1951 Leduc 010 Ramjet

Rene Leduc started building a ramjet propelled aircraft before WWII. During WWII the incomplete first 010 aircraft was hidden. After the war, two model 010 were completed and flown. Since a ramjet must be move forward to produce thrust, these aircraft were carried aloft on the top of a Sud-Est SE 161 Languedos, a four engine transport. First unpowered glider flight occurred on Oct 21, 1947. A small turbine powered fuel pump, designed by Rene Leduc, supplies the large fuel flow rate needed by the ramjet. First ramjet powered flight of Leduc 010 occurred on April 21, 1949. On this flight the ramjet ran for only 12 min and obtained a speed of 465 mph at 1/2 power. On later flights it reached Mach 0.85

The aircraft in this photo began life as model 016, which was a 010 with two Turbomece Marbore 1 (551 lbf) turbojets mounted on the wing tips. In 1951 the turbojets were removed after three serious landing accidents. This modification essentially returned it to a standard model 010. This aircraft continued to fly until 1954.

Musée de l'air et de l'espace, Paris, Dec 2018

Large Image

Flight, 2 July 1954 article on the Leduc ramjets.