141
Amiot 143
have been built since the date of the first flight on
August 1934 in one only version, the Amiot 143M.
To
date, out of the
141 aircraft manufactured, 67 are
listed in the list below :
In 1928, the State
issued an official note for a multi-seat of fight able to fulfill
missions of Combat Diurnal and Nocturnes. The Société Amiot, won
the competition against three other competitors. The aircraft:
the Amiot 140M, equipped with Hispano-Suiza 12 Nbr engines made
its first flight on April 12, 1931. After the first tests, some
modifications were made: the addition of a front turret, displacement
of the bomb bay towards the left and increasing the lower glazed
surface.
In November 1933,
a first order of 40 copies was issued. The Amiot 143M powered
by Gnome Rhône 14 K Mistral Major of 740 CV with air-cooling made
its first flight the 1st August 1934. It subsequently received
GR 14 Kirs / Kjrs of 850CV. The first tests at the CEMA led to
modifications, including the enlargement of the drift in September
1934 and the lengthening of the fuselage of 25cm in December 1934.
The first series aircraft finally flew in April 1935. Two additional
orders (73 in April, 1935 and 25 in 1936), bring the number of
planes made in 148, the last one being delivered in March, 1937.
This bi-motor had
a particular design: its wing profile was so thick, that the engineer
could access the engines or tanks in flight by the inside of the
wing. The cockpit was on two levels with the pilot at the top
level. The lower part was occupied by the front and rear gunners,
the radio, and the Navigator-Bomber-Co-pilot, who was able to
take the orders from his post via a steering wheel linked to that
of the pilot by chains. The bottom part was crossed by a corridor
which followed the bombs bay propped up on the left of the aircraft.
The load of Bombs was taken in the hold and could be completed
by two outside catchers under the wing on both sides of the fuselage.
The defensive armament first of all compound of machine guns Lewis
of 7.5mm is afterward modified to be equipped with MAC 34 of 7.5mm.
Derived versions
were studied without consequences. These include the more modern
AMIOT 144M5, equipped with Shutters and a retractable landing
gear, the unique version of which was flying in January 1936,
and the Amiot 150BE for the naval aircraft which flew in September
1937 and was Abandoned following an accident.
Although outdated,
87 of these aircraft still equip the Groups of Bombardment in
the mobilization. Faced with their extreme vulnerability, the
AMIOT 143M were very quickly reserved for nocturnal missions,
but given the urgency of the situation, certain missions were
carried out during the day, such As that of Sedan on May 14th,
1940 which ended "only" with the loss of three aircraft.
After the Armistice,
52 Amiot 143 were listed in the Free Zone and 25 in North Africa.
In metropolis, these aircraft are used until 1941, date in which
they are replaced by LéO 451.In AFN, they were still used during
the Syrian campaign from May to July 1941, and were then are used
for missions of transport within the GT III / 15.During the invasion
of the Free Zone, only 11 Amiot 143 remained in the metropolis,
of which only 3 were in a flying condition. In AFN, the last aircraft
was retired from service in February 1944.
