Loire 30

The Loire 30 a.k.a.Loire 300 was a French three-seat night reconnaissance monoplane designed and built by Loire Aviation of St. Nazaire.[1]

Loire 30
Role Night reconnaissance monoplane
National origin France
Manufacturer Loire
First flight 1932
Number built 1

Design and development

The Loire 30 was designed to meet a French Air Force requirement for a three-seat night reconnaissance aircraft.[1] It was a cantilever high-wing monoplane and powered by three 230 hp (172 kW) Salmson 9Ab radial engines strut-mounted above the wing.[1] The pilot had an enclosed cockpit with an open cockpit at the nose and amidships, both fitted with pivot-mounted 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-guns.[1] Only one Loire 30 was produced in 1932, but it failed to gain an order and was relegated to experimental use.[1]

Loire 301

After rejection in its original role, the sole Loire 30 / Loire 300 was modified with a very large windowless drum-shaped turret fitted in the nose and re-designated Loire 301. The purpose of the turret is uncertain; the favored theory of some references is an armored turret housing a large caliber gun; another theory is an airborne blind flying training simulator. To compensate the additional weight of the turret the central engine was moved backwards and inverted to drive a pusher propeller. This led to the unusual propulsion with two tractor and one pusher engines above the wings. Due to the turret resembling a type of copper laundry kettle commonly used at the time, the airplane was nicknamed la lessiveuse.[2]

Specifications (Loire 30)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft[1], Aviafrance:Loire 30[3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3
  • Length: 13.7 m (44 ft 11 in)
  • Wingspan: 22.15 m (72 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 4.96 m (16 ft 3 in)
  • Wing area: 64 m2 (690 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 2,510 kg (5,534 lb)
  • Gross weight: 3,760 kg (8,289 lb)
  • Powerplant: 3 × Salmson 9Ab 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 170 kW (230 hp) each
  • Propellers: 2-bladed metal variable-pitch airscrews

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)

Armament

  • Guns: 2 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) pivot-mounted machine guns
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References
Notes
  1. Orbis 1985, p. 2377
  2. Parmentier, Bruno. "Loire 301, avion de reconnaissance par Aviafrance". Aviafrance. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  3. Parmentier, Bruno. "Loire 30, avion de reconnaissance par Aviafrance". Aviafrance. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
Bibliography


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