Amiot 143

The Amiot 143 (sometimes written as 143M or 143 M.5) was a late 1930s French 5-seat Multiplace de Combat (M.5) designed to meet 1928 specifications for a monoplane capable of day and night bombing, long-range reconnaissance and bomber escort.[1]

Amiot 140 family
Role Medium bomber
Manufacturer Avions Amiot
Designer Félix Amiot
First flight 12 April 1931
Introduction July 1935
Retired 1944
Primary user French Air Force
Produced 1935-1937
Number built 138

Design and development

Amiot received an order for two prototype Amiot 140s, to be evaluated against the competing Bleriot 137, Breguet 410 and SPCA 30.[1] The Amiot 140 was a high-winged cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction, with a fixed tail wheel undercarriage. The pilot sat in an open cockpit, with positions for gunners in the nose and dorsal positions. A glazed gondola under the forward fuselage carried a bombardier/gunner, ensuring that the gunners had a clear field of fire all around the aircraft.[2] The Amiot was intended to be powered by two 515 kW (691 hp) Lorraine 18G Orion water-cooled W engines but these were unavailable and the first prototype was fitted with Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr engines to allow flight testing, making its maiden flight on 12 April 1931.[3] The second prototype was completed in February 1932 but the continued non-availability of its intended engines, either the original Lorraine-Dietrichs or turbocharged Hispano-Suizas, meant that it never flew. Despite this, on 23 November 1933 an order was placed for 40 Amiot 140s, to be powered by 662 kW (888 hp) Lorraine 12Q Eider engines.[3]

The French Air Ministry had meanwhile revised its requirements, concentrating on the bombing role and asking for better performance. Amiot redesigned the aircraft to meet these requirements and incorporate lessons learned during testing of the Amiot 140. The gondola under the fuselage was enlarged, allowing easier operation of the aircraft's guns and a radio-operator was added, bringing the crew to five. Manually operated gun turrets were provided in the nose and dorsal positions. Orders were placed for two prototypes, differing only in the engines fitted, with the Amiot 142 having Hispano-Suiza 12Y engines and the Amiot 143 having Gnome-Rhone 14K radial engines. The 143 flew first, on 1 August 1934, while the 142 didn't fly until January 1935.[4] As it was decided to allocate the Hispano-Suiza engines to fighters, the Amiot 143 was selected,[5] and the existing order for 40 Amiot 140s was converted to 143s.[6]

The Amiot 143 had the same high-wing and fixed undercarriage as the Amiot 140, with the wing thick enough to allow crew access to the engines by a tunnel between the wing spars. The pilot sat in an enclosed cockpit, level with the leading edge of the wing and the navigator-bombardier, who was also provided with flying controls, sat in the extensively glazed gondola beneath the pilot. The radio operator sat towards the rear of the gondola and in early aircraft operated two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis guns. Nose and dorsal turrets, each carrying a Lewis gun, completed the defensive armament, while the gondola also housed an internal bomb-bay. After 40 aircraft had been completed, the design was revised, with the aircraft being fitted with a longer nose (increasing overall length from 17.94 to 18.24 m (58.9 to 59.8 ft), a revised fuel system and with the Lewis guns in the nose, dorsal turrets and ventral position each being replaced by single 7.5 mm (0.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns, with a fourth gun for the navigator-bombardier firing through a hatch in the floor.[7][8]

Deliveries of the design began in April 1935 and continued until March 1937, with a total of 138 being built.[9] An improved version, the Amiot 144 was built to meet 1933 requirement for a Multiplace de Combat, fitted with a retractable undercarriage. First flying on 18 January 1936, only one was built.[10]

Operational history

The Amiot 143 entered service in July 1935, with deliveries continuing until 1938. Six were going to be delivered to the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.[11] however there is no evidence that these were delivered during the war. By the time the last deliveries were made in March 1938, the Amiot was obsolete and was already being replaced by more modern aircraft such as the Bloch MB.131.[12] At the outbreak of the Second World War, Amiot 143s still equipped 5 metropolitan groupes together with an African based groupe.[5][13]

During the Phoney War, Amiot 143 groupes carried out reconnaissance and leaflet raids over Germany. 87 Amiot 143 remained in front line service on 10 May 1940, of which 50 equipped four metropolitan groupes: GBs I/34 and II/34 in the north, GBs I/38 and II/38 in the East and 17 equipped one African groupe, GB II/63, which was in the process of re-equipping with Martin 167Fs.[14] Following the start of the Battle of France, the Amiot 143 was mainly used in night attacks against German airfields and lines of communications, and experienced relatively low losses.[15][16] An exception was a daylight raid by 10 Amiots from GBs I/34, II/34 and II/38 against German bridgeheads near Sedan on 14 May 1940. Despite having a fighter escort, two Amiots were shot down while a third force-landed before returning to base.[17]

52 Amiot 143s were in the Unoccupied Zone and 25 were in French North Africa.[18] They were reorganized into GBs I/38 and II/38 and were used until July 1941 when they were replaced by LeO 451 bombers. Some Amiots of II/38 served as transports for the French in Syria. This groupe later joined the Allies after their landings in Africa. The last Amiot 143 was retired from service in February 1944. A few Amiot 143 are reported to have been commandeered by the Germans and used as transports. Only 11 were left in the Unoccupied Zone when it was occupied by the Germans in 1943 and only three were airworthy. Had the war gone on a little longer for France, it is likely that all of the Amiot 143 would have become trainers, having been replaced by more modern bombers such as the LeO 451.

Variants
Amiot 140M photo from Annuaire de L'Aéronautique 1931
Amiot 150 photo from L'Aerophile July 1937
Amiot 140 M.4
Prototype with 2 x 485 kW (650 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr V-12 engines. Two built,[19] of which only one flown, followed by orders for 40, to be powered by 2 x 662 kW (888 hp) Lorraine 12Q Eider W-12 engines, which were built as Amiot 143s.[3][20] Optional M.5 suffix refers to bomber role, and seating for 4 crew.
Amiot 141
Powered by three 520 kW (700 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich 18G Orion W-18 water-cooled piston engines.[21]
Amiot 142
prototype with 499 kW (669 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs V-12 engines (1 built[19])
Amiot 143 M.5
production version with 649 kW (870 hp) Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs/14Kjrs (left and right hand rotation) radial engines (138 built, including 40 ordered as Amiot 140 and 25 ordered as Amiot 144)
Amiot 144
version with reduced wing area, flaps and retractable undercarriage and no front turret, powered by 2x 664 kW (890 hp) Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs/14Kjrs (left and right hand rotation) (1 built,[19] orders for 25 produced as Amiot 143 instead)
Amiot 145
Amiot 144 with Hispano-Suiza 14AA radial engines (not built)
Amiot 146
Amiot 144 with Gnome-Rhône 18Lars radial engines (not built)
Amiot 147
Amiot 144 with Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs/12Yfrs (left and right hand rotation) V-12 engines (not built)
Amiot 150
Reconnaissance, torpedo bomber, for Aeronavale. developed from Amiot 143 with a 10% larger wing, interchangeable wheel or float landing gear, and powered by two 750 hp (560 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14Kdrs radials (1 prototype built[19])

Operators
 Croatia
 France
 Germany
 Poland

Specifications (Amiot 143)
Amiot 143 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile October 1934

Data from [23]

General characteristics

  • Crew: Five (pilot, navigator/bombardier, radio operator, nose and dorsal gunners)
  • Length: 18.24 m (59 ft 10 in)
  • Wingspan: 24.53 m (80 ft 6 in)
  • Height: 5.68 m (18 ft 8 in)
  • Wing area: 100 m2 (1,100 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 5,455 kg (12,026 lb)
  • Gross weight: 8,611 kg (18,984 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 10,360 kg (22,840 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Gnome et Rhône 14Kirs/Kjrs 14-cyl. air-cooled radial engines, 640 kW (858 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 295 km/h (183 mph, 159 kn)
  • Range: 1,300 km (810 mi, 700 nmi)
  • Ferry range: 1,995 km (1,240 mi, 1,077 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,500 m (24,600 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 6.8 minutes

Armament

  • Guns: 4 × 7.5 mm (0.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns (one each in nose and dorsal turrets, forward gondola and rear gondola)
  • Bombs: 800 kg (1,800 lb) internally plus 800 kg (1,800 lb) externally

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amiot 143.

Citations
  1. Air International December 1988, p. 306.
  2. Flight 12 December 1930, pp. 1434–1436.
  3. Air International December 1988, pp. 306–307.
  4. Air International December 1988, pp. 307–308.
  5. Breffort and Jouneau 2004, p. 12.
  6. Air International December 1988, p. 308.
  7. Air International December 1988, pp. 309–310.
  8. Green 1967, pp. 78–79.
  9. Green 1967, p. 79.
  10. Green 1967, p. 80.
  11. Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War; New revised edition (2011)
  12. Air International December 1988, pp. 311–312.
  13. Air International December 1988, p. 312.
  14. Bénichou Le Fana de l'Aviation July 1997, p. 46.
  15. Green 1967, p. 82.
  16. Air International December 1988, p. 313.
  17. Robineau, Lucien. "L’AVIATION DE BOMBARDEMENT FRANÇAISE EN MAI 1940" Archived 9 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. p.5. En souvenir du commandant de Laubier. January 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  18. Bénichou Le Fana de l'Aviation July 1997, p. 52.
  19. "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft", 220
  20. Parmentier, B. "Amiot 140M – Bombardier lourd ". Aviafrance, 9 October 2003. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  21. "Avions S.E.C.M. 140 et 141M" (PDF). Revue de la Société Générale Aéronautique (in French). Argenteuil: SGA: 108–109. December 1932. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  22. Belcarz, Bartłomiej (2001). Polskie lotnictwo we Francji 1940 (in Polish). Stratus. pp. 249–253. ISBN 83-916327-6-8.
  23. Air International December 1989, p. 311.

Bibliography
  • Bénichou, Michel (May 1997). "Les Amiot 140: Le progrès était plus rapide". Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 330. pp. 16–32.
  • Bénichou, Michel (July 1997). "Amiot 143: Les sacrificés de la première heure (Troisième partie)" (PDF). Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 332. pp. 40–54. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  • Breffort, Dominique; André Jouineau (2004). French Aircraft from 1939 to 1942: Fighters, Bombers, Reconnaissance and Observation Types: Volume 1 From Amiot to Curtiss. Paris: Histoire & Collections. ISBN 2-915239-23-1.
  • Comas, Matthieu (September 2000). "Les bombardiers polonais de Lyon-Bron" [The Polish Bombers of Lyon-Bron]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French). No. 90. pp. 30–32. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • de Laubier, Philippe (October 1985). "Le Bombardement Français Sur La Meuse: Le 14 mai 1940" (PDF). Revue Historique des Armées (in French). pp. 96–109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  • Fernandez, José (September 1994). "L'Amiot 143 (1ère partie)" [The Amiot 143, Part 1]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (19): 2–7. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Fernandez, José (January 1995). "L'Amiot 143 (5e partie)" [The Amiot 143, part 5]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (23): 32–34. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Green, William (1967). War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft. London: Macdonald.
  • Moulin, Jacques (April 1999). "Les Amiot 143 à la 35ème" [The Amiot 143s of the 35th Wing]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French). No. 73. pp. 42–44. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • "The Amiot 143...a Study in Angular Ugliness". Air International. Vol. 35, no. 6. December 1988. pp. 306–313. ISSN 0306-5634.
  • "The Paris Air Show: The French Aircraft Exhibits". Flight. Vol. XXII, no. 50. 12 December 1930. pp. 1427–1438.
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