Avation Maritime's distrust of triplane flying boats such as the
Levy-Besson "Alerte" led the firm to design a version with the more traditional biplane wings, the
Georges Levy 40 HB2. ("HB2" probably stood for
Hydravion Bombardement with a crew of two.). With a 280hp Renault engine, the plane had good performance and it could carry larger bombs than other French flying boats. It entered service in November 1917. One hundred were ordered in France, and twelve were used by the US Navy. Though it was originally designed for two, a crew of three was frequently carried -- two in the communal cockpit and a third in the nose with a flexible Lewis machine gun.
By 1918 it had become the standard in flying boats for the French Navy. It was the first flying boat to carry the new 79 kg (175 lb) anti-submarine bomb, a distinction it alone held for six months.
This model comes in both 1:144 and 1:285/6mm/1:288 scales. The smaller model uses a propeller disk rather than propeller blades (which are difficult to print at small scales). It can be removed and discarded if you prefer.
DESIGNER NOTE:
Models at scales smaller than 1:144 may no longer be available. Shapeways discontinued the material for which they were designed, and the newer materials require that each and every model be adjusted to thicken surfaces like wings. If you are interested in a particular model in a small scale, please let me know and I will prioritize it higher in the queue.
For more details and gaming information, see
https://linen.miraheze.org/wiki/Georges_Levy_40_HB2.