At first logic prompted that only twin-engined aircraft, even more those made as flying boat, will be able to manage all stated conditions. But, in this case unavoidably appeared the problem of their large dimensions, because of it these aircrafts could not easily be entered in the hangars of aircraft carriers.
Then, it was acted that optimum version will be building local single-engined seaplanes. This change proved to be exactly what Societe industrielle d'Aviation latecoere was waiting for, in May 1936 they had already successfully tested the seaplane Late 298.
From some parameters, as, for instance, flight speed, it was a little under requirements, but in all other respects they considered it was completely suitable for modifications for a CV based plane. It made it possible to easily go faster than any other competitors, with the reduced time of design.
Meanwhile, war ministry thought over the program, and in December 1937 gave out news specifications, in which was indicated the speed of 400 kph, and time of storing and folding wings should not exceed 3 minutes.
Clearly such parameters were not those of Late 298; therefore it was necessary to rework part of fuselage, tail assembly and wing, and it was also necessary to provide a more powerful motor.
In June 1938 the “mock-up” of latecoere 298 was finished correspondingly to specifications and was presented to war commission.
The new aircraft, which passed on the unusual landing gear (folding to the rear), and called it Latecoere 299. Preliminary project pleased high ranks of naval aviation, as it was especially developed on the basis of an already existing serie of torpedo bomber.
The first order for two prototypes was obtained on July 5, 1938 with the final date of delivery of July 5 the following year. Both prototypes were built and successfully passed the entire game of tests.
The only, thing that engineers of firm Latecoere could not attain in july 39 was obtaining the maximum required speed of 400kph.
Unfortunately they did not have time to correct it and then begin production as the capitulation of France stirred, all further development on this aircraft was considered as a task of secondary importance and all work on it stopped by July 1940.
History:.
Design work on the Latécoère 298 commenced in 1934 and it first entered service with the French navy in 1939. When the Second World War broke out, 81 aircraft were delivered and first saw action first in the roles of coastal patrol, bombing and strafing. It was used throughout the war by French Navy. The Luftwaffe also used captured examples in secondary roles. In North Africa after the landing of American troops, they saw action along with Coastal Command Wellington for submarines hunt and shore patrol. It ended the war as a light bomber during operation on French Atlantic coast where German had retrieved. A few were still in use after the war and I even saw a picture showing one which had landed on a castle water moat after an engine failure in early 1950s’!
In the early 1930s, the Marine nationale (French navy) was looking to replace its aging Levasseur PL15 and Latécoère 290 torpedo seaplanes. The new aircraft had to be stable in flight, drop torpedoes, dive-bomb, and carry out long-range reconnaissance patrols. When the Société industrielle d’aviation Latécoère (SILAT) presented its Latécoère 298 project in 1934, the model had no competitor. The Laté 298 was a monoplane with large floats, metal structure, and a metal skin with some fabric-covered parts, powered by a Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs inline engine that drove a Ratier variable-pitch propeller. The radiators were retractable and located below the wing roots. One pilot, one rear gunner, and one navigator/radio operator (who was carried only if required) operated the aircraft. Ordnance could be attached under the fuselage, partially stored in a recessed bay. The fuselage could not accommodate the desired 20-mm (0.79-in) Hispano-Suiza HS.9 cannon, leaving forward firing armament to consist of only two 7.5-mm (0.295-in) Darne machine guns in the wings. The rear gunner manned a single mobile weapon of the same type.
The Aéronautique navale (naval aviation) authorities accepted the project for evaluation, and SILAT built the first prototype in Toulouse-Montraudan. Its maiden flight took place May 8, 1936 from St-Laurent-de-la-Salanque. Extensive testing led to only minor modifications and the Aéronautique navale ordered the type in August 1937.
The first examples delivered to operational units, in January 1939, equipped Escadrille (Flight) T2, based in Cherbourg. Escadrille T1, based in Berre, adopted the type shortly thereafter, as did Escadrilles HB1 and HB2, which, while theoretically assigned to the seaplane carrier Commandant-Teste, never flew Latés - which were not designed for catapult launches - from the ship. Early in deployment, two fatal accidents revealed that the crews needed supplementary training to handle these modern highly wing-loaded aircraft. T3 received its seaplanes in September 1939 and T4 was so equipped in early 1940.
With the declaration of war in 1939, T2 began to patrol the English Channel in an uneventful hunt for German submarines, but the unit would face the more substantial threat of German ground forces the next year. On May 19, the Armée de l’air headquarters of the Zone d’opérations aériennes Nord (Northern France air operations zone; ZOAN), overwhelmed by German pressure, requested help from the Aéronautique navale. The commander-in-chief of the Forces maritimes du Nord (Northern France naval forces) at first committed its naval dive-bombers to the ground battle, and, on May 23, ordered T2 to destroy an enemy armoured column “somewhere between Abbeville and Boulogne”. The headquarters officers of the Aéronautique navale tried to help stem the German invasion but were not necessarily well informed about modern air war and the capabilities of the naval aircraft under their command.
Despite the T2 commander’s protests that his aircraft were only equipped with anti-shipping bombs and his crews were not trained to attack ground targets, the order was confirmed – anything that might slow down the Germans was to be attempted. On the first sortie, the crews of the Laté 298s could not locate the target column, but one of the seaplanes was shot down by flak. Another four T2 Latés took off for a second attack on the same poorly defined target, and this time encountered nine Bf 110s of I./JG 27. Only one Laté made it back home. Even more desperate missions of this type were carried out by the crews of T2 and T3.
In June, following Italy’s declaration of war on France, the Laté 298-equipped units were redirected towards the Mediterranean. Escadrilles T2 and HB2 engaged a few Italian naval targets, with little result, shortly before the Armistice came into effect. By then, most torpedo seaplanes had been evacuated to North Africa, with the exception of Escadrille T4, which had been training and remained in southern France.
According to Armistice terms, all French aircraft were grounded, but after the Royal Navy attack on the French fleet in Mers el-Kébir, maritime patrol off the North African coast became a regular duty for the crews. In spite of the Royal Navy attack, one Latécoère crew defected to British-held Malta in July 1940. The airmen joined the RAF, and their aircraft, repainted in RAF colours, was used operationally for reconnaissance and leaflet dropping. Most Latés saw little use during the Armistice period as several units were disbanded at German request. Vichy France sent Escadrille 1T (formerly T1) to the Levant States in summer 1941 to help fend off British and Free French forces, but the unit arrived too late and without the equipment to play a significant part in the fratricidal conflict before Syria and Lebanon fell.
The Operation Torch landings in North Africa did not mark the end of the Laté’s career, as it did for many other French aircraft types. The need to secure the new Allied stronghold in the Mediterranean forced the Marine nationale to use the Latés for coastal patrol, as a complement to other Allied types such as the Supermarine Walrus.
When German forces invaded southern France in November 1942, they captured 54 Laté 298s. The Italians expressed an interest in acquiring the seaplanes but did not receive them before surrendering to the Allies. The Germans, having evaluated two examples captured in 1940, planned to convert the 45 remaining airworthy Latés for use by Luftwaffe units. Machine guns, bomb racks, and radio sets were to be replaced by standard German equipment. A single converted example was tested in May 1944, but the project came to an abrupt end when in August the Allies landed in southern France, where the Latés were stationed.
After the war, the Aéronautique navale found itself in control of a large number and wide variety of seaplane and flying boat types, including Allied aircraft such as Consolidated Catalinas, Short Sunderlands, Supermarine Sea Otters, ex-Luftwaffe Dornier Do 24s, and even Japanese-built aircraft captured in French Indochina. The Latécoère 298 was assigned trainer duties with Escadrille 53.S before being phased out of service in 1951. Specification Latécoère Late 298
CREW 3
ENGINE 1 x HS 12 Ycrs, 630kW
WEIGHTS
Take-off weight 4123 kg 9090 lb
Empty weight 2360 kg 5203 lb
DIMENSIONS
Wingspan 15.5 m 51 ft 10 in
Length 12.6 m 41 ft 4 in
Height 5.2 m 17 ft 1 in
Wing area 31.6 m2 340.14 sq ft
PERFORMANCE
Max. speed 270 km/h 168 mph
Cruise speed 243 km/h 151 mph
Range w/max.payload 800 km 497 miles
ARMAMENT 3 machine-guns, 1700kg torpedo
Specifications Latécoère Late 298A
CREW 3
ENGINE 1 Hispano-Suiza engine 12Ycrs-1 | 1 x 880 hp
Wingspan: 15.50 m
length: 12.56 m
height: 5.25 m
Payload: -
Gross weight: 4517 kg
Maximum speed: 286 km / h at 2500 m
Ceiling: 5100 m
Range: 1000 km
armament:
Three 7.5 mm machine guns
1 torpedo 670 or 500 kg of bombs
Modification Late 298A
Wingspan 15.50 m
Length, m 12.56
Height, 5.25 m
Wing area, m2 31.60
Weight, kg:
Empty 3060
off weight 4795
Engine type 1 PD Hispano-Suiza 12 Ycrs
Horsepower 1 x 880
Maximum speed km / h 290
Cruising speed, km / h 245
Range, km 2200
rate of climb: m / min 268
Ceiling, m 6500
crew 3
Armament: two fixed and one manually suggestive 7.5-mm machine Darne Mle 1933 kal. 7,5 mm
one 670-kg Type 1926 DA torpedo or 500 kg bombs, or three depth charges, or nine flares.
Specifications (Laté 298D)
General characteristics
Crew: 2 to 4, usually 3
Length: 12,56 m (41 ft 2.5 in)
Wingspan: 15.5 m (50 ft 10.5 in)
Height: 5.25 m (17 ft 1.75 in)
Wing area: 31.6 m² ()
Empty weight: 3,057 kg (6,750 lb)
Loaded weight: 4,793 kg (10,582 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs liquid-cooled V-12, (880 hp)
Performance
Maximum speed: 300 km/h (167 mph)
Range: 1,500km (932 miles)
Service ceiling: 6,397 m[1] (21,325 ft)
Armament
Standart: 3x 7.5 mm Darne machine guns
680kg(1,500 lb) payload
(Up to 1,500lbs of conventional drop bombs or 1 x torpedo). |
http://ww2drawings.jexiste.fr/Files/2-Airplanes/Allies/4-France/06-Aeronautic/Late-298/Late-298.htm
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Topic: Latécoère Laté 298 and Laté 299 (Read 21762 times)
