In 1930, the French Navy
issued an official program to equip Naval Aviation with a two-seater
observation plane, which could be loaded onto Fleet Ships and therefore
catapultable. The aircraft must be strong enough to be used in the
colonies, in more harsh climates. Folding wings and good seakeeping
are two other important requirements of the program.
Several manufacturers respond
to the program: the companies "Romano", "Besson",
"Gourdou & Leseurre", "C.A.M.S", "Levasseur",
and finally "Potez"
The aircraft proposed by
Henri Potez, the Potez 450, is a high-wing monoplan seaplane motorized
by a Salmson 9Ab 230Cv. POTEZ 450 made its first flight to Argenteuil
in March 1932 and was transferred to technical services in Saint-Raphael
for evaluation. The aircraft will not be retained finally: its bad
behavior at sea, and its too weak motorization deviates it from
the contest. The Gourdou-Leseurre GL-830 will win the program.
Yet as early as 1933, Henri
Potez modified his seaplane to eliminate its main defects. The hull
is extended one meter at the front to improve stability at sea and
the Salmson engine is advantageously replaced by a Hispano-suiza
9Qd 350Cv equipped with a three-blade fixed pitch propeller. The
design of the wing is reviewed in depth with the adoption of a new,
more efficient profile and an optimized structure for a simplified
construction.
The aircraft successfully
undergoes catapulting tests from the "Commandant-Teste"
seaplane carrier, and the finally declared capable aircraft, the
Navy orders a first series of 10 aircraft under the designation
Potez 452.
The first aircraft in the
series made its first flight on December 20, 1935 in Sartrouville.
The same year, a second order for 6 more Potez 452 was passed by
the Navy. The aircraft will equip from 1936, some Colonial Avisos
and the second class cruiser "La Motte-Piquet"
At the outbreak of the War,
there are still at least 9 Potez 452 in activity, including 4 copies
in Indochina. The surviving aircraft will be lost during the fighting,
and the last recorded flights took place in 1943-1944
To note the study of a derivative,
the Potez 453, unfortunate competitor of a program launched by the
Navy in 1934, for an embedded Fighter Seaplane. For this use, the
single prototype becomes single-seater and receives a Hispano-Suiza
of 720Cv. The Navy will choose the Loiré 210 and the Potez
453 will remain in the prototype state.
