FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0801.PDF
FLIGHT, 10 June 1955 799 The Background to the Paris Show IN this issue of "Flight," appearing on the eve of theParis Aero Show, it is appropriate that the current state of aviation in France should be briefly reviewed. In thethree articles which follow, specialist contributors dis- cuss the post-war products of the industry; the flourishinglight-aircraft movement; and commercial aviation. The facts given will, we feel, be of particular value to Showvisitors as "background" information. FRANCE'S AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY IN the first years of peace it seemed that the French aircraftindustry might never be able to rise from its ashes. Con-structors were hurling themselves headlong into the design and manufacture of dozens of different prototypes with no co-ordinated plan. Such short-term work promised no lasting success; rather was there the likelihood that the more enthusiastic firms would soon founder as a result of the expense, the aimlessness and the continual technical setbacks. For these reasons it seemed unlikely that France, with the heavy handicap of four war years of inactivity, during which many technical advances had been made abroad, could once again take a powerful place in world aviation. But, in less than ten years, and contrary to all expectations, theindustry has succeeded in overcoming its great handicap, so that today a number of projects have proved their worth and havearoused the interest of both technicians and operators abroad. Intercepted and Research Aircraft—New construction beganwhen the French Air Force, equipped in the immediate post-war years exclusively with foreign operational aircraft, askedS.N.C.A.S.E. to build 185 Vampire 5s under licence and then 250 Mistrals, derived from the Vampire 5, but fitted withS.N.CA.S.O. ejector seats and powered by Hispano Suiza-built Nenes. As a first step, this work absorbed the production capacityof the modern factory at Marignane while various entirely French prototypes were being tested. Then an order was placedfor 350 Dassault 450 Ouragans for the Air Force, these also being powered by the Hispano Suiza Nene. This was not only thefirst all-French jet intercepter ordered in quantity, but also the first to be exported; the Indian Air Force placed an order formore than a hundred of them. The Ouragan is now obsolescent, but France has two aircraftwhich could equip all her squadrons and take care of each of the country's tactical requirements. The first, the DassaultMystere IV, now in production and the subject of off-shore orders, is an aircraft of international standing, both in perform-ance and fire-power. If, as has been announced, production is hastened, the Air Force will soon have a first-class intercepter.The Mystere II, also in production, is no longer of major import- ance, because orders have been reduced since it was overtaken bythe Mystere IV. The reduction was further justified by delays caused by structural faults. From S.N.C.A.S.O. a production batch of 140 S.O.4050Vautours has been ordered and should provide equipment for all-weather, light bomber and attack wings. The three versionsdeveloped show that the Vautour is perfectly adapted to each of these roles. In the Mystere and Vautour, France has two airframes whichare strong, well designed, extremely versatile and, above all, thoroughly and carefully equipped with all weapons systems,including radar. This leads to the further observation that France is far from having made up her post-war lag in engine design.Hispano Suiza build British turbojets under licence and S.N.E.C.M.A. has only the Atar, the Vulcain being still in theexperimental stage. On the other hand, a great and successful effort has been made to provide French equipment for the newaircraft. In fact, whether it be instruments, radio, electronics or other items, 80 per cent of the equipment required for acomplex modern aircraft is now produced in France. Very soon, by present indications, French military aircraft willnot only satisfy the requirements of the French Air Force but also constitute an attractive proposition on the international mar-ket, though this does depend on rate and volume of production. In this connection it seems that, despite the established productioncapacity of factories like those at Marignane, Toulouse, Bordeaux, St. Nazaire, and elsewhere, financial support is lacking; and forthis reason, production is far from attaining its full potential. Apart from the problem of production, there is the questionof experimental aircraft at present under development; and the first of these are the Leduc types.For some years Rene Leduc has been working steadily on his projects, and the apparent slowness has led some to wonderwhether the Mach 2 machine will ever see the day. But there can be litde doubt that it will do so. The ramjet in itself is arevolution as great as that of the turbojet; yet in this case there has been not only the question of developing a powerplant, butalso that of evolving an airframe since, because of the size of the duct, the whole aircraft had to be designed to accommodate it.And furthermore, to aim at such high speeds meant solving the problems which inevitably arose, such as those of powered con-trol, ejection at high speeds and altitudes, kinetic heating, manoeuvrability and high fuel-consumption. All these problemshave been overcome in Leduc types 010, 016 and 021 and the solutions incorporated in the 022. Even independent take-off,with an Atar, has been provided for the swept-wing version which is now being built. If Rene Leduc announces that Mach 2in the climb will be achieved in 1956, and ascent to 80,000ft in five minutes, there is no reason to doubt his statement. The race between the Leduc 022 and the S.O.9000 Trident,which is even now going through its last series of tests, will be a close one. With its Viper turbojets and three-barrelled rocketmotor the latter aircraft has the advantage of great flexibility of operation. Its main characteristics are rapid climb, high ceilingand supersonic speed; and its armed military equivalent, the S.O.9050, is of course already being built. Its armament is secret,but is specially designed for high-altitude interceptions at speeds in excess of Mach 1.5. The Trident's three-barrelled rocket motor is checked, as are the cockpits of the fourth Vautour (top of page) in its bomber version.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
