Loire-Nieuport LN.401

infobox Aircraft
name = Loire-Nieuport LN.401
type = dive bomber
manufacturer = SNCAO


caption =
designer =
first flight = 1938
introduced = 1939
retired = 1940
status =
primary user = French Navy
more users =
produced = 1938-1942
number built = 68
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The Loire-Nieuport LN.401 was a French-built dive bomber aircraft that saw service in WWII.

Development

In 1936, the "Aéronautique Navale", the aviation arm of the French navy, expressed a need for a ship-borne dive bomber. The Loire-Nieuport company proposed its LN.40 project, that benefited from experience acquired with the earlier Nieuport 140 prototype. Seven examples were ordered, and the first LN.40 took off for its maiden flight in 1938. The French navy ordered 15 examples of near-identical production variant, the LN.401, that featured one arrestor hook, a folding wing mechanism and emergency floatation devices for naval service.

The French Air Force was also interested in dive bombers and ordered a land-based derivative of the LN.40, called LN.411. However, "Armée de l'air" commanders eventually considered that light bombers using nap-of-the-earth tactics such as the Breguet 693 were more appropriate for attacking land targets, and LN.411s were delivered to the Navy.

Operational service

Two "escadrilles" of the Aéronautique Navale, designated as AB2 and AB4, converted to the LN.401/411 between late 1939 and early 1940. Both used the type in combat during the Battle of France in ground attacks versus German motorized columns and troops concentrations. After the armistice with Germany, Loire-Nieuport dive bombers were retired from service and the two "escadrilles" were re-equipped with the Glenn-Martin 167-F level bomber.

Variants

;LN.40 :Pre-production aircraft. Only seven pre-production examples were built.;LN.401:Single-seat naval dive-bomber aircraft. Only fifteen production examples were built.;LN.411:Land-based variant of the 401, with all naval-specific equipment removed. 45 built.;LN.402 :Single example fitted with the more powerful Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine.

Operators

;FRA
*French Navy

pecifications (LN.401)

aircraft specifications

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

ref=

crew=1
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main=9.76 m
length alt=32 ft
span main=14 m
span alt=46 ft
height main=3.50 m
height alt=11.48 ft
area main= 24.75 m²
area alt=81.2 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main=2,135 kg
empty weight alt=4,706 lb
loaded weight main=2,823 kg
loaded weight alt=6,223 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Hispano-Suiza 12XCrs
type of prop=12-cylinder vee
number of props=1
power main=
power alt=690 hp
power original=

propeller or rotor?=propeller
propellers=
number of propellers per engine=
propeller diameter main=
propeller diameter alt=

max speed main= 380 km/h at 3,900 m
max speed alt=236 mp/h at 12,795 ft
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=90 km/h
stall speed alt=56 mp/h
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 1,200 km
range alt=745.6 mi
ceiling main=
ceiling alt=
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=2 x Darne machine guns, 225 kg (496 lb) bomb
avionics=

References

*Morareau, Lucien (2002). "Les aéronefs de l'aviation maritime (1910-1942)", ARDHAN, ISBN 2-913344-04-6

See also:
*List of aircraft of the Armée de l'Air, World War II