WesWorld

French Transports

Breguet-Nord Br.810 Bretagne
General characteristics
Capacity: 30-43
Length: 18.95 m (62 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 26.90 m (88 ft 2 in)
Height: 5.90 m (19 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 86.2 m² (927.5 sq ft)
Empty weight: 14,080 kg (31,030 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 20,100 kg (44,600 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Gnome-Rhône 18k Mistral Titan radial piston engine, 2,240 hp each

Performance
Maximum speed 560 km/h (348 mph)
Cruising speed: 422 km/h (229 knots, 263 mph)
Range: 1,140 km (617 nmi, 710 mi)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)

Development Timeline
- First Flight: February 26, 1940
- In Production: 1940
- In Service: Fall 1941

Notes
The Br.810T variant has a strengthened floor and a retractable cargo door. It can be used for cargo operations or dropping of paratroopers.

Breguet-Nord N.1510 Normandie
The Nord Normandie is a long-distant transport designed to carry cargo and paratroops. Some initial sketches of the Normandie began at Potez in 1936, and after the merger of Potez, CAMS, and ANF Les Mureaux, the project was inherited by Societie Nord. Much of the work from 1937 onward, however, was undertaken by the design staff brought in from CAMS, who adopted the wing design intended for an unbuilt flying boat. This resulted in a particularly strong wing design with high lift and and corrosion resistance. Despite the early start, the project did not receive a high priority until late 1937, when the French armed forces became involved in quashing the Rif-Atlas Revolt. Existing transports proved highly unsatisfactory, and in some cases downright unsafe for paratroop operations, and were insufficient in quantity to meet the French Army's needs. An immediate high-priority request for new aircraft was made, and Society Nord's rapid response met with approval.

Initial studies undertaken in 1938 by the Armee de l'Aire indicated a twin-engine aircraft with a load of twenty-eight paratroopers would be ideal, but Nord's engineers conducted their own survey of French paratroop officers and cargo aircraft pilots, and proposed a larger four-engined aircraft with a load of forty paratroopers. Nord proposed several alterations to the specifications laid out by the Armee de l'Aire, most notably the use of two-wheel tricycle landing gear, a high-mounted wing, a clamshell rear door for loading and unloading cargo, and an emphasis on short-and-rough field performance. The Armee de l'Aire did not immediately approve of Nord's disregard for their design parameters, but reconsidered after reviewing Nord's quarter-scale mockups in March 1939.

A prototype, the N.1500, was prepared and first flew on October 12th, 1940, but flight trials uncovered a number of issues which resulted in a drawn-out testing period. As the landing roll-out proved to be much longer than expected, the wing was modified with leading-edge slats and double-slotted Fowler flaps to improve low-speed lift. A twin rudder replaced the tall single rudder, the fuselage and wings were lengthened, and the main gear was re-situated to provide better balance on the ground. The single clamshell door on the rear end of the aircraft, which could not be opened in flight, was replaced with two powered side-folding clamshell doors which permitted the airdropping of cargo and vehicles. As cargo could be easily airdropped from the new aft door, the wide side door, identified by the Armee de l'Aire as a structural weakness, was replaced with a smaller door for personnel only. The two inboard Gnome-Rhone 14R radial engines were equipped with reversible-pitch propellers, allowing the aircraft to back up without ground-handling equipment. The engines could also be reversed on landing, decreasing the roll-out distance.

The long development time of the Normandie nearly doomed the aircraft on several occasions, as both the Armee de Terre and the Armee de l'Aire were impatient with the project's lengthy gestation time; they had both expected Nord to begin production in late 1940. The Armee de Terre eventually ordered a dozen cargo versions of the Breguet Br.810 Bretagne airliner in 1941 as a stopgap measure. However, the Bretagne could not compete against the Normandie in terms of troops or cargo carried, had significantly less overall range, and could not airdrop significant amounts of cargo as the Normandie could do.

Specifications
Crew: 4 (pilot, copilot/navigator, radio operator, flight engineer)
Capacity: 45 paratroopers, 60 troops, or 10,150kg (22,377 lbs) of cargo
Length: 28.25 m (92 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 37.5m (123 ft)
Height: 7.315 m (24 ft 7 in)
Wing Area: 166 m² (1,786.8 ft²)
Empty Weight: 17,800 kg (39,242 lb)
Loaded Weight: 24,416 kg (53,828 lb)
Max Takeoff Weight: 27,725 kg (61,123 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Gnome-Rhone 14R, 1,750hp each, with 4-blade propellers

Performance
Max Speed: 425km/h (264 mph)
Cruise Speed: 380 km/h (236.1 mph )
Range: 4,800km (2,982.6 mi) at 6,000m with payload
Service Ceiling: 7,600 m (25,000 ft)
Rate of Climb: 6.5 m/s (21.3 ft/s)
Max Wingloading: 147 kg/m² (30.125 lb/ft²)

Armament (Some Versions only)
- 1 × 23 mm HS.406 in tail
- 1 × 12.7mm Hotchkiss MG in nose

Special Notes
- Tricycle landing gear with double wheels
- Rear double-fold clamshell doors permit loading of light vehicles on the ground, and airdropping of vehicles in flight
- Twin tail
- High mounted wings with leading edge slats
- Inward engines have reversible pitch allowing the aircraft to back up on the ground, or reverse power to shorten the landing roll-out.

Breguet-Nord N.1515 Noratlas
Developed from the lighter Breguet-Nord N.1510 Normandie, the Noratlas featured a longer fuselage and slightly larger wing. The new aircraft, which first flew in February 1944, was designed to transport a stripped-down light tank or armoured car by air.

Specifications
Crew: 4 (pilot, copilot/navigator, radio operator, flight engineer)
Capacity: 65 paratroopers, 85 troops, or 15,000kg (33,069 lbs) of cargo
Length: 33 m (108 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 38.5m (126 ft 4 in)
Height: 9 m (29 ft 6 in)
Wing Area: 170 m² (1,829.8 ft²)
Empty Weight: 25,000 kg (55,115.5 lb)
Loaded Weight: 36,620 kg (80,733 lb)
Max Takeoff Weight: 42,725 kg (94,192 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Hispano-Suiza HS-24K TRP-Composé turbo-compound engines, 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) each, with 4-blade adjustable-pitch propellers

Performance
Max Speed: 500 km/h (310.7 mph)
Cruise Speed: 400 km/h (248.5 mph )
Range: 5,500km (3,417 mi) at 6,000m with payload
Service Ceiling: 7,600 m (25,000 ft)
Rate of Climb: 7 m/s (1378 ft/min)
Max Wingloading: 251 kg/m² (51.5 lb/ft²)

Armament (Some Versions only)
- 1 × 23mm HS.406 in tail
- 1 × 23mm HS.406 in nose