The SNCASE SE.3200 Frelon (''Hornet'') is a French helicopter built in the late 1950s. Intended to serve as a multirole helicopter for the French Army, Air Forces and Navy, two prototypes were built and flown before the project was dropped in favour of the
SA 3210 Super Frelon.
[Munson, K.; "Helicopters: and Other Rotorcraft Since 1907", revised Edition, Blandford (1973), Page 159]
Design and development
The SNCASE SE.3200 Frelon was a heavy helicopter designed to equip the
French Armed Forces
The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces.
Franc ...
, replacing the
Sikorsky S-58
The Sikorsky H-34 "Choctaw" (company designation S-58) is an American piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. It has seen extended use when ad ...
built under license by
SNCASE
SNCASE (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Est'') or Sud-Est was a French aircraft manufacturer. The company was formed on February 1, 1937, by the nationalization and merger of Lioré et Olivier, Potez ...
(Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Est).
The specifications called for an aircraft of less than 5 tonnes gross weight. The prototypes were powered by three
Turbomeca Turmo
The Turbomeca Turmo is a family of French turboshaft engines manufacturered for helicopter use. Developed from the earlier Turbomeca Artouste, later versions delivered up to . A turboprop version was developed for use with the Bréguet 941 trans ...
IIIB 750/800 shp turbines to avoid all risk of engine failure: production aircraft were to have used the 1000 hp Turmo IIC. The engines drove a single four blade rotor.
[Frelon SE.3200]
''Flight'' 27 May 1960
Fuel was held in two large external tanks having a capacity of 1100 liters each. This left the fuselage clear for large loads. The rear fuselage was a swing-tailed unit, which opened to provide clear entry for payloads such as vehicles.
The Frelon was able to carry light vehicles, up to 24 fully equipped troops, or 15 stretchers and two attendants if used as an air ambulance. It was equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear.
[http://aerostories.free.fr/giravia/helico/liron/liron04/ in French]
Only two prototypes were built, the first one flying on 10 June 1959 at
Paris – Le Bourget Airport
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
.
Specifications
See also
References
{{SNCASE aircraft
1950s French helicopters
Frelon
Three-turbine helicopters
Aircraft first flown in 1959