Manufacturer

Lawrance Aero Engine Company

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The Lawrance Aero Engine Company was founded in 1917 by Charles Lawrance. After the end of World War I, the Lawrance engineers worked with both the Army and the Navy in developing their L-1 into a nine-cylinder radial engine, which became the 200 hp Lawrance J-1. It was the best American air-cooled engine at the time, and passed its 50-hour test in 1922.

The United States Navy was very enthusiastic about air-cooled radials, but was concerned that Lawrance couldn’t produce enough engines for its needs. The Navy suggested to Wright that it purchase the Lawrance company and build the J-1 itself. In May 1923, Lawrance was purchased by Wright Aeronautical, with the J-1 being further developed by Wright into the J-5, J-6, and R-795.

Products:
Lawrance A-3
Lawrance C-2 1917
Lawrance J-1
Lawrance J-2
Lawrance L-1
Lawrance L-2
Lawrance L-3
Lawrance L-4 aka Wright Gale
Lawrance L-5

Lavochkin

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Semyon Alexse’evich Lavochkin headed a design bureau formed for fighter production under the 1938 program. The first aircraft, the I-22, flew in 1939; also called LAGG-1 (Lavochkin, Gorbunov, Gudkov). Alterations on the production line 1940-1941 resulted in LAGG-3 with wood construction, with phenoform-aldehyde impregnated fuselage. Superseded by La-5 with radial engine in 1942. Followed by 1943 La-7,1945 La-9,1946 La-11.
This latter allmetal aircraft was the last piston-engined fighter in Soviet Air Force. Bureau later produced La-17, the first Soviet turbojet fighter with reheat, but was disbanded on Lavochkin’s death in 1960.

Laviasa

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In 1998 Laviasa acquired from the New Piper Aircraft Company of the USA the Type Certificates (CCTT’S) No. 2 A 8 and 2 A 10 issued by the Federal Aviation Administration of the USA (FAA) in 1998 and the Certificates of Type No. AV-0004, AV-9901 and Production Certificate No. A-0801 issued by the National Civil Aviation Administration of Argentina (ANAC).

These documents give Laviasa the universal and exclusive rights for the manufacture of aircraft for agricultural use and other uses PA-25-235 / 260 (formerly called “Pawnee” and renamed “Puelche”) and its parts. These rights reach their possibility of exploitation of manufacturing use rights of said aircraft, to third parties in condition “Under License”.

Laviasa has:
All the relevant development documentation received from Piper: Certification Reports, Manuals, Specifications, Calculation Reports, tests and construction processes, etc. and more than 2400 manufacturing and production plans.
More than 900 pieces of molds, molds and templates
The responsibility, according to Annex 8 of ICAO for the assurance of the continuity of the airworthiness of all aircraft previously manufactured by Piper Aircraft and Chincul S.A. (from Argentina) “under license”, protected by the aforementioned CCTT’s and logically of all their own production aircraft.

Latham

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Latham et Cie Societe Industrielle de Caudebec
Hydravions Latham

France
Jean Latham built flying-boats during the First World War. After the war became Latham et Cie Societe Industrielle de Caudebec, later Hydravions Latham, continuing the design and construction of single- and multi-engined flying-boats. In 1920 built the Gastambide-Levasseur variable- incidence biplane. Explorer Raoul Amundsen was lost on the Latham 47-2 searching for the crew of the airship Italia in 1925. In 1929 company amalgamated with Societe d’Emboutissage et de Constructions Mechaniques, later Amiot.

Latécoère / Ateliers Aeronautiques de Toulouse

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La societé industrielle d’aviation Latécoère
Forges et Ateliers de Construction Latecoere
Ateliers Aeronautiques de Toulouse

The Forges et Ateliers de Construction Latecoere began its interest in aviation in 1917 with an aircraft works at Toulouse-Montaudron. In 1917 P-G Latécoère turned from making munitions to licence-building aircraft for the Aviation Militaire Française. Total wartime production amounted to 800 licenced Breguet XIV and Salmson 2A.2 2-seat reconaissance bomber biplanes.

The experimental Latecoere 1 two-seat fighter of 1918 was unsuccessful and the company concentrated for a period on licence manufacture of the Salmson 2 reconnaissance biplane, over 800 of which were built. Latecoere showed an aircraft at the 1919 Paris Salon, and another two, the LAT 4 airliner and LAT 6 bomber, in 1921. The Societe Industries d’Aviation was formed in 1922. From 1925 Latecoere developed an airline to South America and built a series of commercial aircraft for this route. Part of the Toulouse factory went to SNCAM in 1936. Developed a series of bomber aircraft (L.28, L.29) and torpedo-carrying floatplanes, the L.290 and L.298, the latter in service in 1939-1940. Some LeO flying-boats also built. In the 1930s developed a number of two- and four-engined commercial flying-boats, culminating in the six-engined L.521 Lieutenant de Vaisseau Paris of 1938 and L.631 of 1939.

Construction of the latter was interrupted by the war, but four were eventually completed by Breguet and used on commercial routes in the Mediterranean until 1948. The firm was sequestered in 1945 under the name of Ateliers Aeronautiques de Toulouse, but returned to the original owners and name in 1947.

The Compagnie Latécoère had numerous aviation related divisions located around Toulouse including: the Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère and CGEA (Cie Generale d’Entreprises Aeronautiques). The Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère may explain why earlier designations are often shown as LAT-xx rather than Laté-xx (as well as the SILAT acronym).

  • 1918: Société des lignes Latécoère or Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère (LAT)
  • 1918: Compagnie Espagne Maroc Algerie (CEMA) P-G Latécoère & Beppo de Massimi
  • 1919: CEMA renamed Lignes Aériennes Latécoère (LAT)
  • 1921: LAT renamed Compagnie Générale d’Entreprises Aéronautiques (CGEA)
  • 1927: Marcel Latécoère sells CGEA majority shares to Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont
  • 1927: Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont founds Compagnie Générale Aéropostale (CGA)
    — NB: Aéropostale assoc. with Latécoère but not owned by Compagnie Latécoère
  • March 1931: Compagnie Générale Aéropostale declared bankrupt
  • 1932: Aéropostale dissolved by French government and merged with SCELA
    — SCELA: Société Centrale pour l’Exploitation de Lignes Aériennes
  • Aug 1933: Aéropostale officially merged with SCELA to become Air France

The Latécoère corporate identity went through three major changes between 1917 and the beginning of WWII.

  • 1917: Forges et Ateliers de Construction Latécoère building aircraft
  • 1922: name changed to Société Industrielle d’Aviation Latécoère (SIDAL)
    — Acronym later SILAT for clipped-form Société Industrielle LATécoère
  • End 1936: Latécoère nationalized (to be combined with Dewoitine as SCNAM)
  • 1937: Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Midi (SCNAM)

Pierre-Georges Latécoère died on 23 Aug 1943.