The Breguet 521 Bizerte was descended directly from the British Shorts Calcutta ( the military version was named 'Rangoon') after Breguet purchased one example and built four more under licence, after Louis Breguet acquired a factory in Le Havre in 1929 (nationalised in 1936). The aircraft were delivered in 1932-33 and assigned to escadrille 3E1.The French Marine Nationale had previously bought a Calcutta directly from Shorts in Rochester, Kent. The Bizerte was the 'francisation' of the Calcutta and first flew in September 1933. Around 37 examples were constructed, the last three - still incomplete in June 1940- delivered directly to the Luftwaffe during 1941. The ungainly "nose" was designed for observation tasks while the aircraft was in flight. Note the defensive position to the right of the cockpit. The machine above is still displaying its French tail livery and has yet to receive Luftwaffe markings, a task that was hurriedly accomplished as the Germans had an urgent requirement for air-sea rescue seaplanes along the French Atlantic and Channel coastlines.
The first loss of a Bizerte was SG+FM (N° 11), launched on 16 November 1940 to look for the crew of a KG 100 He 111 and intercepted and shot down by a N° 236 (Coastal Command) Squadron Blenheim.
As of April 1944 the Luftwaffe Seenot Staffeln had just five Bizertes on strength, two with 3. Seenot at Berre (N° 20 and ??) and three with 1. Seenotstaffel (N° 3, 4 and 36) at Biscarosse. With the Allied landings in Provence during August 1944, both Staffeln were ordered back to Germany. At least one of these machines (N° 4) remained in France to be incorporated back into the French naval air arm with 30S post-war.
Bizerte flying boats were based in Hourtin (Atlantic coast, north of Bordeaux) and Brest among others. It was in Hourtin that Leutnante Klingspor and Unterhorst first arrived on 30 July 1940 with two crews to take possession of Bizertes N° 11 and 34 abandoned on 18 June. Both machines were repainted in German colours and flew into Lanvéoc-Poulmic (Brest, southern Brittany) on 7 August 1940
