The slightly less well known

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SNCASO Sud-Ouest Bretagne

The Sud-Ouest S.O.30 Bretagne was a 1940s French airliner.
The Bretagne was designed by a group of designers and engineers based at Cannes from May 1941 following the invasion of France.The design was for a medium capacity civil transport, a twin-engined mid-wing all-metal monoplane. The prototype ( S.O.30N ) first flew on 26 February 1945.

The initial production version was designated the S.O.30P Bretagne with two versions with different engines.
The S.O.30P-1 was fitted with Pratt & Whitney R-2800-B43 engines,producing 2000hp each, and the S.O.30P-2 used Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CA13 engines of 2,434 hp each.

The aircraft operated with a crew of five and could carry between 30 and 43 passengers. A cargo version ( S.O.30C ) with a revised interior and uprated stronger floor, and large cargo door. The aircraft was operated as an airliner, but mainly by the French Airforce and Navy as a multi-role medium transport.
Some aircraft were fitted with two underwing Turbomeca Palas turbojet engines for auxiliary power. Other aircraft were used for engine-trials fitted with the SNECMA Atar 101 and licence-built Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets.

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SNCASO SO.80 Biarritz

The Sud-Ouest Corse was a French mail and passenger transport aircraft, built by SNCASO.

The Corse began as the S.O.90 Cassiopée, a nine-passenger aircraft. The S.O.93 Corse and S.O.94 Corse II prototypes were developed as the S.O.95 Corse III. The aircraft was a cantilever mid-wing monoplane, powered by two 580 hp Renault 12S engines,and it was equipped with a retractable conventional landing gear. One prototype was built which first flew 17th July 1947.
There was seating up to 13 passengers, and the seats could be quickly removed in order to carry more cargo.
Intended to serve Air France, it failed their aircraft requirements. 60 aircraft were built for Aeronavale, and a small number for other overseas airlines.
45 Corse III`s were built for the military,these served with both the French Air Force, and the French Navy.

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SNCASO Sud-Ouest Djinn

The Sud-Ouest S.O.1221 Djinn is a French two-seat light helicopter.It was the first indigenous French helicopter, as well as being one of the first practical European helicopters to be produced.
The Djinn was also the first rotorcraft to harness tip-jet propulsion to enter production.

The Djinn was developed to function as a practical implementation of the earlier experimental Sud-Ouest Ariel rotorcraft. The rotors were driven by compressed-air jets at the end of each blade, which had the benefit of eliminating the need for an anti-torque tail rotor. On 2 January 1953, the proof-of-concept S.O.1220 performed its first flight; it was followed by the first of the S.O.1221 Djinn prototypes on 16 December 1953. During the flight test program, one of the prototypes was recorded as having achieved a world altitude record of (15,712 ft).

The French Army encouraged the construction of a pre-production batch of 22 helicopters, which were used for evaluation purposes. The first of these flew on 23 September 1954.
Three of the pre-production helicopters were acquired by the United States Army, designating it as the YHO-1, for the purpose of participating in their own series of trials.According to some sources the US Army at first held little interest in the type, but had found the YHO-1 to be an excellent weapons platform, yet they had been compelled to abandon interest by political opposition to the purchase of a non-American aircraft.

The French Army ordered a total of 100 helicopters and it was operated in variety of mission roles, such as liaison, observation, training purposes; when flown with a single pilot, it could be outfitted with two external litters for the casualty evacuation mission. In addition to the French military, a further ten countries placed orders, including a batch of six for the the German Army.
Production of the Djinn came to an end during the mid-1960s, by which point a total of 178 Djinns had been produced; it had been replaced by the more conventional, Aérospatiale Alouette II.
Some Djinns had been sold onto civil operators; it was often equipped for agricultural purposes, being fitted with chemical tanks and spray bars.

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SNCASO Sud Aviation Vautour

The Sud-Ouest Aviation (SNCASO) S.O. 4050 Vautour II (Vulture) was a French jet-powered bomber, interceptor, and attack aircraft from the late 1950`s.

In June 1951, the French Armée de l'Air issued a detailed requirement for a jet-powered aircraft capable of functioning in several roles, including as a bomber, a low-level attack aircraft, or an all-weather interceptor.In response to this French aircraft manufacturer SNCASO decided to adapt its existing S.O. 4000 design so that it could perform the desired missions roles.
An initial order for three prototypes was placed, and on 16 October 1952, the first prototype of the revised design, which had been designated as the S.O. 4050, conducted its first flight.

A follow-on order for six pre-production aircraft was soon received; one of which was powered by a pair of Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engines and another had Rolls-Royce Avon engines.
The remainder were powered by the French Atar as would production aircraft, having proven to be established and,capable of sufficient power for the Vautour to take off while carrying a full payload.

Subsequently given the name Vautour II, the aircraft was manufactured in three variants.During 1958, the aircraft entered service with the AdA; the Vautour would remain in use by the AdA for several decades. While the final French aircraft being retired from frontline service during 1979, a number were retained and soldiered on in various secondary duties into the early 1980s.

The Vautour was capable of being equipped with various armaments. In Israeli service, it was typically armed with a pair of 30 mm cannons, and up to four removable underwing rocket pods, with 19 air-to-ground rockets each; up to 3,000lb of bombs or alternatively a maximum of 232 68 mm rockets could be accommodated internally in the bomb bay. 4,000lb of bombs could also be mounted externally.The Vautour IIB bomber could be used to carry and deploy nuclear weapons in addition to its conventional arsenal. The internal bomb bay of a single aircraft could contain either one AN-11 or one AN-22 nuclear bomb; however, in AdA service, the primary carrier of nuclear weapons would quickly be transitioned to the newer and more capable Dassault Mirage IV, which supplemented and eventually replace the Vautour IIB bomber.

No Vautour IIAs would enter AdA service and around 30 were believed to be constructed, 18 of which being sold to Israel at a relatively low price. In place of the IIA, the Vautour IIB was ordered instead, which could perform level bombing runs across all altitudes, as well as the low altitude toss bombing attack profile.To address a deficiency of the Vautour emphasis was placed upon the introduction and perfection of aerial refueling techniques in the AdA. This led to the adoption of a 'buddy pack' to enable pairs of Vautours to refuel one another in mid-air, allowing for the range factor to be addressed.

In Israeli service, the Vautour had an active combat career. As early as 1959, the type was being used against Egyptian targets; the Vautour would also participate in a series of actions throughout major conflicts between Israel and its neighbours, including the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition. Israeli Vautours were normally used to conduct bombing and strafing runs, along with several air-to-air engagements.Overall, a total of 15 Vautours were recorded as having been lost in combat. Remaining examples were retired during 1971 in favor of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk; the last aircraft retired from operational service during March 1972, their final role being decoy aircraft flown in the vicinity of the Sinai. The Israelis were pleased with the Vautour's range and versatility, and it was well regarded in Israeli service.

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SNCASO.Sud-Ouest Triton

The Sud-Ouest SO.6000 Triton was an early experimental French jet aircraft.
It has the distinction of being the first indigenously-designed jet-powered aircraft to be flown by the nation, having been designed and manufactured during the 1940s by the French aircraft construction consortium SNCASO.

Amongst the first new aviation projects to be launched in post-war France was the SO.6000.The aircraft is based upon a clandestine effort conducted during the German occupation of France,and shortly after the end of the conflict, the new French government issued a requirement, calling for a total of five prototype aircraft to be constructed for testing.The development of home designed jet aircraft was seen as of national importance to the government,intended to symbolise the speedy recovery of France's industrial and military strength.

The SO.6000 was a compact and unarmed two-seater, having a deep-set fuselage with a mid-mounted straight wing.The spacious fuselage provided sufficient space for multiple engine models to be fitted. The availability of such a powerplant to install upon the aircraft was no straightforward issue. At one stage, it had been planned for the type to receive a French-designed Rateau-Anxionnaz GTS-65 turbojet engine.However, as a result of the delays in development, it was decided to instead adopt the German-designed Junkers Jumo 004-B2 engine for use upon the first prototype.

On 11 November 1946, the first prototype performed its first flight,the timing of the flight was deliberate,the French government were keen to demonstrate that they possessed technological parity with Germany, Great Britain, and the United States.However the Junkers engine was only capable of producing up to 1,980 lb of thrust and was quite underpowered for the SO.6000, being barely capable of achieving sustained flight and therefore lacked practicality. Further prototypes did not use the Junkers engine.

The second prototype was used for static testing only, while the three other aircraft were powered by a license-built model of the British Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engine, the last of these performing its first flight in November 1950.None of the aircraft would be powered by the intended GTS-65 engine, the development of which would eventually be terminated.
When flown with the Nene engine, the SO.6000 was capable of achieving up to 593 mph, but was also plagued by vibration and stability issues at high speed.

Further development of the SO.6000 was ultimately abandoned during the early 1950s without any direct follow-on; the SO.6000 was never use in any operational circumstance. The type had been rendered obsolete by the rapid pace of advancements, both in terms of jet propulsion and aerospace capabilities generally, with numerous jet-powered designs being produced around this time.

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SAB AB-20

The SAB AB-20 was a large four engine twin boom French bomber built in the early 1930s.

It was a development of the three-engine Dyle et Bacalan DB-70 airliner. The change of manufacturer's was the result of the financial failure of Dyle et Bacalan in 1929, followed by its immediate reappearance as SAB, who took over DB-70 development.

The aircraft was built around a thick, wide chord airfoil centre section which provided generous internal space for passengers. The engines were mounted on this structure as were twin fuselages to carry the tail. The outer wings were of normal thickness and chord, and the cockpit and undercarriage were also attached to the centre section. The generous intra-wing volume equally offered crew, fuel and bomb-room for military purposes. Initially the AB-20 was intended to have three engines like its predecessor, but during the design phase there was a military request for a bombardier's position and a gunner's cockpit in the nose, which required the removal of the centre engine and its replacement by two extra wing-mounted engines.

The new central crew pod was flat-sided and tapered forwards to a complicated cylindrical nose, formed by a simple lower part with an overhanging, windowed cabin for the navigator/bombardier and an open gunner's cockpit, fitted with a machine gun ring, directly above. The nose also carried a long, cone probe with fine extensions, possibly pressure sensors. Further rearward there was an enclosed pilot's cabin. A second gunner was stationed, on top of the centre section and a third fired from a ventral turret.

By early 1934 a much developed version, the AB-21 had appeared. It had the new V-12 Lorraine Petrel water-cooled engines and a tapered, filleted cantilever wing without the struts used on the AB-20 and DB-70. The undercarriage had also been fitted with streamlined legs and wheels in long cowlings. The nose was further complicated, retaining the upper, open gunner's position but now with double underhanging windowed positions.

Trials of an airborne sideways-firing 75 mm gun were carried out with the AB-20 prototype modified as the AB-22. Firing trials were halted after damage was caused to the lower wing skin by blast from the gun muzzle. Just two of these distinctive aircraft were built as no orders were placed.

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SAB DB-80

The SAB DB-80 and SAB DB-81 were single engine, all-metal French light transports aimed at the air mail market,from the 1930`s.

The DB-80 was a single engine, high wing aircraft giving easy access by two port-side doors to a cabin with two passenger seats and to a separate mail compartment behind them. The pilot sat ahead of the passengers under the wing leading edge. Two differently engined versions were built: the DB-80 had a 100 hp Hispano-Suiza 6P six cylinder, upright water-cooled inline and the DB-81 a 120 hp  Lorraine 5Pc five cylinder radial engine.

In late March 1930 the DB-80's test flights were on hold, waiting for good weather,over a month later tests were underway but the first flight did not take place until 27 June 1930.
The Lorraine powered DB-81 flew in August,after which testing of the pair continued successfully though interrupted by SAB test pilot Charles Deschamps' absence at Villacoublay for official trials of the DB-20.In October the DB-80 was re-engined with a Lorraine and renamed DB-81.

There is no record of any further examples being built nor accurate and reliable performance figures.Just the two aircraft were built.

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Société d'Aviation Letord, Let 1 to Let 7 series.

The company was formed in the early 1910s by the French aviation industrialist Émile-Louis Letord, and it produced a number of twin-engined biplanes for the French military during World War I.

The Let.1 to Let.7, were essentially similar biplanes with, variously unequal span or equal span wings, powered by two tractor engines in nacelles mounted on short struts or directly on the lower wings and had a fixed tailskid undercarriage.
Some aircraft were equipped with a strut-mounted nosewheel to protect the aircraft and its crew from "nosing-over" while landing. The pilot sat in an open cockpit under the upper wing trailing edge, with a gunner in an open position immediately behind, with a third crew-member in an open position in the nose where he could act as gunner, observer, and bomb-aimer.

The Letord reconnaissance bombers saw widespread service from mid 1917, with 121 operational on the Western Front by November 1917. Most were no longer in front-line use by the Armistice in November 1918.

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Société des Avions Bernard. AB 1

Société des Avions Bernard was a French aircraft manufacturer of the early 20th century.

The Adolphe Bernard AB was a family twin-engined French biplane aircraft, built near the end of the First World War. It was the first original design from the Adolphe Bernard factory, which had previously produced SPAD aircraft to government contracts. It was a twin engine biplane bomber, carrying 600 kg  of bombs.
The AB 1 BN2 was a wooden three bay biplane,which used Hispano-Suiza V-8 piston engines, of which type there was a surplus after the Armistice.

The first AB 1 BN2 was built in 1918 and first flew that year. There were plans for a variant using more powerful Hispano-Suiza 8Ba engines, the AB 2, but this was not built. Post war, two civilian variants were started, the post-carrying AB 3 and the passenger only or passenger plus post AB 4. The AB 3, one of which was completed in 1920.The AB 4, which had the same engines as the proposed AB 2, carried a maximum of seven passengers. Its fuselage was on display at the 6th Paris Aero Show in December 1919, but it was not completed.
Ten AB 1s were produced after the Armistice but did not see squadron service.

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SAB Bernard 190

The Bernard 190 or Bernard-Hubert 190 was a French airliner of 1928. It was a high-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration.

It was based on the Bernard 18, and kept the same basic design but featured redesigned tail surfaces, an enlarged cabin, and offered its flight crew a completely enclosed cockpit.
The 190 is best remembered for the exploits of the three 191GRs. The first built was used by Louis Coudouret in an attempt to cross the North Atlantic in August 1928. This was unsuccessful when the aircraft first refused to leave the ground in Paris, and was later turned back by Spanish authorities unwilling to permit the flight. On 7 July 1929, Coudouret crashed the aircraft near Angoulême and was killed.

The second example was used in the first successful French aerial crossing of the North Atlantic. It was painted bright yellow and dubbed "Canary Bird" it departed Old Orchard Beach, Maine on June 13, 1929 and piloted by Jean Assolant, René Lefèvre and Armand Lotti.
It completed the crossing to Oyambre, near Comillas, Cantabria, Spain, in 29 hours 52 minutes, even with a stowaway (Arthur Schreiber) aboard. This aircraft is now preserved in the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace.

The third 191GR was used by Antoine Paillard to set two world airspeed records, for 62 mi with a 4,400 lb payload, and for 620 mi with a 1,000 kg 2,200 lb payload.

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SAB Bernard 70 Series.

The Bernard 70 was a 1920s design for a French single-seat monoplane fighter aircraft by the Société des Avions Bernard.It was developed into a racing monoplane designated the Bernard S-72, and was further developed into single-seat fighters, the Bernard 74-01 and Bernard 74-02.

The Bernard S-72 was a wooden stressed skin constructed low-wing monoplane powered by a Gnome-Rhône 5Bc radial engine and had a fixed landing gear. Flown by Paillard, the Bernard S-72 participated in the 1930 Coupe Michelin race. On 29 June, but had to retire near Lyon as a result of engine failure.

The S-72 was re-engined with a Gnome-Rhône 7Kb and re-designated the Bernard S-73. The S-73 was then developed into the Bernard 74 single-seat fighter and retained the Titan-Major engine.
Two prototypes were built with the first flying in February 1931, powered by a 280 hp Gnome-Rhône 7Kbs radial engine,the second was fitted with a 360 hp Gnome-Rhône 7Kd engine and first flew in October 1931.Both were armed with wo fixed 7.7mm (0.303in) synchronised Vickers machine-guns.
The first prototype 74 was re-engined with a Gnome-Rhône 9Kbrs radial engine and re-designated the Bernard 75 it was later used as a pilot-trainer but no further aircraft were built.

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Société des Avions Blanchard Brd.1

The Blanchard Brd.1 was a French reconnaissance flying boat, to the 1923 STAé HB.3 specification, used by the French navy in the 1920s.
It was a large biplane with two engines mounted in the gap between the wings, each engine driving a pusher propeller. In 1924, one Brd.1 was used to set several world altitude records for seaplanes.

The aircraft was powered by 2 × Hispano-Suiza 8Fe V-8 water-cooled piston engines, of 260 hp each, driving two blade fixed pitch props, which gave a max speed of around 110mph.
Crew was usually 3 or 4, and it carried a 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-gun on flexible mount in bow, another 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-gun in flexible mount in rear fuselage, and around 300kg of bombs.
The French Navy ordered 24 aircraft, but most were retired from service after 3 years.

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Société des Avions Marcel Bloch MB.81

The MB.81 was a French military aircraft for use as a flying ambulance since it was designed to carry one passenger, in or out of a stretcher.

The aircraft was designed to be able to seek patients or casualties by scouting, even at high altitudes, during military operations in mountainous countries, like then-French Morocco over the Atlas Mountains.
The main design feature made it possible to transport a casualty lying down, in a compartment between the pilot and the engine. The wings could be adapted to hold casualties, remaining constantly under the sight of the pilot and connected to him by an onboard communication system.

The MB.80 made its first flight in the summer of 1932. It was an all-metal monoplane with low wings,equipped with a French Lorraine 5Pc of 120 hp which allowed it to reach a speed of 120 mph at an altitude of 21,000 ft.It was able to take off and land in a very short space.

The aircraft was built without assistance from the government, but an initial order of 20 was placed by the Ground French Forces (the Armée de l'Air was founded later in 1933), and it was one of the aircraft that relaunched Marcel Bloch in the aeronautical industry.

The production model, called the MB.81, was fitted with a French uprated Salmson 9Nd of 175 hp. It took part in military operations in Morocco and in Syria at the beginning of the 1930s.
The MB.81 entered service in 1935, and was used extensively throughout North Africa and the Middle East. A small number were used in 1939-1940, before the French surrender, and in July 1941 in the battle for Syria between the Vichy French and the British/Free French.

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Société des Avions Marcel Bloch MB.120

The Bloch MB.120 was a French three-engine colonial transport aircraft from the 1930`s.

The MB.120 design was selected by the French government for transport use in French overseas territories. It was an all-metal high-wing cantilever monoplane.
The prototype was developed from the MB.71.Standard set up was for a crew of three and up to 10 passengers. The civil aircraft normally carried only four passengers, the rest of the aircraft was filled with mail. Ten production aircraft were produced, six for civil use and four for the French Air Force.

The aircraft entered operation in 1934 for Air Afrique, which was an airline founded by the French government in May 1934 to provide service between the French African territories. Both the civil and military aircraft served only in French Africa.
Power was provided by 3 Lorraine 9Na Algol 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, of 300 hp each,max speed was around 160 mph, but a normal cruise was 120mph.

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SFCA Lignel 20

The SFCA Lignel 20 was a French, single engine, low wing monoplane, one of a series of this type built by SFCA in the 1930s.

The Lignel 20 was a low wing cantilever monoplane of entirely wooden construction apart from its engine mounting. In the nose a 220 hp Renault 6Q-03, an air-cooled, inverted six cylinder inline engine supercharged to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) was mounted on steel tube bearings.
Behind the engine fuselage had an oval section.The cockpit was behind the wing trailing edge; though primarily a single seat aircraft a passenger could be accommodated. The cockpit glazing was faired into a raised rear fuselage.

The Lignel 20 had retractable landing gear with mainwheeels on forked cantilever legs from the outer edges of the centre section, swinging outwards into wing recesses. There were covers attached to the inner side of the forks, acting as aircraft fairings when retraction was complete.

The aircraft first flew on 15 April 1937. Two were built. During 1937 the second of these was re-engined with a more powerful 280 hp Régnier R-161 which increased its maximum speed to 260 mph. It was redesignated the SFFCA Lignel 20S and first flew in November 1937. It was announced at the 1938 Paris Salon that the Lignel 20S was being fitted with a supercharged, eight cylinder Régnier engine producing 360 hp, in preparation for attempts in 1939 on world records in the 8 l capacity engine category; with this engine the maximum speed was 290 mph.

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SFCA Taupin

The SFCA Taupin was a French tandem-wing aircraft, designed to provide a simple, stable and safe aircraft able to take-off and land in small spaces.

In 1935 they designed and built the tandem wing Taupin which, apart from a different engine, was very similar to the earlier Peyret VI of 1933.
Taupin is the French vernacular name for beetles of the family Elateridae or click-beetles, known for their ability to jump rapidly into the air.

The Taupin had rectangular plan wings, the forward one providing 65% of the wing area, both mounted on the central fuselage.The wings were mounted with equal and significant dihedral. Both had full-span flaps which were interconnected and could move differentially as ailerons,and together as camber changing flaps, a system first used on the glider and acknowledged as the source of its "extraordinary controllability".
The exact date of the Taupin's first flight is not known, but it was thought to be late October 1935 when it took part successfully in the 1935 Tour de France des Prototypes.
Later that year it went for certification at Villacoublay; it returned to SFCA in January 1936 for modifications.It lived up to its name, needing only 15 m (49 ft) to take off.

During 1937 SFCA introduced a two-seat version of the Taupin, the Taupin 5/2. This had a 60 hp Regnier inverted inline engine, wings with duralumin tube spars and side-by-side seats. Take-off weight rose by 80% but the dimensions were only slightly increased.

After World War II SFCA introduced the metal framed Lignel 44 Cross-Country, which was slightly larger than the Taupin 5/2, with a 74 hp Régnier 4 D2 inverted inline engine and a new, enclosed cabin fuselage; the seats, accessed by side doors, were still under the trailing edge of the wing though without a cut-out. As in the earlier designs there was no vertical separation of the wings, both mounted on the upper fuselage longerons. It was 20% heavier than the Taupin 5/2 and had a maximum speed of 84 mph.

The final production figures were forty-eight Taupins,four Taupin 5/2s and one Lignell 44. The reconstructed French pre-war register shows that many of the single seat aircraft were used in the national Aviation Populaire programme, though others were used by French aero-clubs.At least two of the tandem wing types flew for several years after WW II.
The Lignel 44 was destroyed in an fatal accident in May 1955, killing Louis Clément, but Taupin F-AZBG remained on the French register in 2014.

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Société Industrielle Pour l’Aéronautique (SIPA) was a French aircraft manufacturer established in 1938 by Émile Dewoitine after his previous company, Avions Dewoitine, was nationalized.
From 1938-1940, SIPA principally manufactured parts for other French aircraft companies. After WWII, and developed a series of trainers for the French Air Force.

SIPA S.90, The SIPA S.90 was a French-built two-seat light touring and training aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s.

The prototype first flew on 15 May 1947,it had won a French government competition for a new light two-seat aircraft for operation by the French aero clubs.The initial production S.90 was a low-wing aircraft with fixed tailwheel undercarriage and side-by-side seating for two. It was powered by a 75 hp Mathis G4F engine. Just four examples were built.

100 aircraft were ordered by the government, on behalf of the aero clubs, and these were powered by the 75 hp Minie 4DC engine as the SIPA S.901.The first flew on 25 June 1948 and deliveries were completed in the early 1950s. Various spec and power engines were later installed in the S.901, giving rise to new model numbers.

The S.90 series found buyers in the secondhand market and examples have flown with private owners in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Nine further aircraft were built later with plywood covering in lieu of fabric, receiving new designations. In 2001,15 examples remained airworthy in France, Switzerland and the UK.
Total production of all models was 113 aircraft.

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SIPA S.200 Minijet

The SIPA S.200 Minijet was a French two-seat light sporting jet aircraft, with a single engine jet.

The first of two prototypes made its first flight on 14 January 1952.The aircraft had a shoulder-wing and twin booms supporting vertical stabilisers with a tail plane joining the two booms.
The cabin was located in the central fuselage, and accommodated two people side-by-side.The entire canopy hinged forward to assist access to the small cabin. The second prototype was fitted with attachment points for auxiliary wingtip fuel tanks. The Minijets were stressed for aerobatics.
Power was by a single 330 lb s.t. Turbomeca Palas jet engine, which gave the aircraft a max speed of 245mph with a normal cruise of around 220mph.Max ceiling was 26000ft.

The Minijet was designed for the dual role of high-speed, short-range liaison and transitional training.A pre-production batch of five Minijets was completed in 1955/56, but plans for further construction were cancelled.
The final production SIPA Minijet F-PDHE is owned by the Collection Bezard at Persan-Beaumont Airport NW of Paris and can be seen by prior arrangement only. Another survivor exists in the USA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu0WFTL_Z0Q  A short clip of a Minijet performing a low pass, there are other clips on youtube of the aircraft,but they are RC models.

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SIPA S.1000 Coccinelle

The SIPA S.1000 Coccinelle was a light civil utility aircraft of the 1950s.

The Coccinelle was designed by Yves Gardan for SIPA as a very low cost all-metal trainer of very simple construction, intended for aero club use.
It was a two-seat side-by-side low-winged aircraft with fixed-tricycle undercarriage and incorporated a number of standard car parts.

The prototype first flew on 11 June 1955. Series production was intended to commence in 1956, but only two further examples were completed, the last was exported to Argentina.
The aircraft were fitted with a Continental C90-8F 4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine of 90 hp, which gave a cruise speed of 110mph or max speed of 125mph.

In 2001, the first and third aircraft remained airworthy in France and Argentina, respectively.By 2010 F-BHHL no longer appeared on the French civil register, as of March 2013 LV-GFG remained active in Argentina.

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SIPA Antilope

The SIPA S.251 Antilope was a low-wing monoplane, seating four or five and powered by a single turboprop engine.

The Antilope was one of the first turboprop powered light aircraft. Apart from its engine, it was a conventional all-metal low-wing machine. The cantilever wing was built around two spars and was a semi-monocoque structure.
The Antilope was powered by a 665 hp Turbomeca Astazou X driving a 3-bladed FH76 propeller, on a long spinner, ahead of the surrounding air intake.This gave a cruising speed of 240mph and a max speed of 280mph
The cabin had seats for up to five, two at the front and a bench seat behind. In a proposed air ambulance configuration, the Antilope would have carried two stretchers and a medic. Access to the cabin was via a large rear hinged door on the right hand side.

It first flew on 7 November 1962 and gained certification in April 1964. Later that year, P. Bonneau set six international Class C1c (1000 – 1750 kg) records with it, achieving for example a speed of 267 mph over a 3 km course and reaching an altitude of 34,186 ft.

The aircraft was exhibited at the 1965 Paris Air Show wearing registration F-BJSS. By mid 1966 development had been completed without a decision to commence production. The production version would have been known as the SIPA S.2510 Antilope but none were built; the prototype (F-WJSS) carried the designation S.251 on its fin.
The sole Antilope is undergoing restoration in a private museum, owned by the Association Antilope, at Montpelier-Mediterranee Airport, in southern France.

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Société Latham 43

The Latham 43 was a flying boat bomber from the 1920s for service with the French Navy.

It was a two-bay biplane with unstaggered wings, and engines mounted tractor-fashion on struts in the interplane gap. The pilot sat in an open cockpit, with a gunner (0.303) in an open bow position, and another in an open position (0.303) amidships.

Two examples, designated Latham 42 powered by liquid-cooled Vee engines were evaluated by the navy in 1924, leading to a contract for 18 aircraft powered by air-cooled Gnome et Rhône 9Aa, of 380 hp each. These were designated Latham 43 by the manufacturer and HB.3 in naval service, they remained in service between 1926 and 1929.
Eight other machines with the original liquid-cooled Lorraine engines were sold to Poland.

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[Angry Turnip]

Société Latham 47

The Latham 47,or Latham R3B4 in Naval service, was a twin-engine flying boat designed and built for the French Navy.

The Latham 47 was designed to fill a French Navy requirement for a long-range flying boat with a transatlantic capability. The prototype appeared in 1928, although it was lost in a fire after two flights. The Type 47 was a large biplane powered by two 500hp Farman 12We engines mounted in tandem below the upper wing.Cruising speed of the aircraft was around 100mph.
The flight crew sat side by side in an open cockpit,with two further machine-gun equipped area`s were located in the nose and amidships.

Twelve production aircraft were built and delivered to the French Navy.
Two further aircraft were built as the Latham 47P as civilian mail carriers with Hispano-Suiza 12Y engines. These 47Ps were used on Mediterranean routes until 1932.

On 6 June 1928 a Latham was tasked to help search for the airship Italia which had crashed on pack ice in the Arctic Ocean just north of Spitsbergen in late May.
The aircraft, piloted by Norwegian Leif Dietrichson and Frenchman René Guilbaud, picked up the explorer Roald Amundsen and a colleague at Bergen.
On 18 June the aircraft left Tromsø, Norway to fly across the Barents Sea, but it disappeared without a trace until, on 31 August the same year, the torn-off port float was found off the coast of Troms and, in October,some more wreckage was found on Haltenbanken.

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[Angry Turnip]

SPAD (Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés) was a French aircraft manufacturer, active between 1911 and 1921.

The SPAD S.A (also called S.A.L.) was a French two-seat tractor biplane.

The SPAD A.1 prototype was the first aircraft produced by SPAD following its reorganization from the pre-war Deperdussin company. It was designed to carry its pilot in the normal position, and also an observer in a nacelle ahead of the propeller. This configuration gave the observer a clear field of view to the front and sides without the drag penalty of the typical pusher. However, communication between the pilot and the observer was almost impossible,it also put the observer at risk of being crushed in a "nose-over". Mechanisms to allow a gun to fire through the propeller were not yet available, and the observer's nacelle on the S.A-1 represented a temporary solution.

The aircraft was fitted with a 110HP Le Rhône 9J rotary engine,which permitted a top speed of 95mph.The SPAD S.A.2 was an improved version of the S.A.1 which first flew on 21 May 1915.
The S.A-2's 110 hp engine frequently suffered from overheating, so the design reverted to the S.A-1s 80 hp Le Rhone in the S.A-4, with the same engine being retrofitted to some S.A-2s.

The S.A had a short career in the French Aviation Militaire, and was quickly replaced in service by less dangerous aircraft.The Imperial Russian Air Service operated the SPAD S.A-2 and S.A-4 for a longer period of time due to a shortage of available aircraft. Some 57 S.A-2s and S.A-4s went to the Imperial Russian Air Service. During winter operations, Russian aircraft were fitted with skis instead of wheels.

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[Angry Turnip]

SPAD S.XII


The SPAD S.XII or SPAD 12 was a French single-seat biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War developed from the successful SPAD 7.

It was inspired by the ideas of French flying ace Georges Guynemer, who proposed that a manoeuvrable single-seat aircraft be designed to carry a 37 mm cannon, a weapon which had previously been mounted only in large two-seat "pusher" aircraft.
The gun chosen for the SPAD XII was a new 37 mm (SAMC), built by Puteaux, for which 12 shots were carried. The Hispano-Suiza aviation engine had to be geared to allow the gun to fire through the propeller shaft. The aircraft also carried a single 0.303 inch synchronized (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun mounted on the starboard side of the nose.

To carry the heavy cannon the airframe was lengthened and the wingspan and wing area increased.To accommodate the canon the engine was replaced by the geared 220 bhp model 8Cb, and gave the SPAD XII a clockwise rotating propeller, as seen from a "nose-on" view.
Early production models were highly successful after overcoming initial problems with the reduction gear between engine and propeller,however, deliveries were slow, the SPAD VII and later SPAD XIII having top priority, and even the modest total of 300 aircraft which were ordered were not all completed.Best estimates are only 20 produced.

No units were entirely equipped with SPAD 12s. They were distributed one or two per squadron.Few were delivered to combat units, 8 being recorded on strength in April and again in October;Single examples for testing were delivered to the Royal Flying Corps and one to the Aviation Section of the American Expeditionary Force, with the AEF's 13th Aero Squadron receiving the aircraft, which was given the number "0".

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[Angry Turnip]

SPAD S.XV

The SPAD S.XV was a single-seat fighter designed and offered to fulfil a 1918 specification.

The 1918 C1 specification called for a medium altitude fighter with 220 kg payload and a 21,300 ft service ceiling, a max speed of 150 mph.The specification called for the use of different engine types, one of which was the 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape 9Nc rotary engine.

SPAD, designed a single-bay biplane with un-staggered, equal span wooden wings and a moulded plywood monocoque fuselage. The cowled Gnome engine was mounted in the nose, driving a 2-bladed propeller. Two 7.70 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine-guns were mounted in the forward upper decking, firing through the propeller disc, using synchronising gear.

First flown on 31 July 1917, the low power of the Gnome engine limited any performance advantage over the SPAD S.XIII, so production was not authorised. The moulded plywood monocoque fuselage concept, however, was used extensively in subsequent designs due to its light weight and high strength.
None of the five S.XVs were accepted by the Aviation militaire.

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