The GL-30 was a parasol-wing monoplane with retractable undercarriage and a Bristol Jupiter engine. Like most of Gordou-Lesserre’s earlier aircraft, it was a parasol wing design but its planform was trapezoidal rather than rectangular. In 1923 it flew the Coupe Beaumont course at an impressive 360 km/h (220 mph; 190 kn).

The GL.30 was the basis of a new fighter, the GL.31, which had a greater span, almost double the wing area, a fixed undercarriage, and a Gnome-Rhône 9A engine. It was armed with four machine guns, two in the forward fuselage and two in the wings. The GL. 31 was not flown until 1926 and then abandoned, overtaken by the GL.32, the company’s entry in a 1923 Aéronautique Militaire competition to select a new fighter. It returned to a rectangular plan wing.

By the time this prototype flew, the Gourdou-Leseurre had been acquired by Loire, and therefore the new aircraft was entered as the LGL.32. Placed second in the trials, the type’s performance was impressive enough to still result in an order in January 1927 for a small batch of aircraft – five evaluation aircraft and 20 preproduction machines. Eventually, 475 of this basic version, dubbed LGL.32C.1 in service, would be ordered by the Aéronautique Militaire and 15 more by the Aéronautique Maritime. Romania ordered a further 50 aircraft of the same design as the examples in French service, Turkey ordered 12 (these designated LGL.32-T) and another one may have been purchased by Japan.

The LGL.32 Hy was a twin-pontoon floatplane version converted from the LGL.32 prototype. It set a world seaplane altitude record on 28 March 1927.

In French service, development turned from fighters to adapting the aircraft as a carrier-borne dive bomber. These featured general strengthening of the airframe, divided main undercarriage units, and a “fork” under the fuselage able to release a 50 kg (110 lb) bomb from under the fuselage while avoiding hitting the propeller.

While prolific, the GL.32 was not long-lasting, and attrition took a heavy toll on them. By 1934, all remaining examples were relegated to training and as instructional airframes; at the start of 1936, only 135 remained of the original 380 purchased. A number of these were sold to the government of the Second Spanish Republic and to the autonomous Basque Government. Another aircraft was supplied to the Basques in 1937, modified as a dive bomber along the lines of the previous French experiments. Designated the GL.633, this aircraft was used by Miguel Zambudio to attack the Nationalist battleship España, scoring decisive hits that contributed substantially to her subsequent sinking.

Gallery

Variants:

GL.30
Racer with retractable undercarriage and
Engine: Bristol Jupiter
one built

GL.31 / GL.31C.1 / CL-I-3
Four-gun fighter prototype with fixed undercarriage
longer-span wings
engine: Gnome-Rhône 9A
one built

LGL.32 / GL.32C.1
Definitive two-gun fighter version
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome et Rhône 9A Jupiter VIII, 450 kW (600 hp)
Propeller: 2-bladed wooden fixed pitch
Wingspan: 12.2 m (40 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 24.9 m2 (268 sq ft)
Length: 7.55 m (24 ft 9 in)
Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)
Empty weight: 963 kg (2,123 lb)
Gross weight: 1,376 kg (3,034 lb)
Fuel capacity: 285 kg (628 lb) – (ca. 200 L (53 US gal; 44 imp gal))
Maximum speed: 270 km/h (170 mph, 150 kn) at sea level
Maximum speed: 260 km/h (160 mph; 140 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
Maximum speed: 251 km/h (156 mph; 136 kn) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
Maximum speed: 215 km/h (134 mph; 116 kn) at 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
Landing speed: 90 km/h (56 mph; 49 kn)
Range: 500 km (310 mi, 270 nmi)
Service ceiling: 9,700 m (31,800 ft)
Time to 2,000 m (6,600 ft): 3 minutes 5 seconds
Time to 5,000 m (16,000 ft): 11 minutes
Time to 8,000 m (26,000 ft): 31 minutes
Wing loading: 54.8 kg/m2 (11.2 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.33 kW/kg (0.2 hp/lb)
Armament: 2x 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers or Darne machine-guns – fuselage / 2x 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Darne machine-guns in wings
Crew: 1
ca. 490 built

LGL.32.01
The first prototype.

LGL.32T
Export version for Turkey
12 built

LGL.32 Hy
Twin-pontoon floatplane version converted from LGL.32 prototype.
one converted

LGL.321
LGL.32 converted to use 450 kW (600 hp) version of the Gnome & Rhône 9Ac
one converted

LGL.323
LGL.32 converted to use supercharged 373 kW (600 hp) Bristol Jupiter for unsuccessful altitude record attempts.
one converted

LGL.324
LGL.323 further modified and used by Pierre Lemoigne to set world landplane altitude record
500 kg payload of 9,600 m (31,500 ft) on 23 May 1929
Albert Lécrivain set world landplane altitude record
11,000 m (39,090 ft) on 24 October
one converted

LGL.33 / LGL.33C.1
Similar to LGL.32
revised wing struts, landing gear, and tail
Engine: Lorraine 12Eb
one built

LGL.34 / LGL.34C.1
Similar to LGL.32
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 12Gb
one built

LGL.341
similar to LGL.32
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 12Hb
two built, second with revised radiator arrangement

LGL.351
Engine: Renault 12J
one built

LGL.390
night fighter prototype
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 9Va
one converted from LGL.32

GL.410
modernised fighter with divided main undercarriage
one built

GL.430
strengthened carrier-borne dive-bomber prototype
one built

GL.432
dive-bomber variant similar to GL.430 used for operational testing
four built

GL.450
fighter version

GL-482
fighter version
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs
one built

GL.521
dive-bomber version
taller tail fin
Engine: Gnome-Rhône 9Kfr
two built

GL.633
dive-bomber similar to GL.432
one built