Bernard 20

Overview

The Bernard 20 was a single-seat monoplane fighter aircraft designed and built by the French aircraft manufacturer Société des Avions Bernard. Derived from the Bernard V2 racing aircraft, the Bernard 20 was originally displayed as a mock-up at the 1928 Paris Air Show. During July 1929, the sole prototype, which was powered by a 400 hp (298 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Jb inline piston engine, performed its maiden flight from Orly. Having retained much of its racing inheritance, it was a relatively fast aircraft for the era. During 1930, the aircraft was recorded at a speed of 280 km/h (174 mph). However, there was a lack of interest in the project from French authorities, allegedly officials were not keen on the monoplane configuration at that time, thus the project was abandoned after 18 months of test flying.