Breguet 693
Type Ground attack
Manufacturer Breguet, SNCAC
Designed by Georges Ricard
Maiden flight 1938
Introduced 1939
Retired 1942
Primary user French Air Force
Produced 1939-1940
Number built approx. 230

The Breguet 690 and its derivatives were a series of light twin-engined aircraft that were used by the French Air Force in World War II.

The aircraft was well designed, easy to maintain, pleasant to fly and could fly at 480 km/h at 4,000 metres (13,000 feet). The type’s sturdy construction was frequently demonstrated and the armament was effective. Like the Bloch 175 light bomber and the LeO 451 and Amiot 351 medium bombers, the Breguet 693 showed that French designers were as good as any in the world. Unfortunately, French rearmament began two full years later than that in Britain and all of these fine aircraft were simply not available in sufficient numbers to make a difference in 1940.

Development

The 690 had begun life in 1934 as Breguet’s response to the same, quite far sighted strategic fighter specification that resulted in the eventual winner, the Potez 630. Both were attractive twin-engined monoplanes with twin tailplanes, powered by Hispano-Suiza 14AB radial engines of modern design and, for the time, good performance. Breguet considered the weight limits of the specification, that required a twin-engined, three-man aircraft to be lighter than 3,000 kg (later 3,500 kg) to be overly restrictive and ignored them. Instead, the design was advertised as particularly versatile, with reconnaissance, ground attack and level bombing derivatives proposed that required no structural changes. Unsurprisingly, Breguet lost out in the competition to Potez, but confident in the 690′s potential, nevertheless began building a prototype on its own funds.

After considerable debate and delay the French Air Staff decided to acquire modern ground attack aircraft. Engineless for nearly a year, the 690-01 prototype displayed such promise that 100 two-seat attack bomber versions known as the Breguet 691 AB2 were ordered in mid 1938, an order soon doubled. For the ground attack role, the 691′s equipment included a 20 mm cannon and a pair of light machine guns firing forward, as well as an internal bomb rack that could be used in a shallow dive attack and was typically loaded with eight 50 kg-class (110 lb) bombs. Rear defense was provided by one flexible light machine gun, while a fixed, rearwards firing weapon of the same type was fitted under the fuselage to discourage low-flying attacking fighters or ground fire from behind. A set of armour plates protected the crew, and fuel tanks had rudimentary self-sealing capability, but in spite of this the Breguet 690′s protection proved very insufficient in combat.

Breguet established an assembly line with remarkable speed: the first production aircraft flew less than a year after being ordered and was in service before the end of 1939.

As with the Potez 630, the Bre 691 was beset with engine difficulties. Hispano-Suiza had decided to concentrate on its V12 liquid cooled engines and the 14AB engine was unreliable. The French authorities decided to order a new version, the Bre 693 powered by Gnome-Rhône 14M radials. Apart from the changed engines, which were of slightly smaller diameter, the two types were virtually identical. Orders for the Bre 691 were switched to the new type and more than 200 of the latter had been completed by the time of France’s defeat.

Late production versions of the Bre 693 introduced propulsive exhaust pipes that improved top speed by a small margin as well as, according to some sources, a pair of additional light machine guns in the tail of each engine nacelle. Belgium ordered 32 licence built copies but none were completed before the Belgian collapse. In the haste to get the Bre 693 into production the opportunity was lost to specify a low-level version of the Gnome-Rhône 14M, but in time no doubt this would have been remedied.

Variants

Breguet Bre.690 – The Bre.690.01 prototype flew for the first time on 23 March 1938 powered by two 680 hp (507 kW) Hispano-Suiza 14AB-02/03 counter-rotating engines. Delivered to the CEMA for official trials in the summer of that year, the Bre.690 was found to have a performance superior to that of the Potez 630, but in late August it was returned to Breguet for modification of the landing gear.

Breguet Bre.691 – The Bre.691.01 prototype flew for the first time on 22 March 1939 powered by two 700 hp (522 kW) Hispano-Suiza 14AB-10/11 radial engines. Configured especially to satisfy the attack role, featuring twin end-plate fins and rudders, and a retractable tailwheel.

Breguet Bre.693 – The Bre.693.01 prototype flew for the first time on 25 October 1939. With the Hispano-Suiza engines proving unreliable, modifications were made to incorporate the 700 hp (522 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14M-6/7 Mars 14-cylinder two-row radial engines. 234 examples being built.

Breguet Bre.694 – A single Bre.694.01 prototype, intended initially as a three-seat tactical reconnaissance aircraft, and later as a two or three-seat version for use in a bomber/reconnaissance role, and which had appealed respectively to Belgium and Sweden, was delivered to the Aeronavale on 1 June 1940. This was generally similar to the original Bre.690, with the navigator’s compartment restored, and powered by two 710 hp (529 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14M-4/5 engines.

Breguet Bre.695 – The Bre.695.01 flew for the first time in early 1940 powered by Two 825 hp (615 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SB4G Twin Wasp Junior 14-cylinder two-row radial engines mated with a Bre.693 airframe. This type resulted from a new French policy to ensure that if French engine plants were overrun, engines of foreign design could be used instead. 50 examples were built.

Breguet Bre.696.01 – A single prototype first flown on 3 November 1939 and modified (slightly enlarged weapons bay) for use as a two seat light bomber. Never put into production.

Breguet Bre.697 – A single pre-prototype first flown on 19 October 1939 designed for use as heavily armed ‘destroyer’ which would have become the Bre.700. It was powered by two 1,070 hp (798 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14N-48/49 radial engines. The single example was destroyed by the French to prevent it from falling into German hands.
Fewer than 250 Breguet 690 series aircraft were completed. The Armée de l’air received only 211 examples: 75 Bre.691s, 128 Bre.693s, and 8 Bre.695s, but the Germans captured a few dozen complete or near-complete aircraft at the factories.

Operational Service

A small experimental unit had been experimenting with ground attack tactics since 1937, initially in outdated biplanes such as the Potez 25, then in ANF Les Mureaux 115 monoplanes. Eventually, the Armée de l’Air concluded that low-altitude level-bombing was more suitable than dive-bombing for engaging enemy vehicles and artillery over the battlefield. The chosen tactic consisted in a nap-of-the-earth approach at maximum speed, followed by a strafing run or the delivery of time-delayed bombs directly over the target. French commanders widely considered this tactic as safe for the attackers, as anti-aircraft weapons then in service would be inefficient. It should be noted that the French army was not using anti-aircraft autocannons at the time (the 25 mm Hotchkiss and 20 mm Oerlikon guns were only issued later), but only rifle-calibre machine guns and slow-firing 75 mm cannons.

In late 1939, two squadrons staffed with volunteers from level bomber units were gathered in the small airfield near Vinon-sur-Verdon, where they began their operational training. As Breguet 691s were not available yet, the crews flew the Potez 633 light level bomber. When they were eventually delivered, the little Breguets were popular with their crews, although the unreliable engines in the Bre 691 caused headaches and undercarriage failures proved especially troublesome. Only in March 1940 were the first combat-worthy Bre. 693s delivered, and there were now five squadrons to equip: GBA I/51, GBA II/51, GBA I/54, GBA II/54, and GBA II/35 (GBA stands for Groupe de bombardement d’assaut – assault bomber squadron), with a theoretical complement of 13 aircraft each.

Because of this late delivery, crews were still working up their new machines and developing tactics when the Germans attacked. On May 12, GBAs I/54 and II/54 performed the Breguet’s first operational sorties, against German motorized columns in the Maastricht-Tongeren-Bilsen area. German anti-aircraft fire was so devastating that only eight of the 18 Bre.693s returned.

The disastrous results of this first engagement forced the French commanders to reconsider their tactics. Until May 15th GBA crews performed shallow dive attacks from higher altitude, which resulted in reduced losses, but the attacks had clearly been inaccurate, as the Breguets lacked a bombsight, and they increased vulnerability to enemy fighters. On the following missions the GBAs re-introduced low-level attacks, but with smaller formations. As the battle quickly evolved towards the collapse of the French armies, the assault groups were engaged daily, still enduring losses to the AAA, but also to enemy fighters.

In late June, the Armée de l’Air tried to evacuate its modern aircraft to North Africa, out of German reach, from where many hoped to continue the fight. Unfortunately the short-ranged Breguets were not able to cross the Mediterranean. Unlike other French modern types, the Breguet 690 family saw its combat career end with the Armistice.

At this point in time, 119 aircraft had been lost, including 68 to direct enemy action, and a further 14 were written off as too heavily damaged. The five GBAs had therefore endured a matériel loss rate of 63%, while crew casualties accounted for nearly 50%.

After the Armistice, the Vichy authorities were allowed to maintain a small air force in mainland France, and its assault bomber pilots flew rare training flights in the Bre.693 and Bre.695. After the Germans occupied all of France in late 1942 some of the survivors were transferred to Italy for use as operational trainer aircraft.

Specifications (Bre.693 AB2)
General characteristics

* Crew: two, pilot and rear gunner
* Length: 9.67 m (31 ft 9 in)
* Wingspan: 15.37 m (50 ft 5 in)
* Height: 3.19 m (10 ft 6 in)
* Wing area: 29.2 m² (314 ft²)
* Empty weight: 3,675 kg (8,101 lb)
* Useful load: 5,420 kg (11,949 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 5,500 kg (12,125 lb)
* Powerplant: 2× Gnome-Rhône 14M-6/7 , 522 kW (700 hp) each

Performance

* Maximum speed: 490 km/h (304 mph)
* Range: 1,350 km (839 miles)
* Service ceiling: 8,500 m (27,885 ft)
* Rate of climb: 555 m/min (1,822 ft/min)

Armament

* 1x fixed forward-firing 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon
* 2x fixed forward-firing 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns
* 1x flexible, rearward-firing 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine gun in rear cockpit
* 1x fixed, rearward-firing 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine gun in ventral position
* 460 kg (1,014 lb) of bombs