SNCASE Languedoc
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The SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc was a French four-engined airliner produced 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, Pote ...
(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 Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
and the French military 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 ...
.


Design and development

In 1936, Air Afrique needed a new airliner for its African services. Marcel Bloch proposed a development of his Bloch MB.160 aircraft, the Bloch MB.161, which after World War II became the SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc. Design work on the new aircraft began in 1937. The prototype, F-ARTV, first flew on 15 December 1939. It was powered by four
Gnome-Rhône 14N The Gnome-Rhône 14N was a 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine designed and manufactured by Gnome-Rhône just before the start of World War II. A development of the Gnome-Rhône 14K, the 14N was used on several French and even one Ger ...
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 of each. The aircraft underwent a slow development programme and the test flying was not completed until January 1942. The French Vichy government placed an order for twenty in December 1941, but none were built. The programme was finally abandoned following Allied bombing of the factory at ,
Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...
in 1944. After the liberation of France the provisional government led by
General De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
authorised production to be resumed with the first series production aircraft, designated the SE.161 and registered ''F-BATA'', first flying either on 25 August 1945 or 17 September 1945. An initial batch of 40 production examples was completed for Air France between October 1945 and April 1948. The Languedoc was an all-metal four-engined low wing cantilever monoplane airliner with twin fins and rudders. It had a crew of five (pilot, co-pilot/navigator, radio operator, flight engineer and steward) Standard cabin accommodation was for 33 passengers seated in eleven rows of three, two on the starboard side and one to port. An alternative first class arrangement was for 24 seats. A 44-seat higher density version was introduced by
Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
in 1951.Chillon 1980, p. 31 The Languedoc was fitted with underwing retractable main undercarriage wheels and a tailwheel landing gear and was powered by four Gnome-Rhône 14N 44/45 or 54/55 radial engines in wing-leading edge nacelles, with partial convertibility to inline water-cooled pistons. A total of 100 aircraft were built for Air France, the French Air Force and
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 ...
. Several examples were utilised as test aircraft with the CEV at Villacoublay and elsewhere. The only export customer for new production aircraft was the Polish airline LOT which bought five with some being refitted with
Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments at Pratt & Whitney on twin-row designs. Production bega ...
radial engines.


Operational history

The SE.161 was named the Languedoc before it entered service with
Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
on the
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
to Algiers route from 28 May 1946. By October they were withdrawn from service with a number of faults, including landing gear problems, poor view from the cockpit when landing in bad weather and a lack of de-icing equipment and cabin heating. The Gnome Rhône engines also had a very short
time between overhauls Time between overhauls (abbreviated as TBO or TBOH) is the manufacturer's recommended number of running hours or calendar time before an aircraft engine or other component requires overhaul. On rotorcraft, many components have recommended or ma ...
.Stroud 1966, pp. 194–195. They re-entered service in 1947, re-engined with the reliable American-built Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines; also de-icing equipment, medium-range cockpit radios, and limited cabin heating, the designation changing to ''SE.161.P7''. These enhancements partially reassured commercial airline customers. The Languedoc was soon a familiar type on Air France's increasing European network and continued to operate scheduled services to London Heathrow, Berlin Tempelhof, Paris Le Bourget and Brussels Melsbroek until summer 1952, when they were steadily replaced by the reliable and popular
Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1 ...
. Despite the costly experience of introducing the Languedoc to service, they were never as reliable as the Douglas DC-4 or the ultra-modern turboprop
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
, such that many French passengers refused to fly on the unreliable, unheated and noisy aircraft. Air France ultimately sold some of its Languedocs to Air Liban of Lebanon, Misrair of Egypt and Aviaco of Spain. Others were transferred to the French military. Ten ex-Air France aircraft were converted for operation in the Search and Rescue (SAR) role with SGACC. They were modified with a large ventral gondola, observation windows and a ventral search radar under a transparent fairing, similar to the design adopted in the French Navy SAR Avro Lancasters. The largest military operator was the French Navy, which operated 25 different Languedoc aircraft over the years. The first aircraft were delivered in 1949 and used as long-range transports between Paris, Marseille and Lyon, and North Africa; later aircraft would be used as flying classrooms for non-pilot aircrew training. The flying classrooms were modified with both a nose radar set and a ventral "dustbin" radar. The aircraft was withdrawn from Naval service in 1959. A small number of Languedocs were used as flying testbeds and
mother ship A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...
s, succeeding the pair of He 274 prototype airframes left behind by the Luftwaffe in 1944 that were partly being used as "mother ships" for high-speed French aerodynamic research aircraft, with four Languedocs being used as mother ships for René Leduc's experimental
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 as ...
aircraft in place of the hard-to-maintain He 274s, themselves scrapped by the French in 1953. Languedocs were also used for other types of experimental work including an unsuccessful use as live airborne television relay for Charles de Gaulles's Algerian visit in 1958. The last Air France Languedoc was withdrawn from domestic service in 1954, being then unable to compete with more modern airliners.


Accidents and incidents

*On 2 April 1943, F-ARTV force-landed and overturned at La Chapelle-Baloue,
Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the ea ...
with one fatality. *On 7 October 1947, F-BATY of
Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
crashed at
Bône Annaba ( ar, عنّابة,  "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...
,
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
. *On 26 January 1948, F-BCUC of Air France crashed at Romainville,
Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobig ...
whilst on a training flight, killing all nine people on board. *On 4 February 1948, F-BATK of Air France was damaged beyond economical repair at Marignane Airport,
Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...
. *On 10 February 1948, F-BATH of Air France was damaged beyond economical repair at
Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
. Its fuselage subsequently served for many years as a ground training airframe. *On 14 June 1948, F-BATG of Air France crashed at Coulommiers - Voisins Aerodrome,
Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
. *On 29 August 1948, F-BATO of Air France crashed at Le Bourget Airport, Paris. *On 23 November 1948, F-BATM of Air France crashed at
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
,
Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...
whilst on a test flight, killing one of the five people on board. The cause of the accident was that the aileron controls had been assembled incorrectly. *On 9 April 1949, F-BATU of Air France overran the runway at
Nice Airport Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
, Alpes-Maritimes and was damaged beyond economic repair. *On 30 July 1950, F-BCUI of Air France was damaged beyond economic repair when its undercarriage collapsed on landing at Marignane Airport, Marseille. *On 22 December 1951, SU-AHH of Misrair
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west of
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Iran killing all 20 people on board. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, Iraq to Tehran. *on 3 March 1952, F-BCUM of Air France crashed shortly after take-off from
Nice Airport Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
killing all 38 people on board. The cause of the accident was that the aileron controls had jammed. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Nice to Orly Airport, Paris. *On 7 April 1952, F-BATB of Air France was damaged beyond economic repair when it overran the runway on take-off from Le Bourget Airport, Paris. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Le Bourget to Heathrow Airport,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. *On 30 July 1952, SU-AHX of Misrair was damaged beyond economic repair in a wheels-up landing at
Almaza Air Base Almaza Air Force Base Airport is a regional airport in north-eastern Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It was established as a civilian aerodrome, but was partly taken over by the British military, designated RAF Heliopolis and later RAF Almaza. Today ...
,
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Almaza to Khartoum Airport, Sudan; it returned to Cairo following a fire in No. 1 engine. *On 23 October 1952, F-RAPC of Aéronavale crashed at
Bonneuil-sur-Marne Bonneuil-sur-Marne (, literally ''Bonneuil on Marne'') is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Transport Bonneuil-sur-Marne is served by no ...
,
Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a p ...
, killing all eleven people on board. *On 6 January 1954, OD-ABU of Air Liban crashed on take-off from Bir Hassan Airport,
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
and was consequently destroyed by fire. The aircraft was operating a scheduled international passenger flight from Beirut to Kuwait Airport, Kuwait. *On 24 April 1954, SU-AHZ of Misrair was written off at Damascus Airport, Syria when the starboard undercarriage collapsed on landing. *On 29 September 1956, EC-AKV of Aviaco crashed on approach to Los Rodeos Airport,
Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
killing one person on the ground. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from
Málaga Airport Málaga Airport , officially Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Málaga-Costa del Sol) since June 2011, is the fourth busiest airport in Spain after Madrid–Barajas, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. It is significant for Sp ...
to Tenerife. *On 4 December 1958, EC-ANR of Aviaco crashed into the La Rodilla de la Mujer Muerta mountain, in the
Guadarrama Mountains The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de Gr ...
, killing all 21 people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Vigo Airport to
Barajas Airport Barajas may refer to: *Barajas (Madrid), the district of Madrid in which the airport lies ** Barajas (Madrid Metro), station along Line 8 of the Madrid Metro **Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, principal airport of Madrid, Spain * Barajas ( ...
,
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
.


Variants

;Bloch 161-01 :Prototype powered by 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-38 & 2 × 900 hp Gnome-Rhône 14N-39, first flown on 15 December 1939. ;SE.161/1 :Production aircraft with 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-44 & 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-45 radial engines, LOT aircraft were fitted with 14N-54 / 14N-55 engines and later re-engined with 14N-68 / 14N-69 engines. Aeronavale aircraft were also fitted with 14N-68 / 14N-69s. ;SE.161/P7 :Re-engined Air France aircraft with four
Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SIC-3-G The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments at Pratt & Whitney on twin-row designs. Production bega ...
engines.


Operators

; * Misrair ; * Vichy French Government *
Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
* * French Air Force ** EARS 99 ** GT I/61 "Maine" *
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 ...
** Escadron 31S ** Escadron 10S ** Escadron 54S ** Escadron 56S ; * Air Liban ; * Air Atlas ; * LOT Polish Airlines bought five aircraft in 1947 (reg. SP-LDA to LDE). Due to engine failures, the fleet was suspended in 1948 and broken up in 1950.Jońca, Adam (1985). ''Samoloty linii lotniczych 1945-1956'', Barwa w lotnictwie polskim no.4, WKiŁ, Warsaw, , p.15 ; * Aviaco ; *
Tunis Air Société Tunisienne de l'Air, or Tunisair ( ar, الخطوط التونسية) is the national airline of Tunisia. Formed in 1948, it operates scheduled international services to four continents. Its main base is Tunis–Carthage International ...


Specifications (SE.161/1)


See also


Notes


Bibliography

* Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1948''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1948. * Chillon J., J-P Dubois and J.Wegg. ''French Postwar Transport Aircraft.'' Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Limited. 1980. . * * Munson, Kenneth. ''Civil Airliners since 1946.'' London: Blandford Press, 1967. * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985).'' London: Orbis Publishing, 1985. * * Stroud, John. ''European Transport Aircraft since 1910.'' London: Putnam, 1966. * Taylor, Michael J. H. ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation.'' p. 844 London: Studio Editions, 1989. .


External links

{{Bloch aircraft 1930s French airliners Sud-Est aircraft
Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
Low-wing aircraft Four-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939 Four-engined piston aircraft