Amiot 143

Amiot  143

The company Avions Amiot (Avions Amiot), founded in 1916 by Felix Amiotom. Was one of the contestants in the four-seater in the so-called multi category of military aircraft, which could be used as a daytime or night-bomber, as well as the accompanying aircraft with greater range and reconnaissance aircraft. It has been suggested that the plane Amiot 140 in 1928. in competition with models Bleriot (Bleriot) 137, Breguet (Breguet) 410 and SPCA 30 were selected for production because it was the most ugly of them. This is, without doubt, an invention. Suppose he was ugly in appearance, but somehow had good performance characteristics, and 40 copies of the plane was diverted to the Air Forces of France in November 1933. All the time with the first flight of the prototype and to obtain an order for production, Amiot improved design. This led to the development of a model Amiot 142, with two V-shaped line engines Hispano-Suiza (Hispano-Suiza) 12Ybrs capacity of 641 kW (860 hp). Then came the model Amiot 143 with two super-star-powered Gnome-Rhone (Gnome-Rhone), and this latest version was put on production. U-metal Amiot 143 was somewhat unusual characteristics. It was a monoplane with a big chord, and such a high profile of the wing that provided access to the engine during the flight, the main non-retractable landing gear had huge fairings, which reached the length of 2.13 meters (7 feet). Engines with reverse rotation of the pre-production prototype Amiot 143.01, which flew in August 1934. Have the power to 597 kW (800 hp) at takeoff. Fuel was contained in six tanks dumped. This feature is no longer used, ranging from 41 built aircraft. The most ugly part of the aircraft structure Amiot 143 was undoubtedly storey fuselage. Three crew members were places were located in the upper part of the fuselage: bow tower for a shooter, the cockpit over the wing leading edge and rear edge of the tower wing. In gondoloobraznom ground floor of the fuselage bomb bay was located, but here was the place of the navigator. Another firing point was located in the rear bottom of the gondola. First, armament consisted of machine gun Lewis (Lewis), but beginning with the 41-second car, they were replaced by 7,5 – millimeter (0.295-inch) machine guns MAC (MAC) for each position, one additional gun from which it was possible to shoot through a hatch in the floor of the front of the fuselage. The first deliveries of aircraft Amiot 143 in the Air Force France were implemented in July 1935. By the beginning of World War II remained in service with 60 of these older aircraft. Before the fall of France they are used almost exclusively for night bombing of enemy targets. The exception was a desperate and heroic attempt to thirteen planes 34 and 38 squadrons to destroy bridges over the Mays near Sedan afternoon May 14, 1940 In this raid, only one survived the plane.

OPTIONS
Amiot 140: prototype (two aircraft). Amiot 142: revised prototype (one aircraft). Amiot 143: pre-production and production model (138 aircraft). Amiot 142 (revised): based on the third model, but with other engines (one aircraft). Amiot 144M: a model with modified wings and retractable landing gear (one aircraft). Amiot 150VE: prototype reconnaissance / torpedo bomber, two engine Gnome-Rhone (Gnome-Rhone) power of 552 kW (740 hp), gauge or float landing gear (one aircraft).