__NOTOC__ The Latécoère 290 was a torpedo bomber

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 in France during the 1930s. Designed by Latécoère in response to an Aéronavale specification for such an aircraft, the 290 was based on its successful Laté 28.3

mail plane The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

. It was a conventional high-wing, strut-braced monoplane that carried a single torpedo externally under the fuselage. It was tested first with

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

installed and then on its intended floats; following which a batch of 20 was ordered by the navy, followed by an order for 10 more. These entered service in 1934, equipping two torpedo squadrons. All were relegated to training duties in early 1939, but four were returned to active service for coastal

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

duties at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Variants

* Latécoère 290 - main production version with

Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr The Hispano-Suiza 12N was one of two new V-12 engine designs first run in 1928 and was manufactured by Hispano-Suiza's French subsidiary for the Armée de l’Air. It produced about , was the first to use gas nitride hardening and introduced w ...

engine (2 prototypes, plus 30 production machines) * Latécoère 293 - version with Gnome-Rhône 14Kers engine (1 built) * Latécoère 294 - version with Gnome-Rhône 14Kdrs and revised forward fuselage and fin (1 built) * Latécoère 296 - similar to 294 but with Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs engine (1 built)

Operators

; * Aéronavale ** Escadrille 1S2 (

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, 1939) ** Escadrille 1T1 (

, 1935) ** Escadrille 4T1 ( Berre, 1934)

Specifications

References

* *
aviafrance.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latecoere 290 1930s French bomber aircraft Floatplanes 2 High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1931

Variants

Operators

Specifications

See also

References