Acronym of Lioré et Olivier. The company was founded by Fernand Lioré and Henri Olivier, mainly dedicated to the construction of aircraft

-But there is information that during the German occupation the large Giant transport gliders of Messerschmitt Me-321 were powered by French engines.

-Then they were, the Me-321B with Gnome-and-Rhone 14 N engines. First they had four engines that gave 990 CV ascending and 750 CV cruising. Later they had six.

-When the later ones had GR motors, they were identified for having the three-bladed Ratier propeller.

“Giant Me 323-D2”

-Really few Me 321B and Me323D-2 were made with six LeO motors (45?), of the same power as the GR14N but with a wooden "Heine" two-bladed propeller.

Author's Note: There was a Lioré et Olivier -45 and -451 aircraft, so it is put on wait that the engine was also a model 45. Possibly it is taken from this aircraft.

“Power Egg for the LeO-45 engine”

-We have the whole of the power plant, including the cowling, what is called "Power Egg".

It consists of engine cowling, variable cooling deflectors, accessories area and two carburetor intakes.

“Engines 1 and 2, LeO on D2”

-Leo 45 engines were also mounted on the Me-323D6 and some 323E.

-This is a very unknown brand of engines, which will be interesting to continue investigating.

-In the investigations on this brand of aircraft construction and that it is also awarded the manufacture of the LeO-45 engines for the Messerschmitt Giant transport aircraft, it has already been said that it seems that they were the engines on the twin-engine LeO-45 bomber and that they were actually Hispano Suiza 14-AA engines in the case that they had the Mercier cowling like the one in the below photo.

“LeO-45 Mercier cowling” (PiP)

-The doubt remains because if it were recycled engines the fairing is not the same and here a three-bladed propeller appears instead of two-bladed. But this is not decisive because the use is not the same.

-The investigation on this brand continues.

From Appendix 9: It is the Liorée et Olivier, manufacturer of aircraft, including the LeO-45 and 451.

“Liorée et Olivier LeO-45 (or 451)”

-It turns out that during the German invasion of France, they considered these aircraft unsuitable and proceeded to remove their engines for use in other applications.

"Scrapping of the LeO-45"

-We can clearly see that the engines have been removed. It turns out that in several texts I have been able to read that in some Messerschmitt "Giant" Me-323 these LeO-45 engines were mounted. It is not a new engine brand, but those from the French aircraft of this brand and model were installed.

-They were not specifically "LeO-45" either, because they were actually Hispano-Suiza 14-AA engines that were licensed by Gnome-LeRhone for their 14N engine.

-In other words, it is a story that has led the author to be mistaken but that is becoming clearer each time.

-Now we have found on the internet a copy of the open page of a text in which one of these Me323 (D-2) appears, probably.

-Do not forget that these engines were also placed on some Me-321B and in some Me-322D-6 and E. apart from the already mentioned Me-323D-2.

“Probably a Me-323D-2”

-The “Heine” brand wooden two-bladed propellers are clearly visible.

“Gnome-LeRhone, GR-14N”

-The above photo is the 14N model from Gnome-LeRhone (Gnome et Rhone) and below the Hispano-Suiza 14AA engine taken from a HS catalog. It was made under license.

“Hispano Suiza 14 AA”