French Latécoère 298 torpedo seaplane
By late 1938, the new Latecoere 298B folding wing torpedo bomber floatplane was arriving in the French fleet, who purchased 177 of the type. Using the same Hispano-Suiza 12Y as the MS.406 fighter, it could make 156 knots, range 600nm, and carry a very respectable 1,600 pounds of ordnance be it a torpedo or bombs. It had three light machine guns for self-defense (two forward, one rear). Teste would ship two squadrons of these, HB1 (formerly 7B2) and HB2. In September 1939, four land-based squadrons 298s were operational, including 1T on the Étang de Berre (a lagoon on the Mediterranean coast), 2T at Cherbourg, and 3T and 4T at Boulogne.