The Loire-Nieuport 10 was a 1930s
French prototype long-range maritime reconnaissance and combat
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
produced by Loire-Nieuport, a joint venture between
Loire Aviation
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
and
Nieuport-Delage
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.
History
Beginnings
Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...
. It was an attempt to answer the requirements for the Navy's programme ''Hydravion éclaireur de combat'' ("Combat reconnaissance seaplane") for a large floatplane capable of acting as a
torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
or reconnaissance aircraft.
Development and design
Design of the Loire-Nieuport 10 started in 1937, with the resultant aircraft being a twin-engined
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
of all-metal
stressed-skin construction with
inverted gull (or W-shaped) wings. It was powered by two Gnome-Rhône 14N
radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
s mounted above the wings, with the twin large floats on pylons under the wing, directly beneath the engines. The deep fuselage accommodated a crew of six, with pilot and co-pilot seated in tandem, while a glazed nose was provided for the bomb-aimer/navigator. Defensive armament was a
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
in the nose, with another firing through a ventral hatch, and a 20 mm cannon in a dorsal turret, while it could carry two torpedoes or 1,200 kg (2,700 lb) of bombs in an internal bomb-bay.
[Green 1963, p.47.]
The prototype Loire-Nieuport 10, the L.N.10-01, first flew at
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany.
The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...
on 21 July 1939.
However, on 10 December 1939, the programme was cancelled as the French Navy had decided to use land based aircraft instead, with no production following of either the LN.10 or its competitors. It was destroyed at
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
in June 1940 to prevent capture by German troops.
The fuselage of the Loire-Nieuport 10 was used for the
SNCAO 700
The SNCAO CAO.700 was a French prototype four-engined bomber of all-metal construction, developed shortly prior to and during the Second World War. Only a single example had been completed and flown when the surrender of France in June 1940 ended ...
four-engined bomber prototype, of which a prototype was built but failed to fly due to the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
.
[Green 1967, pp. 148-149.]
Specifications
See also
References
* Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six, Floatplanes''. London:Macdonald, 1962.
* Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven, Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft''. London:Macdonald, 1967.
External links
Aviafrance
{{Loire aircraft
1930s French military reconnaissance aircraft
Floatplanes
Inverted gull-wing aircraft
LN.010
Aircraft first flown in 1939
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft