In 1933, the Navy issued
a specification to replace its torpedo seaplane Latécoère
290, in service since 1931. The new aircraft was to be able to be
used from water, or to be on board the carrier seaplane "Commander
Teste". Its speed must be greater than 245 km / h and it must
be able to go up to 2000m in less than 12 minutes. The company Latécoère
logically proposes a successor to Laté 290, the Laté
298. The studies last two years and the prototype Latécoère
298.01 makes its first flight on May 8, 1936
The aircraft, of modern aspect
and a rather fine design, has been carefully studied in the wind
tunnel. It is a mid-wing monoplane of predominantly metallic construction.
The wings, partially covered, are more tapered than those of its
predecessor and are of triangular form. The empennages are in canvas.
The fuselage, of ovoid section, is entirely metallic. The 3 crewmen
take place under a closed canopy. The Laté 298 is powered
by a Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs-1 of 880 hp driving a three-blade metal
propeller with variable pitch. Its two floats, connected to the
fuselage by mats, each contained a fuel tank for a total capacity
of 1100 liters.
The Latécoère
298, torpedo seaplane, could carry a torpedo of 400 mm caliber.
It could also be used as a bomber, this time receiving two bombs
of 75 kg or one of 150kg. His defensive armament consisted of two
7.5 mm machine guns in the wings and a third mounted on a mobile
watch at the rear station. The Hispano-Suiza 20mm gun placed between
the cylinders (like a D520 or MS406) was initially planned, but
the extra weight was too much and it was abandoned.
The tests are satisfactory:
the aircraft reaches 285 km / h and can climb to 2000m in 7 minutes,
which fully meets the initial specifications. The modifications
requested are therefore minor: the canopy is modified to facilitate
evacuation in flight and to improve visibility.
A first order of 24 aircraft
was made in August 1937, and the first Laté 298 series are
delivered in units from autumn 1938. 6 squadrons will be equipped
with the new aircraft: the 1T (pond Berre), 2T (Cherbourg ), 3T,
4T, HB 1 and HB 2. The latter two, scheduled to be loaded on the
"Commandant Teste" hydroplane carrier, will ultimately
operate from coastal bases: the vessel will in fact be used for
aircraft transport and not as a starting point for seaplane.
As of May 10, 1940, at the
outbreak of the German attack, about 60 Latécoère
298 were available. They served mainly on the English Channel and
the North Sea, in maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare
missions. These aircraft also supported the troops on the ground
and later, during the withdrawal of the units towards the south,
these torpedo seaplanes were used in missions of attacks of objectives
on the ground ... Equipped with bombs of 500 kgs, they attacked
thus armored columns or bridges. In the face of casualties, the
surviving aircraft will no longer do day missions, but some will
still be engaged in missions against Italy, recently entered the
war.
At the Armistice, the surviving
aircraft are divided into the two new units: the 6F flotillas based
on the Berre pond, and from November 1940, the 7F based in Dakar.
In November 1942, after the landing of the allies in North Africa,
the Latécoère present in Africa will be captured and
transferred to the units of the new Free French Air Force which
will use them in the anti-submarine fight along the coast. African.
In France, following the landing of the allies, the Germans invade
the Free Zone and seize the aircrafts on the pond of Berre. They
will serve, in German hands, observation or liaison missions.
At the end of the war, the
Laté 298 survivors are assigned to the 2S (based in Saint-Mandrier)
or the 3S. This last unit will be dissolved in 1946, after being
based for a time in Germany, on Lake Constance. They will still
be used in the fighting for the reduction of the pockets of the
Atlantiques before being assigned to Flotille school 53S Hourtin.
The last copy will be scrapped in 1951.
The total production of Latécoère
298 seems to be between 130 and 170 aircrafts, all versions. The
details of the versions can be seen in the section version below.
