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The SNCASE SE-400 was a prototype French twin-engined coastal patrol floatplane of the Second World War. A single example was flown, but development was abandoned in May 1940 owing to the German invasion of France.
In 1937 the French Air Ministry issued specification A46 for a three-seat coastal reconnaissance seaplane to replace the obsolete CAMS 37 biplane flying boats of the French Navy. To meet this requirement, the Société Nationale des Constructions Aéronautiques du Sud-Est (SNCASE) designed a twin-engined monoplane floatplane, the SE-400, work beginning on construction of two prototypes in March 1938.[1][2]
The SE.400 was of mixed construction, with a steel tube fuselage and wooden wings. It had a twin tail and was powered by two 655 hp (489 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engines. The aircraft's undercarriage consisted of two light alloy floats mounted beneath the engines.[1]
The first prototype, the SE.400-01 made its maiden flight from Marignane on 31 December 1939.[1] Flight testing showed that the SE-400 suffered from stability problems, and the aircraft had a new, larger, tail assembly fitted and its nose lengthened. These modifications resolved the aircraft's handling problems,[3] but by this time the competing Breguet Nautilus had been ordered into production.[4]
The war situation and the continuing delays in the program resulted in the development of the SE-400 being abandoned on 24 May 1940, with the second prototype, a landplane powered by two 500 hp (370 kW) Lorraine 9N Algol engines,[lower-alpha 1] left incomplete.[6] The first prototype was found by Italian troops at Vitrolles, but while the aircraft's engines and propellers were removed, the rest of the aircraft remained intact until 1945.[5]
Data from War Planes of the Second World War[7]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 13.50 m (44 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 19.35 m (63 ft 6 in)
- Height: 4.50 m (14 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 52.00 m2 (559.7 sq ft)
- Gross weight: 5,500 kg (12,125 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14M 8/9 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, 488 kW (655 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 290 km/h (180 mph, 160 kn) at 2,000 m (6,560 ft)
- Cruise speed: 159 km/h (99 mph, 86 kn) (econ cruise)
- Range: 958 km (595 mi, 517 nmi) at 159 km/h (99 mph)
- Endurance: 6 hr
- Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,120 ft)
Armament
- Guns: 1× 7.5 mm Darne machine gun at dorsal position
- Bombs: 2× 75 kg (165 lb) bombs and 2× flares
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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