The Latécoère 521, "Lieutenant de Vaisseau Paris", was a French six-engined flying boat, and one of the first large trans-Atlantic passenger aircraft. Two of the engines were inboard, mounted as tandem pairs, facing backward.
The inaugural flight took place on 10 January 1935, followed by a demonstration flight in December 1935 via Dakar, North Africa to Natal, Brazil, then north to the French West Indies. Having reached Pensacola, Florida, it wa...
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The Latécoère 521, "Lieutenant de Vaisseau Paris", was a French six-engined flying boat, and one of the first large trans-Atlantic passenger aircraft. Two of the engines were inboard, mounted as tandem pairs, facing backward.
The inaugural flight took place on 10 January 1935, followed by a demonstration flight in December 1935 via Dakar, North Africa to Natal, Brazil, then north to the French West Indies. Having reached Pensacola, Florida, it was caught in a hurricane and wrecked. The aircraft was returned to France by ship to be rebuilt, before going into service with Air France on the trans-Atlantic route. In June 1937, it flew non-stop to Natal before returning to France via the North Atlantic. Then, equipped with more powerful engines, the aircraft made four further return flights to New York, between May and July 1939.
During one of these, pilot Henri Guillaumet flew the Latécoère 521 from New York City to Biscarrosse, flying 5,875 km (3,634 miles) at an average speed of 206 km...
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