Bréguet 460 Vultur

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%A9guet_460_Vultur

The Bréguet 460 Vultur was a French bomber of the 1930s. Few of these
twin-engined monoplanes and its variant, the Breguet 462 Bréguet , were built.
At least one Breguet 460 was sold to the Spanish Republican Air Force during the
Spanish Civil War.

Development and design

The Bréguet 460 was a bomber, initially labelled as Multiplace de Combat, a
multifunctional aircraft, by the French aviation authorities. Eventually the
prototype was modified in 1934, departing from the parameters set for its
predecessor, the Breguet 413, in order to meet the requirements of a high-speed
bomber for the French Air Force.

The resulting aircraft was a monoplane fitted with two powerful radial Gnome et
Rhône 14Kjrs engines, having a more aerodynamic appearance, although it kept the
tail of the obsolete Breguet 413. Owing to technical difficulties, production
was delayed and when the first prototype of the Bréguet 460 Vultur flew, it
could not achieve the 400 km/h (250 mph) required for a high-speed bomber. Thus,
the French Air Ministry lost interest in this unit and concentrated on projects
by other companies, such as the Amiot 340 and the LeO 45. These aircraft,
however, would not be ready until three years later.

Operational history

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War provided the French aircraft industry with
a good opportunity both for getting rid of obsolete aircraft and for testing new
developments. Therefore, it is in this context that the Bréguet 460 prototypes
ended up in the Spanish Republican Air Force. One of the units seen in a picture
of the Spanish conflict has an improved, more modern tail of the same type that
would be used later for the Breguet 470 Fulgur airliner.

The number and the fate of the Bréguet 460 Vultur units in the Spanish
Republican Air Force are obscure as is common with most of the flying units of
the loyalist air arm during the conflict. It is known that one of these aircraft
was based at the Celrà airfield towards the end of the conflict and that it
belonged to the Night Flight Group no. 11, which comprised the Vultur and two
Bloch MB.210. This particular Breguet 460 crashed in the sea near L'Escala and
all the crew perished in the crash.

The Bréguet Br 462 was a modernized version of the Bréguet 460, although still
very similar, that made its first test flight towards the end of 1936. The front
part of the fuselage was redesigned to look more aerodynamic and the aircraft
was fitted with two Gnome-Rhône 14N-0/N-1 engines that allowed it to reach a
speed of 402 km/h (250 mph). Flight described it as similar to the Bréguet 461
that was supplied to Japan in 1935. A planned installation of 1,350 hp (1,010
kW) engines was expected to give it a speed of around 300 mph (480 km/h).
Bombload was 1076 kg. Defensive armament was a forward-firing 20 mm (0.79 in)
cannon and two rear-firing machine guns.

Only three Bréguet 462s were built. Two of them served in the Vichy French Air
Force where they did not see much action and were scrapped in 1942.

Variants

Bre 460
Light bomber and strike aircraft with two Gnome-Rhône 14Kdrs1 radial engines.
One prototype built.

Bre 460 M5
1935 design. Light bomber and strike aircraft powered by two Gnome-Rhône 14Kdrs
radial engines. One prototype built.

Br 462 B4
A modernized version of the Bre 460. Only three built

Specifications

General characteristics
Crew: five
Length: 12.84 m (42 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 20.58 m (67 ft 6 in)
Height: 4.10 m (13 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 60 m2 (650 sq ft)
Gross weight: 8,200 kg (18,078 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14Kdrs 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 600 kW
(804 hp) 815 cv each

Performance
Maximum speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (33,000 ft)

Armament

Guns: 1 × fixed, forward-firing 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon
2 × rearward-firing machine guns
Bombs: 1076kg




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