The SNCAO CAO.600 was a French prototype twin-engined torpedo-bomber 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 opposi ...

. It was intended to operate from two new aircraft carriers of 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 ...

, but only a single example had been completed and flown when the surrender of France in June 1940 ended development of the aircraft.

Design and development

In 1937 the French ''Service Technique de l'Aeronautique'' (or Air Ministry) launched its A47 specification to replace the Aéronavale's elderly

Levasseur PL.7 The Levasseur PL.7 was a torpedo bomber developed in France in the late 1920s. It was a development of Levasseur's PL.4 reconnaissance aircraft and intended to replace their PL.2 then in service with the Aéronavale. It was a single-bay bipla ...

torpedo-bombers and Levasseur PL.101 reconnaissance aircraft, both obsolete biplanes, aboard the

's two planned new aircraft carriers, the ''Joffre'' and ''Painlevé''. The requirement demanded that the new aircraft, which was to act as a torpedo-bomber, level bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, had to have a maximum speed of over 300 km/h (186 mph), with an endurance of 3.5 hours as a torpedo-bomber and 6 hours on reconnaissance missions. Unusually for a carrier-based aircraft, particularly for 1937, the specification demanded that the new aircraft be twin-engined, carrying a crew of two as a torpedo bomber and three as a level bomber or reconnaissance aircraft.Green ''War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Seven'' 1967, pp. 145–146. An order for two prototypes was placed with the Société Nationale des Constructions Aéronautiques de l'Ouest (

SNCAO SNCAO (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques de l'ouest'') was a state-owned France, French aircraft manufacturer, which originated on November 16, 1936, from the merger of the factories of Société Anonyme de ...

) on 15 June 1939,Green ''War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Seven'' 1967, p. 146. with a similar order for two of the competing design from

SNCAM Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Midi (abbreviated SNCAM) was a state-owned French aircraft manufacturer. The company was formed following the resolution of the 1936 general strike of French heavy industry, when the governm ...

, the

Dewoitine D.750 The Dewoitine D.750 was a prototype France, French twin-engined torpedo bomber. It was designed prior to the outbreak of the Second World War to operate from the aircraft carriers of the French Navy, but only a single example was completed, with d ...

following on 26 July.Green ''War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Eight'', 1967, p.23. The SNCAO design, the SNCAO CAO.600 was an all-metal

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with an inverted gull wing and a retractable

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

. The pilot and bombardier/navigator sat in separate cockpits with individual stepped windscreens, with the navigator in the extreme nose and the pilot above the leading edge of the wing. The radio-operator/gunner sat further aft, with his cockpit behind the wing. Power was provided by two Gnome-Rhône 14M

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

s.Green ''War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Seven'' 1967, pp. 146–147.

Operational history

The first prototype made its maiden flight on 21 March 1940, being flown from Villacoublay to

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location ...

on 31 March. It had completed 35 flying hours by 25 June when the test programme was stopped by the French surrender to Germany. The second prototype, which differed in having the

folding wing A folding wing is a wing configuration design feature of aircraft to save space and is typical of carrier-based aircraft that operate from the limited deck space of aircraft carriers. The folding allows the aircraft to occupy less space in a con ...

s required for carrier operations, was abandoned incomplete, while the first prototype was dismantled and stored until it was finally scrapped following the German occupation of Southern France in November 1942.Green ''War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Seven'' 1967, pp. 147–148.

Specifications

Notes

References

*Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Seven Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft''. London:Macdonald, 1967. *Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Eight Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft''. London:Macdonald, 1967.

External links

Aviafrance - S.N.C.A.O. CAO-600
{{SNCAO aircraft 1940s French bomber aircraft 1940s French military reconnaissance aircraft

600 __NOTOC__ 600 ( DC) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 600 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the ...