F-BDRA A fabulous wooden floor model that dates from the 1940s. Model is in a private collection of a collector who wishes to remain anonymous. Design of this elegant six engined 70-ton 'boat was begun just prior to the Nazi occupation of France. The prototype took four years to complete and was then confiscated by the Germans who flew it to Friedrichshafen for testing, where it was promptly destroyed the very next day after its arrival (20 January 1944) by an allied air raid. A second prototype was hidden from the occupying forces on the outskirts of Toulouse (where the Latecoere factory was located) and re-emerged after the war. A further ten Late 631s were built and were operated by Air France in the late 1940s on their trans-Atlantic route to the French West Indies (to Martinique). Air France sold the machines off after a couple of years, and all were withdrawn from use by around 1955 after four were lost in crashes.
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