In the late 1930s Loire-Nieuport commenced development of the Loire-Nieuport LN-30 as a private venture to meet a requirement of the French Navy for a two-seat flying boat trainer. The resultant design, which was renamed SNCAO 30 when Loire-Nieuport was nationalised and became part of Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques de l'ouest (SNCAO), was a single-engined pusher monoplane of wooden construction, with the crew of two sitting side-by side in an open cockpit. Its wing was carried on struts above the fuselage, with the Salmson 9ABa radial engine mounted above the wing.[1]
The first prototype, built at the SNCAO factory at Saint Nazaire, made its maiden flight on 13 September 1938, these resulting in a number of modifications, including adding dihedral to the outer wing panels, placing a cowling around the engine and replacing its twin tail with a single large fin, the prototype flying again in this form on 21 September 1938, with a second prototype flying on 19 May 1939.[2] The aircraft was disappointing, however, being nose-heavy and with its engine suffering from severe vibration and overheating.[3]
Despite these problems, as there was no better alternative,[3] an order for production of 12 aircraft, designated SNCAO 300, was placed on 19 March 1940. Production was ended by the Nazi German invasion of France, with no production aircraft being completed.