The Sud-Ouest SO.6000 Triton was an early experimental

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...

. It has the distinction of being the first indigenously-designed jet-powered aircraft to be flown by the nation, having been designed and manufactured during the 1940s by the French aircraft construction consortium

SNCASO SNCASO (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest'', or commonly, ''Sud-Ouest'') was a French aircraft manufacturer. Created during 1936 as one of seven nationalised aeronautical manufacturing companies, ...

. Work on the French jet aircraft initiative had begun in secret during 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 ...

, and harnessed research retrieved from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Almost immediately after the end of the conflict, the French government issued a requirement for a batch of five prototype jet aircraft to be developed by French industry. To avoid delaying the overall project, it was decided to use the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-designed

Junkers Jumo 004 The Junkers Jumo 004 was the world's first production turbojet engine in operational use, and the first successful axial compressor turbojet engine. Some 8,000 units were manufactured by Junkers in Germany late in World War II, powering the Mess ...

-B2 engine after severe development issues were encountered with the indigenously-developed Rateau-Anxionnaz GTS-65

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 ...

engine. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Rolls-Royce Nene The Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine. The Nene was a complete redesign, rather than a scaled-up Rolls-Royce Derwent"Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited 1989, , p.111 w ...

turbojet engine was also adopted for some of the prototypes. On 11 November 1946, the first prototype performed 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 ...

, flown by test pilot Daniel Rastel. This feat was viewed by the government as being an important, and public, advancement in the capabilities of French industry and military capability. A total of five aircraft were produced for the test programme, including one for static testing only. Despite multiple aircraft been built and successfully flown, further development of the SO.6000 was abandoned following the rapid emergence of more advanced jet-powered fighter aircraft.

Design and development

Origins

According to aviation author Peter Caygill, France's aviation industry was in dire straits, perhaps having been more damaged than that of any other nation, as a consequence of events in the

.Caygill 2006, . Regardless, French industrialists and government officials alike were keen to make rapid advances in aviation technology to not only revive the nation's aviation capabilities, but to utilise the newest advances and produce a new generation of competitive indigenously-built aircraft. France, like the other

Allied nations The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...

in the war, had benefitted from captured Germany high speed research; these factors combined gave a great impetus to undertaking advanced research projects. Amongst the first new aviation projects to be launched in post-war France was the SO.6000. According to aviation author John W.R. Taylor, the origins of the SO.6000 can be found during 1943; allegedly, the aircraft is based upon a clandestine research effort conducted during the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

, headed by the French aeronautics engineer Lucien Servanty. Shortly after the end of the conflict, the new French government issued a requirement, calling for a total of five

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

aircraft to be constructed for testing purposes. The development of indigenously designed jet aircraft was seen as of national importance to the government, being intended to symbolise and embody the speedy recovery of France's industrial and military strength."Vol historique du premier avion à réaction français, le "SO 6000 Triton."
''gouvernement.fr'', Retrieved: 18 May 2019.

Design

The SO.6000 was, despite the use of

jet propulsion Jet propulsion is the propulsion of an object in one direction, produced by ejecting a jet of fluid in the opposite direction. By Newton's third law, the moving body is propelled in the opposite direction to the jet. Reaction engines operating o ...

, an otherwise conventional aircraft. It was a compact and unarmed two-seater, having a deep-set fuselage and furnished with a mid-mounted straight wing. The spacious fuselage provided sufficient space for multiple engine models to be readily accommodated. Caygill observed that while SNCASO had to start from scratch on the fuselage's design, by pursuing a clean-sheet approach and the originality which that entailed, the SO.6000 lacked much of the conservatism present in the contemporary designs of several British aircraft manufacturers. While having been envisioned from the onset to be powered by a

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...

, the availability of such a powerplant to install upon the aircraft was no straightforward issue. At one stage, it had been planned for the type to receive a French-designed Rateau-Anxionnaz GTS-65

engine. However, as a result of the delays encountered in the development of this engine, it was decided to instead adopt the

-designed

-B2 engine for use upon the first prototype. The choice of a German engine was opted for as a means of preventing any unnecessary delay in the project.

Operational history

On 11 November 1946, the first prototype performed its

, conducted by test pilot Daniel Rastel amid unfavourable weather conditions. The timing of the flight was deliberate, being only four days before the opening of an international aviation exhibition held at the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

; the French government were keen to demonstrate that they possessed technological parity with Germany, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. According to Caygill, the Junkers engine was only capable of producing up to 1,980 lb of thrust and was quite underpowered for the SO.6000, being barely capable of achieving sustained flight and therefore lacked practicality. Accordingly, further prototypes were not powered by the Junkers engine. The second prototype was used for static testing only, while the three other aircraft were powered by a

license-built Licensed production is the production under license of technology developed elsewhere. The licensee provides the licensor of a specific product with legal production rights, technical information, process technology, and any other proprietary compo ...

model of the

turbojet engine, the last of these performing its first flight in November 1950. None of the aircraft would be powered by the intended GTS-65 engine, the development of which would eventually be terminated without any production examples being completed. When flown with the Nene engine, the SO.6000 was capable of achieving speeds of up to 593 mph, but was also beset by several vibration and stability issues when flown near these speeds. The SO.6000's lead designer, Lucien Servanty, also worked on another aircraft during the late 1940s, the

Sud-Ouest Espadon The Sud-Ouest SO.6020 Espadon (Swordfish) was a French post-war prototype interceptor designed and built by SNCASO during the late 1940s. The French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) judged the design a failure despite some records being set and canc ...

, which became France's first post-war jet fighter; he also participated in the design of numerous aircraft following this, including the Anglo-French supersonic airliner

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

. Further development of the SO.6000 was ultimately abandoned during the early 1950s without any direct follow-on; as such, the SO.6000 was never use in any operational circumstance. The type had been rendered obsolete by the rapid pace of advancements, both in terms of jet propulsion specifically and wider aerospace capabilities generally, with numerous jet-powered designs being produced around this timeframe.

Variants

* SO. 6000J Triton - Powered by a Junkers Jumo 109-004 engine, Two built, one for static testing. * SO. 6000N Triton - Three aircraft powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene engine.

Surviving aircraft

SO.6000N Triton No. 03 ''F-WFKY'' is exhibited in the Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget Airport, to the north of

Paris 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. S ...

. This aircraft incorporates parts from No. 05 ''F-WFKX''."S.N.C.A.S.O. SO 6000 TRITON."
''Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace'', Retrieved: 18 May 2019.

Specifications (SO.6000-04)

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Buttler, Tony and Jean-Louis Delezenne. ''X-Planes of Europe: Secret Research Aircraft from the Golden Age 1946-1974''. Manchester, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2012. * Carbonel, Jean-Christophe. ''French Secret Projects 1: Post War Fighters''. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing, 2016. * Caygill, Peter. ''Sound Barrier: The Rocky Road to MACH 1.0+''. Pen and Sword, 2006. . * * Ogden, Bob, ''Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe''. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 2006. . * *

External links

Video of preserved SO 6000 Triton
{{SNCASO aircraft Cancelled aircraft projects 1940s French experimental aircraft

Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...