Cuando yo tenía 6 años, mi padre me llevó a verlo en la bahía de Montevideo, Uruguay. Para mi edad, no recuerdo haber visto nada tan gigantesco. Era impresionante.

The Howard Hughes 'Spruce Goose' was the largest flying boat built or to fly, but it never entered revenue service, and flew only once. It covered the better part of two miles and reached an altitude of only 70 feet or so.

The Latecoere 631 was the largest flying boat to enter airline service.

The Saunders Roe SR45 Princess was the largest pressurised flying boat to be built and to fly, but it, too, never entered airline service.

Was this the type of plane that landed in the Laguna de Rocha in Uruguay on the maiden fright to South America ?

Production totale : 11 exemplaires. F-BAHG 01 4/11/1942 - F-BANF (non construit) - F-BANT 02 6/03/1945 - F-BANU 3 15/06/1946 - F-BDRA 4 22/05/1947 - F-BDRB 5 5/09/1947 - F-BDRC 6 9/11/1947 - F-BDRD 7 26/01/1948 - F-BDRE 8 28/11/1948
F-BDRF 9 20/11/1948 - F-BDRG 10 7/10/1949 - F-BDRH 11 non achevé

As a child I remember one Late crash landing in a lake im Uruguay (Laguna Negra) in 1947 or so, the Lionel de Marmier. There is some reference to that plane in the web.

Died in 1998 my father was a military pilot. He made one or many flight as flight member around Istres and area (as pilot or as "navigateur", being french I don't know the word). His name was Charles JOLY (1921/1998). Do you have any information about that ? I visited that plane, without his six engines, around Marignane airport after 1955.

Stephen, Was the Spruce Goose not a flying boat?

Sir
Was Late 631 aircraft the largest "flying boat" ever built? Are there any large "flying boats of any kind flying anywhere? Sunderlands? Thank you.
Stephen Brichant (Capt. Delta Airlines, Atlanta, USA)

Bonjour,
Mon courrier s'adresse à Mr.Ronald Simpson.En effet,je pense avoir pris le même vol que vous en 1948.J'aitais alors agé d'un an, et nous avons traverssé l'atlantique pour la Martinique sur un latécoère. Mon pére disait, que celui que nous devions prendre était tombé à l'aller.(Il sagit peut-être, du n°7, crashé entre le Havre et Biscarosse?)Nous avons donc pris le suivant,(le n°6) qui lui s'est perdu en mer, lors de son retour le 1-8-1948

Bonjour,
Mon courrier s'adresse à Mr.Ronald Simpson.En effet,je pense avoir pris le même vol que vous en 1948.J'aitais alors agé d'un an, et nous avons traverssé l'atlantique pour la Martinique sur un latécoère. Mon pére disait, que celui que nous devions prendre était tombé à l'aller.(Il sagit peut-être, du n°7, crashé entre le Havre et Biscarosse?)Nous avons donc pris le suivant,(le n°6) qui lui s'est perdu en mer, lors de son retour le 1-8-1948

I have seen this Flying Boat while it was developed 1943 in Berre l'Etang. I saw it starting and landing at the Etang de Berre. It was stationed within our naval Airfield and was guarded by the German Luftwaffe.

I well remember seeing Latecoere flying boats,staging through China Bay.Trincomalee,Ceylon in 1951,enroute to French Indochina.I was flying RAF Sunderlands and there for SAR duties

First Transatlantic Flight, Geneva, Switzerland to Fort de France, Martinique by "Latecoere 631" on June 14, 1948. Special mail flight arrived Fort de France on June 16th. The plane disappeared on its return flight.