The Most Beautiful One In The World

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The most beautiful flying boat ever built: The Latecoere 621 in the air

By the early 1930s the United States had fallen prey to its usual malady. Having taken a commanding lead in aviation in the mid-1920s, American aircraft designers generally sat on their laurels becoming decreasingly aggressive about breaking in new aircraft or pioneering new routes (Pan American Airways and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation were dramatic exceptions to this rule). Pan American having been flummoxed by the Britons’ “Provision H” which required aircraft parity before a foreign carrier could operate in British airspace), no other airline even tried to break the British lock on North Atlantic flying routes. 

The French had a route across the Atlantic. It crossed the “narrows” between Africa and South America and for a relatively long time it carried only mail. The French eventually decided to throw down the gauntlet in Juan Trippe’s face. If they could only develop a truly transatlantic plane they could expand their carrier routes into the South American heart of Pan Am’s virtually sovereign territory. They might even wrest some of Pan Am’s FAM routes away and begin a Paris-to-Dakar-to-Natal-to-Havana-to-Miami-to-New York line. As a beginning. 

France’s first international airline, Aeropostale*, inaugurated experimental passenger service across the Atlantic in October 1932 with the Latecoere 300. The “Late” 300 was an advanced flying boat, and it was soon succeeded by the Late 301 and 302; each was a successively larger version of its predecessor. None of the Lates, however, turned out to be a truly effective passenger craft.     

The Latecoere 300 of 1930. Note the dual pusher-puller propellers on the wing

 

The Late 301 was a larger version of the Late 300

The Late 302

Like Great Britain, France also had an overseas empire, centered mostly around northwest and central Africa. To reach its African possessions in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and elsewhere, France did not require a long distance craft. Like the British “All-Red Route” made in a series of hops, the French too could make hops --- Paris to Marseilles, to Oran or Algiers, and southward. Liore et Olivier (LeO) produced the H 242, a medium-range passenger flying boat that served well despite its clunky appearance.

The LeO H-242

Both the Lates and the LeOs remained in service from the early 1930s until 1940, when the fall of France in World War II brought commercial air flight to an effective halt.  

French New York-to-Paris transatlantic passenger service was inaugurated in 1935, with the Late 521. She could carry 76 passengers in comfort (including six twin-berth cabins) on two decks. Unfortunately, the prototype wrecked on her return flight to France, and she was not returned to service until 1937.

The six-engine (two pusher, four puller) Latecoere 521 Lieutenant de Vaisseau Paris

With her odd doubly-recessed prow, the Late 521 resembled a tugboat with wings

A cutaway of the Late 521 with its pusher-puller prop and engine arrangement and its sea wings or sponsons, which obviated the need for pontoons

The effective loss of the Late 521 encouraged Latecoere to develop the “next generation” flying boat. Designated the Late 631, it was 1942 before the new boat first flew. It was, as if to make up for the 521’s utilitarian appearance, a beautiful aircraft, perhaps the most beautiful flying boat ever to take to the skies. She had six engines and could carry 46 passengers in cabined splendor.

A cutaway of the Late 621

The largest flying boat ever constructed, the Late 631 was 142.5’ long, with a wingspan of 188.5’. Her gross maximum weight was an impressive 137,300 pounds and she had a load-to-tare of 55:45. Her range was 3,750 miles. 

Like the German Zeppelins she had lounges, a full-service bar and a smoking room, but it was not until 1947 that the Late 631 entered service. Eleven planes were ordered and delivered. Five were lost to accidents in short order, giving the Late 631 a bad reputation. Three planes maintained regularly-scheduled service These three planes might have successfully competed for the transatlantic trade, but technological advancements in aviation during the war rendered the Late 631s obsolete before they ever flew. 

Sadly, these elegant, beautiful craft never had their day in the sun. The last Late 631 was taken out of service in 1955, and with that, the time of the flying boats came to an end.  

The Late 621 on the water. Note the open gangway in the bow

*Aeropostale was at the heart of a government airmail scandal in the 1930s. It was forced to merge with several other carriers and to accept official oversight. In return it was designated the national carrier, Air France.