Loire 70

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The Loire 70 was a 1930s French long-range maritime reconnaissance flying boat produced by Loire Aviation.

Design and development

Wind tunnel model of the Loire 70

The Loire 70 was designed to meet a 1932 French Navy requirement for a long-range flying boat for maritime reconnaissance and bombing. The prototype first flew on 28 December 1933.^[1] It was an all-metal monoplane, with a heavily braced high wing, with three radial engines mounted above the wing, two as tractors and one as a pusher. The original engines, three 500 hp (373 kW) Gnome et Rhône 9Kbr radials, were not powerful enough and were replaced with 740 hp (552 kW) Gnome-Rhône 9Kfr radials. Seven production aircraft were produced.

Operational history

The seven production aircraft and the prototype were all delivered to the French Navy, serving with Escadrille E7 at Karouba in Tunisia. During the early days of World War II, the aircraft carried out patrols in the Mediterranean. In an Italian air raid on their base on 12 June 1940, three of the four surviving aircraft were destroyed.^[1] It is not known what happened to the last aircraft.

Operator

France

French Navy

Specifications

General characteristics

Crew: Eight
Length: 19.5 m (63 ft 11¾ in)
Wingspan: 30 m (98 ft 5¼ in)
Height: 6.75 m (22 ft 1¾ in)
Wing area: 136 m² (1,463.94 ft²)
Empty weight: 6500 kg (14,330 lb)
Gross weight: 11500 kg (25,353 lb)
Powerplant: 3 × Gnome-Rhône 9Kfr radial piston, 552 kW (740 hp) each each

Performance

Maximum speed: 235 km/h (146 mph)
Cruising speed: 165 km/h (102.5^[1] mph)
Range: 3000 km (1,864 miles)
Service ceiling: 4000 m (13,125 ft)

Armament

Six 7.5mm (0.295 in) Darne machine guns
600 Kg (1,323) of bombs or
four 75 kg (165 lb) anti-submarine bombs

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Green, William (1968). Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Five, Flying Boats. London: Macdonald. pp. 6–9. ISBN 356 01449 5 Check |isbn= value (help).

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.

v t e Aircraft produced by Loire Aviation/Loire-Nieuport

Loire aircraft	Loire 11 Loire 30 Loire 301 Loire 43 Loire 45 Loire 46 Loire 50 Loire 501 Loire 60 Loire 601 Loire 70 Loire 102 Loire 130 Loire 210 Loire 250

Loire-Nieuport	Loire-Nieuport 10 LN.40 LN.401 LN.402 LN.411 LN.42 Loire-Nieuport 161

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