LF7268 MILES M.39B LIBELLULA

The Miles M.39 Libellula was a British WWII experimental aircraft. A prototype flight took place in 1943, but the machine never entered mass production. The plane was 6.76 meters long, with a maximum wingspan of 11.43 meters. The drive was provided by two de Havilland Gipsy Major IC engines with a power of up to 140 HP each. The maximum speed was around 164 km / h, with a climb speed of 5.6 m / s. The machine did not have on-board weapons. Miles M.39 Libellula was developed in order to create an on-board bomber with the best possible visibility from the cockpit and relatively high maneuverability. The plane was characterized by a very unusual structure with tandem wings of different spans, the main wing set at an acute angle and rudders located on the rear and sides of the wings. Interestingly, the target was probably the use of jet engines in under-wing nacelles. A variant of this aircraft was the M.39B, which was essentially a flying, scaled-down version of the target machine. Finally, the project was completed in 1944.