Ein umfangreicheres Kitbashing (grds. Rumpf einer ollen Frog/Novo Supermarine Attacker und Flügelwerk einer Matchbox Mystère IV, plus VIIIIEL Spachtel) mit Special Effects: quasi-klappbare Tragflächen, realisiert aus der Not heraus, die Spannweite zu reduzieren und mit Hilfe austauschbarer Apapter aus PET-Folie.
Some background:Failure of the shipboard fighter requirement issued by the Service Technique Aeronautique in June 1946 (and which had resulted in Aerocentre NC 1080, Arsenal VG 90 and Nord 2200 prototypes being built) led to consideration being given to adoption by the Aeronavale of the Grumman F9F-5 Panther.
In January 1951, however, the Ministère de la Marine announced the decision to adopt the de Havilland Sea Venom Mk 20, which was being developed for the Royal Navy as a side-by-side two-seat shipboard all-weather fighter and had yet to enter flight test. The first of these flew on 31 October 1952, and the name Aquilon (North Wind) being adopted. It was powered by a Fiat-built de Havilland Ghost, armament comprising four 20mm cannon.
Non-availability of the intended Thomson AI radar restricted the Aquilon 201 two-seaters to diurnal operation, the same restriction being imposed on the next 25 aircraft which, delivered as Aquilon 202s, were entirely manufactured in France and differed in having ejection seats, an aft-sliding rather than aft-hinged cockpit canopy and a strengthened undercarriage. A decision was taken to adopt the Westinghouse APQ 65 AI radar, but, without major redesign of the airframe it was found impossible to fit this equipment in the ejection seat-equipped two-seater.
Production therefore continued with the Aquilon 203 single-seater, the last 25 of the 40 production examples of this version being equipped with APQ 65 radar as were the six two-seat Aquilon 204 radar trainers (not fitted with ejection seats) that brought production (a total of 121) to an end. The last of these being flown at the beginning of 1958, but already a couple of years before it was already clear that a more potent aircraft had to be found for the new French Clemenceau Class carriers that were to enter service in the 1960ies.
Through the fast aircraft technology development in the mid-fifties the bar was raised: the new carrier-borne fighter was to feature swept wings and be capable of supersonic speed. Therefore, SNCASO proposed in 1953 the S.O. 3200, an aircraft that roughly resembled the Dassault Mystere II (the prototype first flew on 28 September 1952) but which was more advanced and was from the start dedicated to carrier operations.
The S.O. 3200 featured a 40-degree swept wing (compared to the 30-degree wing of the Mystère II, plus a thinner profile), swept tail surfaces and with its lateral air intakes the aircraft reminded a lot of the Mystère IIIN prototype, but internally the aircraft had nothing in common. The cockpit was moved forward for an improved field of sight, and the outer wing panels could be folded upwards in order to save space. Four 20mm cannons were placed under the air intakes.
The S.O. 3200 also introduced a new generation of armament: the new aircraft was able to deploy the first French air-to-air-missile: up to four AA.20 AAMs could be carried on the four underwing hardpoints. Although the AA.20 was from the outset intended to be a fully effective operational weapon, it was generally regarded as an interim missile pending development of the R.53O series.
The AA.20 relied on visual guidance and direct steering thorugh the pilot. The missile received its command signals through a coded radio link (the respcetive equipment was isntalles in the S.O. 3200's nose ), governed by a miniature joystick manipulated by the pilot of the launching aircraft. This meant that the target and missile flare had to be visible to the pilot right up to the point (50ft distance) at which the proximity fuze was triggered. Steering was effected by pitch and yaw demands which bias the interruption of vibrating spoilers in the two nozzles from the missile's sustainer. And even though the AA.20 was intended as an air-to-air weapon, its guidance system meant that it could also be used againts ground targets (similar to the contemporary AGM-12 Bullpup).
Alternatively the S.O. 3200 could carry a pair of drop tanks (the two inner pylons were ‘wet’), up to four bombs of 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber, pods with unguided 68mm SNEB missiles (against air and ground targets alike) or rails for unguided missiles of larger calibers.
The new naval aircraft was powered by a Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350 jet engine, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Tay. It offered, with 3,500 kgp/7,715 lbf, more thrust than the Mystère II’s Atar 101D turbojet (3,000 kgp/6,615 lbf), albeit this was necessary through the higher structural weight of the airframe and the aircraft’s special equipment for naval duties.
The type was accepted as S.O. 3201 and the first batch of 12 production machines became just operational as French carriers were in 1956 deployed to the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the Suez Crisis. On 3 November, F4U Corsairs from Arromanches and Lafayette, under escort of AA.20-armed S.O. 3201 fighters, bombed Egyptian airfields around Cairo.
Due to the merger of SNCASO and SNCASE into a new, state-owned aircraft manufacturer in the course of 1957 the aircraft was re-christened Sud Aviation ‘Bourrasque’ (meaning ‘gust of wind’ and also ‘burst of anger’). That year, a further 20 machines were ordered and production ran rather slowly, so that the second series was to be delivered until 1958.
Sud Aviation hoped for export sales, but they never materialized. Aircraft technology evolved in giant leaps and in 1962 the Dassault Étendard IV, a supersonic carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft, entered service with the French Navy. It was a much more modern design than the Bourrasque, and showed much more potential for future development. The Étendard was powered by a SNECMA Atar 8B axial-flow turbojet turbojet with 43.16 kN (9,703 lbf), and this engine offered a much better performance than the voluminous and technologically outdated centrifugal compressor Verdon. Additionally, the Aéronavale introduced the Vought F-8E(FN) as ship-borne fighter aircraft - both types rendered the Bourrasque totally obsolete after less than 10 years of service.
Hence, production was soon halted and in total only 40 aircraft were produced at all (the last eight were constructed from components and spare parts) and, together with the Aquilon, were already phased out by the Aéronavale during 1964-65.
But while the Aquilons had reached the end of their airframes’ life the remaining Bourrassques in good shape were sold to Israel where the naval equipment was removed and the aircraft relegated to ground attack and training roles. These aircraft were finally retired from Israeli service, together with IDF’s Mystères, on 18 March 1971.
General characteristics: Crew: 1
Length: 12.89 m (42 ft 31⁄2 in)
Wingspan: 11.12 m (36 ft 53⁄4 in)
Height: 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 32.06 m² (345.1 ft²)
Empty weight: 5,860 kg (12,919 lb)
Loaded weight: 8,510 kg (18,100 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 9,500 kg (20,944 lb)
Powerplant: 1× Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350 turbojet, rated at 34.32 kN (7,716 lbf)
Performance: Maximum speed: 1,110 km/h (600 knots, 690 mph) at sea level
Range: 915 km (494 nmi, 570 mi) without internal fuel tanks,
2.280 km (1.231 nmi, 1.417 mi) with external tanks
Service ceiling: 15,000 m (49,200 ft)
Rate of climb: 40 m/s (7,874 ft/min)
Armament: 4× 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon with 125 RPG
2.000 kg (4.405 lb) of payload on four external hardpoints,
incl. a variety of bombs, unguided rockets or drop tanks, or four AA.20 guided missiles
Thema: What if? Sud Aviation ‘Bourrasque’, Aéronavale, Flotille 14F; Suez-Region, 1956 (Gelesen 7005 mal)