The Latécoère 631 was a civil transatlantic flying boat built by Latécoère, the largest ever built up to its time. The prototype was captured by Germany during their occupation of France in World War II, and subsequently bombed by the Allies. The last Latécoère 631 was withdrawn from service in 1955 after the losses of aircraft no.7 (owned by Latécoère, lost at sea), 6 (Air France, lost in the Atlantic), 3 (SEMAF, off Cap Ferret) and 8 (France-Hydro, in Cameroon).
On the night of July 31, 1948 Latécoère 631 number 06 ("Lionel de Marnier" reg. F-BDRC) owned by Air France was flying from Fort-de-France to Port-Etienne in Mauritania when it disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of all 52 on board. It is believed to have gone down around 1200 miles from Dakar in Senegal. The U.S. Coast Guard ship Campbell reported finding debris on August 4 but no sign of survivors.
