CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine)

Slagorde · Vliegtuigfabrikanten · Frankrijk

CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine)

Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine · Potez-CAMS

Founded to build Italian flying boats under licence, CAMS poached SIAI’s designer and became the French Navy’s flying-boat house of the interwar years.

1920Opgericht
Samengevoegd in SNCAN in 1937Status
6Vliegtuigen geregistreerd
Foto: Wikimedia Commons (Publiek domein)
LandFrankrijkOpgericht1920-11OprichtersLawrence SantoniHoofdkwartierSaint-Ouen, later SartrouvilleStatusSamengevoegd in SNCAN in 1937
Het verhaal

CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine): the company and the aircraft that made its name

Italian roots

CAMS began as a French outpost of Italian design. Lawrence Santoni founded the Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine at Saint-Ouen in November 1920 to build SIAI flying boats under licence. In 1922 he lured Raffaele Conflenti away from SIAI to be his head designer, and CAMS began producing its own boats, from racers and trainers to the CAMS 30T, which set a speed record for passenger-carrying flying boats in 1924.

Boats for the Navy and the mail

Its signature formula, a biplane hull with two engines mounted back to back between the wings, served both the Navy and the airlines. Maurice Hurel’s CAMS 53 carried Aeropostale and Air Union passengers from Marseille to Algiers, Ajaccio and Beirut; about 25 were still flying when Air France was formed in 1933. The military CAMS 55 was built in 112 examples, equipped 15 French Navy escadrilles and soldiered on in Tahiti until January 1941.

Nationalised

In the 1930s the company worked under the Potez-CAMS name on ever more ambitious boats, including the four-engined 141 and the six-engined 161 airliner. Nationalisation ended its independence in 1936–37: its Sartrouville works were folded into the state-owned SNCAN, the northern group that later became Nord Aviation.

Founded to build Italian flying boats under licence, CAMS poached SIAI’s designer and became the French Navy’s flying-boat house of the interwar years.CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine) · verified 2026-10-03
In één oogopslag

CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine) in numbers

Het bedrijf

Kortom
Opgericht in 1920

  • Founded at Saint-Ouen by Lawrence Santoni
  • Started with SIAI designs under licence
  • Raffaele Conflenti head designer from 1922

Productie

Het meest bekend om
CAMS 55

  • CAMS 55: 112 built for the French Navy
  • CAMS 53: about 30 airliners
  • Dozens of designs and projects 1922–1939

Vandaag

Nu
Merged, 1937

  • Became part of nationalised SNCAN

The CAMS line flows through Nord Aviation into Aérospatiale.

De cijfers

CAMS 55 built
112
Navy escadrilles with CAMS 55
15
CAMS 55 in service at outbreak of WWII
291939
Het vliegtuig

Every notable CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine) aircraft

Vliegtuig Rol Eerste vlucht Gebouwd Status Opmerking
CAMS 30 Training / passenger flying boat 1923 Gepensioneerd 30T set a passenger flying-boat speed record in 1924
CAMS 37 Utility flying boat 1926 Gepensioneerd
CAMS 53 Transportvliegtuig 1928 ongeveer 30 Gepensioneerd Aeropostale, Air Union and Air Orient routes
CAMS 55 Verkenningsvliegboot 1928 112 Gepensioneerd Last served in Tahiti until January 1941
Potez-CAMS 141 Vliegboot voor langeafstandsverkenning 1938 Gepensioneerd
Potez-CAMS 161 Six-engined flying-boat airliner Gepensioneerd
Plaatsen, mensen, archieven

Where CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine) built, who led it, what it achieved

Fabrieken

  • Saint-Ouen works · Saint-Ouen, Seine — Founding site, 1920
  • Sartrouville works · Sartrouville — Transferred to SNCAN on nationalisation

Mensen

  • Lawrence Santoni · oprichter
  • Raffaele Conflenti · head designer from 1922 — Recruited from SIAI
  • Maurice Hurel · designer — CAMS 53 and CAMS 55

Records en primeurs

  • CAMS 30T: speed record for passenger-carrying flying boats, 1924
Tijdlijn

CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine), year by year

1920

CAMS founded at Saint-Ouen by Lawrence Santoni

1922

Raffaele Conflenti joins from SIAI

1924

CAMS 30T sets passenger flying-boat speed record

1928

CAMS 53 and CAMS 55 first fly

1933

About 25 CAMS 53s pass to the new Air France

1936

Nationalised

1937

Works absorbed into SNCAN

1941

Last CAMS 55 retired in Tahiti

De stamboom

Before and after CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine)

Kwam eerderSavoia-MarchettiLicence designs and designer ConflentiRead the Savoia-Marchetti pageKwam daarnaSNCANCAMS Sartrouville nationalised into SNCAN, 1936–37Lees de SNCAN-pagina
Vragen en antwoorden

Everything people ask about CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine)

What does CAMS stand for?
Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine, the Seine aero-maritime works.
What was CAMS’s most important aircraft?
The CAMS 55 reconnaissance flying boat, 112 of which served the French Navy through the 1930s.
What happened to CAMS?
It was nationalised in 1936 and its factory became part of SNCAN, later Nord Aviation.
Who designed CAMS flying boats?
Raffaele Conflenti from 1922, and later Maurice Hurel.

Vervolg de rondleiding

Around CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine)

FrankrijkAérospatialeHet Franse staatsluchtvaartconcern bouwde de Concorde, was medeoprichter van Airbus, leidde Ariane, maakte de Squirrel- en Puma-helikopters en de Exocet — en ging vervolgens uiteen in…Lees de Aérospatiale-paginaFrankrijkAirbus-helikoptersDe Europese helikoptergigant, ontstaan uit Franse en Duitse concurrenten, bouwt nu ongeveer de helft van alle civiele helikopters ter wereld – en heeft er ooit één aan de grond staan…Lees de pagina over Airbus Helicopters.De indexAlle vliegtuigfabrikantenElk bedrijf dat een vliegtuig heeft gebouwd dat door de luchtmacht is gebruikt in de huidige en historische gevechtsorde.Open de lijst
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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.