Nord Noratlas
| Noratlas | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nord 2501 Noratlas at the Airforce Museum of the Bundeswehr, Berlin-Gatow | |
| Role | Military Transport |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Nord Aviation |
| Designer | Jean Calvy |
| First flight | 10 September 1949 |
| Introduction | 1953-06-12 |
| Retired | 1989, France |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary users | France Germany Greece Israel |
| Produced | 1949-1961 |
| Number built | 425 |
The Nord Noratlas was a 1950s French military transport aircraft intended to replace the older types in service at the end of World War II. Several hundred were produced in a run lasting over a decade, finding a wide variety of uses.
At the end of World War II, the French Armée de l'Air was left with two primary transport aircraft: the Junkers Ju 52, built in France after the end of the war, and the Douglas C-47, received from US surplus. While both had given good service, they were no longer modern, and they suffered from a common set of flaws: a tailwheel landing gear which gave them a nose-up attitude when at rest complicating cargo stowing, restrictive side-loading doors and limited payload.
Accordingly, in 1947 Direction Technique Industrielle organized a design competition for a medium-weight cargo aircraft offering great flexibility in use. Société Nationale de Construction Aéronautique du Nord (SNCAN) answered with the Nord 2500, while their competitors, Breguet and SNCASO, offered the BR-891R Mars and SO-30C respectively. The Nord 2500, with its rear-opening clamshell doors allowing ease of loading, was considered the most promising, and DTI ordered two prototypes on April 27, 1948.
The first prototype took to the air on September 10, 1949 powered by two Gnome-Rhône 14R engines of 1,600 hp driving 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers, but it was found to be too slow for most applications. The second prototype replaced the 14Rs with two SNECMA-built Bristol Hercules 738/9 2,040 hp engines driving four-bladed propellers, and this model was rechristened the Nord 2501. DTI ordered 3 more preproduction Nord 2501s, which they flight-tested extensively against the similar Fairchild C-82 Packet. The N-2501 was found superior, and the first 34 were ordered on July 10, 1951.
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