SNCAC NC 1080

After the end of World War II, Aéronavale had only two small aircraft carriers: {{ship|French aircraft carrier|Dixmude||2}}, which was loaned by the Americans, and {{ship|French aircraft carrier|Arromanches||2}}, which had been leased from the British, but planned to lay down its own larger PA-28 design in 1947. All of its aircraft were piston-engined and had been rendered obsolete by the advent of jet-propelled aircraft during the war. The French lacked an indigenous turbojet design and licensed the British Rolls-Royce Nene to facilitate their development of jet-propelled aircraft.Gaillard, pp. 14–15 Aéronavale issued a requirement for a jet-powered interceptor on 29 March 1946 and then issued a request for proposals on 8 June. The aircraft had to exceed a speed of {{cvt|900|km/h|0}} at all altitudes, have a climb rate in excess of {{cvt|25|m/s}} at sea level, and an armament of three {{convert|30|mm|1|adj=on|sp=us}} autocannon with the possibility of carrying bombs or unguided air-to-ground rockets. The Nord 2200 and Arsenal VG 90 were the other competitors for the contract for 90 aircraft.Carbonel, pp. 100–101

The single-seat SNCAC NC 1080 had a low-mounted single-spar wing that was swept back at an angle of 22° 30'. Its circular-section fuselage was built in two parts and the fuel tank was housed in the forward section with a total capacity of {{convert|1950|L|impgal USgal|0|sp=us|lk=on}}. It was fitted with a radar in the nose, tricycle landing gear and folding wings. Air for the {{convert|22.2|kN|adj=on|lk=on}} Nene 102 engine was provided by semi-elliptical intakes on the sides of the fuselage and used boundary layer suction to smooth the airflow.Buttler, pp. 91, 93 Most unusually, the aircraft lacked ailerons and lateral control was intended to be provided by "compensators", combination double-slotted and blown flaps designed by Pierre-Marcel Lemoigne, and spoilers in the wings; the spoilers were also intended to act as dive brakes when deployed below the wings.Gaillard, pp. 16–17 The entire aft fuselage could be removed to allow access to the engine. The cockpit was armored and the pilot was provided with an ejection seat.Carbonel, p. 104

Aéronavale awarded SNCAC a contract on 31 December 1946,Gaillard, p. 16 but cancelled it two years later under budgetary constraints. The company decided to continue work at its own expense, still hoping for a production order. The prototype was completed in March 1949 with temporary fixed landing gear and it was trucked to Toussus-le-Noble Airport, but flight testing was delayed by the late delivery of the retractable landing gear.Gaillard, p. 17 Taxiing trials began on 23 June and a few short hops were made during high-speed taxiing two days later. These revealed problems with lateral stability which caused the aircraft's vertical stabilizer and rudder to be heightened and small plates to be added at the wingtips.Buttler, p. 90

While these modifications were being made, SNCAC went bankrupt in July and merged with SNCAN (later Nord Aviation). The NC 1080 made its official maiden flight on 29 July from the airfield at Melun Villaroche while its fate was being decided. The flight demonstrated that the wind-tunnel testing of the prototype's novel control surfaces had been grossly inadequate as the spoilers and compensators were almost entirely useless and it was still only marginally stable laterally. The test pilot found the aircraft almost impossible to turn, but was able to land at Brétigny-sur-Orge Air Base after eight minutes of flight only because it was almost straight ahead from Melun Villaroche. SNCAN considered terminating the program after the flight, flying its own competitor for the requirement, but it was awarded a contract by Aéronavale later that year to continue development.Buttler, pp. 90–92; Gaillard, p. 18

SNCAN's engineers replaced the spoilers with ailerons and moved the wingtip plates to the tips of the horizontal stabilizers. The prototype was flown back to Melun Villaroche on 16 December and it resumed flight testing in January 1950. The following month servomotors were installed to boost the aileron controls and the boundary layer suction system was removed. The manufacturer's trials were completed in March after 19 more flights and the aircraft was flown back to Brétigny-sur-Orge on 31 March to begin its official trials at the Centre d'essais en vol (Flight Test Center). It reached a speed of {{cvt|720|km/h}} and a speed of Mach 0.64 in a dive during flights on 6 April. The following day the NC 1080 entered a spin at an altitude of {{cvt|3000|m}}, had its anti-spin parachute torn away, and crashed, killing the pilot, Pierre Gallay. Witnesses saw pieces fly off the aircraft, but the subsequent investigation was unable to determine why it crashed. Without another prototype available to continue development, the program was cancelled and a license-built version of the British de Havilland Sea Venom was ultimately selected to satisfy Aéronavale's requirement.Buttler, pp. 91–92; Gaillard, pp. 18–19

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=X-Planes of Europe II: Military Prototype Aircraft from the Golden Age 1945–1974 Buttler, pp. 90, 93

|prime units?=met

|crew=1

|length m=12.87

|length note=

|span m=12

|span note=

|height m=

|height note=

|wing area sqm=28.4

|wing area note=

|aspect ratio=

|airfoil=

|empty weight kg=

|empty weight note=

|gross weight kg=7800

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight kg=

|max takeoff weight note=

|fuel capacity={{convert|1950|L|impgal USgal|0|sp=us}}

|more general=

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Rolls-Royce Nene 102

|eng1 type=centrifugal-flow turbojet engine

|eng1 kn=22.2

|eng1 note=

|max speed kmh=977

|max speed note=at {{cvt|5000|m}} (designed)

|max speed mach=0.85

|cruise speed kmh=

|cruise speed note=

|stall speed kmh=

|stall speed note=

|never exceed speed kmh=

|never exceed speed note=

|range km=1300

|range note= (designed)

|combat range km=

|combat range note=

|ferry range km=

|ferry range note=

|endurance=

|ceiling m=12700

|ceiling note=(estimated)

|climb rate ms=

|climb rate ftmin=5500

|climb rate note=at sea level (intended)

|time to altitude=11 minutes, 20 seconds to {{cvt|9000|m}}

|wing loading kg/m2=

|wing loading note=

|fuel consumption kg/km=

|thrust/weight=

|guns= 3 × {{cvt|30|mm|in|1}} autocannon (planned)

|avionics=

}}

{{aircontent

|similar aircraft=

• {{lwc|Hawker P.1052}}
• {{lwc|Hawker Sea Hawk}}
• {{lwc|McDonnell FH Phantom}}
• {{lwc|North American FJ-1 Fury}}
• {{lwc|Supermarine Attacker}}

|lists=

• List of fighter aircraft

}}

{{Reflist}}

• Buttler, Tony. X-Planes of Europe II: Military Prototype Aircraft from the Golden Age 1946–1974. Manchester, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-90210-948-0}}
• Carbonel, Jean-Christophe. French Secret Projects 1: Post War Fighters. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing, 2016 {{ISBN|978-1-91080-900-6}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Gaillard|first1=Pierre|title=Les trois premiers chasseurs embarqués à réaction français, 1 — Le NC 1080|journal=Le Fana de l'Aviation |date=April 1995 |issue=305 |pages=12–19 |issn=0757-4169|language=fr|trans-title=The First Three French Carrier Jet Fighters, 1 — The NC 1080}}

• {{cite journal |last1=Mesnard |first1=Joël |title=Trial & Terror: France's Ill-fated Carrierborne Jet Fighter Projects, 1946–52|journal=The Aviation Historian |date=January 2022|issue=38 |pages=20–32 |issn=2051-1930}}

{{commons category|SNCAC NC 1080}}

• [http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/nc1080.html History of the plane and advanced specifications] (Russian) [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/nc1080.html&ei=-tEzSvONNpqQjAfQoYWcCg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=6&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DSNCAC%2BNC.1080%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26rlz%3D1T4RNWE_enGB313GB313 Translated version]

{{SNCAC aircraft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sncac Nc 1080}}

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Category:Single-engined jet aircraft

Category:1940s French fighter aircraft

Category:Carrier-based aircraft

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1949

Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear

Category:Low-wing aircraft