4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Letov Š-331: Le Pontential Aérien Mondial 1936· Public domain
- 2. Letov Š-31 a Walter Jupiter VI: neznámý (unknown)· Public domain
- 3. Letov Š-31 s motorem Jupiter VI: neznámý (unknown)· Public domain
- 4. Letov Š-31 structure L'Aérophile December,1929: L'Aérophile magazine· Public domain
what is it?
The Letov Š-31 was a fighter aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s in a number of variants. All of the aircraft had metal tubular framing and fabric covering with a metal engine cowling. The first flight of the definitive and highly altered Š.231 version was on March 17, 1933.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 10.1 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 97 years ago, in 1929.
- Top speed is 2.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 10.1 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
- Can fly 1.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1929
- number built
- —
- role
- fighter
- origin
- 🇨🇿 Czechoslovakia
- makers
- Letov
- engines
- 1× Walter Mercury V-S2
- crew
- 1
- length
- 7.9 m
- wingspan
- 10.1 m
- height
- 3 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,715 kg
- top speed
- 348 km/h
- cruise speed
- 310 km/h
- range
- 450 km
- ceiling
- 9,300 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q355926, Wikipedia: Letov Š-31 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.