Loire-Nieuport LN.40
| Loire-Nieuport LN.40 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Dive fighter |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
June 1938 |
| Number of pieces: |
15 LN.401 + 57 LN.411 |
The Loire-Nieuport LN.40 was a French dive fighter aircraft . The variants Loire-Nieuport LN.401 , Loire-Nieuport LN.402 , Loire-Nieuport LN.411 and finally Loire-Nieuport LN.42 were also derived from this type. However, only the LN.401 and LN.411 were produced in series.
history
At the end of the 1930s, the French government placed an order for the development of a single-seat dive bomber for ship-based use. The Loire-Nieuport company took the Nieuport Ni.140 , which had already been designed in 1935, as a basis and designed a machine with folded-down wings (similar to the American Corsair or the German Junkers Ju 87C ).
The rudder was spreadable in the lower area in order to use it as an air brake when diving. The landing gear was housed in gondolas in the wing bends. The bomb load, a 225 to 500 kg bomb, was suspended from a deflector fork under the front fuselage (as with the Douglas Dauntless or Junkers Ju 87 ) - a method common at the time. In addition, the aircraft received a frontal armament with two 7.5 mm machine guns of the Darne type and a 20 mm machine gun firing through the propeller axis . A bubble-shaped cockpit canopy with good all-round visibility was innovative for the time. Propulsion was ensured by a 690 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs in-line engine. The first flight of the aircraft designated as "LN.40" took place in June 1938.
After official tests, the concept of the expandable rudder was discarded and the extended landing gear was used as an air brake . The modified variant intended for series production was given the designation "LN.401". Before the beginning of World War II , the French Navy ordered a total of 42 LN.401s, which were originally intended for use on the aircraft carrier Béarn .
Thereupon the army showed interest in the type and ordered 40 pieces of a variant with rigid wings, which was named "LN.411".
In total, the construction of around 100 series aircraft was started, but only 15 LN.401 and 57 LN.411 were completed, 24 of which were not completed until March 1942. Twelve of the latter aircraft were confiscated by the Germans.
In the battle for France 23 LN.401 and LN.411 were used. Eleven machines were lost in the fighting against the Germans, the remaining machines as well as the machines built in 1942 were brought to Tunisia ( Bizerte ) and stored there. These planes were destroyed in bombing raids by the Allies in 1943.
A successor model with a more powerful Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 engine (860 hp), the "LN.402", was hidden from the German occupiers. It therefore only flew in August 1945 after the liberation of France, with the engine being exchanged for an even more powerful Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51. The top speed of this last variant, known as "LN.42", could only be increased by 50 km / h compared to the LN.401. The machine was scrapped in 1947 because more modern designs were available.
Interestingly, none of the aircraft was ever deployed from an aircraft carrier.
The weak motorization, the insufficient maneuverability and the lack of defense (no rear gunner) gave the machine little chance in combat. Many machines allegedly fell victim to their own air defense because they were supposed to have been mistaken for the German Junkers Ju 87 due to the conspicuous shape of the wing.
Countries of operation
-
France ( Armée de l'air and Marine nationale )
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 9.75 m |
| span | 14 m |
| height | 3.50 m |
| Preparation mass | 2135 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 2823 kg |
| Top speed | 380 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 9500 m |
| Max. Range | 1200 km |
| Engine | a V-12 in-line engine Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs with 690 PS (507 kW) |
| Armament | 20 mm cannon on the back of the engine and two MG 7.5 mm in the wings, max. Bomb load 500 kg |
