Latham
A Seine-side flying-boat maker remembered for one aircraft and one flight: the Latham 47 that vanished over the Barents Sea in 1928 with Roald Amundsen aboard.
Latham: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Flying boats on the Seine
The Latham name was already famous in French aviation when Jean Latham, cousin of the pioneer Hubert Latham, founded his company in 1916. He took over the Coutant seaplane works at Caudebec-en-Caux on the banks of the Seine and built flying boats for the French Navy: a trimotor bomber in 1919, the HB.5 in 1921 and the four-engined E-5 of 1925.
The Amundsen flight
Its best-known type, the twin-engined Latham 47, was built to a Navy requirement for a long-range flying boat with transatlantic range; 12 production aircraft and two civil 47P mailplanes followed two prototypes. In June 1928, with Umberto Nobile’s airship Italia down on the Arctic ice, France lent Roald Amundsen the second prototype, 47.02, under Commander René Guilbaud. It left Tromsø on 18 June and disappeared without trace; only a float and a fuel tank were ever found.
Afterlife of the works
The company did not outlast the decade. Its Caudebec factory passed to Félix Amiot’s SECM, then in 1930 to the government-sponsored SGA, and went on to build the Blériot 5190 flying boat and Amiot 143 airframes. A memorial to the crew of the Latham 47 has stood at Caudebec-en-Caux since 1931; in 2009 the Norwegian navy searched the seabed for the wreck.
Latham in numbers
Het bedrijf
- Kortom
- Founded 1916
- Founded by Jean Latham, cousin of Hubert Latham
- Took over the Coutant seaplane works on the Seine
Productie
- Het meest bekend om
- Latham 47
- Flying boats for the French Navy
- Latham 47: 16 built including prototypes and mailplanes
Vandaag
- Nu
- Opgeheven
- Memorial to the Latham 47 crew at Caudebec-en-Caux, 1931
The Caudebec works later served SECM, SGA and others.
De cijfers
- Latham 47 built
- 16 (2 prototypes, 12 Navy, 2 mail)
Every notable Latham aircraft
| Vliegtuig | Rol | Eerste vlucht | Gebouwd | Status | Opmerking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latham Trimotor | Bomber flying boat | 1919 | Gepensioneerd | ||
| Latham HB.5 | Bomber flying boat | 1921 | Gepensioneerd | ||
| Latham E-5 | Four-engined flying boat | 1925 | Gepensioneerd | ||
| Latham 47 (R3B4) | Vliegboot voor langeafstandsverkenning | 1928 | 16 | Gepensioneerd | 47.02 lost with Roald Amundsen, 18 June 1928 |
Where Latham built, who led it, what it achieved
Fabrieken
- Caudebec works · Caudebec-en-Caux, on the Seine — Former Coutant seaplane works
Mensen
- Jean Latham · founder — Cousin of Hubert Latham
- René Guilbaud · French Navy commander — Captain of the lost Latham 47.02
- Roald Amundsen · explorer — Lost aboard the Latham 47, 1928
Latham, year by year
Jean Latham founds the company at Caudebec-en-Caux
Latham Trimotor bomber flying boat
Latham 47 prototype flies
Latham 47.02 disappears with Amundsen after leaving Tromsø
Torn-off float found off Troms
Caudebec factory part of the SGA group
Memorial to the Latham 47 crew unveiled
Norwegian navy search for the wreck
Before and after Latham
Everything people ask about Latham
What happened to the Latham 47 and Roald Amundsen?
Who founded Latham?
Where were Latham flying boats built?
How many Latham 47s were built?
Around Latham
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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.