Nord-Aviation ( en, Northern Aviation) was a state-owned French

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

. The bulk of its facilities were based on the site of

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

airport, in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, in central France. On 1 October 1954, Nord Aviation was created as a result of the acquisition of SFECMAS (Société française d'étude et de construction de matériels aéronautiques spéciaux) by

SNCAN SNCAN, (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Nord''), or commonly, Nord, was a state-owned French aircraft manufacturer in the pre- and post- World War II era. The company had been formed as one of six state ...

(Société nationale de constructions aéronautiques du Nord). The company's name, ''Nord'', also became commonly used as a generic name referring to the Pingouin light aircraft. It manufactured numerous aircraft; perhaps Nord Aviation's most successful aircraft was the

Nord Noratlas The Nord Noratlas was a dedicated military transport aircraft, developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation. Development commenced during the late 1940s with the aim of producing a suitable aircraft to replace the nu ...

, a utility transport used by both military and civilian customers. Other aircraft included

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

trainers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used f ...

and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

aircraft, as well as other transports. Nord Aviation also developed and produced its own range of

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

s; perhaps the most famous of these was the

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

, a sea-skimming

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...

. On 1 March 1970, Nord Aviation merged with

Sud Aviation Sud Aviation (, ''Southern Aviation'') was a French state-owned aircraft manufacturer, originating from the merger of Sud-Est (SNCASE, or ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du sud-est'') and Sud-Ouest (SNCASO or ''Société n ...

to create Société nationale d'industrie aérospatiale (SNIAS), which was promptly renamed

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...

. In 2000, this company merged into European Aerospace Corporation

EADS Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

, which was then renamed to the

Airbus Group Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

History

Following the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, France's aviation industries began to rebuild and reestablish themselves; many companies chose to consolidate and merge with one another during this period. On 1 October 1954, Nord Aviation was created as a result of the acquisition of SFECMAS (Société française d'étude et de construction de matériels aéronautiques spéciaux) by

(Société nationale de constructions aéronautiques du Nord). A year prior to the company's creation, the development of what can be regarded as perhaps Nord Aviation's most successful aircraft, the

, had been completed. Nord continued the programme to schedule, fulfilling its initial contract for 34 aircraft by 25 June 1953; the

Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Arm ...

went on to order another 174 Noratlases. Eventually, a total of 228 aircraft would enter French service.Cann 2015, p. 134. In addition to this sizable domestic appetite, the Noratlas was an export success as well; the newly formed nation of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

decided to address the

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

's requirement for new transport aircraft by ordered a total of 187 Noratlases, the first of which being delivered during 1956. While the first 25 aircraft were manufactured in France, the other 161 Noratlases were locally manufactured by the West German-based Flugzeugbau Nord company; such aircraft were designated as ''N-2501D''. Flugzeugbau Nord had been involved in the Noratlas programme from an early stage, it being the company's first post-war aviation project, having been responsible for the design and manufacture of the majority of the aircraft's fuselage. In addition to these and other military customers, the Noratlas was also manufactured for the civil market, including a specialised de-militarised model designated ''N-2502A/B''. Several of Nord Aviation's aircraft never progressed beyond the

stage of development. One of the more radical designs was the

Nord 1500 Griffon The Nord 1500 Griffon was an experimental ramjet-powered interceptor aircraft designed and built by French state-owned aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation. The Griffon was developed to become a Mach 2 follow on to the supersonic Nord Gerfaut ...

, a

ramjet A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an ass ...

-powered

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

developed during the mid-1950s to fill a French Air Force specification for a Mach 2 fighter. Two prototypes were ordered initially in a letter dated 24 August 1953, with the final contract, (No. 2003/55) in 1955; although intended to eventually fulfil a requirement for a light interceptor capable of operation from 1,000m grass runways, the two prototypes were ordered without military equipment for research purposes only. Production of the envisioned operational versions, often referred to as the ''Super Griffon'', did not take place as it was found that the requirements could be met and exceeded with less complex and cheaper aircraft such as the more conventional

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

. In addition to its range of aircraft, Nord Aviation also developed and manufactured a range of

s; perhaps the most famous of these was the

, a sea-skimming

. Development was started by Nord during 1967 under the designation of ''MM 38''; its basic body design was based on the

AS-30 The AS-30 was an air-to-ground missile built by Nord Aviation. It was a precision attack weapon designed to be used against high-value targets such as bridges and bunkers. The AS-30 was essentially a larger version of the earlier AS-20 design, an ...

air-to-ground tactical missile. The air-launched version of the Exocet was developed during the 1970s, it entered service with the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in 1979. The missile gained a level of infamy for its use during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

of 1982, in which several British ships were damaged or sunk by Exocets launched by

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

forces. Both the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

and the 15,000-ton merchant ship were lost to use of the Exocet. Separately, an American frigate, the , was also damaged by two Exocet missiles launched by an

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...

Dassault Mirage F1 The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the popular Mirage III family. During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would ...

while patrolling off the coast of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

.DOD Letter, 23 July 1987, Subject: Formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack on the USS Stark (GGG) on 17 May 1987 (U)
/ref> On 1 March 1970, Nord Aviation merged with

to create Société nationale d'industrie aérospatiale (SNIAS), which was promptly renamed

. In turn, this company would ultimately merge into European aerospace corporation

in 2000, which was subsequently rebranded as the

Aircraft production (for SNCAN and Nord Aviation)

''Data from:Aviafrance SNCAN'' and ''Aviafrance Nord

Missiles

* AA.20 *

AS-20 The AS-20 (Type 5110) was a French air-to-surface missile developed during the late 1950s. It was similar to the U.S. AGM-12 Bullpup missile. Development The AS-20 was based on an earlier Nord Aviation air-to-air missile the AA.20 (designated T ...

* SS.10 * SS.11 * SS.12/AS.12 *

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Cann, John P. ''Flight Plan Africa: Portuguese Airpower in Counterinsurgency, 1961-1974''. Helion and Company, 2015. * Jackson, Paul A. ''German Military Aviation 1956-1976''. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. .

External links

*
Nord Aviation aircraft
by Aviafrance {{Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France Aérospatiale Defunct aircraft manufacturers of France Defunct helicopter manufacturers Helicopter manufacturers of France French companies established in 1954 Manufacturing companies established in 1954 Technology companies established in 1954 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1970 1970 disestablishments in France 1970 mergers and acquisitions