A bit more detail on LeO 45 series designations ...
For the LeO 45 series, Lioré-et-Olivier followed the typical French pattern of adding a number for major variant changes. Further numerals were added for prototypes and production sub-type variants ... so, LeO 458.01 was the first prototype of the eighth variant; LeO 458.1 was the first production variant (although there could be more than one batch of each variant).
Some variants and modifications were given letters instead. The variant letters that apply to the LeO 45 series are as follows:
C ---
Commercial
E ---
Essais (Test)
LC --
Long Courrier (Long-range courier)
M ---
Marine (Navy)
P ---
Photographic (Photo)
Ph --
Photographique (Photo)
T ---
Transport
One puzzle comes from a decision to end Aéronavale's slow-moving 1937
Hydravion éclaireur de combat (Combat scout seaplane) program in favour of torpedo-carrying Leo 451s. Were torpedo racks to be fitted to the LeO 456/LeO 451M? Or does this refer to the Navy's unmodified LeO 451s? Or to the unordered LeO 458M (of which Aéronavale wanted 300)?
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Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 45 Series Designations
LeO 45 - Hispano-Suiza 14AA-powered medium bomber
- LeO 45.01: 2 x 1,080 hp HS 14AA 06/07, NACA cowlings
-- LeO 45.01: Early 1938, fitted with revised cowlings
-- LeO 45.01: Aug 1938, LeO 45.01 fitted with GR 14Ns
- LeO 450: (Project) Planned prod. vers., cancelled
Leo 451 - Gnome-Rhône 14N-powered medium bomber
- LeO 451.01: Oct 1938 LeO 45.01 with GR 14Ns flown
- LeO 451 B4: March 1939 GR 14N prod'n model, x 749
-- LeO 451 No.1: 2 x GR 14N 20/21 'handed' engines
-- LeO 451 No.2: 2 x GR 14N 39 LH rotation engines
-- Leo 451.01GS:
Groupe Standard conv., see Leo 455
-- NB: Many undesignated trials a/c, see below
- LeO 451
Grec: [Speculative desig.] March 1939 x 12
- LeO 451C: Various commercial conversion proposals
-- LeO 451C: [Project] 1943 4-6 pax, wing bay freight
-- LeO 451C: [Project] 1943 14 pax, aka 'LeO 451C-14'
-- LeO 451C: [Project] 1944 21 pax, aka 'LeO 451C-21'
-- LeO 451C: x 12 postwar Air France 451 B4 conversions
- LeO 451DC: (
Double Commande) Dual-control conv.
- LeO 451DC: Spring 1940 conversion of Leo 451 B4 N°167
- LeO 451E: (
Essais) 3* x postwar flying test-bed conv.
-- * 3 x flying lab/test-beds, 7 other test-bed a/c**
-- ** These include LeO 451 BHT,
Essais series, and (?)
-- LeO 451BHT: (
Bombe Hurel-Turck) BHT 38 guided-bomb
-- E1: Heat recovery exchangers/aerodym. impr. study
-- E2: Engine development study
-- E3: Parachute drop studies
-- E4: Aerodynamic study of vertical-tail profile
-- E5: Icing protection study
-- E6: (??) No details
-- E7: Study of dropping guided-bombs or 'shapes'
-- E8: Pulsejet (pulso-réacteur)/ramjet (stato-réacteur) devel.
-- E9: Development of remote-control & automated guidance
- Leo 451 EMGA: LeO 451C transport/training conv, x ~20
-- EMGA =
Établissement du Matériel du Génie de l'Air
- LeO 451LC: (Project) 1942
Long Courrier
-- Revised wings, for 500 kg of freight over 4,500 km
- LeO 451LC: Intended for
Outre-Mer territory links
-- Interrupted by the German invasion of Vichy France
- LeO 451LC: (Project) 194(?)
Long Courrier
-- Reinitiated project, later redesignated LeO 459
- LeO 451LC: Low-altitude optimised GR 14N-44/N-45s
- LeO 451M: (
Marine) originally designated LeO 456 (qv)
- LeO 451M: Flotation bags and wing cells for
Aéronavale
- LeO 451-SO: (Project)
Bureau d'études de St-Nazaire studies
-- Intended to simplify & speed-up the production of LeO 45s
- LeO 451-SO: 1940 St-Nazaire bureau study, then part of SNCAO
- LeO 451-SO: 1941(?) study, St-Nazaire group now part of SNCASO
- LeO 451T: 1943 Luftwaffe tanker/transport conv.***
-- *** LeO 451T may have been purely a Luftwaffe desig.
LeO 452 - (Project) 1938 uprated HS 14AA-powered bomber
- LeO 452 (I) : Pre-prod'n ac, 2 x 1,150 hp HS 14AA 12/13
- LeO 452 (II): 19(??) prototype conv. w/ unhanded engines
- LeO 452 (II): 2 x 950 hp Gnome-Rhône 14N-38 radials
-- Prototype trials inconclusive, variant is abandoned
LeO 453 - P&W
Twin Wasp-powered variant/LeO 451 conv.
- LeO 453 : (Project) 1939, with alternative US engines
-- LeO 453: Construction begun, not complete in June 1940
- LeO 453 : 1946-1947 conversions to P&W R-1830-43, x 40
- Leo 453E: (
Essais) 2 x LeO 453L missile-carrier conv.
-- aka E10, launch/mother a/c for exper'l guided missiles
- Leo 453L: (
Liaison) main LeO 453 variant, x 24 built
- Leo 453P: (
Photographic) for France's IGN,* x 4
-- * Institut Géographique National,
qv LeO 455Ph conv.
- Leo 453P: 2 x 1,200 hp higher-altitude P&W R-1830-67s
Leo 453S: (
Sauvetage) Search-and-Rescue variant, x 12
LeO 454 - (Project) Bristol*
Hercules-powered LeO 451
-- * But to be built under license by SIGMA near Lyon
- LeO 454.01: Prototype (not completed),
Hercules II
- LeO 454.1 : SIGMA
Hercules II in Bristol cowlings
--
Trait d'Union says Hercules III (delivering 1,400 hp)
- LeO 454.2 : SIGMA
Hercules III in Mercier cowlings
--
Trait d'Union says Hercules VI (delivering 1,650 hp)
LeO 455 - 1939 GR 14R-powered* bomber and later conv.
- LeO 455 : 2 x 1,250 hp Gnome-Rhône 14R-0/R-1 radials
-- 1,250 hp @ 5,000 m, 400 x LeO 455 ordered 1939-40
-- * GR 14R had 2-stage blower & sep. auxil/ gearbox
- LeO 455.01: 1939, sole prototype built as LeO 455
- LeO 455.01: Dec 1939, Ratier 1733.1734 propellers
- LeO 455.01: Feb 1940, modified Ratier propellers
- LeO 455.01: Mar 1940, ventral fin fitted
- LeO 455.01: May 1940, fin deleted, Mercier props
- LeO 455.01: June 1940, 'GS' engines, redesig'd**
-- ** Redesignated LeO 451.01GS (
Groupe Standard)
-- LeO 451.01GS: Long engine-bearers, enlarged tail
- LeO 455 : Postwar modifications into Leo 451 B4s
-- LeO 455 : Engine test-bed conv. for SNEMCA, x 3
-- LeO 455Ph: Photo-survey Leo 451 conv'ns,*** x 5
-- *** For use by Institut Géographique Nationale
-- aka Leo 455P according to
Trait d'Union
LeO 456 -
Aéronavale vers, redesignated LeO 451M
- LeO 456: Minimal diff. with Leo 451,* 68 x ordered
-- * Hence the redesignation to Leo 451M (
Marine)
LeO 457 - (Project) 3-seat high-altitude version*
- * Slimmer fuselage, crew grouped in press. nose
- LeO 457 : Wooden mock-up completed, work begun
- LeO 457 : 3 ordered, none completed by June 1940
- Leo 457-1 : 2 x 1,180 hp Gnome-Rhône 14N-48-N-49s
- Leo 457-1 : Construction begun but not completed
- Leo 457-2 : 2 x 1,590 hp Gnome-Rhône 14R-4/R-5s
- Leo 457 B3: 4,700 lb bombs, 6 x rear-firing 7.5mm
- Leo 457 B3: 2 x 1,200 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Y-89s*
-- * Driving 3-bladed Hispano-Hamilton propellers
-- * '
Hisbo' aka HS 12Z, Brown-Boveri turbochargers
-- * Brown-Boveri turbos, 3-blade Hispano-Hamilton props
- Leo 457 B3: Alternative, 2 x 1,145 hp R-R
Merlin X
-- Leo 457 concept led to entirely new Sud Est SE 012
-- Design process led, incrementally to Sud Est SE 012
LeO 458 - (Project)
Double Cyclone*-powered bomber
- LeO 458-1: Begun Spring 1940, not completed
- LeO 458-1 : 1,600 hp GR-2600-A5B, 34 x ordered
- LeO 458-2 : Hamilton-Standard props, x 60 ordered
- LeO 458-3 : Curtiss electric props, x 465 ordered
- LeO 458M : (
Marine), Aéronavale variant
-- * aka Wright
Cyclone 14, double-row radial
-- Plans for 300 x LeO 458M but no order was placed
LeO 459 - (Project) Long-range* courier LeO 451 conv.
- LeO 459: Redesignated LeO 451LC (
Long Courrier)
- LeO 459: Low-altitude optimised GR 14N-44/N-45s
-- LeO 459
Long Courrier range was to be 4,500 km
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Undesignated LeO 451 Experimental Airframes
- LeO 451 N° 51 : Experimetal enlarged fins/rudders*
-- * After 1941, made standard for all LeO 451s
- LeO 451 N° 242: Bloch 174-style Mercier cowlings
-- LeO 451 also tested rear-firing wobble-mount MGs
- LeO 451 degaussing ring 'minesweeper':
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,17803.msg169997.html#msg169997
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