Amiot 340 Series

The Amiot 350 series originated in the same 1934 requirement as a rival to the Lioré et Olivier LeO 451.

Derived from the Amiot 341 mail plane, the Amiot 340 prototype was involved in a propaganda misinformation flight to Berlin in August 1938 to convince the Germans that the French employed modern bombers.

Though 130 machines were ordered by the French government that year, production delays and ordered modifications ensured that September 1939 saw no delivered aircraft.

Eventually, the ordered number of this very modern aircraft reached 830, though ultimately only 80 machines were received by the Air Ministry.

The main variant was the twin-tailed 351, however, due to various delays, the single-tailed 354 was accepted into service as an interim type.

The Amiot 351 was planned to mount one 7.5 mm (.295 in) MAC 1934 machine gun in nose and ventral positions and one 20 mm (0.79 in) Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon in the dorsal position.

Due to technical problems with the armament installation, many aircraft went to operational units with only a rifle-calibre light machine gun in the dorsal position.

Variants

Amiot 340.01

Two 686 kW (920 hp) Gnome-Rhône 14P, single tail prototype

Amiot 350

351 re-engine with two 686 kW (920 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-28 / Hispano-Suiza 12Y-29 engines

Amiot 351.01

Amiot 351 prototype.

Amiot 351

Two 707 kW (950 hp) Gnome-Rhône 14N-38 / Gnome-Rhône 14N-39, twin-tail

Amiot 352

351 re-engine with two 820 kW (1,100 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-50 / Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 engines

Amiot 353

351 re-engine with two 768 kW (1,030 hp) Rolls-Royce Merlin III engines

Amiot 354

351 re-engine with two 798 kW (1,070 hp) Gnome-Rhône 14N-48 / Gnome-Rhône 14N-49, most with single-tail. 

Amiot 355.01

351 re-engined with two 895 kW (1,200 hp) Gnome-Rhône 14R-2 / Gnome-et-Rhone 14R-3 engines

Amiot 356.01

354 re-engined with two 842 kW (1,130 hp) Rolls-Royce Merlin X engines

Amiot 357

high-altitude prototype with pressurized cabin, two 895 kW (1,200 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Z-89 turbocharged engines

Amiot 358

351 re-engined post-war with two 895 kW (1,200 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines

Amiot 370

single tail racer with two 642 kW (860 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Yirs / Hispano-Suiza 12Yjrs engines, developed specifically for the Paris-New York race. 

Specifications

Crew

4 

Length

14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)

Wingspan

22.83 m (74 ft 11 in)

Height

4.08 m (13 ft 5 in)

Wing area

67 m2 (720 sq ft)

Airfoil

E7

Empty weight

4,735 kg (10,439 lb)

Gross weight

11,324 kg (24,965 lb)

Powerplant

1 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-48 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial piston engine, 791 kW (1,061 hp) for take-off (RH rotation fitted to port)

Powerplant

1 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-49 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial piston engine, 791 kW (1,061 hp) for take-off (LH rotation fitted to starboard)

Propellers

3-bladed variable-pitch propellers

Performance

Maximum speed

480 km/h (300 mph, 260 kn) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft)

Cruise speed

349 km/h (217 mph, 188 kn)

Range

3,502 km (2,176 mi, 1,891 nmi)

Service ceiling

10,000 m (33,000 ft)

Time to altitude

4,000 m (13,123 ft) 8 minutes 42 seconds

Armament

Guns

3 × 7.5 mm (0.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns

Or

2 × 7.5 mm (0.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns and 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon

Bombs

1,200 kg (2,646 lb).