Lioré et Olivier LeO H 43

The Lioré et Olivier LeO H-43 was a reconnaissance seaplane produced in France in the 1930s. It was a strut-braced, mid-wing monoplane of largely conventional design, provided with an observation balcony underneath the fuselage. It was designed to be launched by catapult from warships and, after a first flight in 1934, trials were conducted on board Commandant Teste.

Contents

• Operators
• Specifications
• References

Development was prolonged and the prototype underwent much modification before an order for 20 machines was placed by the Aéronavale. Even after this, a major redesign to the forward fuselage was specified as part of the production order. As a result, the first test flight of the production version did not take place until 13 July 1939, by which time the H-43 was already obsolete.

The twenty examples purchased briefly equipped two squadrons from February 1940, but all were withdrawn with the Fall of France.