Breguet Br.1001 (Taon)

Lightweight Strike-Fighter Prototype [ 1957 ]

Two flyable prototypes were completed for the Breguet Br.1001 Taon program - which envisioned a lightweight strike fighter for NATO forces across Europe.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/27/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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NATO was formed in 1949 primarily to counter the rising threat of the Soviet Union in Europe and elsewhere. With a diverse mix of nations within its ranks, it was thought that common military equipment was required should the Cold War ever have gone "hot" - particularly for its European players. As such, the "Light Weight Strike Fighter" was established to promote a "common" economical lightweight strike fighter aircraft to be used amongst major European NATO participants. The Breguet Br.1001 "Taon" was one of the entries into the crowded field - though both the initiative and aircraft were ultimately abandoned before the end.

The official initiative sprung up in 1953 and a plethora of aircraft-makers were brought into the fold to see the program through. Among these was Breguet, a French firm established back in the pre-World War 1 days of 1911 by Louis Charles Breguet. With an exceptional history in delivering both peacetime and wartime aircraft of various sizes and weights, the company - which had been contracted to produce three prototypes for the new program - seemed in good position to deliver a winner for NATO.

The general concept behind a lightweight strike fighter was in ease-of-operation as well as cost-effectiveness - making it readily available for any and all NATO players should the need arise. The company began by downsizing its existing Br.1100 from its twin-engine configuration to a single-engine format which aided in bringing down complexity and cost. The original "paper" design would change considerably before the physical specimen was to emerge: the stout body of the first iteration eventually gave way to a slimmer, more modern and aerodynamically-refined form consistent with 1950s fighter thinking while the single-finned tail unit was retained from the original. The wing mainplanes, while swept in both the earlier and later designs, were made much slimmer in the latter and raised to near-shoulder height. To these members (featuring 43-degree sweepback) were also added leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps for enhanced controlling. The cockpit was retained at the nose aft of a short nosecone assembly and fully-armored against ground fire as well as having a Martin-Baker ejection seat system in place. For ground-running, a conventional (though reinforced for rough-field landings and take-offs) tricycle undercarriage would be featured.

With construction started in November of 1956, the finalized Br.1001 prototype emerged for a first-flight on July 25th, 1957 with a French-centric instrument panel in place. A second aircraft was added to the development program in time and made it to the air on January 18,1958 - this one further modified with a NATO-style instrument panel and slightly lengthened fuselage as well as other more subtle improvements.

The completed aircraft had a running length of 38.3 feet, a wingspan of 22.3 feet, and a height of 12.1 feet. Gross weight reached 11,025lb. Power was from a single Bristol Siddeley "Orpheus" B.Or.3 series turbojet engine outputting 4,850lb of thrust, propelling the prototype to recorded speeds of 742 miles-per-hour. Attention was paid to the general maintenance of this for ground crews - the unit able to be replaced in under an hour's worth of work. Refueling would be done within minutes.

Proposed fixed, standard armament was to become a battery of 4 x 12.7mm Colt-Browning Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs) or 2 x 30mm Autocannons. Four hardpoints, two at each mainplane member, would support air-to-air missiles, rocket pods, and conventional drop bombs to fulfill its strike portion of its intended role.

The Taon joined a healthy stable of players for the NATO requirement - but none ultimately fulfilled the role as NATO dropped its "common" European strike fighter need altogether. Designs left in the lurch joining the Taon were the Italian Aerfer "Ariete", the French Dassault Etendard VI, the Italian FIAT G.91, the American Northrop Grumman F-5 "Tiger", and the French Sud-Ouest "Baroudeur" (all detailed elsewhere on this site).

Despite this, and for its time in the air, the Taon managed to secure an international speed record on April 25th, 1958 when it flew at 650.36 mph at 25,000 feet. This was followed with a second record-setting outing as the compact aircraft reached a speed of 667.98 mph - proving to the world that the French aero-industry had fully-recovered from its dark days of World War 2 (1939-1945).

Beyond the Br.1001 prototype was the Br.1002 which was proposed as a missile-carrier for air-to-air missiles and to act as a point-defense interceptor. The Br.1003M was a navalized derivative of the Br.1001 - fitted with the Orpheus B.Or.12 turbojet engine - with enlarged wings. The production version of the Br.1001 was to carry the designation of Br.1004 - this similarly flying with the Bristol Siddeley Orpheus B.Or.12 series turbojet engine.

For all the time and energies sunk into the Br.1001 Taon program, however, there was little return-of-investment. The second prototype found its way to the inventory of the Musee de l'Air though the first prototype was stripped of all its usefulness and scrapped.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Breguet - France
Manufacturer(s)

France (cancelled)
Operators

1957
Service Year

France
National Origin

Cancelled
Project Status

1
Crew

2
Units

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

INTERCEPTION
Ability to intercept inbound aerial threats by way of high-performance, typically speed and rate-of-climb.

GROUND ATTACK
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

CLOSE-AIR SUPPORT
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.

SPECIAL-MISSION: ANTI-SHIP
Equipped to search, track, and engage enemy surface elements through visual acquisition, radar support, and onboard weaponry.

MARITIME / NAVY
Land-based or shipborne capability for operating over-water in various maritime-related roles while supported by allied naval surface elements.

INTELLIGENCE-SURVEILLANCE-RECONNAISSANCE
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

38.4 ft
(11.70 meters)
Length

22.3 ft
(6.80 meters)
Width/Span

12.1 ft
(3.70 meters)
Height

16,314 lb
(7,400 kilograms)
Empty Weight

24,306 lb
(11,025 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight

+7,992 lb
(+3,625 kg)
Weight Difference

1 x Bristol Siddeley Orpheus B.Or.3 turbojet engine developing 4,850lb of thrust.
Propulsion

746 mph
(1,200 kph | 648 knots)
Max Speed

57,415 ft
(17,500 m | 11 miles)
Ceiling

870 miles
(1,400 km | 756 nm)
Range

16,000 ft/min
(4,877 m/min)
Rate-of-Climb

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

PROPOSED:
4 x 12.7mm Colt-Browning Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs) OR 2 x 30mm Autocannons.

ASSUMED:
Support for air-to-air missiles, gun pods, rocket pods, and drop bombs to fulfill the strike portion of its intended role.

4
Hardpoints

Br.1001 "Taon" - Base Project Designation; two prototypes completed.

Br.1001B - NATO trials designation.

Br.1002 - Proposed interceptor form equipped with air-to-air missiles.

Br.1003/Br.1003M - Proposed navalized form of the Br.1001 Taon; fitted with the Bristol Siddeley Orpheus B.Or.12 turbojet engine and the enlarged wing mainplanes of the Br.1100; provision for single bomb under fuselage centerline; camera-equipped nose cone.

Br.1004 - Proposed designation for production-quality Taon forms; to be fitted with the Bristol Siddeley Orpheus B.Or.12 series turbojet engine.

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.

72

Rating is out of a possible 100 points.

Relative Maximum Speed

Hi: 750mph

Lo: 375mph

This entry's maximum listed speed (746mph).

Graph average of 563 miles-per-hour.

City-to-City Ranges

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

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 (2)

2

36183

44000

Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).

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