The slightly less well known

[Angry Turnip]

Romano R.5

The Romano R.5 was a French reconnaissance flying boat built in 1932.

In 1929 the French Air Ministry drew up a programme of military aircraft specifications to meet France's needs over the next few years. One part called for a reconnaissance and observation seaplane and the R.5 was Romano's response; funding had not been secured so just one was built.The Romano R.5 first flew in September 1932.

The Romano R.5 was an all-metal flying boat.It featured a parasol wing built in three parts; its centre section mounted a 650 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr water-cooled V-12 engine in tractor configuration on its leading edge and was braced over the fuselage by parallel pairs of struts from its outer ends to the mid-fuselage.Structurally it was a mixture of steel and duralumin, with dural skinning, the wing was built around two spars; in the centre section these were elaborated into a girder.

The R.5 had a pair of Dornier-style sponsons, mounted on the lower sides of the fuselage instead of wing mounted floats.There were plans to use these to contain retractable wheels to turn the R.5 into an amphibian.
In the nose section was a position for mooring,navigation equipment and a machine gun mounting. The pilots' cabin was ahead of the propeller disc, fully enclosed and with side-by-side seats and dual controls. Behind the wing there were positions for a navigator who also operated the bomb release controls and for a radio and camera operator. Behind them was a dorsal gunner's position, midway between the trailing edge and the tail. The fuselage became slender to the rear, where the tall fin carried a deep, rounded unbalanced rudder. The R.5's tapered tailplane was raised out of the spray track.

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[Angry Turnip]

Romano R.16

The Romano R.16 was a three engine, high wing monoplane designed for policing and other rôles in France's African colonies.
In 1930 the Direection Générale Technique issued a requirement for an aircraft to operate in the French Colonies. It was to have three Lorraine 9N Algol engines and an all-metal structure, capable of reconnaissance, observation, policing and bombing as well as medical evacuations or general transport.The Romano R.16 was one of nine prototypes built for this programme.

The R.16 was powered by three 300 hp Lorraine 9N Algol nine cylinder radials enclosed by long chord cowlings. One was in the nose of the fuselage and the other were mounted under the wing centre section from the forward wing struts, aided by bracing struts rising inwards to the wing root and short vertical struts to the forward spar. Long nacelles behind the outer engines tapered to the rear wing strut.
The pilots' cabin was below and just ahead of the wing leading edge, fitted with side-by-side seating and dual controls. Behind there was a generous cabin, accessed via a large port side door. Aft of the cabin, just behind the trailing edge was a dorsal gunner's position.Each tailplane was braced on the vertex of a V-strut from the lower fuselage and the tail surfaces were steel tube structures with fabric covering.

The R.16 flew for the first time in February 1933.By May the initial tests were complete.It then went to Villacoublay for official tests, which were completed by early September.

The Colonial trimotor contract was awarded to the Bloch MB.120, so no more R.16s were built. The sole example appeared in the prototypes section of the French civil aircraft register as F-AKGE, with the type name Romano 160[6] and was used by the Commander of the 5th Aerial Region of French North Africa as his personal transport. A photograph taken at Cannes in 1937 shows that by then it had been adapted to carry passengers, the cabin now lit by long, continuous windows on each side. It also had a revised vertical tail with an unbalanced rudder.

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[Angry Turnip]

Romano R.82

The Romano R-82 was a two-seat intermediate and aerobatic biplane trainer from the mid 1930`s.

The prototype Romano R-80.01 was a private venture design by Chantiers aéronavals Étienne Romano for a two-seat aerobatic biplane to use as a demonstrator.
It was tested in 1935 with a 179 kW 240 hp Lorraine 7Me radial engine,but later fitted with a 280 hp Salmson 9Aba radial and re-designated the R-80.2.Two more prototypes were built which were sold on to private owners.
Romano became part of the nationalised SNCASE in 1937 and the French Air Force ordered the R-82 into production with 147 aircraft being delivered. The French Navy also ordered 30 R-82s and all Air Force and Navy aircraft had been delivered by May 1940.

In 1938 two aircraft were ferried to Spain and used by the Spanish Republican government against the Nationalists.

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[Angry Turnip]

Romano R.90 Series

The Romano R.90 was a prototype single-seat French floatplane fighter of the 1930s. Just one R.90 was built, but the type formed the basis of the Romano R.83 and Romano R.92 fighters.
The R.90 was a biplane of mixed construction, with a welded steel-tube fuselage and wooden, single-bay wings.The upper wings were gulled into the top of the fuselage to give a better view for the pilot.Two floats were fitted.with an armament of four 7.5mm machine guns, two in the lower wing and two in the floats.

It made its maiden flight in August 1935, powered by a 720 hp Hispano-Suiza 9Vbrs radial engine.It reached a speed of 219 mph.In October that year it was re-engined with a 680 hp Hispano-Suiza 14Hbrs radial in a NACA cowling, increasing the speed and the floats were modified.It was re-engined again as the R.92 in October 1937 with a 900 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs-1 V12 engine.A 20mm cannon firing through the propeller boss was added but despite reaching 248 mph,faster than any of the other competitors,the R.90 was not ordered into production.

The aircraft attracted the Spanish Republican Air Force, which placed an order for 24 of a landplane derivative, the Romano R.83. This differed in having a conventional fixed tailwheel undercarriage, a non-gulled upper wing and was to be powered by a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine. These aircraft were to be assembled in secret by the Belgium company LACEBA. Flight testing in Belgium was carried out with a 280 hp  Salmson 9ABa engine, to give the impression that the aircraft was a trainer,the more powerful engines to be fitted when the aircraft was delivered to Spain.

The first six R.83s were delivered to Barcelona between April and July 1938. The six R.83s were re-engined with the intended Wasp-Junior engines and were used as advanced trainers.
The remaining 18 R.83s had not been completed by the time the Spanish Civil War ended in April 1939.

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[Angry Turnip]

Romano R.110

The Romano R.110 was a twin-engine 3-seat fighter aircraft, from the late 1930s.

In late October 1934, the French Air Ministry released a specification for a twin-engine multi-seat fighter aircraft, which would be required to fulfil several roles.
A three seat version (C3 under the French designation scheme) would be used to command formations of smaller single-engine fighters, while two seat versions would be used to daylight bomber escort and attack (C2) or as night-fighters (CN2). Bids were received from a number of aircraft designers, including Breguet,Hanriot,Potez and Romano.

The Romano design, the R.110, was a low-winged monoplane with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage. It was of mixed wood and metal construction, and was powered by two 450 hp Renault 12R-2 air-cooled V-12 engines. It carried the specified armament of two fixed 20 mm cannon and a single flexibly mounted 7.5 mm machine gun.
Construction of the prototype was very slow and the aircraft did not fly until 30 March 1938. By this time, the Potez 630 had already been chosen to meet the requirement and was about to enter production, so development of the R.110 was discontinued with just one aircraft completed.

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[Angry Turnip]

Salmson-Moineau S.M.1

The Salmson-Moineau S.M.1 A3, (later Salmson Sal. 1 A3), was a French armed three-seat biplane long range reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War.

The S.M.1 A3 was developed from 1915 to meet a French military requirement, which called for a three-seat long range reconnaissance aircraft with strong defensive armament. The S.M.1 was unconventional, powered by a single 240hp Salmson 9A liquid-cooled radial,mounted in the fuselage powering two airscrews mounted between the wings with a system of gears and drive shafts.
The unusual layout was chosen by Moineau to minimise drag. The twin airscrew layout allowed a wide field of fire for the two gunner-observers, one seated in the nose and one behind the pilot.
Both gunners operated ring-mounted flexible 37 mm APX cannon.The airframe was fairly conventional,the box fuselage was mounted on a system of struts between the wings.
The undercarriage included a nose wheel, intended solely to prevent the aircraft nosing over, and a tail skid.

The aircraft was flight tested in early 1916 and was sufficiently successful to receive an order for 100 aircraft although the performance was inferior to similar types.
In service the S.M.1 was not successful. The nose-wheel undercarriage proved fragile,and would collapse if misused.The complex transmission system was difficult to service in the field and the performance of the aircraft was generally poor.
Records show that around 155 S.M.1s were built in total.The type was largely withdrawn from service in 1917 after a short service life.A small number of aircraft remained in use until late 1918. Some S.M.1s were supplied to the Imperial Russian Air Service, but they were no better liked in Russia.

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[Angry Turnip]

Salmson Phrygane

The Salmson Phrygane ("Caddisfly") was a French light aircraft of the 1930s.

The Phrygane was a conventional, high-wing strut-braced monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage and a fully enclosed cabin for the pilot and either two or four passengers, depending on the version. Salmson sold about 25 examples before the outbreak of World War II.
The Phrygane was flown by private pilot owners and by aero clubs. Several aircraft survived the war and the few postwar examples were built by CFA. A D-211 was still in service at Lille Lesquin airfield in 1965.

The main production version was D-2 Phrygane –with 135hp Salmson 9Nc engine (23 built), which gave a max speed of 122mph and a cruis of around 100mph.

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[Angry Turnip]

Salmson D6 Cricri

The Salmson D6 Cricri ("Cricket") was a French light aircraft of the 1930s.

It was a conventional, parasol-wing monoplane with fixed tailskid undercarriage and seating in tandem open cockpits for the pilot and passenger.
Originally intended for recreational flying, the type achieved its greatest success when it was selected by the French government to equip the Aviation Populaire,resulting in sales of over 320 machines.It was also used as a trainer and patrol aircraft in the French Air Force.

Following the war, CFA attempted to revive the design as the CFA D7 Cricri Major. This differed from its predecessor mainly in having a more powerful engine and an enclosed cabin.
Eventually, only ten examples were built.

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[Angry Turnip]

Scintex Rubis

The Scintex ML 250 Rubis was a French civil utility aircraft of the 1960s.

Scintex Aviation had manufactured the two-seat Emeraude from the late 1950s. In 1960 the firm designed the ML 145 four-seat low-wing cabin monoplane, powered by a 145 h.p. Continental O-300-B engine, the single example of which first flew on 25 May 1961.
It was quickly developed into the ML 250 with a larger five-seat cabin and fitted with a 250 hp Lycoming O-540 engine.This first flew on 3 June 1962.The aircraft was of an all-wood construction, having a semi-monocoque plywood-covered fuselage and cantilever tapered low wing. The tail fin was swept and the aircraft, unusually, was fitted with a fully retractable tailwheel undercarriage.
Performance was good with a max speed of 196mph and a normal eco-cruise of 170mph,max range was just under 850nmi.

Eight production examples of the ML 250 Rubis were completed by Scintex during 1964-1965.It suffered from competition from contemporary all-metal aircraft types such as the Piper Comanche.
The Rubis has remained in service with French private pilots and four were still airworthy in 2005.

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[Angry Turnip]

SECAN Courlis

The SECAN SUC-10 Courlis (Curlew) was a French touring monoplane designed and built by Société d'Etudes et de Construction Aéronavales (SECAN).
It was a four seater all-metal high-wing monoplane,fixed tricycle undercarriage,and twin booms supporting a tail unit. It`s engine was a 190 hp  Mathis G8R piston type,mounted in the rear fuselage using a pusher configuration.

The prototype, registered F-WBBF, first flew on 9 May 1946.Production was started and a total of 144 aircraft were completed with a number being exported to South America.
Major problems with the engine ( power loss and overheating) resulted in the withdrawal of the engine's type certificate and some airframes were never fitted with an engine and scrapped.
The company did test fit the aircraft with a 220 hp Mathis engine but production was ended.Most had been withdrawn from service by the late 1950`s.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCAC NC.211 Cormoran

The SNCAC NC.211 Cormoran was a large four-engined military transport aircraft for passengers and freight.

In 1945, the French military wanted to create paratrooper regiments,but they realised they did not have any suitable aircraft for the role.The Chief of Staff, ordered the Direction Technique Industrielle to evaluate interest for a new transport aircraft project. SNCAC and Breguet Aviation answered the request and the SNCAC NC.210 was selected in December 1945 when a contract for 105 aircraft was awarded.It`s design was thought to be rather ugly and bulky looking,but it met most of the requirements, at least on paper.

The NC.211 originated as the NC.210 powered by four 2,200 hp Gnome-Rhône 18R 18-cylinder radial engines.A change of engine type to the 1,600 hp Gnome-Rhône 14R the designation changed to NC.211. Intended to provide the French Air Force, ( Armée de l'Air (ALA), with strategic transport and paratrooping capability the Cormoran was a large four-engined aircraft with a double-deck fuselage, high-set wing and tricycle undercarriage.
The Cormoran had a conventional tail unit with tailplane attached to the extreme rear of the fuselage and fin.The cockpit was situated forward of the wing leading edge above the forward fuselage which also had large clamshell doors to the 150 m3 (5,297 cu ft) lower deck cargo compartment. Passengers, paratroops and stretchers were to have been carried in both the lower cabin and upper cabin, which was on the same level as the cockpit aft of the wing. The retractable twin-wheeled undercarriage legs retracted into the rear of the inboard engine nacelles and the underside of the forward fuselage.

After the fuselage of the first prototype was displayed at the 1946 Salon dÁeronautique in Paris on November 15, 1946 the first flight was delayed due to hydraulic problems in the landing gear.
The first prototype Nc.211-01 was ready to fly in July 1948 making its only flight on 20 July 1948 at Toussous. During the flight a mis-match between the flight control surfaces caused the crash of the aircraft and the loss of all five on board.

Flight testing of the first production aircraft, from 9 April 1949, quickly revealed disappointing performance, leading to loss of confidence in the aircraft's ability to fulfil the required specifications, and perhaps even the safety of the design, resulting in cuts to the contract to just ten production airframes. Flying with this aircraft ceased on 7 July 1949 with approximately 30 hours total flying time, after which the aircraft was used to house radio transmitters on the airfield at Villacoublay until it was scrapped circa 1972/3.
All remaining aircraft and components were scrapped at Bourges or at Billancourt airfield, just two were complete and nine partially constructed.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCAC NC.510

The SNCAC NC.510 was a twin-engine French reconnaissance, army co-operation and advanced training aircraft, built in the late 1930s.

The fuselage consisted of two sections,the forward part, including the enclosed cockpit where the pilot was seated forward of the wing leading edge and an observer, provided with dual controls, behind him, was spruce framed and plywood covered. The observer could also access a long, largely transparent, ventral observation structure. The rear fuselage section was also spruce-framed but internally wire-braced and fabric-covered. A rear-facing glazed enclosure over the wing trailing edge held the rear gunner/radio operator.
Legs and wheels were enclosed in fairings, and there was a sprung tail skid. The aircraft carried three machine guns, one fixed in the nose and one moveable in each of the rear dorsal and the ventral positions.Flares and phosphorus bombs plus a mixture of handheld and remotely operated cameras for reconnaissance were carried in racking.

The NC.510 first flew on 20 June 1938,powered by a pair of 770 hp Gnome-Rhône 9Kfr 9-cylinder air-cooled radials driving two-blade, wooden, fixed-pitch propellers.
However in December that year it was on display at the Paris Aero Salon with 14-cylinder 680 hp Gnome-Rhône 14M double-row radial engines and three-blade propellers.Although these had a smaller displacement than the earlier 9Ks and a lower power output, they were more compact, reducing the engine frontal area by 47%.The cleaned-up version first flew with its new engines on 14 January 1939 and was designated the NC.510M.
A final version, the NC.530, was further aerodynamically cleaned up,mainly by the removal of the ventral gondola. It first flew on 28 June 1939. Two were completed but no production order was forthcoming.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCAC NC-600

The SNCAC NC-600 was a prototype French twin-engined long-range fighter aircraft, developed by SNCAC from the earlier Hanriot H.220 fighter.

The design was now intended to meet a 1936 specification for a long-range fighter. The H.220-2 was exhibited at the 1939 Brussels Air Show to represent the NC-600, but the real NC-600 was a further redesigned aircraft, with new wings and revised tail surfaces, and was now being offered as a two-seat aircraft as previously the requirement was for a 3 person crew.
The proposed armament was also revised, with two additional fixed forward firing machine guns and the two rear-firing guns replaced by a single flexibly mounted cannon.
Powerplant was a pair of Gnome-Rhône 14M0/01 14-cylinder, two-row radial engines, producing 710 hp each,enough for a max speed close to 340mph.

The NC-600 prototype flew on 15 May 1940,again other types were preferred, with orders being placed for 40 Potez 671s and at least 300 SE.100s. Work on the six-aircraft evaluation batch was stopped by the German occupation of SNCAC's Bourges factory with just two aircraft completed.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCAC Nord NC.850

The Nord NC.850 was a light aircraft developed in France in the late 1940s for use by French aeroclubs, but which also saw military use.

Production examples, designated NC.853, differed from the prototypes in having twin tails, the fins mounted on the ends of the horizontal stabiliser.[2] Only 27 of the order had been completed, however, when Aérocentre was liquidated and its assets bought by Nord.The new owners continued production, with their machines identified with designation NC.853S.

In March 1951,a heavily modified version of the design for use as an observation aircraft by the French Army.Known as the NC.856 Norvigie, this featured a more powerful engine and a lengthened and more extensively glazed cockpit.The army ordered 112 examples which were mostly flown in the artillery spotting role,and while a civil version was also offered, no orders came in and only two were built.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCAC NC.1070

The SNCAC NC.1070 was a piston engined attack and torpedo bomber designed and built in France after World War II. The 2nd prototype, the NC1071, was the first French multi-jet turbine powered aircraft.

The NC.1070 was a contemporary of the Nord 1500 Noréclair and was intended to take a similar rôle. It was a twin engine aircraft of unconventional layout with twin booms, twin fins and a double horizontal tail. The central fuselage was short compared with the wing span, and extended beyond the tail.
It was powered by a pair of SNECMA 14R fourteen-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial engines mounted ahead of the wing.There were three crew,a bomb aimer/observer housed in a partially glazed nose, the pilot in a conventional cockpit which merged into a raised rear fuselage and, in the extreme tail just beyond the fins, a rear gunner in a turret.
The aircraft was first flown on 23 May 1947.Tests continued into 1948 but,it was seriously damaged in a belly landing on 9 March 1948 and did not fly again.Instead,SNCAC concentrated on the jet powered second prototype,the NC.1071.

This was powered by a pair of 5,000 lbf Rolls-Royce Nenes, mounted in booms like the piston engines of the NC.1070, though rather further forward, positioned below the wing and with their tailpipes emerging from the previously pointed boom ends.
Because of the lowered booms/tailpipes the lower, fixed horizontal tail was removed.The rear gun position was replaced by a partially glazed observer's position and the bottom of the rudder was clipped to avoid the jet exhaust. Apart from these engine induced changes the NC.1071 was aerodynamically very similar to the NC.1070, with the same dimensions.Its maximum speed was increased by nearly 40% at altitude and it had a greater ceiling, 43,000 ft but its range, much reduced, to around 600 miles.

The NC.1071 made its first flight on 12 October 1948. It suffered damage to its undercarriage on 27 April 1949, flew again in 1950 and was modified after significant structural distortion was discovered in flight.Though both an all weather fighter variant (NC.1072) and an attack bomber (NC.1073) were considered, they were not built and development was abandoned at the end of NC.1071's flight tests.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCAC NC 1080

The SNCAC NC.1080 was a prototype single-seat carrier-based fighter aircraft first flown on 29 July 1949.

It was designed as a single-seat, carrier-borne fighter for the French Navy, the NC.1080 competed for this role against the Arsenal VG 90 and Nord 2200.
The NC.1080 was fitted with a Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet, and was designed to be capable of carrying three 30mm cannon.It was a low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction.On 29 July 1949, the aircraft had its first test flight, during which problems were noted regarding two control surfaces: the spoilers and tailplane.

SNCAC was dissolved that same year, further testing of the prototype was carried out by the French military at Brétigny and Villaroche air bases,but during a test flight on 10 April 1950, the plane crashed for unknown reasons and was damaged beyond repair.
Consequently, further development of the design was immediately halted and later the Aéronavale adopted the de Havilland Sea Venom in 1952.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCAC NC.2001 Abeille

The SNCAC NC.2001 Abeille (Bee) was a single engine, twin intermeshing rotor helicopter designed and built in France in the late 1940s.

The design of the Abeille was directed by René Dorand at the helicopter division of SNCAC.An intermeshing rotor layout was chosen instead of a tail rotor design. Its twin, two blade rotors were driven by shafts which leaned out of the fuselage side-by-side.The rotor blades, which began some way from the hub, were heavily tapered,pitch and roll were adjusted from the control column by altering cyclic pitch via a pair of swashplates,and yaw by changing the relative collective pitch of the two rotors with the pedals.
Forward tilt of the rotor shafts was automatically linked to forward speed, and a single lever controlled both the collective pitch and the throttle through an electrical link.
The Abeille was powered by a 575 hp Renault 12S, an inverted, liquid-cooled V-12 engine.

The aircraft had a pod and boom, all-metal fuselage. The nose was fully glazed with two side by side crew seats ahead of a cabin with a bench seat for three passengers,with the engine and gearboxes mounted behind them.On the second machine the tailplane was lowered to the top of the fuselage and had a pair of fins,each roughly elliptical and mounted from its top.The Abeille's fixed main landing gear had two wheels on a single axle positioned a little behind the rotor shafts and mounted on broad, single struts to the mid-upper fuselage, together with a smaller nose wheel.

Three examples of the Abeille were built. The first was destroyed by a fire before it had flown. The second made its first flight on 28 June 1949, piloted by Claude Dellys. SNCAC was closed in that month, its assets distributed between three remaining state owned firms and as a result the Abeille programme was abandoned; the second machine did not fly again and the third never flew.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCAO CAO.600

The SNCAO CAO.600 was a French prototype twin-engined torpedo-bomber of the Second World War.

In 1937 the French Air Ministry launched a specification to replace the Aéronavale's torpedo-bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, both obsolete biplanes, aboard the French Navy's two planned new aircraft carriers.The requirement demanded that the new aircraft, which was to act as a torpedo-bomber, level bomber and recon aircraft, had to have a maximum speed of over 186 mph, with an endurance of 3.5 hours as a torpedo-bomber and 6 hours on recon missions. Unusually for a carrier-based aircraft, the specification demanded that the new aircraft be twin-engined, carrying a crew of two as a torpedo bomber and three as a bomber or recon aircraft.

Two prototypes were ordered with the (SNCAO) on 15 June 1939, with a similar order for two of the competing designs.The SNCAO CAO.600 was an all-metal monoplane with an inverted gull wing and a retractable tailwheel undercarriage. The pilot and bombardier/navigator sat in separate cockpits with individual stepped windscreens, with the navigator in the extreme nose and the pilot above the leading edge of the wing. The radio-operator/gunner sat further back,with his cockpit behind the wing. It was powered by two Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engines, which gave it a max speed of 235mph and a cruise of 185mph.

The first prototype first flew on 21 March 1940, from Villacoublay to Istres on 31 March. It had completed 35 flying hours by 25 June when the test programme was stopped by the French surrender to Germany. The second prototype, which had folding wings required for carrier operations, was abandoned incomplete, while the first prototype was dismantled and stored until it was finally scrapped following the German occupation of Southern France in November 1942.

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SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc

The SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc was a French four-engined airliner produced by SNCASE (Sud-Est).

Air Afrique needed a new airliner for its African services so Marcel Bloch proposed a development of his Bloch MB.160 aircraft, the Bloch MB.161, which after World War II became the SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc. Design work on the new aircraft began in 1937.The prototype, first flew on 15 December 1939 powered by four Gnome-Rhône 14N radial engines of 1,020HP each.The aircraft underwent a slow development programme with test flying was not completed until January 1942.The French Vichy government placed an order for twenty in December 1941,but none were built.
The programme was finally abandoned following Allied bombing of the factory at Saint-Martin-du-Touch, Haute-Garonne in 1944.

Following the liberation of France the government led by De Gaulle authorised production to be resumed with the first series production aircraft, designated the SE.161 and registered F-BATA, first flying either on 25 August 1945 or 17 September 1945.An initial batch of 40 production examples was completed for Air France between October 1945 and April 1948.

The Languedoc was an all-metal four-engined low wing cantilever monoplane airliner with a twin fins and rudders. It had a crew of five (pilot, co-pilot/navigator, radio operator, flight engineer and steward) Standard cabin accommodation was for 33 passengers seated in eleven rows of three, two on the starboard side and one to port. An alternative first class arrangement was for 24 seats. A 44-seat higher density version was introduced by Air France in 1951.
A total of 100 aircraft were built for Air France, the French Air Force and French Navy.The only export customer for new production aircraft was the Polish airline LOT which bought five with some being refitted with Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engines.

The SE.161 was named the Languedoc before it entered service with Air France on the Paris to Algiers route from 28 May 1946.By October they were withdrawn from service with a number of faults, including landing gear problems, poor view from the cockpit when landing in bad weather and a lack of de-icing equipment and cabin heating.
The Gnome Rhône engines also had a very short time between overhauls, but was considered by many as unable to operate in winter conditions and unsafe to fly.
They re-entered service in 1947, re-engined with the reliable American-built Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines, with de-icing equipment, medium-range cockpit radios, and limited cabin heating, the designation changing to SE.161.P7. These essential enhancements partially reassured commercial airline customers. The Languedoc was soon a familiar type on Air France's increasing European network and continued until summer 1952,when they were steadily replaced by the popular Douglas DC-4.

The largest military operator was the French Navy, which operated 25 different Languedoc aircraft over the years. The first aircraft were delivered in 1949 and used as long-range transports between Paris, Marseille and Lyon, and North Africa; later aircraft would be used as flying classrooms for non-pilot aircrew training. The flying classrooms were modified with both a nose radar set and a ventral "dustbin" radar. The aircraft was withdrawn from Naval service in 1959.

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SNCASE SE.200

The Sud-Est SE.200 Amphitrite was a flying boat airliner built in France in the late 1930s.

It was a large, six-engine design with a high-set monoplane wing, and twin tails. The aircraft was developed in response to a French air ministry specification of 1936 for a transatlantic airliner for Air France with a 3700 mile range.Designs were submitted by several companies, and all had approval for construction of at least one prototype.

Four SE.200s were under construction at the outbreak of the World War II, and work on them continued after the fall of France, along with a fifth machine now started. The first aircraft, christened Rochambeau flew on 11 December 1942.Following testing, it was seized by the German occupation and taken to the Bodensee, where it was destroyed in an air-raid by RAF Mosquitos on 17 April 1944. A USAAF raid on Marignane on 16 September destroyed the second SE.200 and badly damaged the others.

Enough work on the third SE.200 had been carried out to make salvage worthwhile after the war. This aircraft eventually flew on 2 April 1946 but was damaged in a hard landing in October 1949 and was not repaired.Plans existed to also complete the fourth aircraft, but it came to nothing, and it and the fifth machine were scrapped. The remains of the first SE.200 were raised by Dornier in 1966.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCASE Armagnac

The SNCASE S.E.2010 Armagnac was a large French airliner of the late 1940s built by SNCASE (Sud-Est).

The aircraft was designed originally around a requirement for an 87-passenger, long range airliner issued in 1942, the S.E. 2000 was to have been powered by four 2,100 hp Gnome-Rhône 18R engines. At an early stage, the S.E. 2000 was abandoned in favour of a larger, more capable version, the S.E. 2010 Armagnac. The Armagnac was a cantilever mid-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear designed for transatlantic service. A number of versions were planned from a 60-passenger "sleeping berth" version to 84-passenger, 108-passenger and 160-passenger versions.

The first prototype which flew on 2 April 1949 but it was lost on 30 January 1950 while still undergoing testing.The first production series aircraft F-BAVD flew on 30 December 1950.
Although the S.E.2010 was powered by Pratt & Whitney R-4360-B13 Wasp Major engines, a concern that the final design was underpowered led to a redesign.The final (15th) production aircraft was intended to be re-engined with 5,400 hp Allison T40 turboprops, but production was curtailed at eight aircraft and the more advanced version was never built.
One Armagnac, S.O. 2060, ended its days as an engine test-bed, alternately fitted with turbojet engines fitted in a nacelle below the fuselage.

At the time, the Armagnac was one of the largest civil aircraft ever built with a wingspan of almost 50 meters and weight over 77 tonnes. The large pressurized cabin was intended for a three tier sleeping compartment configuration which ultimately was not fitted to any of the S.E.2010 versions.Initial production of 15 aircraft was planned for delivery to launch customer Air France.
However after evaluation of the prototype, the airline declined delivery in 1952, citing inadequate performance. Despite being designed for transatlantic service, the aircraft's range of 5,000 km, was inadequate for the 6,500 km required to operate such a service. Additionally, the aircraft was too large to be operated profitably for shorter range routes.

Most Armagnacs were broken up in 1955, although two were used to transport the French contingent to the 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Australia. The visiting aircraft were ferried to Mangalore Airport.F-BAVI, one of the Melbourne caravan was the last SNCASE Armagnac survivor, and was scrapped in 1975 at Bordeaux/Merignac after having lain derelict for many years.

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SNCASE SE-2300

The Sud-Est SE-2300 or S.N.C.A.S.E. SE-2300 was a two/three seat low wing, single engine touring aircraft, built just after WWII.

It first flew on 26 October 1945.It was a conventionally laid out, all metal, two seat, single engine cantilever monoplane, with tapered low wings.The wings had a centre section integral with the fuselage and two outer panels, all covered with electrically welded skin.
The fuselage of the SE-2300 was constructed from four pre-formed panels welded together. A 140 hp Renault Bengali 4 four cylinder, inverted, air-cooled inline engine,with a two blade propeller.
The over-wing cabin seated two side-by-side with dual controls,and behind these seats was space for a third (optional in the SE-2300 and standard in the SE-2310 variant) and baggage.

There were access doors and rear view transparencies on both sides. At the rear, the tailplane was mounted at mid-fuselage and the fin and deep rudder were straight tapered.
The first and only SE-2300 had a fixed conventional undercarriage with pneumatic springing, faired main legs and wheels and a swivelling tailwheel. The two SE-2310s had tricycle undercarriages, first unfaired,but the second with faired legs and spats.
With a four-seat version, the SE-2311 under development but unbuilt, the three seat SE-3010 was entered into a 1946 French Transport Ministry contest for a four-seat tourist aircraft in February 1946. It was unsuccessful, the award going to the Nord 1200 Norécrin and development of the SE-2300 series was abandoned. The last example remained in use until at least 1956 as a company transport.

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[Angry Turnip]

SNCASE SE-3000

The SNCASE SE-3000 was a development of the Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache (Dragon) was a helicopter built in Germany during World War II.
A single 1,010 hp Bramo 323 radial engine powered two three-bladed rotors mounted on twin booms on either side of the cylindrical fuselage.Although the Fa 223 is noted for being the first helicopter to attain production status, production of the helicopter was hampered by Allied bombing of the factory, and only 20 were built.

SNCASE`s version was designed for basic transport purposes, and had accommodation for four passengers.It was powered by a 720 hp Bramo "Fafnir" engine,but only three were built, the first flown on 23 October 1948.

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SNCASE Baroudeur

The SNCASE S.E.5000 Baroudeur was a French single-engined lightweight fighter designed by SNCASE (Sud-Est) for the NATO NBMR-1 "Light Weight Strike Fighter" competition.

The Baroudeur was a lightweight fighter, designed to operate from grass airfields, designed in the early stages of the Cold War. The idea behind the unusual design was to operate tactical jet interceptors from unprepared sites in case the air force bases were destroyed. It used a wheeled trolley that could be used for take off from grass, and three retractable skids (the third at the tail for landing) for take off from snow- or ice-covered surfaces.
The three-wheeled trolley had provision to use rockets if needed to assist. Apart from the landing gear the aircraft was a shoulder-wing monoplane with a swept wing and tail surfaces,powered by a SNECMA Atar 101C turbojet .

The first of two prototypes flew on the 1 August 1953. Three pre-production aircraft designated the S.E.5003 were also built with Atar 101D turbojet engines but the type was not ordered into production.
The five prototype and preproduction aircraft were disposed of as gunnery targets at Cazaux airforce base.A non-profit concern organisation (Ailes Anciennes Le Bourget, with ties to Le Bourget Air Museum) managed to scavenge most of the remains of three or four wrecks to create one SE 5003 in display condition.

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SNCASE Aquilon

SNCASE (Sud-Est) licence-built 121 Sea Venom FAW.20 as the Aquilon for the French Navy.The Sea Venom was the navalised version of the Venom NF.2 two-seat night fighter.

Aquilon 20   – 4 examples assembled from the parts provided by de Havilland plus - 25 locally built.
Aquilon 201 – Single prototype built in France.
Aquilon 202 – Two-seat version with ejector seats, an American AN/APQ-65 radar and air-conditioning - 50 built.
Aquilon 203 – Single-seat version with an American AN/APQ-94 radar and equipped with racks for air-to-air missiles. Prototype converted from Aquilon 202 plus - 40 built.
Aquilon 204 – Two-seat training version without guns. - 6 Converted from Aquilon 20.

The Aquilon saw service with the French Navy until being withdrawn from service in 1965. Aquilon 203 No.53 is currently preserved at Rochefort-en-Terre, France.

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