Bréguet 790 Nautilus

The Bréguet 790 Nautilus was a prototype French three-seat coastal patrol flying-boat designed and built by Bréguet Aviation to meet a requirement from the French navy.

Development
The Nautilus had a high-set monoplane wing on a single-step hull, the wing being fabric covered and the hull all-metal. The aircraft was powered by a 720 hp (537 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Xirs V-12 piston engine strut-mounted above the hull, driving a pusher propeller.

The first of two prototypes flew in 1939 and performed well enough that a production order for 75 was placed. The order was reduced to 45 in May 1940 in order to free production capacity for more urgently needed combat aircraft, but none were built following the German invasion.

Variants

 * Bréguet 790
 * Basic three-seat coastal reconnaissance aircraft, powered by 720 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Xirs engine. Two prototypes built.


 * Bréguet 791
 * Proposed version powered by single 660 hp Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engine. Unbuilt.


 * Bréguet 792
 * Proposed version for ship-based reconnaissance aircraft, powered by two 360 hp Béarn 6 air-cooled inline engines. Unbuilt.