(Latécoère) 298 @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • A Latécoère 298 A Latécoère 298
    A Latécoère 298
  • Latécoère 298 "T1-4" Latécoère 298 "T1-4"
    Latécoère 298 "T1-4"
  • Laté 298s of escadrille T1 Laté 298s of escadrille T1
    Laté 298s of escadrille T1
  • Latécoère 298 "HB1-1" at Saint-Mandrier (1939) Latécoère 298 "HB1-1" at Saint-Mandrier (1939)
    Latécoère 298 "HB1-1" at Saint-Mandrier (1939)
  • Latécoère 298 "HB2-10" of escadrille HB2 at Karouba (1940) Latécoère 298 "HB2-10" of escadrille HB2 at Karouba (1940)
    Latécoère 298 "HB2-10" of escadrille HB2 at Karouba (1940)
  • Latécoère 298s of flotilla 53S lined up at Hourtin Latécoère 298s of flotilla 53S lined up at Hourtin
    Latécoère 298s of flotilla 53S lined up at Hourtin
  • The Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engine The Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engine
    The Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engine

Latécoère 298

The Latécoère 298 (often shortened to "Laté 298") was a French single-engine torpedo-bomber floatplane designed in the mid-1930s for the Aéronautique navale. Although conceived primarily to launch torpedoes, it was used during the Second World War as a dive bomber against land and naval targets, as a maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft and for reconnaissance. Sturdy, manoeuvrable and well liked by its crews, it is generally regarded as the most successful French military seaplane of the war. Around 121 aircraft were delivered, and the type remained in service in various roles until about 1950.

Design and development

In 1933 the French Navy issued a specification for a modern torpedo floatplane intended to replace the Latécoère 290, which had only just entered service and whose performance proved disappointing. Latécoère answered with the Laté 298, a far more modern design than its predecessor. The prototype, the 298.01, was built at the company's Toulouse works and made its first flight in early May 1936 (most sources give 8 May) with test pilot Jean Gonord at the controls. Factory trials ended on 24 September 1936. During testing a tubular link joining the two floats was added; it was retained on all subsequent aircraft.

The Laté 298 was a cantilever mid-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, except for the tail surfaces, which were built of wood and covered with fabric. The tapered wing was fitted with split flaps, and the 880 hp (660 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs V-12 liquid-cooled engine, the same as that of the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter, drove a three-bladed variable-pitch propeller. The aircraft rested on two large single-step floats, each housing a fuel tank, attached to the fuselage by a set of struts. The crew normally consisted of three men (pilot, observer/navigator and radio operator-gunner) seated under a long glazed canopy; the crew was reduced to two when a torpedo was carried.

A ventral recess under the fuselage could accommodate a 670 kg Type 1926 DA torpedo, up to three bombs or depth charges, or flares. Defensive and offensive armament consisted of three 7.5 mm Darne machine guns: two fixed forward-firing guns and one on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit.

Satisfied with the prototype, the Navy placed a first order for 36 aircraft on 17 March 1937, twelve of them with folding outer wings for operation from the seaplane carrier Commandant Teste. Further orders followed, but production totals vary between sources: about 121 aircraft were actually delivered to the Navy, out of much larger orders. Some contemporary critics considered that the engine was too weak for a three-seat aircraft burdened with floats and a heavy torpedo, making it vulnerable to modern fighters; its robustness, however, was unanimously praised.

Operational history

Entry into service

The first production aircraft were delivered in October 1938 to escadrille T2 at Cherbourg. Other units converted soon after, based at naval air stations on the Channel, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean coasts and aboard the Commandant Teste. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, four squadrons were equipped with the type. By May 1940 some 81 aircraft were in service with six squadrons: T1, T2 and T3 on the Channel coast (Cherbourg, Boulogne), and T4, HB1 and HB2 in the Mediterranean, the latter two operating from shore bases once the Commandant Teste had been withdrawn from its seaplane carrier role.

Battle of France

During the "Phoney War" and the first days of the German offensive, the Laté 298s flew maritime patrol, convoy escort and anti-submarine missions without encountering German warships. As the Wehrmacht broke through to the Channel, the Channel squadrons were thrown into a role for which the aircraft had never been designed: attacking armoured columns, bridges and road junctions between Boulogne and the Somme. In one daylight raid in late May 1940, several aircraft were shot down by Messerschmitt Bf 109s and anti-aircraft fire, after which most missions were flown at night, notably against the Somme bridges in June. Thanks to its sturdiness and manoeuvrability, the Laté 298 nevertheless suffered proportionally lower losses than many of the land-based types used in similar missions. No torpedo attack was ever carried out in combat.

Vichy period

Under the terms of the June 1940 armistice, six units equipped with the Laté 298 were allowed to remain active by the German and Italian armistice commissions, at bases in southern France and North Africa (such as Berre and Karouba, near Bizerte). A few naval aviators used the aircraft to attempt to join the Free French forces; one reached England, while another was intercepted and its crew imprisoned. Production resumed in March 1942 with the approval of the German control commission, with an order for 30 simplified Laté 298F. After the German occupation of the Free Zone in November 1942, a number of aircraft were seized and used by the Luftwaffe, while workers reportedly sabotaged deliveries to the occupying forces.

With the Allies

Following the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) in November 1942, the units stationed in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia rejoined the Allied side. Operating alongside RAF Coastal Command and its Vickers Wellingtons, they flew anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort missions over the Mediterranean and the Atlantic approaches until 1944. During the Liberation of France, the Laté 298 flew its last combat missions, attacking German shipping supporting the Atlantic Wall strongholds that held out on the French coast.

Post-war

The last front-line aircraft were withdrawn in 1946. The few survivors were then used for training and liaison duties until about 1950-1951.

Variants

  • Laté 298.01 : Prototype, first flown in May 1936.
  • Laté 298A : First production version, with fixed wings, for coastal bases. Crew of three (two when carrying a torpedo).
  • Laté 298B : Version for seaplane carriers, with folding wings and horizontal tail tips, dual controls and an additional observation post. Crew of four.
  • Laté 298D : Similar to the 298B, but with non-folding wings. Main production version.
  • Laté 298E : One 298D fitted with a ventral observation gondola replacing the fixed armament.
  • Laté 298F : Simplified version of the 298D, ordered in 1942 under the Vichy regime.
  • Laté 299 : Land-based three-seat reconnaissance/torpedo-bomber derivative with retractable undercarriage, powered by a 920 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Y-43. First flight on 7 July 1939. Two prototypes built.

All production variants were powered by the Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs-1 engine.

Operators

  • France :
    • Aéronautique navale (French Naval Aviation).
    • Vichy French Naval Aviation.
    • Free French and, from 1943, reunified French naval aviation operating with the Allies.
  • Germany : Luftwaffe (captured aircraft).

Surviving aircraft

No complete Laté 298 has been preserved. Several wrecks are known, however, and are regularly visited by divers, notably one lying at a depth of about 60 metres off the Planier lighthouse near Marseille and another off Ténès, in Algeria.

In popular culture

A Laté 298 appears in the final minutes of the French film Au grand balcon (1949), standing in for the Latécoère 28 during the reconstruction of the first Aéropostale South Atlantic crossing; the doors of its torpedo bay are clearly visible.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Latécoère 298 of Wikipedia ( authors )

Latécoère 298

  • Role : Torpedo bomber / reconnaissance floatplane.
  • Manufacturer : Latécoère.
  • First flight : May 1936.
  • Introduction : October 1938.
  • Retired : 1950-1951.
  • Status : retired.
  • Primary users :
    • French Naval Aviation (Aéronautique navale).
    • Vichy French Naval Aviation.
    • Luftwaffe (captured aircraft).
  • Produced : 1938 to 1942.
  • Number built : about 121.
  • Variants :
    • Latécoère 299.

    Specifications (Laté 298D)

  • Crew: three.
  • Length: 41 ft 2 in (12.56 m).
  • Wingspan: 50 ft 10 in (15.50 m).
  • Height: 17 ft 3 in (5.25 m).
  • Wing area: 340 sq ft (31.6 m²).
  • Empty weight: 6,801 lb (3,085 kg).
  • Gross weight: 9,994 lb (4,533 kg).
  • Powerplant: One Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs-1 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine.
  • Power: 880 hp (660 kW).
  • Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch.
  • Maximum speed: 183 mph (295 km/h, 159 kts) at 8,200 ft (2,500 m).
  • Range: 620 mi (1,000 km, 540 nmi).
  • Service ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,500 m).
  • Time to altitude: 3,300 ft (1,000 m) in 6 min 33 s.
  • Guns: 3 × 7.5 mm Darne machine guns (2 fixed forward-firing, 1 flexible rear-firing).
  • Bombs: 1 × 670 kg Type 1926 DA torpedo, or bombs/depth charges up to 1,499 lb (680 kg).

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Latécoère 298 of Wikipedia ( authors )
Latécoère 298 : Your comments on this subject
Powered by Disqus
Top
Legal Credits FAQ Help Site Map

Terms of use for the services available on this site

By using this Website, Users agree to the following terms of use and rules :

Definitions

  • Webmaster : Head Administrator with all authority over the management and development of the Website.
  • Administrator : Anyone that was given by the Webmaster full or partial access to the Website's structure or with moderation rights on messages posted by Users.
  • User or Visitor : Any person visiting the Website pages.
  • Website : The following provisions apply to a single Website accessible via the www.aircraftube.com, www.aircraftube.org, www.aircraftube.net and www.all-aircraft.com. URL's
  • Service : All free informations and tools contained on the Website.
  • Comments : All text written by users on Blogs and comment pages available on the Website.
  • Media : All media available on or through the Website. One must distinguish the local media (photos, curves, drawings) and the external media (videos) which the Website refers.

    • Purpose of this site

    The purpose of this non-commercial site is purely educational. Reflecting a passion, it is also there to preserve the memory of all those who gave their lives, their health or energy in the name of freedom, aviation safety or simply our passenger comfort.

    Copyright

    Some media may have escaped the vigilance of Administrators with regard to copyrights. If a user reports copyright infringement, he will be asked to prove that he is indeed the rights's owner for the concerned media. If so, his decision on the Administrator's next action will be respected: A total suppression of the Media on the Website, or the addition of some owner's reference. The publication of a media on the internet normally having as a goal to make it visible to many people, the Administrators expect in any case that the second option will be most often chosen.

    Pursuant to the Law on copyright and related rights, the user has the right to download and reproduce information on the Website for personal use and provided that the source is mentionned. They cannot however be used for commercial or advertising purposes.

    Using Blogs and filing comments

  • Moderator : The Administrator reserves the right to prevent the publication of comments that are not directly related to the Service without providing any explanation. Similarly, all insults, out of scope or unethical material will be banned.
  • Identification : Persons wishing to post a comment or use any form of contact are required to provide identification by the means of a valid e-mail address.
  • Responsibilities : Comments are posted on the Website under the unique responsability of their authors and the Administrators may in no case be liable for any statements or claims that the users might have issued.

    • As the comment system is hosted and maintained on servers external to the Website, the Administrators may in no circumstances be held responsible for the use that administrators of these servers or other third parties may have with those comments or filed data.

    Content Liability

    The Administrators carefully check the reliability of the sources used. They cannot, however, guarantee the accuracy of any information contained on the Website, partly because of the multiple sources from which they come.

    JavaScript and cookies - Storing information

    This Website imperatively uses JavaScript and cookies to function properly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Website for the retention or disclosure of personal information about Visitors. Exceptions to this rule will involve storing the Users banned for inappropriate comments they might have given as well as contact information for Users wishing to subscribe to future newsletters.

    When a user accesses the Website, the corresponding servers may automatically collect certain data, such as IP address, date and time of Website access, viewed pages and the type of browser used. This information is kept only for the purpose of measuring the number of visitors to the different sections of the site and make improvements.

    Donations - Advertising

    To continue providing the Service for free, the Webmaster reserves the right to insert advertising or promotional messages on any page of the Site. In the same idea, any donations will only by used to cover the running costs of the site, such as hosting, connection fees, hardware and software necessary for the development and maintenance of the Website.

    Links and other websites

    Administrators shall in no case be liable for the non-availability of websites operated by third parties to which users would access through the Website.

    Administrators assume no liability for any content, advertising, products and/or services available on such third party websites. It is reminded that those sites are governed by their own terms of use.

    Placing a link to third party sites or authorize a third party to include a link on their website refering to this Website does not mean that the Administrators recommend in any way the products or services offered by these websites.

    Modifications

    The Webmaster reserves the right to modify at any time without notification the present terms of use as well as all content or specific functionality that the Website offers.

    The modified terms and conditions immediately apply to the using Visitor when changes come online. Visitors are invited to consult the site regularly on the most current version of the terms and conditions

    Governing Law and Jurisdiction

    These general conditions are governed by Belgian law.

    In case of dispute regarding the interpretation and/or execution of the above terms, the parties agree that the courts of the district of Nivelles, Belgium shall have exclusive jurisdiction power.

    Credits page

    Wikipedia.org

    Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia.

    Youtube

    YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share videos.

    Special thanks to all Youtube quality aviation vids providers, specially (Those I forgot, please excuse me or report) :

    Airboyd
    Andys Video
    Aviation videos archives
    Bomberguy
    Classic Aviation TV
    Historical Aviation Film Unit
    Horsemoney
    Jaglavaksoldier
    Joluqa Malta
    Just Planes
    Koksy
    Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture
    Memorial Flight
    Octane130
    Okrajoe
    SDASM archives
    Spottydog4477
    The Aviators TV
    Valentin Izagirre Bengoetxea
    Vexed123
    VonBerlich
    Zenos Warbirds

    Bundesarchiv

    The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany.

    FAQ

    I don't see my comments any more!

    Please note that each page has it's own comment entry. So, if you enter a comment i.e. on the B-747, you will only see it on that related page.

    General comments are accessed via the "BLOG En" button.

    Comments are moderated, so please allow some delay before they appear, specially if you are outside Europe.

    Menus are developing below the page, because they are too long!

    But they remain accessible, for example by scrolling the mouse wheel, or with your finger (on the menu) on a smartphone or tablet.

    I see adds on all videos.

    Use a good free add remover software.

    The site is loading random pages at startup.

    We think it is a good way to bring back the memory of aircraft, persons or events sometimes quite forgotten.

    HELP PAGE

    Why this site?

    Discovery

    This website is dedicated to one's aeronautical passion (which I hope we share) and was realised mainly as an educationnal tool. Knowing that, you'll notice that each new visit brings random topics for the purpose of making new discoveries, some achievements or characters certainly not deserving the oblivion into which they have sometimes fallen.

    By these pages, we also want to pay tribute to all those who gave at one time or another, their lives or health in the name of freedom, aeronautical security or simply our comfort.

    Centralisation

    Internet is full of websites dedicated to aviation, but most are dedicated to subjects or periods that are very limited in space or time. The purpose of this site is to be as general as possible and thus treats all events as well as characters of all stripes and times while putting much emphasis on the most significant achievements.

    The same years saw birth of technologies like photography and cinema, thus permitting illustration of a large part of important aeronautical events from the start. Countless (and sometimes rare) media recently put online by enthousiasts finally give us access to these treasures, but the huge amount of information often makes things a little messy. A centralization effort is obviously most needed at this level.

    All persons who directly or indirectly contributed to the achievement or posting of such documents are here gratefully acknowledged.

    General

    Fluid website

    This site automatically fits the dimensions of your screen, whether you are on a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

    Bilingual website

    You can change the language by clicking on the flag in the upper left or via "Options" in the central menu. Of course, the videos remain in the language in which they were posted ...

    Browser compatibility

    The site is not optimized, or even designed to run on older browsers or those deliberately deviating from standards. You will most probably encounter display issues with Internet Explorer. In this case, it is strongly recommended installing a modern (and free!) browser that's respecting the standards, like Firefox, Opera, Chrome or Safari.

    Cookies and Javascript

    This site uses cookies and JavaScript to function properly. Please ensure that your browser is configured accordingly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Site for the retention or disclosure of personal information about its Visitors. See the "Legal" page for more on this subject.

    Website layout

    Left menus

    Because of the lack of space on smartphones and small tablets, these menus are hidden. Everything is nevertheless accessible via the main menu option, located between the video and photo sections. This menu is placed there for compatibility reasons with some browsers, which play the videos over the menus.

    "Search" and "Latest" :
    The link "In Titles" restricts the search to the titles of different forms. Use this option if you are looking for a plane, a constructor, a pilot or a particular event that could have been treated as a subject.

    The link "In Stories" will bring you to a search in all texts (the "Story" tab) and will take more time. The search term will appear highlighted in green when opening the corresponding story.

    Would you believe, "Timeline" will show all subjects in chronological order.

    "Random" will reload the entire page with a new random topic.

    The bottom section keeps you abreast of the latest five entries. New topics are added regularly. Don't hesitate to come visit us often : add bookmark.

    Blogs and Comments central section

    Under the photos section comes the comments tabs window :

    You can enter general comments in your own language via one of the two buttons on the left (BLOG EN and BLOG FR). Note that these buttons are accessible regardless of the language to allow some participation in the other language.

    All comments are subject to moderation and will be published only if they comply with the basic rules of decorum, while remaining relevant to the purpose of this site.

    The third tab allows you to enter comments on the shown topic and is bilingual. Personal anecdotes, supplements and other information questions will take place here.

    The "Story" tab shows the explanatory texts. They are most often taken from Wikipedia, a site where we participate regularly.

    The "Data" tab is reserved for list of features and specifications.

    Right menus

    On a smartphone, the lack of space is growing and this menu is moved to the bottom of the page to give priority to videos and pictures.

    The top right icons are links to videos posted by third parties (on their own responsabilities) or by ourselves. The link below these icons will take you to the channel of the one who posted the video. Feel free to suggest other videos if you think they are of some interest (Use the BLOG button or the "Contact" link).