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