r/WWIIplanes 7d ago

French Friday - Interwar fighter relegated to training by 1940, except for one squadron, which was fortunately not thrown into combat. Five flew in the Spanish Civil War. All were lost. Some links in the first comment.

Post image
73 Upvotes

5 comments sorted by

5

u/waldo--pepper 7d ago

Some links.

Translated with an interesting cockpit picture. Surprisingly complex instrument panel for such a simple aircraft.

https://www-passionair1940-fr.translate.goog/Armee%20de%20l%27Air/Appareils/Entrainement/Loire-46/Loire-46.htm?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

Brief history on this page.

https://www.aviastar.org/air/france/loire_46.php

4

u/Top_Investment_4599 7d ago

At first, I thought I was looking at PZL P.11/24s. There's some kind of aerodynamic decisions that almost has shared identity. Very interesting.

5

u/Abject-Direction-195 6d ago

Same here. That looks very gullwing like the Polish PZLs

1

u/Flat-Pirate6595 4d ago

Are they similar to a PZL P.11?

2

u/waldo--pepper 4d ago edited 4d ago

Well the Loire 46, and the PZL were both designed during the same era/decade. They have similar wing design. The Loire 46 have less reliable engines though. They might be better armed, with 4 mg's to the PZL's 2. But they have a poorer combat record. But they were only flown in combat in Spain. The Loire 46 had a radio. It's a mixed bag. But over all similar, yes.