Amiot 354

The Amiot 354 was the latest in a series of fast, twin-engined bombers which fought with the Armée de l'Air in limited numbers during the Battle of France.

Development

The Amiot 350 series originated in the same 1934 requirement as its rival the Lioré et Olivier LeO 451. Derived from the Amiot 341 mail-carrier, the Amiot 340 prototype was involved in a propaganda misinformation flight to Berlin in August of 1938 to convince the Germans that the French employed modern bombers. Though 130 machines were ordered by the French government that year, production delays and ordered modifications ensured that September 1939 saw no delivered aircraft. Eventually, the ordered number of this very modern aircraft reached 830, though ultimately only eighty machines were received by the Air Ministry. The main variant was the twin-tailed 351, however, due to various delays the single-tailed 354 was accepted into service as an interim type.

The Amiot 351 was planned to mount 1 x 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine gun in nose and ventral positions and 1x 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon in the dorsal position. Due to various technical issues with the armament installation, many aircraft went to operational units with only a single light machine gun in the dorsal position.

Operational history

In May 1940, the Amiot 351/354 was in the process of equipping just two bomber groupes: GB 1/21 and GB II/21 based at Avignon. Though 200 were in the final stages of construction, only 35 were ready for flight. This situation was exacerbated by the fact that the Amiot 351/354 was constructed in three separate factories, two of which were later bombed by the Germans. On May 16, 1940, the several Amiot 351/354 carried out armed reconnaissance missions over Maastricht in the Netherlands - the first combat mission conducted by planes of this type.

By June, the Amiot 351/354 was also delivered for GB I/34 and GB II/34, neither ever flying them in combat. At that time, all Amiot 351/354 were based on the northern front. Three had been lost in combat, 10 in training accidents. All aircraft were ordered to evacuate to Africa on June 17, 37 surviving the trip. As their numbers were too few to effectively engage the Italians, they planes were sent back to Metropolitan France and their groupes disbanded in August 1940.

Five Amiot 351/354 continued to be used as a mail carriers after the Battle of France. Four Amiot 351/354 were commandeered by the Luftwaffe as transports, two found service in the 1./KG200 special service geschwader.

Engines taken for use with the Messerschmitt Me 323.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: Four (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier)
• Length: 14.5 m (37 ft 7 in)
• Wingspan: 22.75 m (74 ft 11 in)
• Height: 4.06 m (13 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 67 m² (721 ft²)
• Empty weight: 4,270 kg (9,390 lb)
• Loaded weight: 11,285 kg (24,827 lb)
• Powerplant: 2× Gnome-Rhône 14N48/49 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 780 kW (1,044 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 480 km/h (260 knots, 300 mph)
• Range: 3,500 km (1,890 nm, 2,100 mi)
• Service ceiling 10,000 m (33,000 ft)

Armament

• 3 × 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns or 2 × 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns and 1 × 20 mm cannon
• 800-1,250 kg (1,760-2,750 lb) of bombs