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Site in French
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POTEZ 63-11
Technical
Specifications
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Type
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Twin-engine Tree-seater
of Reconnaissance (A3) with low-wings and retractable landing
gear.
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Date first flight
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Décember 31, 1938
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Wingspan
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16,00 m
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Lenght
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10,93 m
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Height
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3,08 m
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Wing Area
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32,70 m2
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Empty Weight
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3135 Kg
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Max. Takeoff Weight
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4530 Kg
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Cruising Speed
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km/h.
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Maximum Speed
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425 km/h at 5500m
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Climbing Speed
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4000m in 6mn 12s
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Service ceilling
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8500 m
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Range
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1500kms
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Crew
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3 Men
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Motorization
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2 Radial
engine Gnôme & Rhône 14 cyl 14M 4/5 of 700ch
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Armament
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1 fixed machine-gun
MAC 34 of 7.5mm forwards
1 mobile machine-gun MAC 34 of 7.5mm rearwards
1 fixed machine-gun MAC 34 of 7.5mm fixe rearwards
280 Kgs of bombs
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843 Potez
63-11 were
built after the prototype that made its first flight on
December 31, 1938 . They
are divided in :
- 702
Potez 63-11 were delivered before may 31, 1940 :
- 431
manufactured in Méaulte
- 243
manufactured
in Mureaux
- 28
manufactured
inà
Evreux
- Around
120 manufactured after the Armistice, some of which were delivered
to Romania
To
date, out of the
843 aircraft
manufactured
, 232 are
listed in the list below :
In the summer of 1938, the
Potez 637 A3 made its first flight. This transitional aircraft entered
service with the GAO and GR while awaiting the arrival of a more
modern aircraft: the Potez 63-11 A3. This aircraft had the wings,
engines and rear fuselage of the Potez 631 fighter. The front part
of the fuselage is totally different from the Potez 637 A3 it replaces.
The belly gondola has disappeared and the observer takes place in
the nose of the aircraft, now largely glazed. In order to fit out
this observation post, the cockpit is moved back, the gunner's post
/ radio remains unchanged. The armament is composed of a belly gun
operated by the foot of the machine gunner and a back gun on mobile
mount, served by the rear machine gunner. Later, some Potez 63-11s
were equipped with a reinforced armament: they received 4 additional
machine guns under the wings, 2 machine guns under the fuselage,
and a twin machine gun at the rear post replaced the single machine
gun.
The Air Ministry, confident, had already ordered 145 examples even
before the prototype's first flight on 31 December 1938... At the
end of the first tests, the design of the observer's glass nose
was revised to optimise visibility.
1,684 examples were ordered in 1939 in anticipation of all GAOs
and GRs being equipped. The first production aircraft made its maiden
flight in July 1939, but delivery in units was delayed by the traditional
delays in the delivery of the three-bladed RATIER propellers. Many
aircraft were delivered in units with two-bladed propellers made
of conveyor wood.
The French Air Ministry forecasted that nearly 900 aircraft would
be operational and delivered to units in May 1940. The GR II/52
will receive, in November 1939, the first Potez 63-11. The optimistic
forecasts of the authorities were of course not to be reached, but
the Potez 63-11 was mainly present in the GAO and GR in the front
line at the start of the German offensive in May 1940.
Potez 63-1 crews paid a heavy price during the French Campaign.
The aircraft went deep into enemy territory to carry out long reconnaissance
missions, too often alone, without fighter cover. Many of them would
succumb under the assault of several ME109
In November 1942, after the invasion of the Free Zone, some Potez
63-11 were seized by the Germans who used them to train German pilots,
before exchanging them for petrol to their Romanian allies.
The Potez 63-11 A3
will only be produced in one version
Bibliography
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1)
_ Editions LELA PRESSE ; Collection "Les Ailes de la
Gloire"
- No9 : Les Potez 63
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2)
_ Editions MMP ; Collection "Orange Séries"
- No8109 : Potez 63 Family
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Photos
Album
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