The Besson MB.411 was a French two-seat spotter and observation floatplane, designed by Besson.

Development

In 1932, Besson created the MB.410 by replacing the twin floats of the MB.35 with a single main float and two outrigger floats just inboard of the wingtips. The engine was cowled and fuselage streamlining was improved. The prototype was destroyed in a fatal accident during testing. The French Navy required a spotter aircraft for its new submarine '' Surcouf'', and ordered a production version, designated ''MB.411''. It was specifically designed for housing in a cylindrical hangar in the back of ''Surcoufs

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...

. The Besson MB.411 could be assembled to put on the wings in about 4 minutes (at open sea up to 20 minutes) after it was removed from its hangar, then lowered to the water and retrieved by a crane. MB.411 was a low-wing monoplane with a large single central float and under the wing two small stabilizing floats. The Besson MB.411 was constructed with a mix of wood and metal, with canvas covering. In autumn of 1934, the MB.411 was sent to Brest for boarding trials on the Surcouf. The aircraft made its first flight at Le Mureau in June 1935. Surcouf then took the Besson MB.411 to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

arriving in September 1935 for sea trials. In January 1936 MB.411 returned to Mureaux for changes. The second MB.411 was completed in February 1937. The second MB.411 made its first flight December 1937 and was delivered July 1938. The second MB.411 replaced the first in the ''Surcouf''.

Operational history

On June 18, 1940, the ''Surcouf'' chose to join the

Free French Naval Forces The Free French Naval Forces (, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. History In the wake of the Armistice and the Appeal of 18 June, Charles de Ga ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The ''Surcouf'' was assigned to the protection of convoys in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

near

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, but the MB.411 stayed in England, where it gained the name Petrel, in line with the Royal Navy's practice of naming their planes after seabirds. It made a few flights on the coast of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and was damaged in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in April 1941 during a

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

bombing raid. It was later repaired, changing its appearance, and used by

765 Naval Air Squadron 765 Naval Air Squadron (765 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It formed at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS ''Daedalus''), in May 1939, as a Seaplane School and Pool squadron. The squadron moved ...

(765 NAS) from RNAS Sandbanks. The plane was later scrapped at

RAF Mount Batten Royal Air Force Mount Batten, or more simply RAF Mount Batten, is a former Royal Air Force station and flying boat base at Mount Batten, a peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England, UK. Originally a seaplane station opened in 1917 as a Royal ...

, after having been rendered unserviceable due to lack of spares. The first MB.411 remained in France and was assigned to Fleet Squadron

Aeronavale Escadrille 7-S-4 French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: (contraction of ), or , or more simply ) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is . Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval pat ...

in Saint-Mandrier and was scrapped by the Nazis in France.

Variants

*MB.41 – original prototype powered by a single

Salmson 9Nc Between 1920 and 1951 the Société des Moteurs Salmson in France developed and built a series of widely used air-cooled aircraft engines.Gunston 1986, p. 158. Design and development After their successful water-cooled radial engines, developed ...

. *MB-411 – production version intended for operation from submarines but eventually only operated from large warships.

Operators

; *

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

One MB-411, nicknamed Petrel.

Specifications (MB.411)

References

Bibliography

* * *{{cite journal , last1=Passingham, first1=Malcolm, title=Les hydravions embarqués sur sous-marins , journal=Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire , date=February 2000 , issue=83 , pages=7–17 , trans-title=Submarine-carried Seaplanes , language=fr , issn=1243-8650 The Putnam Aeronautical Review, edited by John Motum Page 50 and 51. 1920s French military reconnaissance aircraft Submarine-borne aircraft Besson aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1935 Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Floatplanes