In December 1936 the French Air Ministry issued a specification for a four-seat, twin-engined bomber, with Bréguet's initial design, the Bréguet 480 (or Bre. 480) to be powered with the specified Gnome et Rhône 14L radial engines, intended to carry of bombs over a radius of action. Gnome et Rhône abandoned the 14L however, so, after considering a version powered by two Hispano-Suiza 12Y V12 engines, Bréguet reworked the design as the Bréguet 482, with four Hispano-Suiza 12Z engines, with an order for two prototypes placed by the French Air Ministry on 12 May 1938.Green 1967, pp. 129, 131.
