The Bréguet 521 ''Bizerte'' was a long-range military

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

built by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

aviation company Breguet.

Development

An all-metal

sesquiplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

with three engines mounted in

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a streamlined container for aircraft parts such as Aircraft engine, engines, fuel or equipment. When attached entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a Hardpoint#Pylon, pylo ...

s between the upper and lower wings, the aircraft was a development of the Breguet S.8/2 Calcutta, which itself was a militarised licensed version of the British Short S.8 Calcutta. It was built to meet a 1932

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 ...

specification for a long-range flying boat, competing against proposals from Latécoère (the

582 __NOTOC__ Year 582 ( DLXXXII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 582 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Euro ...

), Lioré et Olivier (the unbuilt LeO H42) and

Loire Aviation Loire Aviation was a French aircraft manufacturer in the inter-war period, specializing in seaplanes, and based in Saint-Nazaire, France. History Loire was founded in 1925 as a division of Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, a shipbuilding compa ...

(the

Loire 70 The Loire 70 was a 1930s French long-range maritime reconnaissance flying boat produced by Loire Aviation. Design and development The Loire 70 was designed to meet a 1932 French Navy requirement for a long-range flying boat for maritime reconnai ...

). The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

made its first flight on 11 September 1933, which resulted in the prototype being purchased, and an order placed for two more on 4 January 1934. A series of small orders for production ''Bizertes'' was placed, starting with an order for three in 1934, with the last order, for 12 (nine of which were later cancelled) being placed in September 1939. In total, 37 Bizertes were built, with the last three not being completed until after the French surrender in June 1940. In 1935 a civilian version – the Breguet Br.530 ''Saigon'' – was produced.

Operational history

After the first flight in September 1933, 37 aircraft were produced, which served with five squadrons of the French Navy from 1935 until 1940. Two squadrons remained in service with the Vichy Navy after the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

, at Berre in Southern France and Karouba in Tunisia, with six aircraft each. The

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Luftwaffe purchased a number of Bizertes for its ''

Seenotdienst The ''Seenotdienst'' (sea rescue service) was a German military organization formed within the ''Luftwaffe'' (German Air Force) to save downed airmen from emergency water landings. The ''Seenotdienst'' operated from 1935 to 1945 and was the first ...

'' (

Air-Sea Rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergenc ...

) service in 1940, which (in addition to the three undelivered Bizertes) it used to equip a squadron based at Brest on the French Atlantic coast. When Vichy France was occupied by the Germans following the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, the remaining Vichy Bizertes were taken over by the Luftwaffe, allowing further ''Seenotdienst'' units to be established at Biscarrosse and Berre. Following the Allied Invasion of Southern France in August 1944, one of the ''Luftwaffe'' ''Bizertes'' was discovered by French forces and used for communications duties until spares ran out.

Variants

;Breguet 521.01 :Prototype, powered by three Gnome-Rhône 14Kdrs 14-cylinder two-row radial engines ;Breguet 521 ''Bizerte'' :Long-range flying boat, powered by three Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs 14-cylinder two-row radial engines or three

Gnome-Rhône 14N The Gnome-Rhône 14N was a 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine designed and manufactured by Gnome-Rhône just before the start of World War II. A development of the Gnome-Rhône 14K, the 14N was used on several French and even one Germa ...

radial engines. ;Breguet 522 :Re-engined version of Breguet 521. Three

Hispano-Suiza 14AA The Hispano-Suiza 14AA, also known as Type 79, was a fourteen-cylinder aircraft radial engine used in France during the late 1930s. As Hispano-Suiza lacked recent experience in developing radial engines, it was derived from the licensed Wright ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

s. One built. ;Breguet 530 ''Saigon'' :Civil version of the Breguet 521. Three Hispano-Suiza 12Ybr liquid-cooled inlines. Two built.

Specifications (Br.521)

Operators

; *

Aviation Navale 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 ...

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

operated 37 Br.530s from 1935Nicolaou, 1996, p.82 ; *

Vichy French Air Force The Air Force (), usually referred to as the Air Force of Vichy (''Armée de l'air de Vichy'') or Armistice Air Force (''Armée de l'Air de l'armistice'') for clarity, was the aerial branch of the Armistice Army of Vichy France established in th ...

; *

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 ...

8 seized aircraft were used for air-sea rescue.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{Breguet aircraft 0521 1930s French military reconnaissance aircraft Flying boats Trimotors Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1933