Mach 2 GP.015 Amiot 351/354 WWII French High-Speed Bomber

Note: A classic 1990s short-run kit that can be quite challenging to build, yet capable of becoming a true gem in the hands of an experienced modeler. Recommended only for those fully confident in their skills or who simply cannot do without an Amiot 351 or Amiot 354 in their collection.

Amiot 351/354 WWII French High-Speed Bomber

The Amiot 354 traces its origins to an August 1933 French Armée de l'Air requirement for a BCR (Bombardement, Combat, Renseignement) multirole combat aircraft. Initial efforts to modernize the obsolete Amiot 143 proved unviable, prompting Avions Amiot designers to develop a fundamentally new, highly streamlined airframe: the Amiot 340, with a projected top speed of 292 mph. The Amiot 340.01 prototype showcased its high-speed potential in August 1938 when French Air Staff Chief General Joseph Vuillemin flew aboard the aircraft on an official visit to Germany, covering the Villacoublay–Berlin route at an average speed of 273 mph. Flight trials prompted a redesign to accommodate a four-man crew. The prototype was modified into the Amiot 351 variant, featuring twin fins and rudders to improve dorsal firing arcs. However, tooling bottlenecks with the twin-tail assembly forced the Amiot 354 variant into parallel production, retaining the original Amiot 340's simpler single-fin tail.

Power was provided by two 14-cylinder, two-row Gnome-Rhône 14N-48/49 radial engines rated at 1,060 hp each. Counter-rotating propellers neutralized engine torque on takeoff and drove the bomber to a top speed of 298 mph. Defensive armament comprised a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 autocannon in the dorsal turret, along with two 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns in the nose and ventral positions. Chronic shortages of cannon mounts meant most production aircraft reached combat units fitted with a 7.5 mm machine gun rather than the intended 20 mm weapon. The internal bomb bay accommodated a payload of up to 2,646 lb.

Procurement contracts under the Plan V rearmament program called for 830 aircraft. Widespread component shortages and dispersed manufacturing across separate plants left roughly two hundred incomplete airframes stranded on assembly lines by May 1940, leaving only 35 aircraft combat-ready at the onset of the German invasion. The initial Amiot 351s and 354s equipped bomber groups GB I/21 and GB II/21 at Avignon. They flew their first documented combat sortie on May 16, 1940, conducting a reconnaissance mission in the Maastricht area. Sister groups GB I/34 and GB II/34 later received the new bombers, but the armistice intervened before they could see combat action. The French military accepted approximately 80 aircraft in total. Combat attrition was light, with just three aircraft lost to enemy action, while another ten crashed in operational accidents. On June 17, 1940, thirty-seven surviving bombers escaped to North Africa. Following the armistice, they were flown back to the mainland, and their combat units were disbanded. The Vichy government subsequently operated five disarmed airframes as mail planes. In November 1942, German forces seized four survivors for use as transports, assigning two airframes to 1./KG 200.

Technical Specifications of the Amiot 354 B4

• Length — 47.57 ft
• Wingspan — 74.90 ft
• Height — 13.39 ft
• Wing area — 721 sq ft
• Empty weight — 10,439 lb
• Normal take-off weight — 24,965 lb
• Powerplant — 1 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-48 (port) and 1 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-49 (starboard) radial engines, 1,060 hp each
• Maximum speed — 298 mph at 13,123 ft
• Cruising speed — 217 mph
• Service ceiling — 32,808 ft
• Time to climb to 13,123 ft — 8 min 42 sec
• Operational range — 2,175 miles
• Armament — 1 × 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon (or 1 × 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine gun) in dorsal turret, 2 × 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns (in nose and ventral mounts), up to 2,646 lb of bombs in internal bomb bay