| LN.401 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A Loire-Nieuport LN.40 | |
| Role | dive bomber |
| Manufacturer | SNCAO |
| First flight | 6 July 1938 |
| Introduction | 1939 |
| Retired | 1940 |
| Primary user | French Navy |
| Produced | 1938–1942 |
| Number built | 68 |
The Loire-Nieuport LN.40 aircraft were a family of French naval dive-bombers for the Aeronavale in the late 1930s, which saw service during World War II.
Between 1932 and 1936, Nieuport-Delage had been developing a two-seat dive bomber, the Nieuport Ni.140, for the Aéronautique Navale , the aviation arm of the French Navy. It was renamed Loire-Nieuport LN.140 after the Nieuport company was absorbed into Loire-Nieuport, in 1933. The first of two prototypes, the LN.140-01, was flown on 12 March 1935, but had crashed in July during a forced landing, not being repaired. Flight testing continued with the second prototype, the LN.140-02, until development was abandoned after, that too, crashed in July 1936.
Development efforts were then concentrated on the LN.40 project which benefited from experience with the LN.140, but was a new, and aerodynamically more refined design, replacing the fixed and spatted undercarriage of the LN.140 with rearward retracting main gear legs, and dispensing with the second crewman. In the second half of 1937 an order was received for a prototype, followed by orders for seven production aircraft for the aircraft carrier Béarn and three more for operational evaluation by the air force. The French Air Force had expressed interest in a land-based derivative of the LN.40, designated the LN.41. Initial plans were for 184 to equip six dive bomber squadrons with 18 aircraft each, plus reserves.
The prototype made its first flight on 6 July 1938, the second followed in January 1939, and the third in May. Four of the pre-series LN.40 dive bombers were delivered in July, and it passed its carrier trials aboard the aircraft carrier Béarn . Nevertheless, the flight tests found that the dive brakes were ineffective, which led to their being removed in favour of using the extended landing gear doors as air brakes. The LN.40 also could not carry out diving attacks with full fuel tanks. The aircraft was too slow for the air force which requested the development of a faster dive bomber, which would become the Loire-Nieuport LN.42. [1] [2]
In July 1939, Loire-Nieuport had received orders for 36 LN.401 production dive bombers for the Navy, and 36 LN.411 aircraft for the Army. The LN.411 was almost identical to the LN.401, except for the deletion of the arrestor hook, the wing folding mechanism and the emergency floatation devices. The first LN.411s were delivered in September which coincided with an order from the air force for 270 more but in October they were refused, and the LN.411s were sent to the Navy.
Loire-Nieuport also attempted to develop a faster version, by substituting an 860 hp (640 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 for the 690 hp (510 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs engine of the LN.401. This LN.402 made its first flight on 18 November 1939. Further development of the LN.402 was prevented by the French defeat in May 1940 and the following armistice.
The final development was the LN.42 dispensed with the inverted gull wing and elevator endplates and used the much more powerful 1,100 hp (820 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 engine but was too late for the Second World War, making only a few short hops before France fell during the 1940 invasion of France when it was hidden from the Germans for the duration of the war. Flight trials resumed on 24 August 1945 and ran until 1947, however no interest was forthcoming of the now obsolete type and only one example was built. [2]
Two escadrilles of the Aéronautique Navale, designated as AB2 and AB4, converted to the LN.401/411 between late 1939 and early 1940. AB2 received its first LN.401 dive bombers in November 1939, while AB4 received the LN.411 dive bombers rejected by the Air Force from February 1940 onwards. The dive bombers rejected by the Air Force were a welcome reinforcement to the Navy, as the production of the LN.401 was very slow. [3]
Both used the type in combat during the Battle of France in ground attacks against German motorized columns and troop concentrations. Losses were heavy. One attack on 19 May resulted in the loss of 10 out of 20 dive bombers committed, while seven of the survivors were sufficiently damaged to be no longer airworthy. The production rate of the LN.401 and LN.411 was insufficient to replace losses, and in about a month of fighting the two squadrons lost two-thirds of their strength. [4]
After the armistice with Germany, Loire-Nieuport dive bombers were retired from service and the two escadrilles were re-equipped with the Glenn-Martin 167-F level bomber.
France 
Data from War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Eight Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft [5]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
The Dewoitine D.500 was an all-metal, open-cockpit, fixed-undercarriage monoplane fighter aircraft designed and produced by French aircraft manufacturer Dewoitine.
The Amiot 143 was a late 1930s French 5-seat Multiplace de Combat (M.5) designed to meet 1928 specifications for a monoplane capable of day and night bombing, long-range reconnaissance and bomber escort.
The Hispano-Suiza 12Y was an aircraft engine produced by Hispano-Suiza for the French Air Force before the Second World War. The 12Y became the primary French 1,000 hp (750 kW) class engine and was used in a number of famous aircraft, including the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and Dewoitine D.520.
The Arsenal VG-33 was one of a series of fast French light fighter aircraft under development at the start of World War II, but which matured too late to see extensive service in the French Air Force during the Battle of France.
The Blériot SPAD S.510 was a French single-seat, single-engined biplane fighter aircraft. First flying in 1933, 60 were built for the Armée de l'Air, entering service in 1936. The type remained in service as a fighter-trainer at the start of the Second World War. It was the last French biplane fighter to enter production.
The Potez 630 and its derivatives were a family of twin-engined, multirole aircraft developed for the French Air Force in the late 1930s. The design was a contemporary of the British Bristol Blenheim and the German Messerschmitt Bf 110.
The Farman F.220 and its derivatives were thick-sectioned, high-winged, four engined monoplanes from Farman Aviation Works. Based on the push-pull configuration proven by the F.211, design started in August 1925 and the first flight of the prototype was on 26 May 1932. The definitive F.222 variant was the biggest bomber to serve in France between the world wars. One variant was designed as an airliner.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD 52 was a French fighter aircraft of the 1920s. A single-engined sesquiplane, it served with the Spanish Air Force, being operated by both sides of the Spanish Civil War.
The Latécoère 298 was a French seaplane that served during World War II. It was designed primarily as a torpedo bomber, but served also as a dive bomber against land and naval targets, and as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Of a sturdy and reliable construction and possessing good manoeuvrability, it was France's most successful military seaplane, and served throughout the war in various guises.
Potez 25 was a French twin-seat, single-engine biplane designed during the 1920s. A multi-purpose fighter-bomber, it was designed as a line aircraft and used in a variety of roles, including fighter and escort missions, tactical bombing and reconnaissance missions. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Potez 25 was the standard multi-purpose aircraft of over 20 air forces, including French and Polish. It was also popular among private operators, notably mail transport companies.
The ANF Les Mureaux 110 and its derivatives were a family of French reconnaissance aircraft developed in the 1930s. They were all-metal, parasol-wing monoplanes that seated the pilot and observer in tandem open cockpits. The aircraft were widely used in the Battle of France, but were all scrapped soon thereafter.
The Potez 540 was a French multi-role aircraft of the 1930s. Designed and built by Potez, it served with the French Air Force as a reconnaissance bomber, also serving with the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. Although obsolete as a bomber, it remained in service in support roles and in France's overseas colonies at the start of World War II.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD.62 was a French sesquiplane fighter from the early 1930s. This machine was a descendant of a long line of Nieuport-Delage fighters that were designed and built during the years immediately after World War I. The NiD.62 was built in 1931 as a fighter for the Armée de l'Air. It served until the late 1930s, when it was replaced by more modern monoplane fighters. By the time of the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, all of the NiD.62s had been withdrawn from front-line fighter escadrilles but were used as trainers in French flight schools. A few aircraft were employed as target tugs. After the French German Armistice and German occupation of North and West part of France in June 1940, the German Luftwaffe had no interest in the NiD.62s and they were scrapped. None survived the war.
The Gourdou-Leseurre GL.30 was a racing aircraft built in France in 1920 which formed the basis for a highly successful family of fighter aircraft based on the same design.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD.29 was a French single-seat biplane fighter designed and built by Nieuport-Delage for the French Air Force.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD 42 was a fighter aircraft built in France in the early 1920s, the first in a family of designs that would form the backbone of the French fighter force over the next decade.
The Loire-Nieuport 10 was a 1930s French prototype long-range maritime reconnaissance and combat floatplane produced by Loire-Nieuport, a joint venture between Loire Aviation and Nieuport-Delage. It was an attempt to answer the requirements for the Navy's programme Hydravion éclaireur de combat for a large floatplane capable of acting as a torpedo bomber or reconnaissance aircraft.
The SNCAO 200, sometimes written CAO.200, was a prototype French single seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It was a single engined monoplane intended to compete with the Dewoitine D.520, but was unsuccessful, only a single example being built.
The Bréguet 410 was a French bomber of the early 1930s. Not many of these twin-engined sesquiwing biplanes were built. At least one Breguet 413, one of its variants, was sold to the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.
The Loire-Nieuport 161 was a single-seat, single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane fighter designed and built in France in 1935 to compete for a government contract. Accidents delayed its development and only three prototypes were completed.
