Latecoere 500, 501

The Late 34.0 was a three-engined development of the Late 32, which appeared in 1930, the single example being powered by three 298kW Hispano-Suiza 12Jb engines, two mounted as tractors and the third as a pusher. It was lost in a fatal crash caused by structural failure on 2 April 1930. These unfortunate and ill-fated early Latecoere machines often flew short of passengers and insufficient freight to make their use economical. The last of them to be designed for the Mediterranean service was the Late 501. Flown for the first time from Biscarrosse base on 24 February 1932, it had three engines arranged as on the Late 34.0. Intended for eight passengers as against 10 for the Late 34.0, it was far stronger than its predecessors and mainly of metal construction. Despite improved flying qualities and performance of the Late 501, no further examples were ordered by the French authorities.