Potez 53

The Potez 53 was a racing aircraft built in France by Potez to compete for the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe in 1933.

Design and development

The Potez 53 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional design with an enclosed cockpit for the pilot. The main units of the tailskid undercarriage retracted outwards into the undersides of the wings (There is something wrong here—maybe "and" left out. BAB) . It was powered by a supercharged nine-cylinder Potez 9B radial engine driving a two-bladed fixed pitch propeller. The engine was specially designed for the competition, which called for engines of less than 8 litres (490 cu in) displacement.

Two machines were entered for the 1933 Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe. The first (racing no.10) was flown by Georges Détré, who won first place, covering the 2,000 km (1,200 mi) closed-circuit course with an average speed of 323 km/h (201 mph). The other (racing no.12) was flown by Gustave Lemoine, who retired after completing the fourth lap.

Following this success, a new machine designated the Potez 533 (or 53-3) was built with various improvements for the 1934 race, including an uprated engine delivering 350 hp (260 kW) driving a Ratier variable-pitch propeller, slimmer and more streamlined fuselage and redesigned wings of increased area. One of the two aircraft entered the previous years was refurbished as the Potez 532 (or 53-2), to act as a backup in the competition. The engine was uprated, its fuselage was slightly lengthened for aerodynamic reasons, the wing was further enlarged and additional flaps were installed between the fuselage and ailerons.