Potez 53, 532 and 533 racers

[Justo Miranda]

Potez 53

1933 french racer info

sources
-Le fanatique de l'Aviation nº10-Avril 1970
-http://www.airwar.ru/enc/law1/potez53.html
-http://www.1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Braas/6820.htm
-http://www.past-to-present.com/bastier08.cfm
-http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/aeroscope/images/POTEZ/profil53.jpg

 

[c460]

Potez 53

This is one of my favourite aircraft! The top drawings are original preliminary cutaways, published by the factory in their periodical Bulletin Technique Potez (2nd quarter, 1933). The engine cowling was longer on the actual planes.
The other 3-view drawings are not too accurate. I have other 3-views which are slightly better, I cannot post them now because of image-posting restrictions for new members, but will sure come back and add them.
The two aircraft built have very slight differences, in the wing root fillets, oil radiator fairing and carburettor intake. The surviving one actually won the race for which it was designed, and is that shown in most original pictures. It is exhibited in the Musée de l'Air at Le Bourget.
Technical descriptions of the original 53 can be found online in the following NACA technical report (mostly translated from articles in French aviation newspapers):
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930094693_1993094693.pdf
Some details of the later 532 and 533 racers are in this other NACA report:
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930094652_1993094652.pdf

 

[Stargazer]

This is one of my favourite aircraft!

Why do I have the feeling that your ultimate favourite aircraft is the Caudron C.460 racer? ;D ;D ;D

 

[CAO 700]

And what do you think about the Payen Pa.22 "Fléchair"?

 

[c460]

@ Stargazer: I really wonder how you guessed that ;D
@ CAO 700: This time I'm amazed for real: you two have cited the exact two airplanes I tried to make a 3D model of. As you may guess, the Potez 53 will be my next attempt.

 

[c460]

Here are the promised drawings of the Potez 53. One is from Jean Cuny in L'Enthousiaste no.10, the other is from Bernard Driot in La Vitrine du Maquettiste no.10. None is perfect but they are better than the rest (apart from the factory cutaways). Driot tried to reproduce some of the variations visible in the pictures, but he missed the main point that the two aircraft were slightly different, and his descriptions are a bit messy.

(There are awful drawings in a very old issue of Le Fana and in an old issue of Pégase but these have only anecdotal interest.)

 

[Stargazer]

Magnificent! I'm getting to like the Potez 53 more and more!

@ Stargazer: I really wonder how you guessed that ;D
@ CAO 700: This time I'm amazed for real: you two have cited the exact two airplanes I tried to make a 3D model of. As you may guess, the Potez 53 will be my next attempt.

Must be the French connection... ;D

 

[Justo Miranda]

From le Fana nº10

 

[c460]

More documents on the Potez 53. The top one is the third cutaway published in the original Bulletin Technique Potez, and reproduced in La Vitrine du Maquettiste no.10.
The bottom one is an extract of the NACA Memorandum, originally published in L'Aéronautique, July 1933.

 

[c460]

Here are documents on the Potez 532, actually the second Potez 53 modified for the 1934 Coupe Deutsch race.
They are from the other NACA Memorandum, and were originally published in L'Aéronautique, July 1934.
I've seen only very few pictures of this aircraft.

 

[c460]

Finally, here are documents on the Potez 533, from the same 1934 source. This aircraft was a new design raced that year, with the 532 engaged as a backup.
The small general arrangement drawing shows the outline of both the 532 and 533 superimposed.
It would be great if modern drawings could be issued for these two aircraft, as none were ever published AFAIK.

 

[hesham]

From flugsport 1934,

here is a drawing to Potez 53-2 & 53-3.

 

[blackkite]

Hi!
http://www.pyperpote.tonsite.biz/listinmae/index.php/les-appareils-exposes/hall-10-l-entre-deux-guerres/148-potez-53-n-3402

https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc63460/m1/52/