what is it?
The Potez 630 and its derivatives were a family of twin-engined, multi-role aircraft developed for the French Air Force in the late 1930s. The design was a contemporary of the British Bristol Blenheim (which was larger and designed purely as a bomber) and the German Messerschmitt Bf 110 (which was designed purely as a fighter). The Potez 630 was in use by several operators during the Second World War.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 16 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 90 years ago, in 1936.
- Top speed is 3.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 16 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Range of 1,500 km: 8× Amsterdam to Brussels.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1936-04-25
- introduced
- 1938
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1,395
- role
- military aircraft
- origin
- 🇫🇷 France
- makers
- Potez
- engines
- 2× Gnome-Rhône 14M-04 / Gnome-Rhône 14M-05
- crew
- 3
- length
- 10.9 m
- wingspan
- 16 m
- height
- 3.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 4,530 kg
- top speed
- 425 km/h
- cruise speed
- 299 km/h
- range
- 1,500 km
- ceiling
- 8,500 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q531847, Wikipedia: Potez 630 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.