Potez-CAMS 141

infobox Aircraft
name = Potez-CAMS 141
type = Flying Boat
manufacturer = Potez-CAMS


caption =
designer =
first flight = 1938
introduced = 1939
retired = 1943
status =
primary user = French Navy
more users =
produced =
number built = 1
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles = The Potez-CAMS 141 was a French long range reconnaissance flying boat of the late 1930's. Intended to equip the French Navy, only a single prototype was completed before the German invasion of France stopped production. That prototype did, however serve operationally from bases in French North Africa until scrapped in 1943.

Development and design

The Potez-CAMS 141 was designed by Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine (or CAMS, which since 1933 had been part of Potez) to meet a 1935 French Navy specification for a long range marine reconnaissance flying boat to replace obsolete aircraft such as the Breguet Bizerte, competing against the Latécoère 611 and Breguet 730. The prototype first flew on 21 January 1938 at Caudebec-en-Caux, starting official trials in August 1938.cite book |last= Green |first=William |title=Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Five, Flying Boats |year= 1968|publisher= Macdonald|location=London|pages= p.42-43 |isbn= 356 01449 5 ]

It was a four engined monoplane, powered by Hispano-Suiza 12Y engines, with a braced, high aspect ratio wing mounted above the fuselage and a twin tail. It was armed with a dorsal turret carrying two 7.5 mm Darne machine guns, with a further two machine guns in lateral "cheek" barbettes and two in waist positions. After evaluation, a production order for four aircraft was placed, with a further 15 being ordered before the start of the Second World War.

Operational history

The prototype, named "Antarès" entered service with "Escadrille E8" of the French Navy in September 1939, flying its first patrol mission over the Atlantic on 20 September 1939 cite web|url=http://www.hydroretro.net/etudegh/potez.pdf |title= Les hydravions POTEZ |accessdate= 2007-08-22 |author= Gérard Hartmann|language = French |format= PDF] . Additional large orders for Potez-CAMS 141s were placed shortly after the start of the war, with delivery expected from June 1940, but these orders were cut back owing to changing priorities and the realisation that the loss rate of long range flying boats was very low.

No production aircraft had been completed by the time of the Armistice in June 1940, with "Antarès" being evacuated to Port Lyautey in Morocco. It was operated by the Vichy French Navy, serving with Escadrille 4E at Dakar, continuing in service until the Allied Invasion of North Africa, when after brief fighting, the French armed forces in North Africa joined with the Free French. "Antarès" continued in service, carrying out patrols over the Central and South Atlantic. On 2 June 1943, "Antarès" sank the German U-Boat "U-105" near Dakar cite web |url= http://uboat.net/boats/u105.htm |title= uboat.net - Boats - U-105|accessdate=2007-08-22 |format= |work= uboat.net ] . "Antarès" was retired and scrapped early in 1944 .

Operators

;FRA

pecifications (Potez-CAMS 141)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref=Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Five, Flying Boats

crew= 9 - 12
capacity=
length main= 24.31 m
length alt= 79 ft 8¾ in
span main= 41.01 m
span alt= 134 ft 6⅛ in
height main= 7.85 m
height alt= 25 ft 9 in
area main= 171.1 m²
area alt= 1841 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 15,031 kg
empty weight alt= 33,069 lb
loaded weight main= 23,148 kg
loaded weight alt= 50,926 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 26,055 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 57,320 lb
more general=

engine (prop)=Hispano-Suiza 12Y-26/27
type of prop=V-12 liquid cooled
number of props=4
power main= 694 kW
power alt= 930 hp
power original=

max speed main= 320 km/h
max speed alt= 173 knots, 199 mph
max speed more=at 1,000 m (3,280 ft)
cruise speed main= 260 km/h
cruise speed alt= 140 knots, 162 mph
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 5,600 m
ceiling alt= 18,370 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main= 135 kg/m²
loading alt= 27.7 lb/ft²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 0.12 kW/kg
power/mass alt= 0.073 hp/lb
more performance= *Endurance: 30 hours

armament=
*Two 7.5 mm Darne machine guns in dorsal turret, two machine guns in lateral "cheek" barbettes and two machine guns in waist positions
*"up to" 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) of bombs.

avionics=

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=
*Lioré et Olivier H-246
*Latécoère 611
*Breguet 730

sequence=

lists=
*List of seaplanes and flying boats
*List of aircraft of the Armée de l'Air, World War II

see also=

References

External links

* [http://avia.russian.ee/air/france/potez-141.php Virtual Aircraft Museum]
* [http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=8074&ID_CONSTRUCTEUR=1058 Aviafrance]