French Loire 130 Flying Boat Part II

An atmospheric photo capturing a Loire 130 being hoisted ashore by a crane. The hoisting cable was attached by the crewman seen standing on the wing, which required a degree of skill and courage during rough weather. In the background several seaplanes can be seen moored to buoys in the bay.

A Loire on a beaching dolly. This photo provides a good view of details of the bomb rack under the port wing. Many of these photos show the aircraft with 165-pound (75 kg) bombs in place.

An aerial view of a pair of Loire 130s in formation. After the French capitulation the Germans established a puppet French government in the city of Vichy under Marshal Philippe Petain. Under the surrender terms Vichy France was allowed to keep its navy and colonial possessions while remaining ostensibly neutral. The Vichy French aircraft were marked with alternating red and yellow stripes on their tail surfaces as a sign of neutrality, these aircraft also carry the stripes on their engine nacelles.

A Loire being hoisted aboard a La Galissonière class light cruiser. In the foreground is the catapult shuttle which will be attached to the aircraft, securing it to the catapult.

A Loire on calm seas. What makes this photo interesting is the aircraft is secured to a boom, likely from the seaplane tender Commandant Teste. This was a common method of mooring boats to a ship while at anchor but it is unusual to see a seaplane moored in this manner.

A beautiful aerial view showing details of the two gun positions on the upper fuselage and French naval roundels on the wings.

A Loire on the hoist, with tending pennants fore and aft. These lines would be tended by sailors to keep the aircraft steady. Compare details of the aft gun position on the fuselage to the previous photo.

A Loire ashore providing details of the transport dolly. Two dolly designs appear in these photos, a three-wheeled version seen here and a different four-wheeled type.

Three crewmen are visible in this photo. The prominent mast over the cockpit was offset to port and supported the pitot tubes which were used to measure airspeed.

The catapult aboard the La Galissonière class light cruisers was mounted on top of the after 6-inch (152mm) gun turret. The crewman seen on the platform are at the catapult’s controls. This perspective also shows the cable connected to the launch shuttle.

A pair of photos showing the interior of a Loire 130. These are two views of the same aircraft.

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/01/28/french-loire-130-flying-boat-part-i/