Wibault 9
| Company type | Fighter aircraft |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1920s |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Military aircraft |
The Wibault 9, also known as the Wib 9, was a French single-seat parasol wing fighter aircraft developed during the 1920s. It represented an updated version of the moderately successful Wib 7, featuring a different engine, but it ultimately did not proceed to mass production.
Design
The Wib 9 Simoun was equipped with a water-cooled Hispano-Suiza 12Jb V-12 engine, replacing the Wib 7's original 12-cylinder radial Gnome-Rhône 9Ad powerplant. This variant emerged following competitive evaluations held in Villacoublay between 1926 and 1927. While the Wib 7 secured a limited order of 25 aircraft, the Hispano-powered Wib 9—initially designated as the Wib 71—was completed subsequent to these trials and received its new designation.
In terms of construction, the Wib 9 retained much of the Wib 7’s design, including an all-metal structure sheathed mainly in narrow aluminium strips. Both aircraft featured parasol wings with straight edges and constant chord, supported by parallel struts connecting to mid-span points and cabane struts above the fuselage. To enhance pilot visibility, a cut-out was incorporated into the wing’s trailing edge above the cockpit. The fuselage maintained a flat-sided profile with angular tail surfaces; however, the Wib 9 incorporated a larger fin. Both models employed fixed conventional undercarriages with split axles and shared nearly identical measurements, aside from an increased overall length on the Wib 9 due to its longer V-12 engine. Armament on the Wib 9 consisted of four machine guns mounted on both wings and fuselage, contrasting with the Wib 7’s two fuselage-mounted guns; this four-gun configuration had previously been trialed on a Wib 7 prototype.
The engine installation on the Wib 9 differed notably from that of the radial-powered Wib 7 but was similar to that of the Wib 8, another Hispano V-12 powered design. The engine was fully enclosed within a cowling shaped to fit around the cylinder banks and cooled via a retractable half-cylindrical radiator positioned beneath the fuselage behind the engine. Propulsion was provided by a two-bladed propeller typical of Wibault parasol fighters. The heavier water-cooled V-12 raised the empty weight by , although a reduced fuel capacity meant that maximum takeoff weight increased by only .
First flown no earlier than mid-1926, flight tests showed a marginal speed advantage over the Wib 7. Despite this performance improvement, no production orders were placed, and only one example of the Wib 9 was ever constructed before development was discontinued.