Wassmer Aircraft List

[hesham]

Hi,

Benjamin Wassmer formed Societe Wassmer in 1905,a French
specialized woodworking company formed by Bernard Wassmer
in 1905. It later became an aircraft manufacturer specializing in
gliders. It was bought out by Issoire Aviation, a subsidiary of
Siren, in 1978.

Aircraft List;

Wa.10 speculative design,maybe a glider
Wa.20 Javelot I was a single seat glider
Wa.21 Javelot II was a single seat glider,a modified version of Wa.20
Wa.22 Super Javelot was a single seat glider,improved version of Wa.20
Wa.23 was a single seat glider,an experimental version of Wa.22
Wa.24 was a single seat glider Project,developed from Wa.23 with
Rigid wing,Shutters "Lower lifters which decamber",Monobloc tail
and Retractable wheel
Wa.25 was a study of March 1963 for a beginner glider, of amateur construction (club workshops) Resumption of "Javelot" elements,Project
Wa.26 Squale was a single seat high performance glider
Wa.26 Squale M,CM,CM Marfa & P were a variants of it
Wa.27 ------?
Wa.28 Espadon Recognition that wooden-winged gliders were becoming outdated resulted
in a redesigned wing, aerodynamically the same as the WA 26 Squale
Wa.29 was a single seat glider Project of 1976
Wa.30 Bijave was a two-seat advanced training glider
Wa.31 & Wa.32 were a two-seater glider Projects in composite materials
Wa.33 ? was a study of a motor glider with autonomous take-off by adaptation of a reactor,Project
Wa.40 Super IV was a four-seat low-wing tourer airplane,with retractable tricycle u/c,
powered by one 180 hp lycoming O-360-A1A engine
Wa.40A Super IV was a developed version,with swept tail and lengthened nose,named Sancy
Wa.40B was the same as Wa.40 except for swept drift
Wa.41 Baladou was a simplified version with fixed undercarriage
Wa.4/21 Prestige was a more powerful version of the WA-40A with 250 hp Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 engine
Wa.41-250 was an alternate designation for the WA 4/21 production aircraft with a 250 hp engine
CE.43 Guépard was a derived from the WA4/21 the CE-43 was produced by CERVA
CE.44 Couguar was a derived from CE-43 'Guépard'
CE.45 Leopard was a derived from CE-43 'Guépard'
Wa.50 was a prototype with retractable landing gear, first flew 22 March 1966, one built, registration F-WNZZ,had a four-seat
Wa.51 Pacific was a production version first flown in 1969 with a 150 hp (112kW) Lycoming O-320-E2A engine
Wa.52 Europa was as Wa.51 with a 160hp (119kW) Lycoming IO-320-B1A engine
Wa.53 was proposed variant with a 125hp Lycoming engine,Project
Wa.54 Atlantic was a Wa.51 with refinements and a 180hp (134kW) Lycoming O-360-A1LD engine
Wa.60 ? was a study carried out around 1971, in collaboration
with Aérospatiale of a two-seater aircraft made of materials
composites.Without continuation this Project will be replaced
by an adaptation in two-seater formula of the cell of the Wa.51
Wa.70 was a side-by-side two-seat trainer low-wing monoplane Project,
had a T-tail and powered by one 90 hp engine,1974,led to develop Wa.80
Wa.80 Piranha was a two-seater low-wing trainer monoplane,with a 100 hp Rolls-Royce Continental O-200-A engine
Wa.81 Piranha was a Wa.80 fitted with an extra third rear seat
Wa.82 Piranha was a study carried out around 1976, based on the Wa.81 airframe equipped with a 108 hp engine,Project
Wa.83 Piranha was a three-seater plane in glass - polyester laminate produced on the basis of the Wa.81 airframe equipped with a 120 hp Cont. O-240 engine.

- To be continued

 

[hesham]

There was also some un-standard series,

some of them from Siren and Issoire,

CE.75,D.77,D.177,E.78 and H.230,also APM 10,20,21,22,
30 & 40.

- The two designation with question mark are really existed,but
the allocation is from my speculation only,they were Wa.33 and
Wa.60.

 

[Apophenia]

A couple of notes and Wassmer sub-type designations ...

SIREN-Wassmer H 230 was a hybrid - C 30 Edelweiss fuselage with WA 23 Super Javelot wings.

WA 20/WA 21 : Difference was mainly span - 16 m versus 17 m, respectively

WA 22A: Second production tranche of WA Super Javelot, x 71 (1964-69)

WA 28 Espadon Sub-Types
- WA 28 : Retractable undercarriage
- WA 28F: Fixed undercarriage
- WA 28E: WA 28 w/ reinforced fuselage & wings
- WA 28FE: WA 28F w/ reinforced fuselage/wings

WA 51A: WA 51 Pacific sub-type with monobloc elevators and longer undercarriage legs.

WA 53 : (Project) 1973 3-to-4 seat trainer based on the WA 51 Pacific.

WA 70 : (Project) T-tail was one option, low-set tail was the other. Construction was GRP sandwich type.

WA 80 : WA 51 2-seater development to replace overly-expensive WA 70 concept

CE 75 : 1974 single-seat sailplane of GRP construction. This was a CERNA design but it was built by Issoire.

 

[Apophenia]

CE.75,D.77,D.177,E.78 and H.230,also APM 10,20,21,22,
30 & 40.

The Rex Composites connection is a bit tenuous - other than Philippe Moniot having previously designed for Wassmer. But here we go ...

Avions Philippe Moniot - APM Designations

APM 10 Flamingo : 1989 prototype, no details

APM 20 Lionceau : 1995 2-seat light a/c, Rex Composites
- APM 20: 1 x 80 hp Rotax 912A, span 8.66 m
-- Begun as Moniot APM-20 in 1992*
-- * By Les Industries de Composites d'Auvergne Reunites (ICAR)

APM 21 Lion : 1999, aka Moniot APM-21 Lion

APM 22 Liondo : 2003, modified APM 21
-- APM 21 prototype (F-WWMP) fitted with winglets

APM 30 Lion : 2007, Rex Composites
- APM 30 : 1 x 100 hp Rotax 912S, span 8.66 m

APM 40 Simba: 2009 prototype, Rex Composites
- APM 40: 125 hp Continental IO-240F, span 8,66 m

APM 41 Simba 915iS : 2017, re-engined APM 40
- APM 41: 140 hp Rotax 915iS HO4, span 8.66 m

APM 50 Nala : Aerobatic deriv. of APM 41

APM 51 Cheelaar : Multi-purpose APM 41 deriv.
- APM 51: Intended for surveillance, training, etc.

 

[Apophenia]

Wa.60 ? was a study carried out around 1971, in collaboration with Aérospatiale of a two-seater aircraft made of materials composites. Without continuation this Project will be replaced by an adaptation in two-seater formula of the cell of the Wa.51

I don't believe that this is correct. It was the WA 70 project which was eclipsed by the WA 80. In any case, Aérospatiale and Wassmer were in competition. Despite talk of a Aérospatiale-Wassmer merger in 1971, the basic design work for the WA 70 had already been done. Aérospatiale (through its SOCATA subsidiary) was also at work its own low-winged design to be made of composite materials - the X 270.

My impression was that the simple airframe of the X 270 was meant to be 'expandable' from a 2-seat trainer up to a 5-seat 'rally' type. Alas, like the moulded WA 70, it was found that the Aérospatiale-SOCATA X 270 would be too expensive to build. Instead, SOCATA opted for conventional aluminum construction - resulting in the 1977 TB 10.

Much of this can be found in the Wassmer 1905 – 1977 online pdf. (Historique WASSMER - Les avions Wassmer, http://historique.wassmer.free.fr › rev_1_en_cours/historique_wassmer.pdf)

 

[hesham]

Great find dear Apophenia,

and I am almost right about Wa.60 ?,please see it here;

http://www.wassmer-passion.org/historique_wassmer.pdf

And from JAWA 1974,the Wa.70 appeared in mid-1974.

 

[Apophenia]

Thanks hesham. Then that WA 60 designation sequence is very odd. The 1970 WA 70 concept precedes the joint 1971 WA 60?

If so, perhaps the Aérospatiale-SOCATA X 270 was a response to the cooperative effort with Wassmer falling through?

 

[hesham]

The Wassmer Wa.70 had also a version with low tail unit (not T-tail);

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/french-light-civil-aircraft-helicopter-projects-and-prototypes.16010/page-3

 

[hesham]

From Aviation magazine 1974,

the Wa.80 with T-tail ?.

 

[Apophenia]

Plot thickens! So, first we have Wa.70 projects with T- or low-set tails. Now you have also found a Wa.80 project with a T-Tail! They were certainly covering all bases at Wassmer

Interesting to me also is the registration on the T-tailled Wa.80 model. F-WSNJ was assigned to the 1971 prototype Guépard (c/n 01). Which poses an off-topic question: Did Guépard 01 ever receive 'standard' French registration letters?

 

[hesham]

From Aviation magazine 1976,

Wa.29
Let's add again, in the boxes of the office of Wassmer studies, a single-seat glider project start, the WA.29,design that should come out end 1976 and would complete the glider range, it being understood that the single-seat trainer "Espadon" remains in production

 

[Apophenia]

FWIW, a designations and a few sub-types from my Wassmer list ...

Wa.20F - 1975 Espadon Javelot, hybrid (??), no details
- Wa.20F: aka WA-20F Espadon, UK-based G-CJDX, c/n 101*
-- * Constr. number matches that of a Wa.28F Espadon

Wa.22-28 - Hybrid created from a Wa.22 fuselage with Wa.28 wings

Wa.4/21-250 - 1976 re-engining of Wa.4/21 prototype c/n 401
- Wa.4/21-250: Received Avco Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 as F-BOFC

Wa.43 : (Project) 1972 Guépard, composite airframe
- Wa.43 : Aérospatiale joint project avion en plastique*
-- * Polyester resin on woven glass-fibre, GRP I-beam spars
- CE.43: Guépard, CERVA-produced all-metal Wa.43 devel.

BTW, you're right about the CE.44 Couguar and CE.45 Léopard being derived from the CE-43 Guépard. Both were higher-powered derivatives - the CE.44 being powered by a 285 hp Continental Tiara 6-285; the CE.45 by a 310 hp Avco Lycoming TIO-540.

Also a question on Wa.26 Squale variants: EASA airworthiness specs list only the Wa.26CM and Wa.26P (which fits with most registration lists). I can't find any mention of a 'Wa.26M' model outside of Wikipedia - can anyone confirm the 'Wa.26M' designation with another source?

That 'plain' Wa.26 designation seems best reserved for the wooden-fuselaged prototype c/n 01 (but is widely used as a generic). But I also have a problem with that 'Wa.26CM Squale Marfa' designation. The Wa.26CM variant was designed to compete in the World Gliding Championships at Marfa, TX. So why would there be a specific 'Squale Marfa' variant of the Wa.26CM?

Going out on a limb here, I'm going to suggest that the Wa.26CM designation suffix stood for 'Championnats de Marfa'.

 

[hesham]

You are right dear Apophenia,

and I didn't find any confirm about Wa.26M,and from JAWA.

 

[Apophenia]

Thanks hesham. I love the 'Dogfish' translation for Squale

For some reason, Google Translate insists upon 'Shark'

 

[hesham]

Thank you dear Apophenia,

and I think I was wrong,and that was Wa.27 and not Wa.33 ?,please
note it came after Wa.25 by one year only !.

 

[Apophenia]

Thanks hesham. Yeah, hard to say on a designation for that jet-assisted motorglider project.

Rough translation of your clipping:

WA 25 - March 1963 study for a beginner's training glider for amateur construction (by club workshops)
- Retained elements of Javelot
- Fineness 23 to 87 km/h

WA 31/32 - Two-seat glider project using composite materials

WA (??) - 1964 study for a motorglider with autonomous take-off by a jet engine