2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Potez 45: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 2. Potez 452 photo Le Pontential Aérien Mondial 1936: Le Pontential Aérien Mondial 1936· Public domain
what is it?
The Potez 452 was a French flying boat designed and built by Potez in response to a French Navy specification for a shipboard reconnaissance machine for use on its battleships and cruisers.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · high wing · 13 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 94 years ago, in 1932.
- Top speed is 1.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 13 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1932-04
- introduced
- 1936
- retired
- 1944
- status
- retired
- number built
- 17
- role
- naval reconnaissance aircraft
- makers
- Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine, Potez
- engines
- 1× Hispano-Suiza 9Qd
- crew
- 2
- length
- 10.2 m
- wingspan
- 13 m
- height
- 3.4 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,750 kg
- top speed
- 217 km/h
- cruise speed
- 170 km/h
- range
- 500 km
- ceiling
- 5,499 m
- wings
- high wing
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3400023, Wikipedia: Potez 452 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.