Loire 46

The Loire 46 was a French fighter aircraft of 1934.

History

The design principle of the Loire 46 goes back to the type Loire 43, of which only a prototype was built, which first flew on 17 October 1932. It was in this type is a single-seat all-metal aircraft with fixed landing gear and Puławski wing, similar to the Polish PZL P.7, which had set a new standard in fighter development two years earlier. The drive yielded a 690 -hp V- type engine Hispano -Suiza 12Xbrs.

A revision of the tail and landing gear as well as a replacement of the engine with a 880 hp Gnome - Rhone radial engine 14Kcs led to the follow-up type Loire 45, which first flew on 20 February 1933. This aircraft reminded his hand visually very strongly to the type PZL P.24 ( a successor model of PZL P.7 ), the prototype of which three months later rose into the air and could produce significantly better flight performance.

Since it was 45 not yet satisfied with the performance of the Loire, further revisions were adopted. This was particularly the shape of the wings and the tail. It took more than a year to the September 1, 1934 finally a new prototype, now under the name Loire 46 and driven by a slightly weaker 850 hp Gnome -Rhône 14Kfs engine, took its first flight. He demonstrated excellent flight characteristics at a maximum speed of 368 km / h The Armée de l'air finally ordered 60 machines that arrived in August at the 1936 French fighter squadrons.

Six Loire 46 found their way to Spain, where she participated on the side of the Republic in the war.

At the beginning of World War II, most of the Loire 46 were only in training units of the Armée de l'air. In September 1939, however, a regular season with the guy was still equipped.

Specifications

Countries

  • France France
  • Spain Second Republic Spain

Comparable types

October 17 Hispano-Suiza 12Y Machine gun IAR-14 Grumman F3F Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Kawasaki Ki-10
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