When it first flew in April 1936, the twin-engine Potez multi-role aircraft showed more promise than most 1930s designs from the nationalized French aircraft industry. Different versions became fighters, bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft. Though quite slow compared to the fighters of 1940, the Potez was light but rugged and fairly maneuverable, and had a heavy-hitting battery of two cannon and six machineguns. This enabled it to score better than a one-to-one kill ratio against the Luftwaffe in May-June 1940.
TACTICS: Maneuver hard, but don't bleed away too much of your airspeed or else you'll become a sitting duck. Fire your six machineguns early and often. Conserve cannon ammo for the best shots. The Potez's weak defensive armament consists only of a single light machinegun firing to the rear, partially blocked by the airplane's tail structure. It is of little use.
STRENGTHS: Excellent firepower. Built tough.
WEAKNESSES: Extremely slow for a fighter. Poor acceleration in sustained maneuver. Slow roll rate. Cannon has limited ammunition.
