The Latécoère 28 was a long distance monoplane aircraft designed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Latécoère. First flown in 1927, it had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and an enclosed cockpit for its crew of two. When configured for airline use, the Latécoère 28 could accommodate up to eight seated passengers. It was produced in both land and floatplane configurations, being marketed towards the civilian market both as a mail plane and passenger airliner. During its operating life, the Latécoère 28 became the main-stay of Air France's predecessor, Aéropostale, which heavily used the aircraft during the 1930s in its efforts to establish intercontinental air mail services and support French colonialism and French cultural influence during the Interwar period.[citation needed] Its pilots included famous poets and French men of letters, such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Jean Mermoz, along with numerous veteran pilots from the First World War. The Latécoère 28 was a development of the Latécoère 26. A total of about fifty aircraft of several versions were produced between 1927 and 1932. The seaplane version, the Latécoère 28-3, was the first to make a postal delivery crossing of the South Atlantic when Jean Mermoz flew from Dakar to Natal in 21 hours and a half aboard the Comte-de-La Vaulx (prototype n° 919) on 12 May 1930. [1] Unfortunately, the plane was lost at sea during the return flight (with no loss of life, nor of mail). Early examples had been furnished with Renault 12Jbr engines; however, all use of this powerplant was quickly substituted for by Hispano Suiza 12, which waw capable of providing up to 500 hp (370 kW). The floatplane version was equipped with the Hispano Suiza 12Lbr, which could generate to up 650 hp (480 kW). The Latécoère 28 was a long-range high-wing single-engined monoplane. The fuselage, which was highly streamlined and largely supported by light-metal tubing, was internally divided into three sections, each with its own distinct structure and function. The main landing gear comprised two independent wheels mounted on axles joined to the fuselage and supported by elastic struts that incorporated shock absorbers. The recoil from landing was absorbed via a light-metal strut in the plane of the axle, supported at one end by the axle's bend and hinged to the fuselage at the other end; atypically strong carbon-injected steel, which was hardened and tempered after machining, was used. A hinged elastic tail skid was also used to dampen the landing forces. The first aircraft were used by Aéropostale on the African mail routes connecting Casablanca and Dakar. The aircraft also inaugurated a Paris-Madrid service. The Latécoère 28 became famous in South America because of the regular mail service it performed between France and Argentina, amongst other destinations. This aircraft's introduction made it possible to send a letter from Paris to Santiago de Chile in what seemed then like an astonishingly short four days. Previously, the mail steamships had taken weeks or months. The Latécoère 28 was also operated in a military capacity. Venezuela purchased three aircraft for use as bombers while the French government supplied several to the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. For more details on the design, and the 11 variants, click here.
