The Nord Gerfaut (

Gyrfalcon The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a reside ...

) was a French

delta-wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ). Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitab ...

experimental research aircraft. It was the first European aircraft to exceed Mach 1 in level flight without the use of an

afterburner An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...

. A pair of aircraft were built for the primary purpose of investigating the

transonic Transonic (or transsonic) flow is air flowing around an object at a speed that generates regions of both subsonic and supersonic airflow around that object. The exact range of speeds depends on the object's critical Mach number, but transonic ...

regime. The Gerfaut I conducted its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...

in 1954; it was followed by the improved Gerfaut II two years later. Both aircraft were flown for several years for experimental purposes, being significantly upgraded over time. During the course of these test flights, the second prototype establishment multiple time-to-altitude world records. In the late 1950s, the type was used to flight-test various aerial missiles. Both aircraft performed their final flights in 1959; they were subsequently used as targets at the Military Test Range at Cazaux.

Development and description

The Nord 1402 Gerfaut had its origin in a series of state-sponsored studies into

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

and

swept wing A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...

s.Buttler & Delezenne, p. 161. To provide data for these studies

Arsenal de l'Aéronautique Arsenal de l'Aéronautique (commonly named Arsenal) was a national military aircraft manufacturer established by the French Government in 1936 at Villacoublay. In the years before World War II, it developed a range of technically advanced fighter ...

( SFECMAS's nationalised predecessor, which was later merged with

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 ...

to form

Nord Aviation Nord-Aviation ( en, Northern Aviation) was a state-owned French aircraft manufacturer. The bulk of its facilities were based on the site of Bourges airport, in the département of Cher, in central France. On 1 October 1954, Nord Aviation was cr ...

) built a wooden glider, the

Arsenal 1301 The Arsenal 2301, Arsenal Ars.2301, SFECMAS 1301 or SFECMAS Ars.1301 was an experimental French air-launched glider, built to test the aerodynamics of aircraft of novel configuration at full scale. It first flew in 1951 with swept wings but after ...

, that could be fitted with both delta and swept wings and with and without canards. Towed to the release point by

SNCAC Martinet The SNCAC Martinet was a German-designed but French-built twin-engined military trainer and light transport monoplane. It was operated by the French military and in small numbers by French airlines from the late 1940s. Development To aide the Ge ...

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

SNCASE Languedoc The SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc was a French four-engined airliner produced by SNCASE (Sud-Est). Developed from the Bloch MB.160 and known in the late 1930s as the (SNCSO) Bloch MB.161, the SE.161 was in service with Air France and the French milita ...

transport aircraft, the glider provided valuable data for the design of the Gerfaut.Hartman, p. 12. Based on this data SFECMAS's chief designer, Jean Galtier, initiated the 1400, 1500 and 1910 interceptor projects with delta wings and different types of propulsion systems. The 1400 developed into the Gerfaut series, the 1500 became the Nord Griffon, while the 1910, ambitiously specified with two large

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 ...

engines, was never pursued. Different versions of the Arsenal / SFECMAS 1400 were studied: * Arsenal 1401 powered by a combined ramjet /

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 ...

powerplant and high-set wings * Arsenal 1402 powered by a ramjet with auxiliary

Turbomeca Safran Helicopter Engines, previously known as Turbomeca, is a French manufacturer of low- and medium-power gas turbine turboshaft engines for helicopters. The company also produces gas turbine engines for aircraft and missiles, as well as turbin ...

turbojet, and middle-set wings * Arsenal 1403 powered by a combined ramjet / turbojet powerplant and middle-set wings * Arsenal 1404 powered by a combined ramjet / turbojet powerplant and low-set wings * Arsenal 1405 powered by an ATAR 101 turbojet powerplant and low-set wings The Ars 1402 design was the only one continued by SFECMAS, although it was heavily revised and the ramjet was discarded, to serve as a research aircraft. Galtier decided to minimize the development risk by keeping the

SNECMA Atar 101 The SNECMA ATAR 101 is a French axial-flow turbojet engine built by SNECMA. It was derived from engines and design work carried out at BMW in Germany during World War II, and extensively developed though a progression of more powerful models. T ...

C turbojet installation as simple as possible. He opted for a straight-through air duct to keep the air entering the engine as calm as possible and positioned the single-seat

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

above the duct, giving the aircraft its characteristic hump-backed look. The air intake occupied the entire nose of the

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

that was fitted with

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

. The aircraft had thin delta wings and swept vertical tail surfaces with a small delta-shaped all-moving

cruciform tail __NOTOC__ The cruciform tail is an aircraft empennage configuration which, when viewed from the aircraft's front or rear, looks much like a cross. The usual arrangement is to have the horizontal stabilizer intersect the vertical tail somewhere ...

. In late 1954, the aircraft was modified with a larger wing and a Atar 101D turbojet. In this configuration it was known as the 1402B Gerfaut IB. The earlier configuration was retrospectively designated as the 1402A Gerfaut IA.

Operational history

The Gerfaut I first flew on 15 January 1954 and it became the first aircraft in Europe to exceed Mach 1 in level flight, without using afterburning, on 3 August. After this flight it was converted into the 1402B Gerfaut 1B configuration and made its first flight on 17 December. Early the following year it reached a speed of Mach 1.2 at . On 26 October, Mach 1.3 was attained in a steep dive from an altitude of 15,240 meters. In May 1956, it was used for captive-carry tests of the Nord AA.20

air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...

. Afterwards, the Gerfaut 1B was relegated to serving as a

chase plane A chase plane is an aircraft that "chases" a "subject" aircraft, spacecraft or rocket, for the purposes of making real-time observations and taking air-to-air photographs and video of the subject vehicle during flight. Background Safety can ...

for 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 ...

, making its last flight on 2 July 1959. The second aircraft, the 1405 Gerfaut II, was slightly lengthened which improved its fuel capacity and its

aerodynamics. It also received a clipped delta wing of the same area as the Gerfaut 1B and a Atar 101F engine. It made its first flight on 17 April 1956 and reached a maximum speed in level flight of Mach 1.13. It had an excellent rate of climb and set multiple world records for time to altitude from a standing start. * 16 February 1957: in 1 minute 17 seconds * 16 February 1957: in 1 minute 33.7 seconds * 16 February 1957: in 2 minutes 17.4 seconds * 16 February 1957: in 3 minute 46 seconds * 28 February 1957: in 51 seconds In June, the Gerfaut II performed two demonstrations at the Paris Air Show and then began conducting flight tests of the AA.20. These included supersonic launches at speeds up to Mach 1.35. Around this same time the aircraft was fitted with a more powerful Atar 101G turbojet. The following year the aircraft began testing various air-to-air radars, with an Aladin system fitted in a fairing above the nose in May 1958 and an Aida system followed. It made its last flight on 7 August 1959 and both prototypes were sent to the Military Test Range at Cazaux to be used as targets.

Variants

;1402A Gerfaut :Delta research aircraft with a ATAR 101C turbojet, one built.Carbonel, p. 90. ;1402B Gerfaut 1B :The first prototype with a larger wing and an ATAR 101D turbojet.Buttler & Delezenne, p. 165. ;1405 Gerfaut II :Lengthened aircraft with clipped wings and an ATAR 101F turbojet, one built.

Operator

;

Specifications (1405 Gerfaut II)

References

Bibliography

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External links

Century of Flight
{{Nord aircraft 1950s French experimental aircraft Gerfaut Single-engined jet aircraft Delta-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1954