Bréguet 790 Nautilus

790 Nautilus
Role	Coastal patrol flying-boat
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Bréguet Aviation
First flight	1939
Number built	2

The Bréguet 790 Nautilus was a prototype French three-seat coastal patrol flying-boat designed and built by Bréguet Aviation to meet a requirement from the French navy.^[1]

Development

The Nautilus had a high-set monoplane wing on a single-step hull, the wing being fabric covered and the hull all-metal.^[1] The aircraft was powered by a 720 hp (537 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Xirs V-12 piston engine strut-mounted above the hull, driving a pusher propeller.^[1]

The first of two prototypes flew in 1939 and performed well enough that a production order for 75 was placed.^[1] The order was reduced to 45 in May 1940 in order to free production capacity for more urgently needed combat aircraft, but none were built following the German invasion.^[1]^[2]

Variants

Bréguet 790: Basic three-seat coastal reconnaissance aircraft, powered by 540 kW (720 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Xirs engine. Two prototypes built.^[3]
Bréguet 791: Proposed version powered by single 490 kW (660 hp) Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engine. Unbuilt.^[2]
Bréguet 792: Proposed version for ship-based reconnaissance aircraft, powered by two 270 kW (360 hp) Béarn 6 air-cooled inline engines. Unbuilt.^[2]

Specifications

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: three
Length: 13.00 m (42 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 17.00 m (55 ft 9 in)
Height: 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 33.00 m² (355.2 sq ft)
Empty weight: 2,700 kg (5,952 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 3,600 kg (7,937 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Xirs inline piston engine, 540 kW (720 hp)
Propellers: 3-bladed

Performance

Maximum speed: 310 km/h (190 mph, 170 kn)
Cruise speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
Range: 900 km (560 mi, 490 nmi)
Endurance: 6 hr at 90 mph (140 km/h)^[2]
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 7.30 m/s (1,437 ft/min) ^[2]

Armament

Guns: 1× 7.5 mm Darne machine gun in dorsal position^[2]
Bombs: 2× 75 kg (165 lb) bombs underwing^[2]

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Orbis 1985, p. 879
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Green 1968, p.14.
^ Green 1968, pp. 13–14.

Bibliography

Green, William (1968). War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Five Flying Boats. London: Macdonald. ISBN 0-356-01449-5.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.

[orbis-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Orbis 1985, p. 879

[Green_v5_p14-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Green 1968, p.14.

[Green_v5_p13-4-3] Green 1968, pp. 13–14.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Breguet aircraft
Early types	Aerhydroplane Gyroplane Type I Type II Type III Type IV Type V Type A Type G Type U LE
Model numbers	4 5 6 11 12 14 16 17 19 20 21 22 25 26T 27 270 271 273 274 280T 390T 392T 393T 410 460 462 470 482 500 521 522 530 610 670 690 691 693 694 695 696 730 731 761 763 765 790 791 792 890 891 892 893 894 895 900 901 902 904 905 906 940 941 960 1001 1002 1004 1050 1100 1150
By name	Alizé Atlantic Atlantique 2 Bellatrix Bizerte BLC BUC BUM Choucas Colmar Colibri de Chasse Cinzano Deux-Ponts Épaulard Fauvette Fulgur Integral Jaguar Leviathan Louisette Mars Mercure Michelin Mouette Nautilus Nymphale Provence Sahara Saigon Taon Universale Vultur (carrier aircraft) Vultur (bomber)
Helicopters	Gyroplane Gyroplane Laboratoire G.11E G.111

Development

Variants

Specifications

See also

References