2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Loire 46: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 2. Loire 46 a Walter Mistral K 14: neznámý (unknown)· Public domain
what is it?
The Loire 46 was a French single-seater fighter aircraft of the 1930s. A high-winged monoplane designed and built by Loire Aviation, it was purchased by the French Air Force.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.8 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 92 years ago, in 1934.
- Top speed is 2.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 11.8 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Can fly 1.3× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1934-09-01
- introduced
- 1936
- retired
- 1940
- status
- retired
- number built
- 61
- role
- trainer/fighter
- engines
- 1× Gnome-Rhône 14Kfs
- crew
- 1
- length
- 7.9 m
- wingspan
- 11.8 m
- height
- 4.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,100 kg
- top speed
- 370 km/h
- range
- 750 km
- ceiling
- 11,750 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q732271, Wikipedia: Loire 46 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.