Potez 630
| Country | France |
| Manufacturer | Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord |
| Primary Role | Heavy Fighter |
| Maiden Flight | 25 April 1936 |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbasePotez 630 heavy fighters, designed by Louis Coroller and André Delaruelle, entered into French military service in May 1938. In Aug 1938, Potez 631 C3 heavy fighters, which used Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engines rather than the Hispano-Suiza 14AB10/11 engines, entered service. They were assigned to nightfighter squadrons and to commanders of single-seat fighter groups.
ww2dbaseRomania, Greece, and China each issued orders for Potez 630 heavy fighters in 1938, but a very small number of them were actually delivered, and only to Romania (two squadrons) and Greece (nine examples); as tensions rose in Europe, the French Air Force decided to take over the examples being built for the foreign purchasers.
ww2dbaseWhen Germany invaded France in May 1940, Potez 630 heavy fighters were withdrawn from front line service after only one combat mission, during which, on 20 May, three aircraft of the Potez 633 variant strafed advancing German ground units. The few examples in Greece saw combat against Italian invaders in late 1940. The nine aircraft originally intended for China were kept in French Indochina, where they saw action against Thai units during the Franco-Thai War of 1940-1941. The examples in Romania saw combat against the Soviets in southern Ukraine in mid-1941. Vichy-France operated a number of them, through only as trainers or liaison aircraft, through the end of the war. Although they had good flying characteristics, they were underpowered for their size and when compared to their German adversaries, thus they played only a small role, as far as combat actions were concerned, in WW2.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Nov 2013
Potez 630 Timeline
| 25 Apr 1936 | The French Potez 630 aircraft took its first flight. It would be ultimately be developed into a successful range of fighters, bomber and reconnaissance aircraft seeing much service in German, Vichy and Free French air arms. |
| 22 May 1940 | French Air Force withdrew Potez 630 heavy fighters from front line service. |
SPECIFICATIONS
Potez 630
| Machinery | Two Gnome-Rhône 14M 4/5 14-cyl air-cooled radial engines rated at 700hp each |
| Armament | Original: 1x7.5mm fixed forward MAC machine gun, 1x7.5mm fixed rear MAC machine gun, 1x7.5mm flex rear MAC machine gun. Later: 7x7.5mm fixed forward MAC machine guns, 3x7.5mm fixed rear MAC machine guns, 2x7.5mm flex rear MAC machine guns, 4x50kg bombs |
| Crew | 3 |
| Span | 16.00 m |
| Length | 10.93 m |
| Height | 3.08 m |
| Wing Area | 32.70 m² |
| Weight, Empty | 3,135 kg |
| Weight, Maximum | 4,530 kg |
| Speed, Maximum | 425 km/h |
| Speed, Cruising | 299 km/h |
| Rate of Climb | 8.40 m/s |
| Service Ceiling | 8,500 m |
| Range, Normal | 1,500 km |
Photographs
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