Latécoère 32

Latécoère 32
	Latécoère 32.3
Role	Flying boat mail plane
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Latécoère
First flight	1928
Primary user	Aéropostale
Number built	8
Developed from	Latécoère 23

The Latécoère 32 was a flying boat built in France in 1928 for use on Aéropostale's mail routes to North Africa.

Development

A strengthened and enlarged version of the Latécoère 23, it was a parasol-wing monoplane with sponsons for stability in the water and two engines mounted in tandem push-pull configuration on the wing.

Operational history

Put into service on the Marseilles-Algiers and Toulouse-Algiers routes, the aircraft proved most unreliable and were involved in a number of accidents. At the end of 1931, the five surviving examples were re-engined with Hispano Suiza 12Hbr engines^[1] and re-designated Latécoère 32-3,^[1] which persisted in service a little longer.

Eight Latécoère 32's were built with the following construction numbers (numéros d'usine) and registrations:^[1]-

n^o77 - F-AILN
n^o78 - F-AILU
n^o79 - F-AILT
n^o80 - F-AISN
n^o81 - F-AISO
n^o82 - F-AIRU
n^o84 - F-AITX
n^o85 - F-AJBK

Variants

Latécoère 32 - original version with Farman 12We engines.^[1]
Latécoère 32-3 - remotorised version with Hispano-Suiza 12Hbr engines.^[1]

Operators

Specifications (Latécoère 32-3)

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: One pilot
Capacity: Mail, or up to 4 passengers
Length: 16.34 m (53 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 28.00 m (91 ft 10 in)
Height: 6.145 m (20 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 123.0 m² (1,324 sq ft)
Empty weight: 5,400 kg (11,904 lb)
Gross weight: 7,500 kg (16,535 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Hispano-Suiza 12Hbr , 373 kW (500 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 202.5 km/h (126 mph, 109 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 172 km/h (107 mph, 93 kn)
Range: 1,500 km (930 mi, 810 nmi)
Service ceiling: 4,100 m (13,450 ft) attained in 44 mins
Rate of climb: 2.87 m/s (565 ft/min) at sea level

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Cuny, Jean. “Latécoère - Les Avions et Hydravions”.Paris. Docavia/Editions Lariviere. 1992. ISBN 2-907051-01-6

Bibliography

Cuny, Jean. “Latécoère - Les Avions et Hydravions”.Paris. Docavia/Editions Lariviere. 1992. ISBN 2-907051-01-6
Taylor, Michael J.H. . “ Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Studio Editions. London. 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8

External links

[Cuny-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Cuny, Jean. “Latécoère - Les Avions et Hydravions”.Paris. Docavia/Editions Lariviere. 1992. ISBN 2-907051-01-6

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