Romano R . 90 The Romano R . 90 was a prototype single - seat French floatplane fighter of the 1930s . A single example of the R . 90 was built , but the type did form the basis of the Romano R . 83 and Romano R . 92 fighters which were built in secret for the Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War . Design and development . In 1933 , the French Navy issued a specification for a single - seat seaplane fighter capable of being operated from the catapults of its Cruiser s and Battleship s . To meet this requirement , the Chantiers Aéronavales Etienne Romano designed a floatplane , the Romano R . 90 , with designs also being prepared by Loire , Bernard and Potez . Unlike the other three designs , the R . 90 was a biplane . It was of mixed construction , with a welded steel - tube fuselage and wooden , single - bay wings , with the upper wings being gulled into the top of the fuselage to give a better view for the pilot . Two floats were fitted . The proposed armament was four 7 . 5mm machine guns , two in the lower wing and two in the floats . It made its maiden flight in August 1935 , powered by a 720 hp ( 537 kW ) Hispano - Suiza 9V brs radial engine . With this engine it reached a speed of 352 km / h ( 219 mph ) . In October that year it was re - engined with a 680 hp ( 507 kW ) Hispano - Suiza 14H brs radial in a NACA cowling , increasing the speed and the floats were modified . It was re - engined again in October 1937 with a 900 hp ( 671 kW ) Hispano - Suiza 12Y crs - 1 V12 engine with a 20mm cannon firing through the propeller boss . Despite reaching 400 km / h ( 248 mph ) , faster than any of the other competitors , the R . 90 was not ordered into production , 20 Loire 210 s being purchased instead . Although the attempts to sell the R . 90 to the French Navy failed , the aircraft attracted the attention of the Spanish Republican Air Force , which placed an order for 24 of a landplane derivative , the Romano R . 83 . This differed in having a conventional fixed tailwheel undercarriage , a non - gulled upper wing and was to be powered by a 450 hp ( 336 kW ) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine . These aircraft were to be assembled in secret by the Belgium company LACEBA ( Les Atleliers de Construction et d ' Exploitation de Brevets Aéronautiqes ) . Flight testing in Belgium was carried out with a 280 hp ( 209 kW ) Salmson 9 ABa engine , to give the impression that the aircraft was a trainer rather than a fighter , with the more powerful engine to be fitted when the aircraft was delivered to Spain . A second landplane fighter derivative was designed and built for the Spanish Republicans , the Romano R . 92 . This was powered by a Hispano - Suiza 12Ycrs engine as tested in the Romano R . 90 , and reverted to the gulled upper wing of the floatplane . A single example was built in 1938 . Operational history . The first six R . 83s were delivered to Barcelona between April and July 1938 . The six R . 83s were re - engined with the intended Wasp - Junior engines and were probably used as advanced trainers . The remaining 18 R . 83s had not been completed by the time the Spanish Civil War ended in April 1939 . The sole R . 92 was also delivered to Spain in 1938 , but any use is unknown .