| In 1927, the shipbuilding concern Ateliers et Chantiers
de la Loire established an aircraft division and, in 1929,
initiated design of a lightweight fighter for which alternative
engines were proposed. These were the 300hp
Gnome-Rhone Titan II (Loire 40), the 500hp Hispano-
Suiza 12Mc (Loire 41) and the 420hp Gnome-Rhone
9Asb Jupiter VII (Loire 42). When, in 1930, the lightweight
fighter concept was discarded by the Service
Technique de l'Aeronautique (STAe), a new C1 (single-seat
fighter) programme was initiated for which there were 10 official contenders. All of these were powered
by the supercharged Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs 12-cylinder
liquid-cooled engine. As one of these contenders, the
Loire 43 was a further development of the Loire 40
series of fighter projects. It was a gull-winged, braced
monoplane of all-metal stressed-skin construction with
an armament of two synchronised 7.7mm MAC-built
Vickers guns. The Loire 43 was flown on 17 October
1932, but 13 weeks later, on 14 January 1933, and before
it could undergo official evaluation, its pilot apparently
lost consciousness after climbing to 9000m
and the aircraft spun into the ground.
WEIGHTS |
Take-off weight | 1725 kg | 3803 lb |
Empty weight | 1245 kg | 2745 lb |
DIMENSIONS |
Wingspan | 12.00 m | 39 ft 4 in |
Length | 7.93 m | 26 ft 0 in |
Wing area | 20.60 m2 | 221.74 sq ft |
PERFORMANCE |
Max. speed | 360 km/h | 224 mph |
Range | 600 km | 373 miles |
 | A three-view drawing (1280 x 856) |
Terrence Murphy, e-mail, 30.01.2012 17:11 The first picture is probably a Loire 40 and the second picture looks like a Loire 46. reply |
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