In May-June of 1940, the German military finalized its conquest of France and, with it, claimed ownership of vitally important manpower and aero-industry facilities. This ultimately meant that the "Societe Nationale de Constructions Aeronautiques du Centre" - or SNCAC - now fell under new owners. With the ever-constant need for viable transport aircraft to keep the German war machine humming along, the SNCAC facility at Bourges was directed to produce the German-designed Siebel Si 204 twin-engine light transport / trainer aircraft to ease demand.
This Siebel twin was an original aircraft design - based in the earlier Siebel Fh 104 of 1937, forty-six being completed - developed to a German Air Ministry requirement in 1938. It carried a crew of two with seating for eight, a stepped cockpit, and held many physical features consistent with aircraft of the period - twin rudder fins, leading edge engine nacelles, tail-dragger undercarriage, etc. A total of 1,216 would ultimately be built - though with some wartime help from the French.
With the arrival of war in Europe, the Luftwaffe took the design on as a trainer and Siebel fashioned a step-less, rounded and glazed nose section for better viewing out-of-the-cockpit (similar in scope to the Heinkel He 111). A first-flight was recorded in the middle part of 1940 and service introduction occurred with the Luftwaffe who stocked their inventory with these flight/crew trainers.
For its operational life, the series was powered by 2 x Argus As 410 or As 411 engines. Fifteen prototypes were completed as V1 to V15.
With SNCAC now falling under German control, the aircraft was produced by France from the period of April 1942 until August of 1944 to which 168 examples were ultimately completed for the Luftwaffe. Other variants were also manufactured by other foreign concerns such as Aero Vodochody of Czechoslovakia. The series, as a whole, was in production until January of 1945.
The war ended with a German defeat and a French liberation by May of that year, leaving French aero-industry to pick up the pieces from the devastating occupation period. In the post-war world, the French saw enough value in the aircraft to continue its use though now under the local designation of "NC.700". The line begat variants in the "NC.701", with its rounded, glazed nose section, and the "NC.702", with its original stepped cockpit design.
The French aircraft were powered by Renault 12S-00 V12 inverted air-cooled engines (a copy of the German Argus As 411). SNCAC produced 30 examples of the A-0 model, 85 examples of the A-1 model and 53 examples of the D-1 model for its part in the war (A-0 marked pre-series forms while A-1 was the production passenger model. D-1 aircraft were "blind" trainers).
The NC.701 model was based in the Siebel Si 204D and used effectively as flight/crew trainers complete with dual-control schemes. The NC.702 was born from the Siebel Si 204A and could seat eight passengers. The series in French service was named "Martinet".
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(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Transport
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.
✓Training (General)
Developed ability to be used as a dedicated trainer for student pilots (typically under the supervision of an instructor).
Length
41.2 ft (12.57 m)
Width/Span
69.9 ft (21.30 m)
Height
10.8 ft (3.30 m)
Empty Wgt
8,818 lb (4,000 kg)
MTOW
12,644 lb (5,735 kg)
Wgt Diff
+3,825 lb (+1,735 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the SNCAC NC.701 production variant)
Installed:
2 x Renault (Argus As 411) 12S-00 engines developing 590 horsepower each.
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
NC.700 - Base Series Designation; prototype with Renault 12S German Si-204 engines.
NC.701 - Communications training platform; dual-control scheme; revised nose section.
NC.702 - Definitive transport variant; based on the German Si-204A offering.
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.
26
Rating is out of a possible 100 points.
Relative Maximum Speed
Hi: 300mph
Lo: 150mph
This entry's maximum listed speed (217mph).
Graph average of 225 miles-per-hour.
City-to-City Ranges
NYC
LON
LON
PAR
PAR
BER
BER
MOS
MOS
TOK
TOK
SYD
SYD
LAX
LAX
NYC
SNCAC NC.701 operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).
Max Altitude Visualization
Design Balance
The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.
Aviation Era Span
Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.
Unit Production (168)
168
36183
44000
Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).
Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
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France; Morocco; Nazi Germany; Poland; Sweden
