The Latécoère 631 is a civilian transatlantic seaplane. Flagship of the Latécoère industry, it was the largest seaplane of its time. The prototype was seized by the Germans during the Occupation, and bombed by the Allies.
The last Latécoère 631s were withdrawn from service in 1955 after the loss of four aircraft:
No. 7 (SNCAN company) lost at sea, in the English Channel off Le Havre.
no 6 (Air France company) lost in the South Atlantic.
no 3 (SEMAF company), lost off Cap Ferret.
No. 8 (France-Hydro company), lost in Cameroon.
Symbol of French air transport at the end of the war, with the erroneous choice of the seaplane which will be abandoned in favor of land line planes, a large-tonnage aircraft with a long range of action, the Latécoère 631 will only have achieved a short commercial career from 1945 to 1955.
Despite everything, the Laté 631s (4 aircraft actually operated out of the 10 built) will have to their credit for having been able to carry out for one year the longest non-stop commercial link of their time, linking Port-Étienne to Fort-de-France 4,700 km non-stop, beating a few world records, during the link between Bordeaux and Martinique set up from July 25, 1947.
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