The French aviation industry was in disarray after the events of World War II (1939-1945) and quickly attempted to establish itself as a leading world-class aircraft manufacturer. The aviation group SNCASE was founded in the pre-war period and was established in 1937 by merging CAMS, Liore, Potez, Romano and SPCA to form the "Societe Nationale des Constructions Aeronautiques du Sud-Est" (SNCASE). The company is headquartered in Toulouse, France, and eventually in The aerospace and missile worlds rose to prominence. After observing the ongoing air battle in North Korea led by new jet fighters, engineers began to offer solutions to persistent problems such as the long flight times for these planes to take off or land. One result of this work was the S.E.
5000 "Baroudeur" (Arabic: "Battle"), a unique compact lightweight single-seater that impressed many during flight.
The origin of the Baroudeur is a private venture product of SNCASE led by designer W.J. Jakimiuk, a Polish-born aeronautical engineer who worked at PZL in Poland and de Havilland in England before the war. years after the war. War times.
His approach involved an aircraft that refused to use an integrated powered landing gear assembly and instead used a jettisonable taxi to take off. The return trip involves the pilot sliding the plane back to the ground via a chute - the pilot is allowed to choose almost any relatively flat and smooth surface within range. The rationale behind this radical approach is to provide war planners with greater flexibility as they will no longer be constrained by the fixed lengths of groomed runways from which to launch (and in turn collect their aircraft) attack missions .
The fuselage design chosen for the Baroudeur is based on a very traditional shape - the fuselage tapers sharply at the nose and tapers smoothly at the rear where there is an exhaust ring. The cockpit is just aft of the nose cone and the wing main aircraft is well swept back with high mount attachments along the sides of the fuselage. The tail consists of a vertical tail mounted high up as part of the desired control scheme.
Not having an integrated landing gear not only reduces overall weight, it also allows for more internal fuel to be carried. Dimensions include a length of 13.5 meters, a wingspan of 10 meters and a height of 3 meters.
Power will be provided by SNECMA Atar 101-series turbojets, delivering 6,600 pounds of thrust through air intakes in each wing root. The aircraft's baseline performance will remain subsonic, but it can reach Mach 1+ in the dive. The advertised top straight-line speed is 708 mph.
The wheeled trolley is designed with a three-point tether, the mass of the aircraft is supported by two large wheels, and the front mass is supported by a double wheel unit. The aircraft sits on this trolley for takeoff and is able to maneuver (roll) at least partially "trail" the trolley during landing by using its thrust over the terrain. The plane was then pulled to a trolley by a tow cable. For a well-trained, determined ground crew, this process can take a few minutes. During launch, the trolley is simply ridden after disengaging from the ascending aircraft (the aircraft has reached approximately 140 mph), and the trolley is slowed down by the deployed tow axle, allowing it to be salvaged and reused.
Rocket boosters assist in the launch (or not at the expense of longer "runway" operations).
This method allows aircraft to take off and land anywhere, including fields, ice, snow, clay, or almost any other unobstructed surface. During landing, additional drag is added by digging into the terrain through hooks deployed from the chute.
A total of three skids were installed - two under the front hull and the third under the stern.
Two S.E. 5000 prototypes were built, the second equipped with in-flight refueling via the nose probe assembly. The original model was powered by an Atar 101C turbojet and flew for the first time on August 1, 1953. Ventral struts were later added to provide additional control support and were soon shown to provide additional contact surfaces during landing.
Testing continued until 1954, with several demonstrations specially arranged to impress (and convince) the French authorities the value of the new aircraft.
Despite concerns, the French government finally acquired the Baroudeur for possible future series production when the contract was signed with SNCASE in March 1954. Three pre-production aircraft are part of the order, which also includes work already done on prototypes. In keeping with the established designation S.E.
5000, the subsequent aircraft was designated S.E. 5003. A slightly modified second prototype flew for the first time on May 12, 1954, and reached Mach 1 (one dive) in July.
Overall, the aircraft showed good control, speed and an excellent rate of climb. Cracks discovered in the wings quickly set the project for the second half of 1954, but the two prototypes were shown in full at the 1955 Paris Air Show, giving the public a taste of their capabilities.
The first pre-production aircraft followed in July 1955, except that it was equipped with an Atar 101D engine - which improved performance - and additional fuel storage (matching fuel tanks under the wings) to extend range.
Second pre-production aircraft, fourth overall, to test various weapon customizations (not specified). The third pre-production model (the fifth aircraft in the series) is designed to meet NATO's requirements for a unified light fighter to stock its European players.
The plane first flew in March 1956, but lost out to Italy's Fiat G.91 - the Baroudeur proved too aggressive for mainstream use. In addition to its rather novel takeoff and landing qualities, critics have commented that it loses responsiveness at high speeds, slow roll speeds, and elevator sensitivity.
In a missed opportunity, the French "Slingshot" found its work slowed down and was eventually stopped permanently. Five completed aircraft were dismantled into an existing example, which will be displayed at the Le Bourget Air and Space Museum.
- Fighter
- Ground Attack
- Close Air Support (CAS)
- X-Plane / Development
13.5m
32. 81 feet (10 m)
3.05m
4,500 kg
7,000 kg
708 mph (1,140 km/h; 616 knots)
No.
S.E. 5000 "Baroudeur" - name of the basic series; five examples completed.