The SNCAC NC.1071 was a direct offshoot of the earlier NC.1070 intended for the French Navy - the inclusion of jet engines could not save it from being abandoned.
The underpowered nature of the earlier NC.1070 forced SNCAC designers to revise their proposed carrierbased strike platform through other means. This led engineers to replace the Gnome-Rhone piston-driven engines with a pair of Rolls-Royce "Nene" turbojet engines of 5,000lb thrust each. The form-and-function of theNC.1070 remained largely intact for only those changes centered around the new engine installation was all that differed in the upcoming "NC.1071". Incidentally, this Rolls-Royce engine pairing made the NC.1071 the first French-originated aircraft to feature multiple jet powerplants in its propulsion scheme.
The twin-boom design was still at the heart of the revised aircraft, combining a centralized nacelle with straight-lined monoplane wings, a twin-boom tail unit, and a singular horizontal plane at rear. The length required of the Nene engines meant that each unit was to sit well-forward in their nacelles, giving the NC.1071 a most ungainly appearance. The jets also required the addition of exhaust ports at the extreme end of the tailbooms which, in turn, led to the deletion of the lower horizontal plane section (leaving just the upper stabilizer in place). Another deletion from the original design was the loss of the rear powered turret - a glazed-over observer's position now fitted in its place.
In this guise, the NC.1071 flew for the first time on October 2th, 1948 and it seemed that the performance issues encountered in the earlier NC.1070 were finally ironed out. Handling was also deemed rather strong by her test pilots. Like the NC.1070, however, the NC.1071 was eventually damaged during a test. this on July 27th, 1949. The aircraft was repaired to continue her flying phase and, after major structural issues emerged, the aircraft was again repaired and now refined to continue flying. She was damaged, once-again, on May 8th, 1951 and this was about all that was had from the remainder of the program for cancellation soon followed.
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(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.
✓Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
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 (CAS)
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.
✓Maritime / Navy
Land-based or shipborne capability for operating over-water in various maritime-related roles while supported by allied naval surface elements.
✓X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
Length
33.5 ft (10.20 m)
Width/Span
65.6 ft (20.00 m)
Height
15.1 ft (4.60 m)
Empty Wgt
17,637 lb (8,000 kg)
MTOW
23,876 lb (10,830 kg)
Wgt Diff
+6,239 lb (+2,830 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base SNCAC NC.1071 production variant)
Installed:
2 x Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engines developing 5,000lb of thrust each.
(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base SNCAC NC.1071 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
PROPOSED (Standard):
2 x 20mm MG151 autocannons in nose.
PROPOSED (Optional):
Support for up to 4,410lb of drop bombs or aerial torpedoes.
Supported Types
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
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 (cancelled)
