SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2013) |
SE.161 Languedoc | |
---|---|
SE.161 Languedoc of Air France at Paris (Le Bourget) Airport in 1951 | |
Role | Airliner |
National origin | France |
Manufacturer | SNCASE |
Designer | Marcel Bloch |
First flight | 15 December 1939 |
Introduction | 1946 |
Retired | 1964 |
Primary users | French Air Force
French Navy |
Produced | 1945–1948 |
Number built | 100 |
Developed from | Bloch MB.160 |
The SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc was a French four-engined airliner produced by SNCASE (Sud-Est). Developed from the Bloch MB.160 and known in the late 1930s as the (SNCSO) Bloch MB.161, the SE.161 was in service with Air France and the French military after World War II.
Design and development
In 1936, Air Afrique needed a new airliner for its African services.
After the liberation of France the provisional government led by
The Languedoc was an all-metal four-engined low wing cantilever monoplane airliner with twin fins and rudders. It had a crew of five (pilot, co-pilot/navigator, radio operator, flight engineer and steward) Standard cabin accommodation was for 33 passengers seated in eleven rows of three, two on the starboard side and one to port. An alternative first class arrangement was for 24 seats. A 44-seat higher density version was introduced by Air France in 1951.[5]
The Languedoc was fitted with underwing retractable main undercarriage wheels and a tailwheel landing gear and was powered by four 1,020 hp (760 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14N 44/45 or 54/55 radial engines in wing-leading edge nacelles, with partial convertibility to inline water-cooled pistons.
A total of 100 aircraft were built for Air France, the
Operational history
The SE.161 was named the Languedoc before it entered service with
Despite the costly experience of introducing the Languedoc to service, they were never as reliable as the Douglas DC-4 or the ultra-modern turboprop
Ten ex-Air France aircraft were converted for operation in the Search and Rescue (SAR) role with SGACC. They were modified with a large ventral gondola, observation windows and a ventral search radar under a transparent fairing, similar to the design adopted in the French Navy SAR Avro Lancasters.[5]
The largest military operator was the French Navy, which operated 25 different Languedoc aircraft over the years. The first aircraft were delivered in 1949 and used as long-range transports between Paris, Marseille and Lyon, and North Africa; later aircraft would be used as flying classrooms for non-pilot aircrew training. The flying classrooms were modified with both a nose radar set and a ventral "dustbin" radar. The aircraft was withdrawn from Naval service in 1959.
A small number of Languedocs were used as flying testbeds and mother ships, succeeding the pair of He 274 prototype airframes left behind by the Luftwaffe in 1944 that were partly being used as "mother ships" for high-speed French aerodynamic research aircraft, with four Languedocs being used as mother ships for René Leduc's experimental ramjet aircraft in place of the hard-to-maintain He 274s,[7] themselves scrapped by the French in 1953. Languedocs were also used for other types of experimental work including an unsuccessful use as live airborne television relay for Charles de Gaulles's Algerian visit in 1958.
The last Air France Languedoc was withdrawn from domestic service in 1954,[1] being then unable to compete with more modern airliners.
Accidents and incidents
- On 2 April 1943, F-ARTV force-landed and overturned at La Chapelle-Baloue, Creuse with one fatality.[1]
- On 7 October 1947, F-BATY of
- On 26 January 1948, F-BCUC of Air France crashed at Romainville, Seine-Saint-Denis whilst on a training flight, killing all nine people on board.[9]
- On 4 February 1948, F-BATK of Air France was damaged beyond economical repair at Marignane Airport, Bouches-du-Rhône.[10]
- On 10 February 1948, F-BATH of Air France was damaged beyond economical repair at Orly Airport, Paris.[11] Its fuselage subsequently served for many years as a ground training airframe.[1]
- On 14 June 1948, F-BATG of Air France crashed at Coulommiers - Voisins Aerodrome, Seine-et-Marne.[12]
- On 29 August 1948, F-BATO of Air France crashed at Le Bourget Airport, Paris.[13]
- On 23 November 1948, F-BATM of Air France crashed at Toulouse, Haute-Garonne whilst on a test flight, killing one of the five people on board. The cause of the accident was that the aileron controls had been assembled incorrectly.[14]
- On 9 April 1949, F-BATU of Air France overran the runway at Nice Airport, Alpes-Maritimes and was damaged beyond economic repair.[15]
- On 30 July 1950, F-BCUI of Air France was damaged beyond economic repair when its undercarriage collapsed on landing at Marignane Airport, Marseille.[16]
- On 22 December 1951, SU-AHH of
- on 3 March 1952, F-BCUM of Air France Nice Airport killing all 38 people on board. The cause of the accident was that the aileron controls had jammed. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Nice to Orly Airport, Paris.[19]
- On 7 April 1952, F-BATB of Air France was damaged beyond economic repair when it overran the runway on take-off from Le Bourget Airport, Paris. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Le Bourget to Heathrow Airport, London.[20]
- On 30 July 1952, SU-AHX of Misrair was damaged beyond economic repair in a wheels-up landing at Khartoum Airport, Sudan; it returned to Cairo following a fire in No. 1 engine.[21]
- On 23 October 1952, F-RAPC of
- On 6 January 1954, OD-ABU of Kuwait Airport, Kuwait.[23]
- On 24 April 1954, SU-AHZ of Misrair was written off at Damascus Airport, Syria when the starboard undercarriage collapsed on landing.[24]
- On 29 September 1956, EC-AKV of Los Rodeos Airport, Tenerife killing one person on the ground. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Málaga Airport to Tenerife.[25]
- On 4 December 1958, EC-ANR of Aviaco crashed into the
Variants
- Bloch 161-01
- Prototype powered by 2 × 900 hp (670 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14N-39, first flown on 15 December 1939.
- SE.161/1
- Production aircraft with 2 × 1,150 hp (860 kW) Aeronavaleaircraft were also fitted with 14N-68 / 14N-69s.
- SE.161/P7
- Re-engined Air France aircraft with four 1,220 hp (910 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SIC-3-Gengines.
Operators
- Misrair
- Vichy French Government
- Air France
- Compagnie Air Transport
- French Air Force
- French Navy
- Air Liban
- LOT Polish Airlines bought five aircraft in 1947 (reg. SP-LDA to LDE). Due to engine failures, the fleet was suspended in 1948 and broken up in 1950.[28]
- Tunis Air
Specifications (SE.161/1)
Data from French Postwar Transport Aircraft[29]
General characteristics
- Crew: 5
- Capacity: 33
- Length: 24.26 m (79 ft 7 in)
- Wingspan: 29.39 m (96 ft 5 in)
- Height: 5.14 m (16 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 111.32 m2 (1,198.2 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 12,651 kg (27,891 lb)
- Gross weight: 20,577 kg (45,365 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 8,420 L (2,220 US gal; 1,850 imp gal) in 4 pairs of wing tanks and 1 reserve tank in fuselage[30]
- Powerplant: 4 × Gnome-Rhône 14N 44/45 radial engines , 858 kW (1,150 hp) each
- Propellers: 3-bladed Ratier variable-pitch propellers, 3.30 m (10 ft 10 in) diameter [30]
Performance
- Maximum speed: 440 km/h (270 mph, 240 kn)
- Range: 3,200 km (2,000 mi, 1,700 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
- Rate of climb: 3 m/s (590 ft/min) [30]
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Avro Lancastrian
- Douglas DC-4
- Focke-Wulf Fw 200
Notes
- ^ ISSN 0143-7240.
- ^ ISBN 0-517-69186-8.
- ^ Chillon 1980, p. 30
- ^ Chillon 1980, pp. 32-33
- ^ a b Chillon 1980, p. 31
- ^ Stroud 1966, pp. 194–195.
- ISBN 1-85310-364-0.
- ^ "F-BATY Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BCUC Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BATK Hull-loss description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BATH Hull-loss description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BATG Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BATO Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BATM Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BATU Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BCUI Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "SU-AHH Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "WORLD EVENTS IN EUROPE, ASIA AND AMERICA: A MISCELLANY OF NEWS". Illustrated London News (5881): 25. 5 January 1952.
- ^ "F-BCUM Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "F-BATB Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "SU-AHX Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ "F-RAPC Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ "OD-ABU Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ "SU-AHZ Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ "EC-AKV Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 5 October 2022.
- ^ "Aviación y Comercio, S.A., Languedoc M.B.-161, EC-ANR, accident in the Guadarrama Mountains, 4 December 1958. Report released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Spain" (PDF). International Civil Aviation Organization. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ISBN 83-206-0529-6(in Polish), p.15
- ^ Chillon 1980, p. 32.
- ^ a b c Bridgman 1948, pp. 157c–158c
Bibliography
- Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1948. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1948.
- Chillon, Jacques; Dubois, Jean-Pierre & Wegg, John (1980). French Post-War Transport Aircraft. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain. ISBN 0-85130-078-2.
- Cuny, Jean (1989). Les avions de combat français, 2: Chasse lourde, bombardement, assaut, exploration [French Combat Aircraft 2: Heavy Fighters, Bombers, Attack, Reconnaissance]. Docavia (in French). Vol. 30. Ed. Larivière. OCLC 36836833.
- Munson, Kenneth. Civil Airliners since 1946. London: Blandford Press, 1967.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
- Ricco, Philippe (March 1999). "Le Bloch MB-161 «Bordeaux» ou...l'enfance cachée d'un avion célèbre". Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 352. pp. 30–46.
- Stroud, John. European Transport Aircraft since 1910. London: Putnam, 1966.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. p. 844 London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 978-0-517-69186-1.
External links
Media related to SE.161 Languedoc at Wikimedia Commons