Weiss Manfréd WM-23 Ezüst Nyíl
Hungarian WWII fighter aircraft / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Weiss Manfréd WM-23 Ezüst Nyíl ("Silver Arrow") was a Hungarian fighter aircraft of World War II developed by the Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works. Designed by Samu Béla and his team, the WM-23 was an entirely Hungarian design with retractable landing gear, a three-bladed variable-pitch propeller, a closed canopy, inverted gull wings and an elliptical low-wing design. Development started in summer 1939 with one prototype produced and test flown. Demonstrating good flying characteristics and generally being considered an excellent design, the WM-23 was planned to enter mass production. However, the prototype was destroyed on 21 April 1942, and by this time the MÁVAG Héja fighter was being used which acceptably filled the intended role of the WM-23. Therefore, it was decided to not allocate further resources to completing the project, and to cancel it.
WM-23 | |
---|---|
Schematic drawing of the WM-23 | |
Role | Fighter |
National origin | Hungary |
Manufacturer | Weiss Manfréd |
Designer | Samu Béla and team |
First flight | Early 1941 |
Status | Cancelled |
Primary user | Royal Hungarian Air Force (MKHL) |
Number built | 1 |
Developed into | WM-123 Ezüst Nyíl II |