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Fouga (also known as Air Fouga) was a French manufacturing company established by Gaston Fouga at
Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...
during 1920. Originally specialising in the repair of railway
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
, the firm eventually became most noted for the aircraft it produced from its woodworking facilities at
Aire-sur-l'Adour Aire-sur-l'Adour (; or simply , before 1962: ''Aire'')Déc ...
. The most successful product to be created by Fouga was the CM.170 Magister, a
postwar A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
jet-powered military trainer aircraft derived from the firm's experiences with
sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...
s. Many of its features, such as its slender tapering wings, reflecting the company's sailplane heritage. During May 1958, Fouga was acquired by rival French aircraft manufacturer
Potez Potez (pronounced ) was a French aircraft manufacturer founded as Aéroplanes Henry Potez by Henry Potez at Aubervilliers in 1919 in aviation, 1919. The firm began by refurbishing war-surplus SEA IV aircraft, but was soon building new examples of ...
; the company's former facilities at
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
continue to produce aircraft as a part of the multinational Airbus Group.


History

During 1920, the company was established by Gaston Fouga; from the onset, it was based at the town of
Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...
in the Occitanie
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of
Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
. Initially, Fouga's operations centred around railway rolling stock. During 1936, Fouga commenced aircraft manufacture using designs purchased from the
aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
Pierre Mauboussin Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, whom the firm also recruited, along with technical advice gathered from engineers working for rival French aircraft company
Breguet Aviation The ''Société anonyme des ateliers d'aviation Louis Breguet'' (), also known as Breguet Aviation (), was a French aircraft manufacturer. The company was set up in 1911 by the aviation pioneer Louis Charles Breguet. Breguet Aviation was extreme ...
. Mauboussin was joined by
Robert Castello The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
, formerly of the
Dewoitine Constructions Aéronautiques Émile Dewoitine was a French aircraft manufacturer established in Toulouse by Émile Dewoitine in October 1920. The company's initial products were a range of metal parasol-wing fighters, which were largely ignored by ...
aviation company; both Mauboussin and Castello played a leading role in the firm, to the extent that many early of Fouga's designs have often been referred to as "Castel-Mauboussin". Even its later aircraft typically bore "CM" as part of their designations. Fouga developed multiple aircraft designs specifically for the French Military in the years within and surrounding the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The CM.10 was an assault glider capable of carrying 35 troops that was specifically designed for the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
. Flight trials with the CM.10 prototypes were of mixed results, the first prototype crashing on 5 May 1948 whilst being flown by CEV Brétigny. A production order for 100 was placed with Fouga, but was cancelled after only 5 gliders had been completed. During the
postwar A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
years, Fouga continued to pursue its own designs. During 1948, development commenced on a new primary trainer aircraft design that harnessed newly developed jet propulsion technology. The initial design, subsequently named the CM.170 Magister, was evaluated by the
French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...
(''Armée de l'Air'', AdA) and, in response to its determination that the aircraft lacked sufficient power for its requirements, was enlarged and adopted a pair of
Turbomeca Marboré The Turbomeca Marboré is a small turbojet engine that was produced by Turbomeca from the 1950s into the 1970s. The most popular uses of this engine were in the Fouga CM.170 Magister and the Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris. It was also licensed f ...
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
engines. First flying on 23 July 1952, the first production order for the type was received on 13 January 1954. Numerous export orders for the Magister were received, which included arrangements to produce the type under license in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
and
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. In addition, the related CM.175 Zéphyr was a carrier-capable derivative of the Magister developed and produced for the
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
. On the back of the Magister's commercial success, the company established a new plant at
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
during 1953 specifically to handle its manufacture."Fouga CM 170."
Pletav.free.fr. Retrieved: 18 November 2012.
During May 1958, Fouga, along with all of its assets, were purchased by the rival aircraft manufacturer
Potez Potez (pronounced ) was a French aircraft manufacturer founded as Aéroplanes Henry Potez by Henry Potez at Aubervilliers in 1919 in aviation, 1919. The firm began by refurbishing war-surplus SEA IV aircraft, but was soon building new examples of ...
; during late 1961, the Fouga name was formally dropped altogether. The remains of Potez and Fouga was subsequently incorporated into
Sud-Aviation Sud Aviation (, 'Southern Aviation') was a French state-owned aircraft manufacturer, originating in the merger of Sud-Est (SNCASE, or ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du sud-est'') and Sud-Ouest (SNCASO or ''Société natio ...
, later merged into the French aerospace conglomerate
Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...
, and then the multinational
EADS Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...
corporation and then
Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
, which still operates major facilities at Toulouse.


Products

* Fouga CM.8 * Fouga CM.10 * Fouga CM.88 Gemeaux * Fouga CM.100 * Fouga CM.170 Magister * Fouga CM.170M Esquif * Fouga CM.171 Makalu * Fouga CM.173 Super Magister *
Fouga CM.175 Zéphyr The Fouga Zéphyr (company designation CM.175) was a 1950s France, French two-seat Carrier-capable aircraft, carrier-capable jet trainer for the French Navy. It was developed from the land-based Fouga CM.170 Magister, CM.170 Magister. The Zéphyr ...
*
Potez-Heinkel CM.191 The Fouga CM.170 Magister is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer aircraft that was developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Fouga, ''Établissements Fouga & Cie''. Easily recognizable by its V-tail, almost 1,000 have been built ...


References


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Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France Companies based in Occitania (administrative region) Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1920 French companies established in 1920