[edit source | editbeta]
First flown on 26 December 1956 on turbojet power alone, the ramjet was finally fired on the 34th flight, on 18 May 1957. Another 80 flights took place before the cancellation of the project in favour of the more conventional Dassault Mirage III. A second prototype was under construction at the time.
End of operations[edit source | editbeta]
Although intended to be a supersonic fighter, the 0.22 proved unable to exceed the speed of sound (Mach 1) because of the prohibitive drag induced by its non-area-ruled fuselage at near-sonic speeds. The cancellation of the project marked the end of René Leduc's aircraft development activities.
Specifications[edit source | editbeta]
General characteristics
Crew: One pilot
Length: 18.21 m (59 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 9.95 m (32 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 22.1 m2 (238 ft2)
Empty weight: 6,380 kg (14,040 lb)
Gross weight: 8,995 kg (19,789 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Leduc ramjet, 63.7 kN (14,300 lbf) thrust
1 × SNECMA Atar 101D-3, 31.4 kN (7,040 lbf) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,200 km/h (750 mph)
