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Sud Aviation Vautour

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Vautour
File:Vautour IIN - BA126 - Right side.jpg
A Vautour IIN
Role Fighter bomber
Manufacturer Sud Aviation
First flight 16 October 1952
Introduction Template:Avyear
Retired Template:Avyear
Primary users French Air Force
Israeli Air Force
Produced 149

The Sud Aviation (SNCASO) S.O. 4050 Vautour II was a French bomber, interceptor, and attack aircraft used by the Armée de l'Air (AdA). Later, 28 of these aircraft were used by the Israeli Heyl Ha'Avir (Air Force). Vautour is the French word for the vulture bird of prey.

Development

In June 1951 the French Armée de l'Air issued a requirement for a jet aircraft capable of acting as a bomber, a low-level attack aircraft, or an all-weather interceptor. SNCASO adapted its existing S.O. 4000 for this purpose, the first prototype S.O. 4050 making its initial flight on 16 October 1952.[1]

Subsequently named Vautour II, the aircraft was built in three versions. It entered service with the AdA in 1958, with the last French aircraft leaving frontline service in 1979. A few soldiered on in various duties into the early 1980s. The Vautour saw no combat in French service, and it was maligned as obsolescent and underpowered. Although a decent aircraft in its day, it never had engines sufficient to its weight. As an interceptor it was outclassed by the Dassault Mirage III, and as a bomber or attack aircraft its lack of an advanced navigation/attack system was a crippling limitation.

The only export customer for the Vautour was Israel, which purchased 28 for the IDF/AF. The Israeli Vautours also entered service in 1958. They saw combat against Egypt beginning the following year and in a series of actions through the Six Day War and War of Attrition. The Israeli Vautours took part in bombing, strafing and air-to-air engagements. In the Six Day War, over three days Vautours fought repeated combats with Iraqi Air Force fighters while raiding H-3 airfield in Western Iraq. On June 6, 1967, Captain Ben-Zion Zohar scored the type's only aerial victory when he downed an Iraqi Hawker Hunter, although two Vautours fell to the guns of Iraqi Hunters on the following day.[2] In all 15 Vautours were lost . They were retired in 1971 in favor of the A-4 Skyhawk, and the last aircraft left service in March 1972, serving as decoys in the Sinai. The Israelis were pleased with the Vautour's range and versatility, and it was well regarded in Israeli service.

Design

Vautour II N

The Vautour was a shoulder-wing monoplane with a 35° swept wing and a "flying" tail. Two SNECMA Atar 101 turbojet engines were carried in pods in the wings. It had bicycle-type landing gear, with the main units in the fore and aft fuselage and smaller stabilizing gear in the engine pods. The central fuselage carried a large 5.0 meter (16 ft 5 in) weapons bay and substantial internal fuel tankage.

The IIB bomber lacked radar or any other modern nav/attack systems, weapons being aimed by the bombardier in a glass nose section with a World War II-vintage Norden bombsight. Both the IIB and IIA were limited to clear-weather day use. The IIN interceptor had some capacity for night and adverse weather thanks to its radar. In Israeli service, where the weather was generally favorable and daylight missions commonplace, the Vautour's lack of advanced targeting and navigation equipment was not a crippling limitation, but in Europe it was considered a major disadvantage. As a result, the French AdA did not use the single-seat IIA in a frontline capacity, and most IIB bombers were converted to IIBR standard for photo recce work. Some reports suggest French IIB could carry a single AN-11 or AN-22 nuclear weapon in its internal weapons bay, although the primary carrier of those weapons was the Dassault Mirage IV.

Variants

Vautour II A
  • S.O. 4050-01 : Two-seat all-weather fighter prototype, powered by two 23.5-kN (5,291-lb) Atar 101B turbojet engines. First flew on 16 October 1952. One built.
  • S.O. 4050-02 : Single-seat ground-attack prototype, powered by two 27.6-kN (6,217-lb) Atar 101D turbojet engines. First flew on 16 December 1953. One built.
  • S.O. 4050-03 : Two-seat bomber prototype, powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet engines. First flew on 5 December 1954. One built.

The Vautour was produced in three principal variants, which had 90% commonality between them:

  • IIA: Single-seat, long-range attack aircraft, armed with cannon and bombs (carried internally or on four underwing pylons)
  • IIN: Two-seat, all-weather interceptor with DRAC-25AI or DRAC-32AI radar in nose, pilot and co-pilot in tandem seats, armed with cannon, air-to-air missiles, and (theoretically) unguided rockets. The designation was later changed to II-1N.
  • IIB: Two-seat bomber with glazed nose position for bombardier/observer replacing cannon pack, carrying bombs internally and on underwing pylons.

Some IIB aircraft were converted to various specialized roles, principally reconnaissance (IIBR and IIBN), ECM, and eventually target tug (IIB-TT).

Production

Total production was 149 aircraft, divided as follows:

  • Prototypes: 3
  • Pre-production: 6
  • IIA: 30 (13 for France, 17 for Israel)
  • IIB: 40 (36 for France, 4 for Israel)
  • IIN: 70 (63 for France, 7 for Israel)

Operators

 France
 Israel

Specifications (Vautour IIA)

Data from [citation needed]

General characteristics

  • Crew: One

Performance

Armament

  • 4x 30mm DEFA cannons with 100 rounds per gun
  • Internal weapons bay for maximum of 2,725 kg (6,000 lb) of bombs (typically six 450 kg (1,000 lb) bombs), pack of 116x 68 mm (2.7 in) rockets, camera pack, or two 1,500 liter (400 U.S. gal) fuel tanks
  • Four underwing pylons each rated at 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) (inboard) and 500 kg (1,100 lb) (outboard) for total external load of 4,000 kg (8,800 lb); maximum practical weapons load (internal and external) 4,400 kg (9,700 lb) of bombs, rockets, missiles, or napalm tanks

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

Notes

  1. ^ Gunston 1981, p.215.
  2. ^ Aloni, Shlomo In a class of its own. The story of the Sud Aviation Vautour in Israeli Service Air Enthusiast #72 November/December 1997 pp50-55

Bibliography

  • Gunston, Bill. Fighters of the Fifties. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1981. ISBN 0-85059-463-4.
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