Arsenal-Delanne 10C

The Arsenal-Delanne 10 was an experimental fighter aircraft of French origin. 
The plane had a rear cockpit and a distinctive tandem wing.

The Arsenal-Delanne 10-C2 two-seat fighter, designed by Maurice Delanne and built by the Arsenal de l'Aéronautique, was of so-called Nenadovich biplane or tandem wing configuration, the tandem-mounted wings providing a continuous slot effect and offering exceptional center of gravity range. 

The fighter was of all metal stressed-skin construction, which used a sandwich technique, with a smooth dural skin welded to a corrugated sheet. Pilot and gunner sat in tandem under a single canopy at the rear of the fuselage, which was level with the rear wing, which carried twin tailplanes. 

This arrangement gave the gunner a clear field of fire for his planned armament of two 7.5 mm machine guns, which was to be supplemented by a 20 mm cannon firing through the propellor hub and two more machine guns in the wing. The aircraft was fitted with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage and was powered by a single 860 hp (641 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine.

The Arsenal-Delanne 10-C2 prototype was virtually complete at Villacoublay when German forces occupied the factory in June 1940. Work on the aircraft continued in a desultory fashion and the first flight test was made in October 1941. After completion of the initial test programme, the aircraft was ferried to Germany for further trials.

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 7.328 m 
Wingspan: 10.11 m 
Height: 3.00 m 
Wing area: 22.50 m2 
Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs liquid-cooled v12 engine, 640 kW / 860hp 
Maximum speed: 550 km/h at 5,415 m 
Endurance: 1.5 hr
Service ceiling: 10,000 m 
Time to altitude: 6.5 min to 5,000 m 
Guns: 1× fixed forward firing 20 mm cannon and 2× wing mounted 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns, 2× flexibly mounted 7.5 mm machine guns in rear cockpit