The Breguet 690 was designed in response
to a 1934 French air ministry
specification calling for a twin-engined
three-seat fighter. Several manufacturers
submitted proposals, and the contest
was won by the Potez 630. The
Breguet proposal had been heavier
and more powerful than the other submissions,
its designers believing it to
be a more versatile, multi-role aeroplane.
Design of the Breguet 690 was
started in 1935 and a prototype was
completed in 1937, first flying on 23
March 1938. The aircraft was found to
have a performance superior to that of
the Potez 630, and Breguet received a
contract to supply 100 aircraft, configured
as light attack bombers.
The resulting Breguet 691 was a
clean-looking cantilever mid-wing
monoplane of all-metal construction,
with two wing-mounted engines and a
short fuselage nose reminiscent of that
of the Bristol Beaufighter. Aft of the
wing, however, the fuselage tapered
to a tailplane with twin endplate fins
and rudders. Conversion from Bre.690
to Bre.691 was relatively simple, the
main change being deletion of the
navigator's position to provide a small
bomb bay. Experience with the
Bre.691 proved the Hispano-Suiza
powerplants to be unreliable, and the
Bre.693.01 was introduced with two
Gnome-Rhone 14M-6/7 engines after
only 78 Bre.691s had been built. Two
hundred and thirty four examples of
the Bre.693 were built, later examples
having two extra 7.5mm machine-guns, one installed in the tail
of each engine nacelle, to improve
self-defence.
Foreign interest in the Bre.690
series was cut short by the German
invasion of France and the single
Bre.694.01 built, intended as a three-seat
reconnaissance aircraft, was delivered
directly to the Aeronavale. The
Bre.694 was generally similar to the
original Bre.690 with no bomb bay and
a navigator's compartment, but with
Gnome-Rhone 14M-4/5 engines.
The Bre.695 was virtually identical to
the Bre.693 but with Pratt & Whitney
SB4G Twin Wasp Junior engines. It
was felt desirable to design a version
of the aircraft using foreign engines in
case the supply of French powerplants
was disrupted by enemy action. Fifty
Bre.695s were built, being delivered to
Groupe 18 in June 1940.
The Bre.696 and 697 were built only
as prototypes and were respectively a
two-seat light bomber and a two-seat
heavy destroyer. The Breguet 693
proved extremely vulnerable and
almost half were lost to enemy action.
