Breguet 693 The Breguet 690 and its derivatives were a series of light twin - engine ground - attack aircraft that were used by the French Air Force in World War II . The aircraft was intended to be easy to maintain , pleasant to fly and to be able to fly at 480 km / h ( 300 mph ) at 4 , 000 m ( 13 , 120 ft ) . The type ' s sturdy construction was frequently demonstrated and the armament was effective . However , French rearmament began two full years later than that in Britain , and all of these aircraft were simply not available in sufficient numbers to make a difference in 1940 . Design and development . The 690 had begun life in 1934 as Breguet ' s response to the same strategic fighter aircraft specification as the eventual winner , the Potez 630 . Both were twin - engine monoplanes with twin tailplanes , powered by Hispano - Suiza 14AB radial engines of contemporary design and performance . Breguet considered the weight limits of the specification - requiring a twin - engine , three - man aircraft to be lighter than 3 , 000 kg / 6 , 600 lb ( later 3 , 500 kg / 7 , 700 lb ) - to be overly restrictive and ignored them . Instead , the design was advertised as particularly versatile , with reconnaissance , ground attack and level bombing derivatives proposed that required no structural changes . Unsurprisingly , Breguet lost out in the competition to Potez , but confident in the 690 ' s potential , nevertheless began building a prototype on its own funds . Although it had kept informed about foreign developments with dive bomber s in the early 1930s , the French Air Force did not decide to acquire modern ground - attack aircraft before 1937 . Engineless for nearly a year , the 690 - 01 prototype finally flew on 23 March 1938 , and displayed such promise that 100 two - seat attack bomber versions known as the Breguet 691 AB2 were ordered in June 1938 , an order which was eventually doubled . For the ground - attack role , the 691 ' s equipment included a 20 mm cannon and a pair of 7 . 5 mm ( . 295 in ) machine gun s firing forward , as well as an internal bomb rack that could be used in a shallow dive attack and was typically loaded with eight 50 kg ( 110 lb ) bomb s . Rear defense was provided by one flexible 7 . 5 mm ( . 295 in ) machine gun , while a fixed , rearward - firing weapon of the same type was fitted under the fuselage to discourage low - flying fighters or ground fire from behind . A set of armour plates protected the crew , and the fuel tanks had rudimentary self - sealing capability , but this protection proved insufficient in combat . Production . Breguet established an assembly line with remarkable speed : the first production aircraft flew less than a year after being ordered , and was in service before the end of 1939 . As with the Potez 630 , the Bre 691 was beset with engine difficulties . Hispano - Suiza had decided to concentrate on its V12 liquid - cooled engines and the 14AB engine was unreliable . The French authorities decided to order a new version , the Bre 693 powered by Gnome - Rhône 14M radials . Apart from the changed engines , which were of slightly smaller diameter , the two types were virtually identical . Orders for the Bre 691 were switched to the new type and more than 200 of the latter had been completed by the time of France ' s defeat . Late production versions of the Bre 693 introduced propulsive exhaust pipes that improved top speed by a small margin as well as , according to some sources , a pair of additional machine guns in the tail of each engine nacelle . Belgium ordered 32 licence - built copies but none were completed before the Belgian collapse . French engine makers had even greater difficulties than airframe manufacturers in keeping up with the frantic demands from 1938 , and in 1939 the French government decided that all combat aircraft had to be adapted for British and US engines . Fewer than 250 Breguet 690 series aircraft were completed . The " Armée de l ' air " received only 211 examples : 75 Bre . 691s , 128 Bre . 693s , and eight Bre . 695s , but the Germans captured a few dozen complete or near - complete aircraft at the factories . Operational history . A small experimental unit had been experimenting with ground - attack tactics since 1937 , initially in outdated biplanes such as the Potez 25 , then in ANF Les Mureaux 115 monoplanes . Eventually , the " Armée de l ’ Air " concluded that low - altitude level - bombing was more suitable than dive - bombing for engaging enemy vehicles and artillery over the battlefield . The chosen tactic consisted in a nap - of - the - earth approach at maximum speed , followed by a strafing run or the delivery of time - delayed bombs directly over the target . French commanders widely considered this tactic as safe for the attackers , as anti - aircraft weapons then in service would be inefficient . The French Army was not using anti - aircraft autocannons at the time ( the 25 mm Hotchkiss and 20 mm Oerlikon cannon s were only issued later ) , but only rifle - calibre machine guns and slow - firing 75 mm ( 2 . 95 in ) cannons . In late 1939 , two squadrons staffed with volunteers from level bomber units were gathered in the small airfield near Vinon - sur - Verdon , where they began their operational training . As Breguet 691s were not available yet , the crews flew the Potez 633 light bomber . When they were eventually delivered , the little Breguets were popular with their crews , although the unreliable engines in the Bre 691 caused headaches , and undercarriage failures proved especially troublesome . Only in March 1940 were the first combat - worthy Bre . 693s delivered , and there were now five squadrons to equip : GBA I / 51 , GBA II / 51 , GBA I / 54 , GBA II / 54 , and GBA II / 35 ( GBA stands for " Groupe de bombardement d ' assaut " - assault bomber squadron ) , with a theoretical complement of 13 aircraft each . Because of this late delivery , crews were still working up their new machines and developing tactics when the Germans attacked . On 12 May , GBAs I / 54 and II / 54 performed the Breguet ' s first operational sorties , against German motorized columns in the Maastricht - Tongeren - Bilsen area . German anti - aircraft fire was so devastating that only eight of the 18 Bre . 693s returned . The disastrous results of this first engagement forced the French commanders to reconsider their tactics . Until 15 May , GBA crews performed shallow dive attacks from higher altitude , which resulted in reduced losses , but the attacks had clearly been inaccurate , as the Breguets lacked a bombsight , and they increased vulnerability to enemy fighters . On the following missions , the GBAs re - introduced low - level attacks , but with smaller formations . As the battle quickly evolved towards the collapse of the French armies , the assault groups were engaged daily , still enduring losses to the AAA , but also to enemy fighters . In late June , the " Armée de l ' Air " tried to evacuate its modern aircraft to North Africa , out of German reach , from where many hoped to continue the fight . Unfortunately , the short - ranged Breguets were not able to cross the Mediterranean . Unlike other French modern types , the Breguet 690 family saw its combat career end with the Armistice . At this point in time , 119 aircraft had been lost , including 68 to direct enemy action , and a further 14 were written off as too heavily damaged . The five GBAs had therefore endured a matériel loss rate of 63 % , while crew casualties accounted for nearly 50 % . After the Armistice , the Vichy authorities were allowed to maintain a small air force in mainland France , and its assault bomber pilots flew rare training flights in the Bre . 693 and Bre . 695 . After the Germans occupied all of France in late 1942 , some of the survivors were transferred to Italy for use as operational trainers .