Fouga CM.170 Magister

History

Its easy to forget the French military might after World War II, but Magister de Fouga is a product of the years that followed. The Magister was developed in the late 1940s, and after its introduction in the mid-1950s, it became the premier jet trainer for many air forces around the world.

Surprisingly, the genre continued into the new millennium (albeit with limited roles throughout), but remained a staple of the Cold War years. Some Magisters were still in operation in 2007, while a total of 929 are believed to be built in France and traded through licensed production elsewhere.

Development

The origins of Magister can be traced back to the Fouga CM. 130, an experimental jet-powered trainer (Turbomeca Palas type), originated in 1948 under the Air Fouga brand label (Air Fouga later became part of the Potez Corporation, which was then incorporated into Aerospatiale).

The concept proved a little underpowered and was reworked as a CM. The 170's Turbomeca Marbore turbojets were installed in the enlarged fuselage to meet the French demand for a dedicated jet-powered base trainer. In late 1950, the resulting aircraft was rated a Class III CM by the French Air Force ("Armee de l'Air" or simply "AdA"). 170 prototypes, the first of its kind to receive a wing on July 23, 1952.

Pre-production orders for 10 more aircraft followed in June 1953, and production orders were received the following year. The system officially entered service in 1956 as part of the French Air Force. Production takes place primarily at a new Fouga production facility in Toulouse-Blagnac.

Tour

The Magistar took the most basic approach to exterior design, with the crew sitting side by side in a teardrop-shaped fuselage. Students and instructors sit in separate cockpits under separate rear-folding canopies. The cockpit occupies a large portion of the front of the fuselage, aft of a very short nose cone assembly. The engines are mounted at the thickest points on the sides of the fuselage, which also form the wing roots. The wings themselves are straight, mid-mounted monoplanes with wingtip fuel tanks.

The fuselage tapers to a point that forms the tail to which is attached the aircraft's unique "V-tail" assembly, which has a sloping tail surface that acts as both a rudder and an elevator (also known as a "V-tail" rudder"). The landing gear is fully retractable and consists of a pair of single-wheel main landing gear struts and a single-wheel front strut.

These legs are rather short, giving the magister a relatively low profile when resting. The main landing gear retracts inwardly towards the centerline of the fuselage under each wing. The nasal bone is pulled back and up into the nose.

Standard armament revolves around a pair of 7.5mm or 7.62mm caliber machine guns (depending on the operator's needs) and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition each. Optional external underwing loads may include unguided air-to-surface missiles, 110-pound bombs or Nord Aviation SS.

11 anti-tank missiles on two hardpoints.

France-based Nord Aviation was primarily an independent aircraft manufacturer, producing a variety of aircraft models from 1944 to 1962. The SS.11 became a large four-leaf wire-guided anti-tank missile - meaning it had to be manually guided to the target by the operator by line of sight, sending heading corrections via the attached cable (hence the term "wire-guided") - Designed in 1953, produced from 1956 until the mid-1980s, with a total of approximately 180,000 pieces produced.

The missile was widely used by other countries around the world, including the United States, where it fell under the designation "AGM-22". The U.S. tested the missile system in 1958 and officially adopted it as the AGM-22A on its UH-1B Huey attack helicopter in 1961. The Huey/AGM-22 combination served in the Vietnam War from 1966, but was retired in 1976 with the arrival of the BGM-71 TOW anti-tank system

Variations

Magister variants are few and far between. centimeter. The 170 was used to classify three prototypes and ten subsequent pre-production airframes. centimeter. The 170-1 became the first production version and was equipped with two Turbomeca Marbore II turbojets.

An impressive 761 systems were eventually produced and licensed in Germany, Israel and France, making it the definitive Magister model.

CM. The 170-2 "Super Magister" was equipped with an upgraded 1,055 lbf Marbore IV turbojet, with approximately 137 prototypes eventually produced. centimeter. The 171 "Makula" was a one-off prototype that mounted a Turbomeca Gabizo series engine into an enlarged frame.

The engine produced a staggering 2,422 pounds of force for the light airframe, although this prototype was lost in an accident on March 20, 1957. centimeter. 173 Super Magisters are equipped with Marbore Super VI series turbojets, each producing 1,080 pounds of thrust.

The model also had ejection seats for the two crew members, but was only produced in one example of an airworthy prototype (described in detail elsewhere on this website). The Fouga 90 and the similar 90A were a failed attempt to modernize the Magistar, each with a slightly different version of the Turbomeca Astavan engine. In addition to updated engines, these Magistars have also had their headliner and avionics suite refurbished.

No contract of any kind is guaranteed.

Magisters exist as CMs in a special naval form. The 175 Zephyr, a basic trainer variant with carrier capabilities, served for some time with the French Navy's Aeronavale. Externally, the system maintains a similar look to the land-based system, although snap hooks, headlights, a revised canopy and reinforced landing gear are all new to the Zephyr. A notable feature of this Magister variant is the absence of an ejection seat for the crew. The prototype flew for the first time on July 31, 1956, and was initially designated CM.

170 million Eskife. 32 of these aircraft were delivered to Aeronavale.

Magister and Earth

Magister achieved relatively strong overall production due to sales on the world market. In addition to the French 397 prototype, the aircraft was purchased by countries in Africa, South America and Europe. Notably 50 Magisters were delivered to Belgium, 52 became part of the Israeli Air Force (36 were licensed airframes) and 80 were in service with the Finnish Air Force. Germany is another major operator with a total of 250 production examples.

Morocco later sold at least 21 examples of this type, which were delivered "used" from France and Germany.

In action

During the Six Day War against Jordan in 1967, Magister witnessed fighting with the Israeli Air Force. This particular version of Magister is actually a licensed production model designated by IAI Tzukit. While some numbers were deployed, Tzukit essentially overran, resulting in unacceptable casualties for the IAF. Other notable fighting experiences took place in Katanga, where rebels were fighting the communist government.

Like the Israeli experience, these systems performed equally poorly.

Other

The Fouga Magister is generally considered the first purpose-built two-seater jet-powered trainer. However, other systems that fit this description have successfully blown up in front of the mages for some time, leading some to question this claim.

French use of the Magister ended in the 1970s after the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet was selected as the next jet trainer for the Luftwaffe.

Of the approximately 100 Fouga Magisters serving in Finland, at least 20 were killed in the accident, 6 of whom were killed.

Fouga cm. 170 Magister Rules

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes