Latecoere 521

1935

Back to the Virtual Aircraft Museum
  PASSENGER FLYING BOATVirtual Aircraft Museum / France / Latecoere  

Latecoere 521

The Late 521 was an outsized flying-boat with strut-braced high wings and short stub sponsons. Named Lieutenant de Vaisseau Paris, it was powered by six 641kW Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engines (inboard engines mounted as tandem pairs) and flew for the first time on 17 January 1935. A total of 76 passengers could be accommodated on the two decks of the two-step hull. Unfortunately it sank in a storm on its inaugural flight to the USA, but was salvaged and rebuilt with 484.4kW Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr engines. It subsequently established seaplane load-over-distance and load-to-height records in 1937.

The Late 522 (powered by six 671kW Hispano-Suiza 12Y37 engines) appeared in April 1937 but World War II prevented a regular transatlantic service. Both the Late 521 and 522 were impressed into French Navy service on 1 September 1939, three naval Late 523 having already been delivered between January and October 1938. These were armed with five 7.5mm Darne machine-guns and carried up to 1,200kg of bombs. Maximum endurance was an excellent 33 hours.

The Late 522 returned to passenger service in March 1940. The remaining aircraft of the series performed Atlantic patrols with Escadrilles E6 and E12. One Late 523 had been lost in September 1939, a second was scuttled in June 1940; and the Late 521 was demobilised in August of that year. The surviving Late 523 was grounded in August 1942, having flown with Escadrille 4E out of Dakar since June 1941. The Late 521 and 522 were destroyed at Berre by retreating Germans in August 1944.

Latecoere 521

Specification 
 CREW6
 PASSENGERS70
 ENGINE6 x HS 12 Ybrs, 630kW
 WEIGHTS
  Take-off weight37400 kg82453 lb
  Empty weight21480 kg47356 lb
 DIMENSIONS
  Wingspan49.3 m162 ft 9 in
  Length31.6 m104 ft 8 in
  Wing area330.0 m23552.09 sq ft
 PERFORMANCE
  Max. speed250 km/h155 mph
  Cruise speed213 km/h132 mph
  Ceiling6300 m20650 ft
  Range w/max.fuel5800 km3604 miles

Comments
pat robertson, e-mail, 12.07.2011 23:00

I Have a watercolour painting of the 521 taking off over coastal shores, dont know where the painting has a signature which looks like Ted Hammy or something like that

reply

Jerry Morelock, e-mail, 27.05.2009 00:35

I've five restored pictures of the Latecoere 521 taken at Pensacola,Florida in 1935 before and after it was destroyed in a hurricane. My father took them when he was at Flight School in Pensacola. Should you be interested in these I would be happy to send them to you.
Cheers!
Jerry Morelock

reply

Anonymous, e-mail, 28.10.2021 Jerry Morelock

Hello,

Do you have photos of the interior of the passenger cabin?
I’ll be interested

Cheers

manu VILARD

reply

Do you have any comments?

Name    E-mail


COMPANY
PROFILE


All the World's Rotorcraft


All rhe World's Rotorcraft AVIATION TOP 100 - www.avitop.com Avitop.com