Georges Levy G.L. 40 HB2 was a three-seated French, amphibious biplane aircraft that was designed in 1917. The aircraft was designed by Blanchard and Le Pen and therefore the aircraft was also known as the Levy-Le Pen. Le Pen was Maurice Jules-Marie Le Pen born in Lorient, Morbihan, France in 1889; he was killed in a car crash in 1919. It was claimed to be the best French amphibious aircraft of World War I, but that is probably due to the low scale production of such aircraft in France at that time.Taylor and Alexander 1969, pp. 104-105. The

Finnish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = 159 , equipment_label ...

purchased 12 Georges Levy G.L. 40 HB2s, but they weren't pleased with them. Three aircraft were lost in accidents that claimed lives — and it was given the nickname "the flying coffin" in the 1920s. In 1920, the Belgian government started an airline in the then

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

: Ligne Aérienne du Roi Albert (LARA) operated six Levy-Lepen hydroplanes along the Congo River from Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) upstream to Stanleyville (now Kisangani), a distance of 1725 kilometres. The flights started in June 1921 and were discontinued one or two years later.

Operators

Finnish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = 159 , equipment_label ...

- 12 aircraft, withdrawn from use by 1923. ;:

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

- in service from November 1917, app. 100 built, also by Farman. Used in France, Algeria, Greece, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. ;: *

Portuguese Naval Aviation The Portuguese Naval Aviation ( pt, Aviação Naval Portuguesa) constituted the air component of the Portuguese Navy, from 1917 to 1957. The Portuguese Air Force maritime patrol units and the Navy's Helicopter Squadron (EHM, ''Esquadrilha de Heli ...

- 2 aircraft used from 1918 to 1920 ; *

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force ( es, link=no, Fuerza Aérea del Perú, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguardin ...

- app. 3 delivered * Peruvian Navy ;: 6 Levy Lepen were used in the Belgian Congo by the

Ligne Aerienne du Roi Albert The ''ligne'' ( ), or line or Paris line, is a historic unit of length used in France and elsewhere prior to the adoption of the metric system in the late 18th century, and used in various sciences after that time. The ''loi du 19 frimaire an V ...

. ; *

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

- 12 used for patrols from Le Croisic in France, two taken to US after the war.

Specifications (G.L. 40 HB2)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Heinonen, Timo. ''Thulinista Hornetiin - 75 vuotta Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneita.'' Tikkakoski, Finland: Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseo, 1992. . * Taylor, John W. R. and Jean Alexander. ''Combat Aircraft of the World.'' New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. . *

External links