Loire-Nieuport LN.401

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Loire-Nieuport LN.401
Role dive bomber
Manufacturer SNCAO
First flight 6 July 1938
Introduction 1939
Retired 1940
Primary user French Navy
Produced 1938-1942
Number built 68
Developed from Loire-Nieuport LN.140

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The Loire-Nieuport LN.40 family of naval dive-bombers was developed and produced in France for the Aeronavale in the latter half of the 1930s, seeing service in World War II.

Design and development

Between 1932 and 1936, Nieuport-Delage had been developing a two-seat dive bomber, the Nieuport Ni.140, for the Aéronautique Navale, the aviation arm of the French Navy. It was renamed Loire-Nieuport LN.140 after the Nieuport company was absorbed into Loire-Nieuport, in 1933. The first of two prototypes, the LN.140-01, was flown on 12 March 1935, but had crashed in July during a forced landing, not being repaired. Flight testing continued with the second prototype, the LN.140-02, until development was abandoned after, that too, crashed in July 1936.

Development efforts were then concentrated on the LN.40 project, which benefited from experience acquired with the LN.140, but was a new, and aerodynamically much more refined, design. In the second half of 1937 the LN.40 received government backing in the form of an order for a prototype, followed by orders for seven production aircraft destined for the aircraft carrier Béarn and three more for operational evaluation by the air force. The French Air Force had expressed interest in a land-based derivative of the LN.40, called LN.41. Initially it wanted to acquire 184 of these, enough to equip six dive bomber squadrons of 18 aircraft each, plus a reserve.

The prototype made its first flight on 6 July 1938, flown by Pierre Nadot. A second prototype followed in January 1939, and a third in May. Four of the pre-series LN.40 dive bombers were delivered in July, and the aircraft was declared fit for carrier operations following successful tests aboard the Béarn. Nevertheless, the flight tests were not entirely successful. The original dive brake was found ineffective and was removed in favour of extending the landing gear to act as an aerodynamic brake. It was found that the LN.40 could not fly dive bombing missions with full fuel tanks. The chief of staff of the air force, general Joseph Vuillemin, declared that the aircraft was too slow, and requested the development of a fast dive bomber for the air force, which became the Loire-Nieuport LN.42.[1][2]

In July 1939, Loire-Nieuport had received orders for 36 LN.401 production dive bombers for the Navy, and 36 LN.411 aircraft for the Army. The LN.411 was almost identical to the LN.401, except for the deletion of the arrestor hook, the wing folding mechanism and the emergency floatation devices. The first LN.411s were delivered in September, in which month the air force ordered 270 more. But in October General Vuillemin refused to accept these aircraft, and the small number of LN.411 were sent to the Navy.

Loire-Nieuport also attempted to develop a faster version, by substituting an 860 hp (640 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 for the 690 hp (510 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs engine of the LN.401. This LN.402 made its first flight on 18 November 1939. Further development of the LN.402 was prevented by the French defeat in May 1940 and the following armistice.

Operational history

Two escadrilles of the Aéronautique Navale, designated as AB2 and AB4, converted to the LN.401/411 between late 1939 and early 1940. AB2 received its first LN.401 dive bombers in November 1939, while AB4 received the LN.411 dive bombers rejected by the air force from February 1940 onwards. The dive bombers rejected by the Army were a welcome reinforcement to the Navy, as production of the LN.401 was very slow.[3]

Both used the type in combat during the Battle of France in ground attacks against German motorized columns and troop concentrations. Losses were heavy. One attack on 19 May resulted in the loss of 10 out of 20 dive bombers committed, while seven of the survivors were sufficiently damaged to be no longer airworthy. The production rate of the LN.401 and LN.411 was insufficient to replace losses, and in about a month of fighting the two squadrons lost two-thirds of their strength.[4]

After the armistice with Germany, Loire-Nieuport dive bombers were retired from service and the two escadrilles were re-equipped with the Glenn-Martin 167-F level bomber.

Variants

Nieuport Ni.140
The original design concept from the Nieport company, first flown on 12 March 1935. Two prototypes built, both of which had crashed by July 1936, before efforts were transferred to the more refined LN.40. Renamed Loire-Nieuport LN.140 after the merger of the two companies.
LN.40
Pre-production aircraft. Only seven pre-production examples were built.
LN.41
Proposed land based version of the LN.40
LN.401
Single-seat naval dive-bomber aircraft. Only 15 production examples were built.
LN.411
Land-based variant of the 401, with all naval-specific equipment removed; 45 built.
LN.402
Single example fitted with the more powerful 860 hp (640 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 engine.
LN.42
Developed from 1940 during the war, the single example, fitted with a 1,100 hp (820 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 engine, was first flown on 24 August 1945.[2]

Operators

 France

Specifications (LN.401)

Data from War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Eight Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft[5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 9.75 m (32 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)
  • Height: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
  • Wing area: 24.75 m2 (266.4 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 2,243 kg (4,945 lb)
  • Gross weight: 2,835 kg (6,250 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 510 kW (690 hp) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 380 km/h (236 mph; 205 kn) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
  • Cruising speed: 299 km/h (186 mph; 161 kn) (economical cruise)
  • Range: 1,200 km (746 mi; 648 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,168 ft)

Armament

  • Guns: 1 × Hispano-Suiza HS.404 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon and 2 × 7.5 mm (0.295 in) Darne machine guns
  • Bombs: 1 × 225 kg (496 lb) or 165 kg (364 lb) bomb, or 10 × 10 kg (22 lb) or 15 kg (33 lb) bombs

See also

References

Notes

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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Further reading

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External links

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