- Yes
- No
Hello everyone, and welcome to this new suggestion.
Today, I present a prototype ground attack aircraft intended for the French Navy, which later led to the creation of the Breguet Alyzé.
In 1947, the French Navy issued a call for tenders for the design of a new ship-borne attack aircraft. In 1948, Breguet Aviation won the call and began designing this new aircraft. Inspired by the American FR-1 Fireball, Bréguet chose to design an aircraft with two separate propulsion systems: a propeller driven by an Armstrong Siddeley Mamba turboprop at the front and a Rolls-Royce Nene 102 engine at the rear, thus providing more power for takeoff and combat. Although a limited number of Vulturs were built, they never went into mass production, but they provided Breguet with a wealth of knowledge, which they used to create the Alyzé.
This aircraft never entered mass production, but underwent intensive testing to ensure it met the requirements of the French military. Equipped with a sophisticated flap system for the time, the Vultur landed at a speed of 155 km/h, making it ideal for carrier landings. Unfortunately, due to the lack of aircraft carriers capable of handling it at the time (France had aircraft carriers at the time, but could not accommodate aircraft that were too heavy), this aircraft was never able to attempt such landings. Abandoned in the following years, the Vultur will remain in history as a promising prototype at the cutting edge of the technology of the time, but abandoned due to unfavorable circumstances.
Characteristics
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Length : 13.35 m
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Wingspan : 15.85 m
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Wing Area : 36.30 m
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Height : 5.35 m
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Mass :
- Min : 6.5 tons
- Max : 9.7 tons
The aircraft is therefore powered by a 980 horsepower Armstrong-Siddeley Mamba I turboprop and a 2200 kgp Rolls-Royce Nene 101 turbojet, allowing it to reach a maximum speed of 900 km/h (with both engines), cover a distance of 1500 km and reach the altitude of 8900 m. Its crew consisted of 2 people.
Weapons
Where this plane stands out is not its lack of main armament, in fact the Vultur simply has nothing to defend itself with, it is an aircraft purely intended for ground attack and can only defend itself using its top speed.
The aircraft has 5 hardpoints, a central one under the fuselage and 2 under each wing, the central point is intended to receive a single bomb and those under the wings are reserved for rockets
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Bombs :
- 1 x 2000 lbs bomb
- 1 x 1000 lbs bomb
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Rockets :
- 8 x HVAR rockets
Other weapons were considered, such as various guided bombs (HS 293, FX), torpedoes or even a rocket launcher in the hold, however none of these weapons will be tested on the aircraft.
Additionally, an external fuel tank can be installed at the wingtips
In-game this aircraft would be an interesting addition to the French tree, providing a light ground attacker capable of reaching high speeds. However, due to its lack of main armament this aircraft would also be difficult to balance.
Sources
- Le Bréguet Alizé (1ère partie) | CLADE.net
- Calculs, études, voilures, équipements, armements, règlementation : mémoires, plans, notes, traduction technique. (FranceArchives)
- Breguet Br.960 Vultur & Br.965 Epaulard — avionslegendaires.net
- Breguet Br.960 Vultur
- Prototypes.com/Les appareils à propulsion mixte/XI. Description du Br-960
- Prototypes.com/Les appareils à propulsion mixte/X. Le Breguet Br-960 Vultur
- Breguet Br-1050 Alizé (ALM/ALH) [in french]
- Breguet Br 960-01 ‘Vulture’ - Attaque au sol - Un siècle d’aviation française
