Loire 501
Encyclopedia
The Loire 501 was a single-engined French
liaison and training flying boat
of the 1930s produced by Loire Aviation. It was operated by the French Navy
, remaining in service until 1940.
of Saint-Nazaire
, started design of a single-engined flying boat for use as a trainer and a transport in France's overseas possessions. The resultant aircraft, the Loire 50, was an amphibian
high-winged monoplane
, with a pusher
Salmson 9AB radial engine
mounted above the wing. Construction was all-metal, with fabric covered wings.
The Loire 50 first flew on 7 September 1931. Although it was damaged in an accident in October it was repaired and entered service in 1932 as a trainer. It was returned to Loire in February 1933, where it was modified with a more powerful Hispano-Suiza 9Qd engine, becoming the Loire 50bis, flying in this form on 18 October 1933. An order for six aircraft similar to the Loire 50bis, designated Loire 501, delivery starting by the end of 1933. The Loire 501 remained in service at the start of the Second World War, with the last example still in use at Karouba in Tunisia on 15 August 1940.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
liaison and training flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
of the 1930s produced by Loire Aviation. It was operated by the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
, remaining in service until 1940.
Design and development
In 1930, Loire Aviation, a subsidiary of the French shipyard Ateliers et Chantiers de la LoireAteliers et Chantiers de la Loire
Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire was a French shipbuilding company of the late 19th and early 20th century.ACL was formed in 1881 in Nantes by Jollet Babin to take advantage of the expansion of the French Navy....
of Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, started design of a single-engined flying boat for use as a trainer and a transport in France's overseas possessions. The resultant aircraft, the Loire 50, was an amphibian
Amphibious aircraft
An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft that can take off and land on either land or water. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes that are equipped with retractable wheels, at the expense of extra weight and complexity, plus diminished range and fuel economy compared to planes...
high-winged monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
, with a pusher
Pusher configuration
In a craft with a pusher configuration the propeller are mounted behind their respective engine. According to Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind engine so that drive shaft is in compression...
Salmson 9AB radial engine
Radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
mounted above the wing. Construction was all-metal, with fabric covered wings.
The Loire 50 first flew on 7 September 1931. Although it was damaged in an accident in October it was repaired and entered service in 1932 as a trainer. It was returned to Loire in February 1933, where it was modified with a more powerful Hispano-Suiza 9Qd engine, becoming the Loire 50bis, flying in this form on 18 October 1933. An order for six aircraft similar to the Loire 50bis, designated Loire 501, delivery starting by the end of 1933. The Loire 501 remained in service at the start of the Second World War, with the last example still in use at Karouba in Tunisia on 15 August 1940.