Loire 210
Role Single-seat fighter seaplane
Manufacturer Loire
First flight 21 March 1935
Introduction 1939
Retired 1939
Primary user French Navy
Number built 21

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

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 All the remaining aircraft were grounded and withdrawn from use.[4]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

 France

Specifications

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters [6]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 9.51 m (31 ft 2.75 in)
  • Wingspan: 11.79 m (38 ft 8.25 in)
  • Height: 3.80 m (12 ft 5.25 in)
  • Wing area: 20.3 m2 (218.5 sq ft)
  • Gross weight: 2,100 kg (4,629 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 9Vbs radial piston engine , 537 kW (720 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 299 km/h (186 mph, 162 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 199.5 km/h (124 mph, 108 kn)
  • Range: 750 km (466 mi, 405 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,250 ft) [4]
  • Rate of climb: 9.4 m/s (1,897.8 ft/min)

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

  • Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six Floatplanes. London: Macdonald, 1962.
  • Green, William and F. Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
  • Taylor, John W. R., and Jean Alexander. Combat Aircraft of the World. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989.
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