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| Potez 452 |
| Type |
Naval Reconnaissance Aircraft |
| Manufacturer |
Potez |
| Maiden flight |
1935 |
| Introduction |
1936 |
| Retired |
1944 |
| Status |
Retired |
| Primary user |
French Navy (Battleship Lorraine) |
| Number built |
16 |
[edit] Operational History
This aircraft was designed and built by the French aircraft company Potez in response to a French Navy specification for a shipboard reconnaissance machine for use on its battleships and cruisers. The design requirements included the ability for launch by a catapult or from the sea. In addition, the wings were required to fold to simplify storage aboard ship. It first flew in 1935, and after satisfactory flight trials, it began equipping French ships a year later. Only sixteen Potez 452s were built. They remained active as reconnaissance platforms during the early months of World War II. During these early months, there was no significant naval action in the Mediterranean. The warships upon which the Potez 452s were serving saw no real combat against German forces. After the French capitulation to Germany in June of 1940, these aircraft continued to serve on their ships and ironically were briefly engaged against their former ally Great Britain. Other Potez 452s were deployed to French colonies in French Indochina, which included reconnaissance duty in a short conflict between these Vichy French controlled colonies and Thailand, a little remembered side event of World War II. These machines remained in service until 1944, by that time all had been retired or destroyed.
[edit] Specifications (Potez 452)
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 10.54 m (34 feet 7 inches)
- Wingspan: 12.95 m (42 feet 6 inches)
- Height: 3.48 m (11 feet 5 inches)
- Empty weight: 1,102 kg (2,429 pounds)
- Loaded weight: 1,620 kg (3,571 pounds, catapult)
- Powerplant: 1× Hispano-Suiza 9 QD, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 260 kW (350 hp)
Performance
Armament
- Guns: One 7.5 mm (0.295 inch) machine gun mounted in flexible position in rear cockpit
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