__NOTOC__ The Latham 43 was a flying boat bomber built in France in the 1920s for service with the French Navy. It was a conventional design for its day - a two-bay biplane with unstaggered wings, and engines mounted tractor-fashion on struts in the interplane gap. The pilot sat in an open cockpit, with a gunner in an open bow position, and another in an open position amidships. Two examples, designated Latham 42 powered by liquid-cooled Vee engines were evaluated by the navy in 1924, leading to a contract for 18 aircraft powered by air-cooled radial engines instead. Designated Latham 43 by the manufacturer and HB.3 in naval service (for ''Hydravion de bombardement'' - "Seaplane-bomber", 3 seats), they remained in service between 1926 and 1929. Eight other machines with the original liquid-cooled engine were sold to Poland.

Variants

* prototypes with

Lorraine 12D The Lorraine 12D, also referred to as Lorraine-Dietrich 12D, was a series of water-cooled V12 engines produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich. The first variant began production in 1917, and the engines were used to power bombers for th ...

a engines (2 built) * production version for France with

Gnome et Rhône 9A The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turn ...

a engines (18 built) * production version for Poland with Lorraine engines (8 built)

Operators

; *'' Aéronavale'' ** Escadrille 4R1 ** Escadrille 5R1 ; * Polish Naval Aviation **'' Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy'' based at Puck

Specifications (French production version)

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

aviafrance.com
{{Latham aircraft 1920s French bomber aircraft Flying boats Latham aircraft Biplanes Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1924