Loire Aviation


Loire Aviation was a French aircraft manufacturer in the inter-war period, specializing in seaplanes, and based in Saint-Nazaire, France.

History

Loire was founded in 1925 as a division of Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, a shipbuilding company based at St Nazaire. ACL were interested in diversifying into the new area of naval aviation, combining its knowledge of metal work and naval construction to produce seaplanes for the French mail service. The company started as a joint venture between ACL and Gourdou-Leseurre, contracting to build 257 GL 32’s under licence at a new factory at St Nazaire.
In 1928 they disassociated and in 1930 the company became Loire Aviation, working on own designs by designers Asselot, Jarrion, and Guegand Kerguistel.
During this period Loire built some 232 units of the Loire 11 seaplane and aircraft for other companies, as well as a range of other aircraft under the Loire marque.
In 1933 the company united with Nieuport, though both companies maintained their own factories and test sites; Loire at St Nazaire and La Baule, Nieuport at Issy-les-Moulineaux and Villacoublay. This led to some complications; the two companies found themselves competing over a contract for a fighter for the French Air Force, later won by Morane Saulnier with the MS 406.
The two companies underwent a full merger in 1935 to form the Société Anonyme Loire-Nieuport, or Loire-Nieuport.
In 1936 Loire-Nieuport was nationalized and united with Breguet of Bouguenais, near Nantes, to form the Société Nationale des Constructions Aéronautiques de l'Ouest.

Aircraft

  • Loire 11 Three-seat, single engine general-purpose monoplane.
  • Loire 30 Three-engine night reconnaissance monoplane.
  • Loire 43 Single-engine fighter.
  • Loire 45 Single-engine monoplane fighter, developed from the Loire 43.
  • Loire 46 Single-engine monoplane fighter, developed from the Loire 43 and 45.
  • Loire 50 Single-engine liaison amphibian.
  • Loire 501 Single-engine liaison amphibian, developed from the Loire 50.
  • Loire 60 Three-engine long range reconnaissance flying boat.
  • Loire 70 Three-engine long range reconnaissance flying boat.
  • Loire 102 Three-engine parasol-wing monoplane flying boat, intended as a transatlantic mail carrier.
  • Loire 130 Single-engine catapult launched reconnaissance flying boat.
  • Loire 210 Single-engine catapult launched floatplane fighter.
  • Loire 250 Single-engine monoplane fighter.
  • Loire-Nieuport 10 Twin-engine long range reconnaissance floatplane.
  • Loire-Nieuport 161 Single-engine monoplane fighter.
  • Loire-Nieuport LN.401 Single-engine dive bomber.
Category:Saint-Nazaire
Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France
Category:French companies established in 1925