The MB.411 represents a specialized attempt to extend a submarine's scouting horizon with an embarked aircraft. When Surcouf operated on Atlantic convoy protection near Bermuda, however, the aircraft remained in Britain. One airframe was damaged during bombing, repaired, and used by 765 Naval Air Squadron, while another was scrapped by German forces in France. Its career turns an ingenious concept into a useful warning about the operational burden of matching aircraft, hangar, launch arrangements, and submarine missions.
Notable Point · 1:04:15-1:05:22
Besson MB.411 and the limits of submarine-borne aviation
The Besson MB.411 was designed for the submarine Surcouf, but its wartime separation from its host shows how difficult the concept was to employ.