SET 7

The SET 7 was a military trainer and reconnaissance aircraft that was produced in Romania in the mid-1930s. It was originally designed as a conventional single-bay biplane, with slightly staggered wings, a standard undercarriage with fixed tailskid, and a tandem open-cockpit arrangement for the pilot and instructor or observer. Power was supplied by an Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar radial engine, and from the outset the aircraft was equipped for wireless and photographic reconnaissance duties.

SET 7
SET-7K
Role Trainer and reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer SET
Designer Grigore Zamfirescu[1]
Dumitru Bazilu[1]
Ștefan Protopopescu[1]
First flight 1931
Number built 123

An armed version followed in 1934, adding a trainable machine gun for the observer and a fixed machine gun for the pilot. This version, the 7K, was powered by a neatly cowled Gnome-Rhône 7Ksd engine, and the 7KB (fitted with bomb racks) and 7KD were specialised subtypes that followed it. A floatplane version was produced as the 7H.

Variants
  • SET 7 - initial unarmed trainer version with Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engine (50 built, 1932-1934)[2]
  • SET 7K - armed reconnaissance version with Gnome-Rhône 7Ksd/7Ksf engine (20 built, delivered by August 1936)[2]
    • SET 7KB - 7K fitted with IAR-built Barbieri-type bomb racks (20 built, delivered by September 1937)[2]
    • SET 7KD - 7K stripped of most equipment and used for liaison duties (Divizionar - "army division use") (20 built, delivered between October and December 1938)[2]
  • SET 7H - floatplane for Romanian Navy

Operators
 Romania

Specifications (7K)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1937,[3] Romanian Aeronautical Constructions 1905–1974[4]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 7.15 m (23 ft 5 in)
  • Upper wingspan: 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in)
  • Lower wingspan: 9.5 m (31 ft 2 in)
  • Height: 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
  • Wing area: 26.6 m2 (286 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 930 kg (2,050 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,560 kg (3,439 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × IAR-built Gnome-Rhône 7Ksf 7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 300 kW (400 hp) at 1,500 m (4,900 ft)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 251 km/h (156 mph, 136 kn) at sea level
255 km/h (158 mph; 138 kn) at 1,500 m (4,900 ft)
253 km/h (157 mph; 137 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
  • Stall speed: 92 km/h (57 mph, 50 kn)
  • Service ceiling: 6,800 m (22,300 ft) service ceiling; 7,500 m (24,600 ft) absolute ceiling
  • Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 5 minutes 40 seconds
3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 9 minutes 5 seconds
4,000 m (13,000 ft) in 13 minutes 41 seconds
5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 19 minutes 41 seconds

Armament

  • Guns: 1x fixed forward-firing synchronised 7.70 mm (0.303 in) Lewis gun with twin 7.70 mm (0.303 in) Lewis guns on a Grossu IAR ring mount in the rear cockpit
  • Bombs: 300 kg (660 lb) of bombs and/or Holt flares carried under-wing

References
  1. Antoniu, Dan; Cicos, George (2007). Romanian Aeronautical Constructions (2nd ed.). Bucharest: Vivaldi. p. 239. ISBN 978-973-150-002-7.
  2. Craciunoiu, Cristian; Axworthy, Mark; Scafeş, Cornel (1995). Third axis, fourth ally : Romanian armed forces in the European war, 1941-1945. London: Arms and Armour Press. p. 243. ISBN 1854092677.
  3. Grey, C.G.; Bridgman, Leonard, eds. (1937). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1937. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 255c.
  4. Gugju, Ion; Gheorghe Iacobescu; Ovidiu Ionescu. Romanian Aeronautical Constructions 1905–1974. Brasov. pp. 158–159.

Further reading
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 352.
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