Amiot 351

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Amiot 351
Amiot 351, model
Type: Bomb plane
Design country:
Manufacturer:

Amiot

First flight:

1939

Amiot 351 was a medium-weight French bomber aircraft from 1939. From the Amiot 351 in 1940 the modified types Amiot 352 to Amiot 357 and Amiot 370 were derived. The Amiot 351 and 354 were used in small numbers against the German attack during the Battle of France in the summer of 1940 .

Amiot 340 and 350

Amiot 340

In 1934 the Amiot 340 , originally intended as a mail plane, was designed. It was a twin-engined mid-decker in all-metal construction. The potential to develop the design into a medium-sized bomber was soon recognized, and so the prototype was modified accordingly. It had its first flight in March 1938, now under the name Amiot 350 . Due to his good performance, the Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, Joseph Vuillemin , decided to use this aircraft for a visit to Germany in August of that year. This was to clearly demonstrate to the Germans that France was able to construct modern bombers.

Amiot 351

The Technical Service of the French Air Force asked for some modifications to the Amiot 350. After the corresponding changes to the design, the aircraft went into testing as the Amiot 351 in early 1939 and soon afterwards went into series production. Initially 130 copies were ordered, but the number soon expanded.

The aircraft was constructed of all-metal construction and had a circular shell fuselage. Halfway up the fuselage, the cantilevered wings were attached, which made the aircraft a mid- wing aircraft . The horizontal stabilizer was V-shaped and carried a double vertical stabilizer. The front part of the fuselage was glazed and housed the bombardier and navigator , who also operated the bow machine gun. On the fuselage was a long fully glazed cockpit in which the pilots and a gunner were accommodated. The shooter operated a 20-mm cannon in a turret in the rear of the glass cockpit and a second machine-gun in the lower part of the fuselage. The aircraft was powered by two double radial engines of the Gnôme-Rhône 14N 38/39 type , each with 950  hp (709 kW). The landing gear was fully retractable.

The aircraft was able to carry a total of 800 kg of bombs at a top speed of 480 km / h and had a crew of four (pilot, co-pilot, navigator / bombardier / gunner, gunner).

Amiot 352

In a prototype, instead of the Gnome-Rhône engines, those of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y -50 / -51 type with 1100 HP (821 kW) each were used. The aircraft was named Amiot 352 , but did not go into series production.

Amiot 353

In the Amiot 353 variant , the Gnome Rhône engines were replaced by British Rolls-Royce Merlin II, each with an output of 1030 hp (769 kW), in order to have an alternative production model in reserve in the event of a shortage of French engines. Only a prototype was built here as well.

Amiot 354

Amiot 354

The most important further development of the Amiot 351 was the Amiot 354 . The principal innovation was the abandonment of the double vertical tail in favor of a single vertical tail. As a result, the aircraft lengthened by 0.50 m. In addition, the variant received the 130 HP more powerful Gnôme-Rhône 14N 48/49 engines (output 1080 HP / 806 kW). This enabled it to reach a top speed of 480 km / h at an altitude of 4,000 meters.

The prototype flew in January 1940. The French Air Force immediately ordered larger quantities of this modernized version from Amiot in addition to the Amiot 351s that had already been ordered. The total number of Amiot 351 and 354 ordered increased to 830 pieces. At the beginning of the Battle of France in May 1940, around 200 machines were in the final stages of assembly. However, only about 80 were delivered to the units of the Armée de l'air, 38 of them Amiot 354. Overall, production was slow because it was spread across three factories across France. To make matters worse, two of the factories were bombed by the attacking Germans.

The aircraft delivered were used in four squadrons: first with Groupe de Bombardement I / 21 and Groupe de Bombardement II / 21 , which were stationed in Avignon , and then in June 1940 with Groupe de Bombardement I / 34 and Groupe de Bombardment II / 34 . All squadrons were stationed in northern France during the fighting, but only GB I / 21 and GB I / 22 flew combat missions against the enemy. The first combat mission of the Amiot 351/354 were reconnaissance flights in the Maastricht region on May 16, 1940. After that, night attacks were flown in the area controlled by the Germans. From June onwards, the squadrons were given the priority task of attacking German tank and transport columns. In the course of the Battle of France, 13 machines were lost in fighting or training accidents.

On June 20, 1940, the squadrons received orders to fly to North Africa . It was planned that they would attack targets in Sicily and southern Italy from there . The escape succeeded 37 of the operational Amiot 351/354, but the signing of the armistice on the western front prevented the planned combat mission. In North Africa, the squadrons were integrated into the Armée de l'Air de l'Armistice , but received the order in August 1940 to fly back to southern France . There the units were disbanded. Five machines were then used as mail planes, the rest was taken over by the Germans, who used them for transport purposes in special squadron 1 / KG 200.

Like many of the French designs from the time immediately before the Second World War , this one came too late to have an effective influence on the course of the war (cf. Dewoitine D.520 , Bloch MB.152 , Bloch MB.174 ).

Amiot 355 and Amiot 356

These variants were models with different engines, but both of them already had the single vertical stabilizer of the Amiot 354. The Amiot 355 was equipped with two more powerful Gnome-Rhône 14R2 / 3s each with 1200 HP (896 kW). The Amiot 356, on the other hand, received - similar to the Amiot 353 - two British Rolls-Royce-Merlin -X engines, each with 1030 hp (769 kW). Only one prototype was constructed of both variants.

Amiot 357

Under the designation Amiot 357 , the prototype of an altitude bomber derived from the Amiot 351 was built. The most important modification was a pressurized cabin for the crew. The type did not go into series production.

Amiot 370

The Amiot 370 was a special development of the 350 series, which should set a new record in the Paris - New York race . However, the race no longer took place due to the war.

List of units equipped with the Amiot 351/354

  • GB I / 21 and GB II / 22 (spring 1940)
  • GB I / 34 and GB II / 34 (spring 1940)

The abbreviation GB stands for Groupe de Bombardement (Bomber Squadron).

Technical specifications

Parameter Amiot 351 Amiot 354 Amiot 370 (racing aircraft)
crew 4th 2
length 14.00 m 14.50 m
span 22.83 m
height 4.08 m
Wing area m²
Wing extension
payload
Empty mass 4725 kg
Max. Takeoff mass
Rate of climb 460 m / min (749 ft / min)
Top speed 480 km / h at 4000 m 475 km / h at 5000 m
Service ceiling 10,000 m
Range 2500 km 7000 km
Engines two double
radial engines Gnome-Rhône 14N38 / 39, each 950 PS (699 kW) 		two double
radial engines Gnome-Rhône 14N48 / 49, each 1,030 PS (758 kW) 		two V12 engines
Hispano-Suiza 12Yjrs , each 860 PS (633 kW)
Armament a 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine gun in the bow, another in the belly of the aircraft a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS-404 cannon in a turret in the upper rear part of the fuselage
 -
Bomb load 800 kg 1200 kg -

States of operations

Comparable patterns

literature

  • Dominique Breffort, André Jouineau, Alan McKay (translator): French Aircraft from 1939 to 1942 Volume 1: From ANF to Curtiss. Histoire & Collections, ISBN 2-915239-23-1 (English)
  • Green, William: War Planes of the Second World War, Vol. 7. 3rd edition, London 1969, pp. 83ff

Web links