French Competition RN-3 of 1928

[hesham]

Hi,


in 1928,French Air Force announced for a competition called RN-3,or three-seat night
recce aircraft,the contenders were; Mureaux ANF-120,De Monge M-120,Loire-20 and
Loire-30,Wibault Wib.220 and Weymann Wel-70.


The Loire-20 was a sesquiplane,powered by two engines and longer than Loire-30,but
it remained a project only with Weymann Wel-70.


The Loire-20 was re-allocated to Colonial aircraft project,but also didn't pass a drawing
board.


AFM magazine 04

 

[Winston]

The Loire 30 looks like a disaster waiting to happen!

 

[hesham]

The Loire 30 looks like a disaster waiting to happen!

By the way Winston,


the Loire-30 was a strong airplane,and its age is long comparatively with any French
aircraft.

 

[Jemiba]

Winston probably was reffering to the engines, that seem to be set higher, than necessary
on mountings that really look fragile.

 

[c460]

What about this nice derivative ?
This is the Loire 301 nicknamed "la Lessiveuse" (= washboiler), with a turret for an artillery gun.

 

[Jemiba]

Very interesting, that the French were experimenting with heavy calibre guns, too,
haven't heard of such experiments still yet. I've found another photo of the Loire 30
here http://www.39-45.org/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=33113 . As I nderstand, the turret
of the 301 was still a model then. Do you know, for which gun (which caliber) it was intended ?

 

[Arjen]

What about this nice derivative ?
This is the Loire 301 nicknamed "la Lessiveuse" (= washboiler), with a turret for an artillery gun.

[quote author=Douglas Adams - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe]Uglier things have been spotted in the skies, but not by reliable witnesses.[/quote]

 

[lucamax]

I don't remember the source, maybe the old italian magazine "L'Ala d'Italia", but here I post some 3-views of the aircraft above.
Sorry for the poor quality, if someone can improve, it will be great!

 

[hesham]

Very beauty drawings my dear Lucamax.

 

[cluttonfred]

What about this nice derivative ?
This is the Loire 301 nicknamed "la Lessiveuse" (= washboiler), with a turret for an artillery gun.

A "lessiveuse" is a washing machine (for clothes) in English.

 

[Jemiba]

So quite an appropriate nickname, I think !
The real thing probably would have looked a bit different from
this simple drum. Maybe something like a Davis gun, or another
recoilless gun was envisaged ?

 

[Stargazer]

This is the Loire 301 nicknamed "la Lessiveuse" (= washboiler), with a turret for an artillery gun.

A "lessiveuse" is a washing machine (for clothes) in English.

Not quite, cluttonfred. As a matter of fact, c460 was right about his translation. It's a boiler, or washboiler, an apparatus which our grandmothers used for washing clothes before the war.

No-one would ever use the term "lessiveuse" for modern day washing machines! (we now talk of "machine à laver" or "lave-linge").

 

[c460]

Do you know, for which gun (which caliber) it was intended ?

Unfortunately the information seems unavailable. There was an article about the Loire 30 & 301 in Le Fana no.338, where it is said that the gun model is unknown. The whole contraption was a complete aerodynamic failure anyway, as testified by test pilot Jacques Lecarme.

Other tests with a 75 mm caliber field gun were made on the Aéronautique Bordelaise AB.22. The gun was mounted on the fuselage side, like an AC-130 Gunship. But the "shockwaves" damaged the corrugated skin under the wing and the tests were stopped.
Adrien

 

[c460]

I posted more Loire 301 on this other, more appropriate, thread:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,8654.msg222910.html#msg222910

 

[avion ancien]

This is the Loire 301 nicknamed "la Lessiveuse" (= washboiler), with a turret for an artillery gun.

A "lessiveuse" is a washing machine (for clothes) in English.

Not quite, cluttonfred. As a matter of fact, c460 was right about his translation. It's a boiler, or washboiler, an apparatus which our grandmothers used for washing clothes before the war.

No-one would ever use the term "lessiveuse" for modern day washing machines! (we now talk of "machine à laver" or "lave-linge").

My grandmother used to have a 'copper' in her kitchen, which she used on wash day. I suspect, looking at the images, that this is the English equivalent of a French 'lessiveuse'.

 

[Winston]

Winston probably was reffering to the engines, that seem to be set higher, than necessary
on mountings that really look fragile.

I was indeed, it seemed as though such a high mounting point for the engines would not take much physical strain, but looks are deceiving!

 

[cluttonfred]

Such mountings were not uncommon on flying boats to get the props out of the spray. I am not sure of the design logic here, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

On the "lessiveuse" translation, we may be running it to a British/American thing here as I have never heard that expression. My grandparents called even the old-fashioned tub-with-rollers a "washing machine," and they were antique dealers in New England.

 

[hesham]

From Docavia No.3,the Loire 30F drawing.