Latham 47

Latham 47
Name	Latham 47
Type	Flying boat
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Société Latham
Designer	Jean Latham
First flight	1928
Status	Prototype

Latham 47. The Latham 47 was a French experimental flying boat designed in the late 1920s for long-range maritime reconnaissance. Developed by Société Latham under the direction of Jean Latham, it was a large, three-engine aircraft intended to push the boundaries of overwater endurance. Only a single prototype was constructed, and its career was brief but notable within the context of contemporary French naval aviation projects.

Design and development

The design phase of the Latham 47 commenced in 1927, driven by a French Navy requirement for an aircraft capable of extended patrols over the Atlantic Ocean. The engineering team, led by Jean Latham, created a high-wing monoplane flying boat with a predominantly duralumin structure, a material choice influenced by advancements from companies like Junkers. Its most distinctive feature was the installation of three Lorraine 12Eb water-cooled W-12 engines, arranged with one on the central wing and two in push-pull tandem pairs mounted atop the wing. This complex powerplant arrangement aimed to combine power with propeller clearance from water spray. The hull design incorporated lessons from earlier Latham models like the Latham 43 and borrowed hydrodynamic concepts from successful British aircraft such as the Supermarine Southampton.

Operational history

The sole Latham 47 prototype, registered F-AJDU, began its flight test program in 1928 from the company's base at Caen-Carpiquet. Initial evaluations by pilots from the Centre d'Essais du Matériel Aérien revealed significant handling difficulties, particularly during takeoff and landing phases on water. Despite adjustments, the aircraft failed to meet performance expectations set by the Service Technique de l'Aéronautique. Its most prominent public appearance was at the 1928 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, where it was displayed alongside competitors like the Breguet 521. With no production order forthcoming from the French Navy, which instead favored aircraft from Breguet Aviation and Latécoère, the prototype was eventually scrapped in 1930, ending the project.

Variants

Only one variant of the basic Latham 47 design was formally proposed. The **Latham 47bis** was a project for a militarized version, featuring strengthened defensive positions for machine guns and hardpoints for light aerial bombs. This model was intended to compete directly with the Breguet 530 Saigon, but it never progressed beyond preliminary design studies. No other derivatives, such as civilian transport versions, were developed due to the fundamental shortcomings of the initial airframe and the financial constraints facing Société Latham.

Operators

The Latham 47 had no permanent military or civilian operators. The prototype was evaluated exclusively by the **French Navy**'s aviation branch during its brief testing period. No examples were exported to foreign air forces such as the Royal Air Force, United States Navy, or Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The company Société Latham itself operated the aircraft solely for development and demonstration purposes until the project's termination.

Specifications (Latham 47)

General characteristics * **Crew:** 5 * **Length:** 18.5 m (60 ft 8 in) * **Wingspan:** 29.0 m (95 ft 2 in) * **Height:** 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) * **Wing area:** 130 m² (1,400 sq ft) * **Empty weight:** 5,200 kg (11,464 lb) * **Gross weight:** 8,500 kg (18,739 lb) * **Powerplant:** 3 × Lorraine 12Eb W-12 engine water-cooled piston engines, 370 kW (500 hp) each * **Propellers:** 4-bladed fixed-pitch propellers

Performance * **Maximum speed:** 195 km/h (121 mph, 105 kn) * **Cruise speed:** 165 km/h (103 mph, 89 kn) * **Range:** 1,500 km (930 mi, 810 nmi) * **Service ceiling:** 4,200 m (13,800 ft) * **Rate of climb:** 2.5 m/s (490 ft/min)

Armament * **Guns:** Proposed provision for 3 × 7.7 mm Darne machine guns in open bow, dorsal, and ventral positions * **Bombs:** Proposed provision for up to 400 kg (880 lb) of bombs under wings

Category:French flying boats Category:1920s French aircraft