The LeO 45 series of planes were some of the most modern aircraft in the French Air Force at the beginning of WWII. It was a sleek all metal aircraft  with a rather heavy defensive upper turret containing a 20mm canon. It was also built in fairly large numbers and continued to be constructed for Vichy forces after the June armistice.

However, and there is always a however when talking about the French aircraft industry of this period, the aircraft suffered from a lack of really good engines and it also had stability issues. The engine situation was never really fixed as it Gnome & Rhône 14 cylinder dual row radials not only never produced a lot of power, but they were relatively unreliable. This became even more of an issue under German occupation as sabotage was frequent, leading to even more reliability problems. Then a factor that affected all French aircraft construction was a lack of outside supplied pieces like propellers, gyros, generators, and so on. It was not unusual to have dozens of LeO 451s outside the factories awaiting these small parts so that the airplane could be finished.

Still, it was a lot more modern than the Bloch and Amiot bombers the Air Force had been using up until that time. As a result, the aircraft had a fairly active if not less than totally successful career during WWII and after. It flew many missions during May/June 1940 against both the Germans and Italians. After the Armistice, it participated quite a bit in the British incursion into the Levant and though many aircraft were lost (mostly on the ground and due to equipment failures), they were effective against British forces. They were also used briefly during Operation Torch and later with some Free French units, though reliability and lack of spares resulted in ever decreasing use. After the war, several of the surviving planes were re-engined with P&W 1830s and some were also used as test beds.

In addition to the French Air Force, the French Navy briefly used the type and it was used as a transport and liason aircraft by the Germans.

The book offers the complete development and operational history of the type, providing the best history of the type I have ever read. The research is superb and there are tons of great period photos. All of this is further enhanced by a bevy of full color profiles as well as some technical drawings showing systems and some close-up images from period manuals. In all, a superlative monograph of the type and one that every enthusiast should have in their library.

July 2015

Review book courtesy of Azur/FRROM. This book is available in the US through through Casemate Publishing and other distributors in other parts of the world. 

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