The Latécoère 300 series of aircraft were a group of civil and military

flying boats A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull (watercraft), hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for b ...

. They were manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Latécoère in the 1930s. A single Latécoère 300 was built; it was flown for the first time in 1931 and sank the same year. It was rebuilt and flown again in 1932, being named ''Croix du Sud'' ("

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

").

Description

The 300 was a

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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

parasol wing 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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

construction. It was powered by four engines, each of which produced 650 hp, arranged in two push-pull pairs. The 300 set an international aviation record for seaplanes on 31 December 1933, by flying non-stop between Berre Lake near

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and

Saint-Louis, Senegal Saint-Louis () or Saint Louis (), is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and north of Senegal's capital city Dakar. It had a population of 254,171 in 2023. Saint-L ...

. The aircraft then entered service for Air France, transporting mail across the Atlantic Ocean from

Dakar, Senegal Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 million in 2023. Dakar is situated on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the w ...

Natal, Brazil Natal (), literally ''Christmas'' or ''natal'' ("birth") is the capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Norte, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern Brazil. According to Brazilian Institute of Geograp ...

. It completed 23 missions before being lost at sea on December 7, 1936. The pilot was the famous French aviator

Jean Mermoz Jean Mermoz (9 December 1901 – 7 December 1936) was a French people, French aviator, viewed as a hero by other pilots such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and in his native France, where many schools bear his name. In Brazil, he also is recognized ...

. The civilian Laté 301, and military Laté 302 were based on the 300, with some design improvements. A total of three aircraft of each type were built between 1935 and 1936. The first of the 301s was lost, the remaining two were used in South Atlantic service until 1939. In 1939 the last remaining 301 was converted to military service, joining the 302s in patrol duties in West Africa. Original Laté 302 aircraft had 930-hp engines, bow, beam, and engine nacelle machine gun ports, and a bomb load of . The aircraft supported a crew of four and included sleeping accommodations. Fuel and payload were stored inside the hull. The 302s and converted 301 were in service at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and continued in military service, flying patrols from

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

until retired due to lack of spare parts, the last aircraft being grounded at the end of 1941.

Variants

;Laté 300 :Mailplane with

Hispano-Suiza 12N 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 nitriding, gas nitride hardening and int ...

br engines, one built. ;Laté 301 :Mailplane with Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr engines, three built. ;Laté 302 :Maritime reconnaissance aircraft with

Hispano-Suiza 12Y The Hispano-Suiza 12Y was an aircraft engine produced by Hispano-Suiza for the French Air Force before the Second World War. The 12Y became the primary French 1,000 hp (750 kW) class engine and was used in a number of famous aircraft ...

drs engines, three built.

Operators

; *

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

Specifications (Laté 302)

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Latécoère 302 Specifications and photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latecoere 300 1930s French mailplanes

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 300 ...

Flying boats Four-engined push-pull aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1931