WesWorld

All the following is OOC information. It will eventually appear in my news, so if you have any IC responses, there will eventually be a time and place for them.

General Trends
In 1942 there were two major mergers on the French aeronautical scene. Nord and Breguet merged into Breguet-Nord (controlling Latécoère as an independent subsidiary). Société des Avions Marcel Bloch purchased Amiot and Loire-Nieuport and merged them together into Société des Avions Dassault. The Atelier Industriel de l'Aéronautique d'Alger (AIAA) and Atelier Industriel de l'Aéronautique d'Indochine (AIAI), owned by the French government and operated under contract by Loire-Nieuport, will continue operating under Dassault until January 1944 while the government conducts an evaluation of their performance.

There have been rumors of a three-way merger of the aero-engine manufacturers Rateau-Anxionnaz, Lorraine, and Clerget, but these rumors are not confirmed.

Fighters
No new single-engine fighters are anticipated in 1943. The Arsenal VG.64 Revenant, Arsenal VB.20 Rafale, and Bloch (now Dassault) MB.1050 and MB.1051 will remain in production for the present time.

A twin-engine fighter designed by Hanriot, the H.312, is being evaluated for service.

Bombers
The LeO-600 Tornade (announced last year) will enter production in February and will begin replacing all other twin-engine bombers currently in French service, with greatest emphasis to be placed on the oldest aircraft. The Farman F.420 (licensed-built B-24 Liberator) will remain in production and will replace the French heavy bombers. Some consideration is being given to the acquisition of American B-32 Dominators as super-heavy bombers, but before that happens, the French need to determine whether or not they actually need such a heavy strategic bombing force... and there's quite a lot of senior people who think the answer is "no".

Light bombers, including the Breguet Br.900 Massette (Petit Sledgehammer) ground attack aircraft and the Loire-Nieuport LN.190 Épouvantail COIN bomber will remain in production.

Trainers
A large number of Morane-Saulnier MS.730 Alcyone basic trainers have been ordered to replace obsolete biplane trainers. Production will probably exceed five hundred aircraft. In addition, 150x Pilatus P-2 trainers have been ordered from Switzerland. (France wants to continue cultivating a good relationship with those frustratingly efficient Alpine bankers.)

The license-built Stampe SV.4 (produced as the Loire-Nieuport LN180) has gone out of production following Loire-Nieuport's acquisition and incorporation into Société des Avions Dassault.

Transports / Airliners
The Breguet-Nord B.1510 Normandie transport will continue in series production with the intent to procure 168x units over the next two years. Air France has additionally ordered eight aircraft for use as civilian cargo aircraft.

A new version of the Bloch MB.970 Transatlantique airliner is under development for first flight sometime in October or November. The new version, the MB.975, will incorporate minor electrical and electronic changes, a reorganized internal cabin, and HS-24K TRP-Composé engines.

Maritime Aircraft
The maritime patrol version of Breguet-Nord's Br.811 Bretagne airliner (the Br.812) has finished its first production run. It is unknown if further Br.812s will be ordered at the present time. A long-range maritime search version of the F.420 (licensed B-24 Liberator) is on order and will be delivered sometime in 1943.

Latécoère is developing a four-engine flying boat for maritime patrol and strike. Tentative specifications call for an unrefueled range of 6,500km and a payload of 4,000kg. Breguet-Nord is additionally looking into a twin-engine flying boat with 3,500km range, tentatively named the Noroit. It is unknown if either of these designs will advance to prototype stage, particularly given the presence of maritime-patrol F.420s and Br.812s. However, there does seem to be some agreement among members of the Aeronavale that flying boats and seaplanes remain useful (albeit specialized) aircraft.

Breguet-Nord is additionally working on a twin-engine carrier-capable aircraft useful for antisubmarine, patrol, electronic and cargo delivery missions. It will have its first flight later in 1943.

Experimental Aircraft
One Farman F.421 Belphegor and one Payen PA.30 experimental aircraft have been ordered for 1943. Further examples are unlikely.

Jets
The Bloch MB.1000 Triton (posted 1942) jet aircraft will conduct its first flight on January 8th, 1943. It will be France's first aircraft powered solely by a turbojet engine, namely the Rateau-Anxionnaz A.60 turbojet. Three airframes have been ordered at the present time. The A.60 turbojet has undergone twenty-one months of testing both in the shop and mounted on an MB.161 mothership, and Anxionnaz believes the engine's now reliable enough to enter service. This makes France the fourth power to achieve jet flight (after Germany, Britain, and Atlantis...) although you don't know about Atlantis's jet flight because Wes didn't post the news I wrote for him about it.

No other jet-propelled aircraft are currently anticipated for 1943.



Not for in-character knowledge:
The Armee de l'Aire has established a request-for-proposal for aviation designers to begin work on turbojet-powered fighter and bomber aircraft to fly sometime in 1944. At the present time, Dassault, Dewoitine, Breguet-Nord and Arsenal have all expressed interest in developing entrants. This RfP will result in the first French jet fighters, whenever that is.

Given my understanding of the development trajectories of the British and German jet programs, I'm expecting to field the first combat-ready French jet sometime in the 1944 to 1946 bracket. I'll probably wait until two (or possibly three) countries unequivocally field frontline jet aircraft before introducing any French jets. I'm therefore unable to speculate on when the French will field working jet aircraft at this point.

I've received Hood's permission to use the IAe.27 Pulqui I, designed by Emile Dewoitine in exile in Argentina, for France. The IAe.27 will likely be France's first jet fighter (as the Dewoitine D.800), and will be just as miserable a failure in French service as it was historically for the Argentines. For lack of anything else, a quantity of D.800s will be ordered, but most will be cancelled before they're built. Two or three squadrons at most will be equipped with the D.800 and most of the planes will be out of service within two years or less.

If combat jets don't show up as fast as I anticipate, I'll probably claim that the various projects have "development delays" (probably due to difficulties with jet engines) so I don't suddenly end up in the lead of development. I'd probably prefer that, really.

[SIZE=4]Farman F.421 Belphegor[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]General characteristics[/SIZE]
Crew: Five
Length: 17.09 m (56 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 22.32 m (73 ft 3 in)
Height: 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 50.0 m² (538.2 ft²)
Empty weight: 7367 kg (16242 lb)
Gross weight: 9971 kg (21982 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Farman F24 H-24 turbo-compound engine (3,500 hp / 2,600 kW) with Turbomeca twin superchargers

[SIZE=3]Performance[/SIZE]
Maximum speed: 600 km/h (373 mph)
Flight Ceiling: 13500 m (44300 ft)
Rate of Climb: N/A

[SIZE=3]Notes[/SIZE]
Farman, as one of the world experts on high-altitude flight, built the F.421 Belphegor in order to serve as a testbed for new technological innovations, with a secondary mission of conducting meteorological studies. The Belphegor used a 11m³ pressurized cabin to house its crew of five. Performance was unsurprisingly limited given the aircraft's great size and single engine, despite the F24's significant power output.

[SIZE=4]Payen PA.30[/SIZE]
The Payen PA.30 was commissioned by the Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aéronautiques (National Office for Aeronautical Studies and Research) in order to test Roland Payen's delta wing and canard designs at higher altitudes and speeds. In order to accomplish this, a new aircraft was designed around a Hispano-Suiza HS-12Z inline engine. Attention was paid to streamlining in order to permit the aircraft to perform at particularly high speeds. Due to the complicated construction of the aircraft, Payen built the aircraft with the assistance of Marcel Bloch at his Argenteuil factory. Unusually for a Payen-designed aircraft, the cockpit was forward, just behind the engine, and retractable tricycle landing gear was used (using parts from the Arsenal VG.64 fighter).

Only one airframe was built, first "flying" in ONERA's full-scale wind tunnels in order to analyze airflow and lift. The Pa.30 eventually took to the air on June 23rd, 1943 and began an extensive testing career, joining the VG.64 swept-wing testbed at Brétigny-sur-Orge. Pilots praised its speed at all altitudes, but the aircraft was plagued by other problems, including a high stall speed, long takeoff run, heavy controls, and a number of minor electrical faults. It was this final issue which resulted in the aircraft's eventual loss in 1947 when the landing gear failed to deploy, forcing a belly landing. Although the plane suffered relatively minor damage, ONERA elected not to repair it. Over the course of its career, though, the Payen Pa.30 provided French aeronautical engineers with significant data about the flight characteristics of delta-winged aircraft.

[SIZE=3]Specifications[/SIZE]
Crew: 1
Length: 11.2 m (36 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 7.1 m (23 ft 3 in)
Height: 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)
Wing Area: 32 m² (345 ft²)
Empty weight: 2585 kg (5699 lbs)
Loaded Weight: 3434 kg (7571 lbs)
Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Z (1,500 hp takeoff)

[SIZE=3]Performance[/SIZE]
Maximum speed: 750 kph (405 knots, 466 mph) at 7,000 meters
Cruising speed: 450 km/h (279 mph)
Range: 1200 km (746 miles)
Service ceiling: 11,250 m (36,909 ft)
Rate of climb: 22 mps (4330 fpm)

[SIZE=4]Morane-Saulnier MS.730 Alcyon[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Specifications[/SIZE]
Crew: 2 or 3
Length: 9.32 m (30 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 11.28 m (37 ft 0 in)
Height: 2.42 m (7 ft 11¼ in)
Wing area: 21.90 m² (235.74 ft²)
Empty weight: 1260 kg (2778 lb)
Gross weight: 1670 kg (3682 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Dietrich-Lorraine DL-10 (licensed Argus As-10) inverted inline piston engine, 179 kW (240 hp)

[SIZE=3]Performance[/SIZE]
Maximum speed: 260 km/h (162 mph)
Cruising speed: 230 km/h (143 mph)
Range: 920 km (572 miles)
Endurance: 4 hours 40 min
Service ceiling: 4800 m (15,750 ft)
Rate of climb: 5.0 m/s (985 ft/min)

[SIZE=4]Lioré et Olivier LeO-600 Tornade[/SIZE]
(Repost from 1942.)

In the early 1940s, the Armee de l'Aire depended on several different types of medium bombers, mainly the Lioré et Olivier LeO-45 series, but including the Amiot 354, the Farman F.380, and its closely-derivative Hanriot H.250. This range of bombers each had different strengths and weaknesses inherent to the type, and resisted attempts to streamline production. The LeO-45, while technologically the least impressive, received the most production due to its greater simplicity, and if it had higher performance, it would have made an excellent medium bomber for standardization. However, the LeO-45's performance, particularly by 1940 standards, was increasingly lackluster, with speed barely passing five hundred kilometers per hour at full power, and only fifteen hundred kilograms of stores. The competing Hanriot H.250 bomber carried even less payload but compensated somewhat with a much higher speed and high-altitude performance.

Changing policy in the late 1930s and early 1940s focused on the principles of standardization and production costs, and by 1941, the Armee de l'Aire demanded a high-performance medium bomber suitable for mass production, but capable of replacing the LeO-45, the Hanriot H.250, the Amiot 354, and the Farman F.380. As Farman struggled with the F.400 Ourse heavy bomber, and Amiot lacked a talented and well-connected chief designer as well as a high-capacity factory, the task largely fell on Hanriot and Lioré et Olivier. Hanriot offered a modestly improved version of their existing H.250 Foudre, while Lioré et Olivier offered an all-new bomber design dubbed the LeO-600, although the aircraft was billed as a 'major redesign' of the LeO-45.

In many ways, the LeO-600 was not a medium bomber design at all, as Lioré et Olivier designed it to undertake secondary roles as a heavy fighter, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft. Lioré et Olivier was reportedly inspired in part by the success of the Petlyakov Pe-2 and Pe-3 as well as the de Havilland Mosquito. Unlike either of those aircraft, however, the LeO-600 featured a pressurized cabin for high-altitude operations, with the crew of three seated closely in the same general vicinity.

The Tornade first flew in late 1941 and was tested through 1942 by the Armee de l'Aire in order to refine the design and prepare it for mass production. The aircraft was finally ordered in October 1942 for initial production starting in February 1943.

[SIZE=3]Specifications[/SIZE]
Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator-bombardier, radio operator-gunner)
Length: 16.745 m (54 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 22.1 m (72 ft 6 in)
Height: 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 59.4 m² ( ft²)
Empty weight: 11,000 kg (24,250 lb)
Loaded weight: 15,154 kg (33,409 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 15,775 kg (34,778 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × supercharged Gnome-Rhone 18k air-cooled R18 engines, 2,240hp (1,670.4 kW) each

[SIZE=3]Performance[/SIZE]
Maximum speed: 607 kph (377 mph, 328 knots) at 9,150 m (30,000 ft) with external stores; 640 kph (398 mph, 345 knots) with boost
Cruise speed: 475 kph (295 mph, 256 knots)
Range: 3,280 km (2,038 mi, 1771 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,825 m (38,800 ft)
Rate of climb: 6.15 m/s (1210.6 ft/min)

[SIZE=3]Armament[/SIZE]
- 2×23 mm HS.406 cannon in nose
- 2×12.7mm Hotchkiss MG in remote-control tail turret
- 2,400 kg (5,291 lb) bombs

[SIZE=4]Hanriot H.312 Roussette Strike Fighter[/SIZE]
In the late 1930s, the French Aeronavale believed the future of carrier strike aircraft lay in large carriers with air wings of larger planes, including twin-engine fighter and strike aircraft. This resulted in the construction of the large Bucentaure and Vengeur class aircraft carriers, designed to easily accommodate twin-engine aircraft. Most of the twin engine designs proposed to the Aeronavale through 1941, however, failed to impress either the pilots or the technical investigators. Only the Breguet Br.695, developed as the navalized variant of a ground-attack aircraft, saw active service aboard the French carriers prior to 1943, although a proposal to modify the twin-engine Arsenal VB.10 into a carrier fighter came close to fruition (despite the type's weaknesses). Improvements in the power and reliability of French radial engines allowed the Aeronavale to field large single-engine carrier bombers, although an interest remained in twin engine types. The Armee de l'Aire similarly pushed for a more modern twin-engine night and day fighter that could replace the Bloch MB.178N.

In late 1940, the private design firm of Vasseur et cie in Paris proposed a long-ranged twin-engine carrier fighter to the Aeronavale. The small design team, led by Bruno and Marie Vasseur, presented a radical design using a continuous-aerofoil profile. Although the French Navy rejected the design due to its size, they awarded Vasseur et cie twenty thousand francs to continue developing a twin-engine carrier fighter. In January 1942, in order to acquire access to high-speed wind-tunnels as well as more funding, the Vasseurs entered into a joint development contract with the Hanriot firm, which attempted to tailor the design to match more potentially lucrative night fighter contracts for the Armee de l'Aire. Vasseur et cie's design team, lacking any means of production, found themselves at odds with Hanriot over the direction of the project, and launched a legal action. In July 1942, before the lawsuit could reach court, Hanriot offered to buy the project out from Vasseur et cie.

Despite Hanriot's interest in offering a night-fighter to the Armee de l'Aire, the Aeronavale remained their primary customer. Hanriot presented a quarter-sized prototype to the Aeronavale in August 1942, and optimistically assured the French Navy that the plane could achieve four hundred fifty knots and a range of three thousand kilometers, yet still be able to fly from a carrier deck. The Aeronavale was skeptical of this claim, but was sufficiently impressed at the model that they ordered three prototypes for testing at the Centre d'Essais en Vol in Brétigny-sur-Orge. The Armee de l'Aire, more cautious about the design, determined to wait to see the results of the French Navy's tests before committing to their own testing.

Although the aircraft, designated the H.312 Roussette, was generally orthodox in layout, several design elements were unusual. The original design called for each of the engines to power a contra-rotating propeller, but this was only used on the first prototype, as it was a serious maintenance hassle that the French Navy did not want. Tricycle gear was also used, as this was the Aeronavale's preference for use on carrier catapults. Hanriot additionally replaced the glass nose cone of the original Vasseur design with a shaped fiberglass cone that allowed for the installation of a forward-looking radio-teledetecteur array, turning the aircraft into a potential night-fighter.

Hanriot delivered the first H.312 prototype to Brétigny-sur-Orge in January 1943. The Aeronavale dubbed it the "Roussette", using the French vernacular for a bat as well as a species of shark (Scyliorhinidae or catshark). Testing quickly demonstrated that the H.312 could not live up to Hanriot's promised speed, range, and fight ceiling capabilities, although test pilots enjoyed the plane's handling, particularly at lower speeds. The RTD setup, which Hanriot advertised as the plane's greatest strength, proved to be one of the type's most significant issues, as no second crewman was provided in the original design to operate the set. The pilot had to operate the radio-teledetecteur controls by reaching over his left shoulder and watching the screen which was next to his right knee. This resulted in pilot fatigue as the lone crewman attempted to juggle radar operation with actually flying the airplane. Hanriot eventually gave up and provided a seat for a second crewman, who served as navigator and radar operator.

The Aeronavale ordered a number of Roussettes in 1943 and 1944, and the cautious Armee de l'Aire placed an order in December 1943. Despite its origin as a carrier aircraft, most Roussettes did not serve aboard carriers; they instead were incorporated into land-based squadrons assigned for fleet protection. All Roussettes used in carrier operations were of the twin-seat variety, assigned to the carriers Bucentaure or Conquerant as a dedicated night-fighter squadron. Even aboard these large carriers, the Aeronavale found the H.312 to be a challenging plane to operate successfully. The Armee de l'Aire instead became the definitive user of the Roussette, ordering several hundred two-seat planes for use as night fighters.

[SIZE=3]General Characteristics[/SIZE]
Crew: one
Length: 11.52 m (37 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 15.37 m (50 ft 5 in)
Height: 5.16 m (16 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 35.32 m² (380.04 ft²)
Empty weight: 6,400 kg (14,110 lb)
Loaded weight: 7,900 kg (17,416 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Gnome-Rhone 18k air-cooled R18 engines, (2,240hp / 1,670.4 kW) with two-stage variable speed Turbomeca supercharger or 2 × Hispano-Suiza 12Z-55 liquid-cooled V-12 engines, (1,800 hp / 1,342 kW takeoff) with two-stage variable speed Turbomeca supercharger

[SIZE=3]Performance[/SIZE]
Maximum speed: 708 kph (382 knots / 440 mph) at 6,000 meters
Cruise speed: 500 km/h (308 mph)
Range: 2,800 km (1,740 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,808 ft)
Rate of climb: 3,850 ft/min (19.58 m/sec)

[SIZE=3]Armament[/SIZE]
- 2 × 23mm DEFA 501 revolver cannon with three hundred rounds
- 1 × 37mm belt-fed cannon with forty rounds
- 750kg underwing stores (bombs, torpedoes, or rockets)

[SIZE=3]Variants[/SIZE]
- H.312 Roussette: Initial variant, equipped for carrier operations.
- H.313: Night fighter with two-man crew.

Good series of posts. Much to mull over and I'll only make a few brief points/ questions/ observations.

The merging of companies is a good trend. One minor question is, will you be explaining the adoption of the Dassault title in WW given Marcel Bloch's ahistorical experiences?

On Swiss aircraft, I've recently made a few additions to the NPC aircraft page to keep it up to date and also to incorporate some info I've come across since. I've added the Pilatus P-1 single-seat light trainer too. I'll add the French order for the P-2 soon.

Good call about the B.32, perhaps the need for such aircraft is dropping off across the world. I myself can only think of one particular requirement the RAF still has. Certainly any possiblity strategic bombing campaign with Europe seems unthinkable at the moment.

I still think military and even civil flying boats still have a big role to play, they didn't die out OTL until the late 50s, early 60s.

The proposed twin-engined carrier-based ASW, AEW, COD design sounds interesting, if not perhaps a tad early given it sounds roughly like a Grumman Tracker. Are French carriers really big/ capable enough to operate such aircraft?

Jets is a tricky subject but I think you've covered all bases here and your OOC policy seems very sound. My own thoughts will become clearer when I post my 1943 jet developments shortly. Generally I can see jet-powered fighters proving more useful and appearing sooner than bombers given the fuel consumption etc. Although your post is OOC, IC the Air Ministry would assume any nation working on turbojets is planning a production type at some point, otherwise there would be little point in it!
Also, have you seen the recent book 'X-planes of Europe: Secret Research Aircraft from the Golden Age 1947-1967' which covers a whole range of British and French aircraft? There is quite a bit in it that interested me (info I hadn't seen elsewhere) and there is a good section on the Triton (and the Leduc ramjets). If you need any further info I'm happy to dig into the pages for you.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
One minor question is, will you be explaining the adoption of the Dassault title in WW given Marcel Bloch's ahistorical experiences?

My explanation is that, as a result of all his company's acquisition-mergers in 1942, they hit on the Dassault name for the newer, larger company. I think I said back when I announced the news in the French news thread, even though "Dassault" is now the name of the larger company, the "Bloch" name will be retained as a "marketing division", so to speak, of the larger company.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
The proposed twin-engined carrier-based ASW, AEW, COD design sounds interesting, if not perhaps a tad early given it sounds roughly like a Grumman Tracker. Are French carriers really big/ capable enough to operate such aircraft?

Not all of them, no. Clemenceau, Gambetta, Vauban, Pluton, and Suffren are, in my opinion, too small for twin-engine types, but the St. Cyr and Bucentaure class ships are large enough - particularly the Bucentaures, which were designed specifically with twin-engine strike aircraft in mind. When I was advising Agent, it was his intent to field primarily twin-engine carrier strike aircraft and even fighters. I deviated from that plan rather substantially by introducing the MB.1050 Milan and the Breguet/Latecoeur Épaulard. I basically set aside twin-engine craft at the time because I perceived France had an engine-production bottleneck. Given my perception of the Aeronavale's current state of equipage, it's probably not going to see much radical change until 1946-48.

The French probably have more experience operating twin-engine carrier planes than anyone else at the moment: the Aeronavale has operated Br.695s off carrier decks since 1936; although the Br.695s have largely been supplanted by-and-large by the single-engine Épaulard since 1941, the Br.695 is still operated in small numbers.

In terms of role, the Épaulard has already been used for all of the listed roles, even COD. In the Aeronavale, there are currently three Flotilles d'Aviation de Transport (based in Brest, Toulon, and Indochina) with twelve Épaulards equipped to carry six passengers (in discomfort) as well as underwing cargo pods. The FATs tend to be one of the places reservist carrier pilots end up: it allows them to keep up-to-date on modern carrier aircraft, get flight time and carrier landing time, and yet be home for dinner with their families a few times a week. In France's "In Case of War, Break Glass" plans, the FATs would probably be scavenged for personnel to make up strike contingents for escort carriers, given that they're usually over-strength in pilots. The proposed COD variant of the Br.930 would probably go to one or two of the FATs, as they can carry more cargo.

And in case you're wondering - yes, the FATs are indeed a ploy by the Aeronavale to retain skilled carrier pilots who'd otherwise be retiring from the military.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
Jets is a tricky subject but I think you've covered all bases here and your OOC policy seems very sound. My own thoughts will become clearer when I post my 1943 jet developments shortly. Generally I can see jet-powered fighters proving more useful and appearing sooner than bombers given the fuel consumption etc. Although your post is OOC, IC the Air Ministry would assume any nation working on turbojets is planning a production type at some point, otherwise there would be little point in it!

Quite.

The key point at the moment is that the French are still gazing into their crystal ball and trying to guess where they need to go. "Forecast cloudy, check again tomorrow." Aside from Leduc and his ramjet work, France doesn't have anyone like a Whittle or an Ohain: most of the French R&D work started at the ministry level, is handled by groups of moderately-talented development committees, and is motivated primarily by French concern about falling behind.

What you're probably going to see in 1943 and 1944, as French designers start delving into jet aircraft design, is that the more talented airframe designers like Marcel Bloch and Emile Dewoitine will start to shape engine development on the basis of what they want to put in the aircraft they're designing. The first French jets will of course be designed around the engines, of course, but they'll probably not be long-lived types.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
Also, have you seen the recent book 'X-planes of Europe: Secret Research Aircraft from the Golden Age 1947-1967' which covers a whole range of British and French aircraft? There is quite a bit in it that interested me (info I hadn't seen elsewhere) and there is a good section on the Triton (and the Leduc ramjets). If you need any further info I'm happy to dig into the pages for you.

I haven't. Would definitely be interested to hear more about either of those planes - particularly the Triton, as it's been harder to find good information on it than on the Leduc ramjets.

[SIZE=4]Breguet-Nord Br.930 Pêcheur / Charretier / Longue-vue[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]General characteristics[/SIZE]
Crew: Three
Length: 11.46 m (37 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 18.745 m (61 ft 6 in)
Height: 4.26 m (13 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 37.13 m² ( ft²)
Empty weight: 5992.5 kg
Loaded weight: 8025 kg
Max takeoff weight: 8680 kg ( lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Gnome Rhone 14R, 1,612hp each at takeoff (1,890hp with boost)

[SIZE=3]Performance[/SIZE]
Maximum speed: 470 km/h (254 knots, 292 mph)
Range: 1,760 km (1,093 miles)
Service ceiling: 7,600 m (24,935 ft)
Rate of climb: 8.5 m/s (1,673 ft/min)

[SIZE=3]Armament[/SIZE]
- 1,400 kg stores (Pêcheur only)
- 1 × 12.7mm rear machine-gun (Pêcheur only)

[SIZE=3]Variants[/SIZE]
- Br.930 Pêcheur: Anti-submarine and naval attack aircraft with armament.
- Br.931 Charretier: Cargo aircraft.
- Br.932 Longue-Vue: Dedicated surface-search reconnaissance aircraft.

It would be interesting to see how the plane would look like .... any chance of a sketch ???

Quoted

Originally posted by parador
It would be interesting to see how the plane would look like .... any chance of a sketch ???

Highly unlikely at the present time, as I'm extremely busy preparing for my wedding in less than two weeks. But for looks, I'd suggest imagining the historical Breguet Br693 with a longer, fatter fuselage and single tail.