The Dassault MD 315 Flamant is a French light twin-engined transport airplane built shortly after

World War II 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 opposing ...

by Dassault Aviation for the French Air Force.

Design and development

Design work on a twin-engined light transport started in 1946 with the MD 303, a development of an earlier project for an eight-seat communications aircraft, the Marcel Bloch MB-30. The prototype MD 303 first flew on 26 February 1947 powered by two

Béarn 6D The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...

engines, designed to meet a French Air Force requirement for a colonial communications aircraft. A re-engined version was ordered into production at the new Dassault factory at Bordeaux-Mérignac. The production aircraft was a low-wing monoplane with twin tail surfaces and a tricycle undercarriage, powered by two Renault 12S piston engines. Three main versions of the aircraft now named Flamant (Flamingo in French) were produced. The MD 315 ten-seat colonial communication aircraft (first flown on 6 July 1947), the MD 312 six-seat transport aircraft (first flown on 27 April 1950), and the MD 311 navigation trainer (first flown on 23 March 1948). The MD 311 had a distinctive glazed nose for its role as both a bombing and navigation trainer.

Operational history

The first Flamant was delivered to the French Air Force in 1949 and deliveries of all versions were completed by

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

The aircraft was used for pilot training, navigation training, light transport, maritime surveillance and light ground attack. During the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

the plane was used for light attack with the Nord SS.11 and AS.11 antitank missiles or with machine guns, bombs, and rockets. The Flamant MD 311s (which were based in Algeria to train pilots and navigators at first) were the first aircraft in history to fire one of the world's first wire-guided antitank missiles in anger, using French Army SS.11 antitank missiles, in a combat experiment to get at fortified caves located in deep mountain gorges, in 1956 from an aircraft based with the special unit of the French Air Force in Algeria, GOM.86. The SS.11 attacks proved extremely successful and the French Army which had provided the missiles, began an experiment which resulted in the world's first attack helicopters firing antitank missiles. The Flamant stayed in service until

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. In addition to the French air force, the Flamant served in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

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, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Variants

;MB 30-1:Original proposals for a bombing and navigation trainer. ;MB 30-2:Original proposals for a medical and colonial roles. ;MB 30-3:Original proposals for a liaison and training aircraft. ;MD 303: Dassault MD 311 Flamant

:Prototype, one built, powered by two

engines.Francillon 1993, p. 49. ;MD 311: :Bombing, navigation and photography training aircraft, 41 built (1 prototype + 40 production), powered by two SNECMA 12S engines.Francillon 1993, p. 54. ;MD 312: Multi-engine pilot trainer and six-seat transport and communications aircraft, 118 built, powered by two SNECMA 12S engines.Francillon 1993, p. 55. ;MD 312M: Utility aircraft for French Navy. 25 built. ;MD 312B:Experimental version with heavier loaded weight, one built, powered by two SNECMA 12S engines. Used later for Mirage IV radar development. ;MD 315:Ten-seat utility transport aircraft, 137 built, powered by two SNECMA 12S engines. ;MD 316T:One prototype fitted with a single-finned tail, and two Wright R-1300-CB7A1 Cyclone radial piston engines. ;MD 316X:One MD 315 aircraft fitted with two SNECMA 14X Super Mars radial piston engines.

Operators

; * Cambodian Air Force (MD 315) ; *

Cameroon Air Force The Cameroon Air Force (french: Armée de l'Air du Cameroun, AdAC) is the air force of Cameroon. The Cameroon Air Force, along with the Cameroon Army, the Cameroon Navy (including the Naval Infantry), the National Gendarmerie, and the President ...

(MD 315) ; * French Air Force (MD 315, MD 312, MD 311) *

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 ...

(MD 312) ; *

Khmer Air Force The Khmer Air Force (french: Armée de l'air khmère; AAK), commonly known by its americanized acronym KAF (or KhAF) was the air force component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic during the C ...

; * Madagascar Aeronaval Force (MD 315, MD 312) ; * Niger Air Force (one MD 312 received in the 1960s) ; *

Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...

(MD 312, MD 315) ; *

Tunisian Air Force The Tunisian Air Force ( ar, جيش الطيران, french: Armée de l'Air) is one of the branches of the Tunisian Armed Forces. History The Tunisian Air Force was established in 1959, three years after Tunisia regained its independence from ...

(MD 312)

Specifications (MD 315)

Citations

Bibliography

* Bridgman, Leonard (ed.) ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1953–54''. London:Jane's, 1953. * * Francillon, René J. "Flamant — Dassault's Workhorse". ''Air Enthusiast'', 49, March to May 1993. pp. 48–59. {{Dassault aircraft Flamant 1940s French military transport aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947 Mid-wing aircraft Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft