The Loire 210 was designed to meet a 1933 French Navy requirement for a single-seat catapult-launched fighter seaplane. The prototype first flew at Saint Nazaire on 21 March 1935.^[1] The fuselage came from the earlier Loire 46 fitted with a new low-wing which was foldable for shipboard stowage. It had a large central float and two underwing auxiliary floats and was powered by a single nose-mounted Hispano-Suiza 9Vbs radial engine.^[2]

The prototype was evaluated by the French Navy against the Bernard H 110, Potez 453 and Romano R.90 with the 210 achieving a production order for 20 aircraft in March 1937. The production aircraft were fitted with four wing-mounted Darne machine guns (the prototype had only two).^[3]

The aircraft entered service with the French Navy in August 1939, within three months five aircraft had been lost due to structural failure of the wing. All the remaining aircraft were grounded and withdrawn from use.^[4]

Loire 210.01

First prototype aircraft.

Loire 210

Single-seat fighter seaplane.

Loire 211

Prototype with a more powerful Gnome-Rhône 14K^[5] engine.

  France

• French Navy
  • Escadrille HC.1
  • Escadrille HC.2

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters ^[6]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 9.51 m (31 ft 2.75 in)
• Wingspan: 11.79 m (38 ft 8.25 in)
• Height: 3.80 m (12 ft 5.25 in)
• Wing area: 20.3 m² (218.5 sq ft)
• Gross weight: 2,100 kg (4,629 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 9Vbs radial piston engine , 537 kW (720 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 299 km/h (186 mph, 162 kn)
• Cruise speed: 199.5 km/h (124 mph, 108 kn)
• Range: 750 km (466 mi, 405 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,250 ft) ^[4]
• Rate of climb: 9.4 m/s (1,897.8 ft/min)

Armament

• 4 x 7.5 mm (0.295 in) Darne machine guns (wing-mounted)

Related lists

• List of flying boats and floatplanes
• List of aircraft of the French Air Force during World War II

Notes edit

Bibliography edit

• Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six Floatplanes. London: Macdonald, 1962.
• Green, William and F. Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
• Taylor, John W. R., and Jean Alexander. Combat Aircraft of the World. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989.

• Loire 210 - Hydravion de chasse - Un siècle d'aviation française Aviafrance.