The Late 298D was a French seaplane, designed as a torpedo bomber, which also took on the roles of a dive bomber and reconnaissance plane. In 1934, the French Navy was seeking replacement for the unsuccessful Laté 29 that had just entered service. The Latécoère 298 first flew on 6th May 1936. It was a single-engined monoplane powered by a Hispano Suiza 12Y liquid-cooled engine. Two large floats each containing a fuel tank were attached to the fuselage with struts. A single Type 1926DA torpedo could be carried between the floats or two 150 kg bombs or depth charges for anti-submarine duties. Offensive armament was made of two 7.5 mm Darne machine guns with one in each wing and one Darne on a flexible mount operated by observer. The Laté 298 entered service in 1938 with the French Navy Air Force. The Laté first saw action during the Battle of France where they were used in their maritime patrol aircraft role, although they never attacked any German ships. In the later phase of the war, they were used to attack armoured columns advancing through France with lower casualties than other types used. After the fall of France, the Vichy regime retained a few squadrons of the aircraft and used them mostly in Africa, while the Luftwaffe also used captured aircraft. After the Allied landings in Africa, the Laté was used by the Free French under Coastal Command in conjunction with Vickers Wellingtons for anti-submarine patrols. In 1944, they were used for the last time in combat during the liberation of France, attacking German shipping in the Channel. The last Laté 298 was retired in 1946, with some serving as trainers until 1950.
The Late 298D was introduced during Update "Apex Predators" as a reward for the 2022 Winter Quest event. The Late 298D can be used as a fighter as it boasts very good manoeuvrability compared to its contemporaries, however it should be noted that its speed leaves much to be desired, with almost every biplane being significantly faster. The plane itself can utilize boom and zoom tactics due to its very high structural limit of 450 km/h. The armament is quite weak with only two rifle calibre machine guns with only 500 rpg. The Late 298D can also be used to capture points in naval battles.
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Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
T/Ball/Ball/Ball/I/AP | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
T/AP/AP/I/I | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
IT | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
AP/AP/I | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
T/Ball/Ball/I/AP | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
T/AP/AP/AP | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
T/AP | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Name | Weight | Slot | ||||||
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2 × | 146 kg | |||||||
2 × | 236 kg | |||||||
674 kg |
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