The Besson MB410, prototype
of the "series" makes its first flight in 1932. This unique
prototype will be destroyed the following year during the tests
The Marcel Besson MB-411
"Petrel", serial version (!) Is built by ANF-Les Mureaux.
It is a small, two-seater, floatplane with a central float. The
fuselage, of rectangular section, is built of wood, The two cokpits
for the pilot and the observer, are protected by two small windshields.
Behind the observer's post, on the back of the fuselage, one can
see the generator of the anemometer which fed the instruments.
The drift of large dimension,
is completed by two small drifts
The wing, also in wood, can
be dismantled in two half-wings, to allow the storage of the aircraft
in the shed.
The aircraft has a central
float and two lateral balancing floats. They are supported by tubular
mats and steel wires.
The Besson MB411 is powered
by an air-cooled 175 hp Radial Salmson 9N engine equipped with a
two-blade wooden propeller.
The Besson MB411, of a particularly
impressive design, is planned to be embarked in the narrow pressurized
aircraft hangar (2m x 7m!) of the Surcouf Submarine. For this the
aircraft is partially dismantled, but it must be able to be out
of the hold and reassembled quickly to make observation flights
around the ship.
The Surcouf tragically disappeared
in February 1942: struck by an Algerian freighter, it sinks with
all its crew. It looks like the MB411 is not on board, but its fate
is unknown
The second MB 411 is delivered
to the squadron of the Naval Aviation HS7 in 1940. He will end his
career in Saint-Mandrier.
