Loire 210

Last updated
Loire 210
Loire 210.jpg
General information
TypeSingle-seat fighter seaplane
Manufacturer Loire
Primary user French Navy
Number built21
History
Introduction date 1939
First flight21 March 1935
Retired 1939

The Loire 210 was a French single-seat catapult-launched fighter seaplane designed and built by Loire Aviation for the French Navy.

Contents

Design and development

The Loire 210 was designed to meet a 1933 French Navy requirement for a single-seat catapult-launched fighter seaplane. The prototype first flew at Saint Nazaire on 21 March 1935. [1] The fuselage came from the earlier Loire 46 fitted with a new low-wing which was foldable for shipboard stowage. It had a large central float and two underwing auxiliary floats and was powered by a single nose-mounted Hispano-Suiza 9Vbs radial engine. [2]

The prototype was evaluated by the French Navy against the Bernard H 110, Potez 453 and Romano R.90 with the 210 achieving a production order for 20 aircraft in March 1937. The production aircraft were fitted with four wing-mounted Darne machine guns (the prototype had only two). [3]

Operational history

The aircraft entered service with the French Navy in August 1939, within three months five aircraft had been lost due to structural failure of the wing. All the remaining aircraft were grounded and withdrawn from use. [4]

Variants

Loire 210.01
First prototype aircraft.
Loire 210
Single-seat fighter seaplane.
Loire 211
Prototype with a more powerful Gnome-Rhône 14K [5] engine.

Operators

Flag of France.svg  France

Specifications

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters [6]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. Green 1962, p. 45.
  2. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1985, p. 2379.
  3. Taylor and Alexander 1969, pp. 106–107.
  4. 1 2 Green 1962, p. 46.
  5. Bousquet, Gérard (February 2013). "Loire 210". AirMagazine. 57 (1): 4.
  6. Green and Swanborough 1995, p. 353.

Bibliography