Wibault 313
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founder | Michel Wibault |
| Fate | Merged with Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire to form Chantiers Aéronautiques Wibault-Penhoët |
| Successor | Chantiers Aéronautiques Wibault-Penhoët |
| Headquarters | France |
Key people | Michel Wibault |
| Products | Aircraft manufacturing |
The Wibault 313, also known as the Wibault Wib 313 or Penhoët Wibault Wib 313, was a French single-engine, single-seat low-wing monoplane fighter developed during the early 1930s. It was entered into a government fighter competition but ultimately did not secure production contracts.
Design and development
Conceived for the 1930 Service Technique de l'Aéronautique (S.T.Aé) single-seat fighter (C.1) program, the Wib 313 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane powered by a radial engine, setting it apart from most of its contemporaries. The aircraft was created by Avions Michel Wibault, which merged with Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire to establish Chantiers Aéronautiques Wibault-Penhoët before the design was completed.
Constructed entirely of metal, the aircraft had straight-edged, tapered wings with slight dihedral and narrow chord ailerons spanning roughly three-quarters of the trailing edge. The tail assembly featured similarly tapered surfaces with a tall fin and rudder that reached to the top of the fuselage; its oval-section fuselage displayed a subtly raised upper contour. The cockpit was situated just forward of the wing’s trailing edge at the highest point of the fuselage. Propulsion came from a nine-cylinder Gnome-Rhône 9Kbrs radial engine enclosed within a short cowling, driving an innovative variable-pitch propeller for that era.
The fixed undercarriage had a wide track, with main wheels enclosed in streamlined fairings mounted on faired vertical struts cross-braced to the underside of the fuselage, complemented by a small tailskid. Armament consisted of two outboard-mounted 7.7 mm (0.303 in) unsynchronized Darne machine guns firing outside the propeller arc.
Its maiden flight occurred in late November 1932 at Villacoublay. Following competitive evaluations through September 1933, the aircraft returned for modifications. By December, after contracts were awarded to the Dewoitine D.500, further development was halted due to concerns regarding climb performance and pilot visibility.