The French aero-concern of Fouga ("Air Fouga") was founded in 1920, originally tying its business to the railway industry. In time, aviation became its focus and, in 1952, a first-flight of the CM.170 "Magister" was recorded. This compact straight-winged, tandem-seat, twin-engine, jet-powered trainer went on to see production reach over 900 units through global operators numbering no less than twenty - such was its popularity. In May of 1958, the French concern of Potez, itself established back in 1919, acquired Fouga's assets and the storied Fouga name was forever gone from aviation circles as soon as 1962 - the Magister being retained as a flagship product however.
Against this backdrop, Potez attempted to interest foreign players in a new low-cost, revised version of an "ultimate" Magister during the 1960s to be known as the CM.173 "Super Magister". The product was to content with standing requirements centered on Advanced Jet Training (AJT) with a built-in light strike / Close-Air Support (CAS) capability - either for European players or the extensive global list of Magister operators.
The slim aircraft retained much of the form-and-function of its original design but incorporated benefits such as upgraded electronics, improved communications and navigation, and a reworked internal fuel system. The aircraft continued with its tandem-seating, twin turbojet layout. The wing mainplanes were straight-lined and mid-mounted while the tail unit was dominated by the trademark "V-tail" plane arrangement. A shallow tricycle undercarriage was used for ground-running, giving the aircraft a very low profile while at rest.
At the heart of this new aircraft were 2 x Turbomeca "Marbore VI" turbojet engines developing 1,080lb of thrust each. The engines were seated side-by-side in the design, aspirated by side-mounted, semi-circular intakes positioned along the fuselage sides and exhausted aftwards through individual jetpipes straddling the aft-section of the fuselage (and terminating well short of the aircraft's tail unit). Structurally, the aircraft had reported dimensions that included a running length of 33.5 feet and a wingspan of 37 feet. Gross weight reached 7,450lb.
It was intended that the aircraft would carry 2 x 12.7mm heavy machine guns and support the carrying of conventional drop bombs, rockets, rocket pods, gun pods and cannon pods for its strike role.
The CM.173 Super Magister was completed and, following requisite ground trials, recorded its first-flight on June 8th, 1964. However, it failed to generate much interest in a crowded Cold War marketplace and fell to history as nothing more than an aviation footnote.
Specifications
Year: 1963
Status Cancelled
Crew 2
Production 1 Units
Potez - France
France (cancelled)
- Ground Attack
- Close-Air Support (CAS)
- Training
Length:
33.46 ft (10.2 m)
Width:
37.07 ft (11.3 m)
Height:
9.19 ft (2.8 m)
Empty Weight:
4,740 lb (2,150 kg)
MTOW:
7,496 lb (3,400 kg)
(Diff: +2,756lb)
(Showcased weight values pertain to the Potez CM.173 Super Magister production model)
2 x Turbomeca Marbore VI turbojet engines developing 1,080lb of thrust each.
Max Speed:
628 mph (1,010 kph; 545 kts)
Service Ceiling:
36,089 feet (11,000 m; 6.84 miles)
Max Range:
578 miles (930 km; 502 nm)
Rate-of-Climb:
3,400 ft/min (1,036 m/min)
(Showcased performance values pertain to the Potez CM.173 Super Magister production model; Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database)
PROPOSED:
2 x 12.7mm Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs).
Support for conventional drop bombs, aerial rockets, rocket pods, cannon pods, and gun pods.
(Showcased armament details pertain to the Potez CM.173 Super Magister production model)
CM.173 "Super Magister" - Base Series Deisgnation; single, flyable example completed.
General Assessment
Firepower
Performance
Survivability
Versatility
Impact
Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.
Overall Rating
The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry. The rating is out of a possible 100.
64
Relative Maximum Speed
Hi: 750mph
Lo: 375mph
This entry's maximum listed speed (628mph).
Graph average of 562.5 miles-per-hour.
City-to-City Ranges
NYC
LDN
LDN
PAR
PAR
BER
BER
MSK
MSK
TKY
TKY
SYD
SYD
LAX
LAX
NYC
Potez CM.173 Super Magister operational range when compared to distances between major cities.
Aviation Era Span
Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.
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France (cancelled)
