Latham 43

Latham 42 and 43
Role	Flying boat bomber
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Latham
First flight	1924
Primary user	Aéronavale
Number built	28

The Latham 43 was a flying boat bomber built in France in the 1920s for service with the French Navy. It was a conventional design for its day - a two-bay biplane with unstaggered wings, and engines mounted tractor-fashion on struts in the interplane gap. The pilot sat in an open cockpit, with a gunner in an open bow position, and another in an open position amidships.

Two examples, designated Latham 42 powered by liquid-cooled Vee engines were evaluated by the navy in 1924, leading to a contract for 18 aircraft powered by air-cooled radial engines instead. Designated Latham 43 by the manufacturer and HB.3 in naval service (for Hydravion de bombardement - "Seaplane-bomber", 3 seats), they remained in service between 1926 and 1929.

Eight other machines with the original liquid-cooled engine were sold to Poland.

Variants

prototypes with Lorraine 12Da engines (2 built)
production version for France with Gnome et Rhône 9Aa engines (18 built)
production version for Poland with Lorraine engines (8 built)

Operators

France

Aéronavale
- Escadrille 4R1
- Escadrille 5R1

Poland

Polish Naval Aviation
- Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy based at Puck

Specifications (French production version)

General characteristics

Crew: Three
Length: 15.60 m (61 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 22.50 m (73 ft 10 in)
Height: 5.40 m (17 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 125 m² (1,345 sq ft)
Empty weight: 3,460 kg (7,610 lb)
Gross weight: 5,390 kg (11,860 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Gnome et Rhône 9Aa , 280 kW (380 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 160 km/h (100 mph, 87 kn)
Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)
Service ceiling: 4,600 m (15,100 ft)

Armament

1 × trainable .303 machine gun in open position in bow
1 × trainable .303 machine gun in open position amidships
400 kg (880 lb) of bombs

References

Bibliography

Nelcarz, Bartolomiej & Peczkowski, Robert (2001). White Eagles: The Aircraft, Men and Operations of the Polish Air Force 1918–1939. Ottringham, UK: Hikoki Publications. ISBN 1-902109-73-2.
Passingham, Malcolm (November–December 1999). "Latham's 'Boats: Pictorial History of the Designs of Jean Latham". Air Enthusiast (84): 22–27. ISSN 0143-5450.

External links

aviafrance.com