Latécoère
Latécoère 300
The Latécoère 300 was a French flying boat developed in the early 1930s by the aeronautical firm Latécoère. Conceived as a long‑range maritime reconnaissance and transport platform, it first flew in 1931 and entered service with the French Navy and civil airlines operating the South Atlantic mail route. The aircraft featured a high‑stretched hull built of duralumin, a parasol wing with a seven‑meter span, and two 720 hp Hispano‑Suiza 12Ybr engines mounted in a push‑pull configuration on the wing centreline. Its spacious cabin could accommodate up to eight passengers or a sizable cargo load, while a separate crew compartment housed navigation and radio equipment essential for oceanic flights. The 300’s innovative hull design provided excellent seaworthiness, allowing take‑off and landing in rough seas, and its twin‑engine layout offered redundancy that increased safety on remote routes. Though only a small series was built, the Latécoère 300 demonstrated the practicality of large flying boats for intercontinental mail and passenger service, influencing later designs such as the Latécoère 301 and contributing to the development of French long‑range aviation before World War II. Its legacy endures as a symbol of early French ambition to master oceanic air routes.
Classification
Performance
- Service Ceiling
- 4600 metre
Production & History
- Units Produced
- 7
- First Flight
- 1931
- Service Entry
- 1934