The Levasseur PL.4, aka Levasseur ''Marin'', was a carrier-based

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

produced in France in the 1920s.

Design and development

The PL.4 was a conventional, single-bay biplane that carried a crew of three in tandem, open cockpits. Purchased by the Aéronavale to operate from the aircraft carrier ''Béarn'', it incorporated several safety features in case of ditching at sea. Apart from small floats attached directly to the undersides of the lower wing, the main units of the fixed, tailskid undercarriage could be jettisoned in flight, and the underside of the fuselage was given a boat-like shape and made watertight. Additionally, the crew can survive a crash by ejecting the landing gear.

Variants

;PL.4 A3 R3b: to meet the 1924 A.3/R.3b (three seat observation and gunnery spotter aircraft) specification from the ''Service technique de l'aéronautique'' (STAé); 1 built. ;PL.4: 3-seat shipboard reconnaissance aircraft for the Aéronautique Navale; 40 built.

Operators

; * Aéronavale ** Escadrille 7R1

Design and development

Variants

Operators

Specifications (PL.4)

See also

References

Further reading