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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0413.PDF
FLIGHT, 13 April 1956 413 THE GALTIER DELTA FAMILY =T A Note on the Nord Gerfaut I, its Forbears and its Portents THE designer of the Gerfaut, M. Jean Galtier, trained as anaeronautical engineer in the early twenties and started hiscareer with the Bernard company. He worked there for over ten years, finally designing the famous Grand Raid types, the 191GR and 80GR. The latter, built for Jean Mermoz, was developed into the 90BR bomber. When the Bernard company finally folded up in the mid-thirties M. Galtier went to Fouga, where he designed a three-engined transatlantic aeroplane, which, although approved by the Ministere de 1'Air, was never built. It was, then, in 1937 that M. Galtier joined the Arsenal de l'Aeronautique* (equivalent to our one-time Royal Aircraft Fac- tory) at Chatillon-sous-Bagneux under the late General Vernisse. In this association he designed a series of neat fighters: the VG-30 with the Hispano Suiza 12X, the VG-33 with the Hispano Suiza 12Y and the VG-39 with the more powerful 12Z, claimed to have a speed of 400 m.pJi. The VG-36 was a high-altitude variation on the theme, with a special 12Y engine. Immediately after the war M. Galtier, actively encouraged by General Vernisse, pursued an original line of jet-aeroplane develop- ment. The VG-70 of 1946, with a modified Jumo 004, was an advanced swept-wing design, notable for its ventral air intake. This was followed in 1950 by the VG-90, a rather large naval *On January 1st, 1953, the Arsenal de I'Aeronautique became theS.F.E.C.M.A.S., OK associate of the S.N.C.A. du Nord but managed independently by General Vemisse. After his death it was completelyamalgamated with Nord on January 1,19SS. The S.F.E.C.M.A.S. Ars.1301 glider just before final flight-testing with its nose-plane fitted and its tail- plane retained as a precautionary measure. (Below) The S.F.E.C.M.A.S. 1402 (later named Gerfaut) at the time of its first taxying trials in late 1953. •? *. The S.F.E.C.M.AS. Gerfaut during its flight trials, fitted with an anti-spin parachute above the brake parachute. (Right) The Gerfaut with its large-area wing. The only other apparent change is the fitting of an Atar with afterburning, as revealed by the jet-pipe nozzle. L_ Area ruling? The Gerfaut at Le Bourget last year with a large tail blister, two rows of vortex generators round the fuselage and supple- mentary under-iins. (Right) Gerfaut II? The model on the S.N.C.A. N. stand at the 1955 Paris Salon. The size of the jet orifice is most marked, suggesting an advanced form of afterburning. The wing-tip shape is different from that of the Gerfaut I and the ailerons are not inset.
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