Tuesday, 17 October 2017

Aérocentre SNCAC NC.1070

In 1943, when France was occupied, the Navy launched, clandestinally a programme for a shipborne twin-engined aircraft destined to perform dive-bombing, torpedo-bombing and anti-submarine missions. After the discardment of many studies, the project of SNCAC was chosen in 1944 when most of France had been already liberated.
The NC.1070 was an all-metal twin-engined aircraft that was powered by two Gnome et Rhône 14R-25 engines delivering each of them 1600hp of power. It was armed with two 30mm cannons in the nose, it had provision for an unspecified number of rockets under the wings and could carry either one torpedo, an unsepecified number of depth-charges or a load of bombs. As defensive armament, the prototype was armed with two captured German 20mm MG 151 in a turret at the back.
After the war, the French Navy stimated that they would need at least 105 aircraft of that type and, as the project of the NC.1070 had strongly impress the French Navy, they demanded the finantiation of 15 aircrafts (12 to operate from land bases and 3 embarked). An order was signed on 20th August 1945 for three prototypes but the third one was called off on 25th April 1946. And those two were envisaged to serve on board the projected Clemenceau Aircraft Carrier (PA 28) that was never completed (later the French Navy commisioned a Clemenceau Aircraft Carrier but of another kind).
The NC.1070 flew for the first time on 23rd May 1947 piloted by Fernand Lasne. During various test flights, the good flying characteristics standed out but, also it was pointed the low reliability of the engines. On 9th March 1948 due to a malfunction of the landing gear, the prototype had the make a belly landing at the Toussus-le-Noble airfield. As the prototype was very damaged and Aérocentre's interes were already on jet-powered aircrafts, it was repaired and development moved on to the identical -albeit jet-powered- Aérocentre NC.1071.










Sources:
1. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCAC_NC.1070
2. http://all-aero.com/index.php/44-planes-a-b-c/191-aerocentre-sncac-nc1070

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