The Fouga Zéphyr (company designation CM.175) was a 1950s
French two-seat
carrier-capable jet trainer
A jet trainer is a jet aircraft for use as a Trainer (aircraft), trainer, whether for basic or advanced flight training. Jet trainers are either custom designs or modifications of existing aircraft. With the introduction of military jet-powered ai ...
for the
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
. It was developed from the land-based
CM.170 Magister. The Zéphyr was retired in 1994.
Design and development
The
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
's
Aéronavale adopted a derivative of the Fouga CM.170-1 Magister as a basic trainer for carrier operations.
Originally designated CM-170M Esquif, the prototype first flew on 31 July 1956, and was redesignated as the CM.175 Zéphyr soon after. Carrier trials were conducted from and off the French coast in August 1957 and March 1958.
The Zéphyr differed from the Magister in being equipped with an arrester hook and a modified structure and undercarriage strengthened for carrier operations.
The Zéphyr also included a nose-mounted light. As it did not have ejection seats, the Zéphyr had new sliding canopy hoods which could be locked open during carrier launchings and landings. One six-round rocket pod could be mounted under each wing for weapons training. Two guns could be fitted in the nose, but these were seldom carried. Thirty-two aircraft were delivered.
Operational history
The first production aircraft first flew on 30 May 1959 and entered service in October 1959 with 59S the deck landing school at Hyéres. The squadron used only 14 aircraft at a time with the others being kept in short-term storage and periodically rotated to even out the flying hours. In 1962 the unit formed an aerobatic team using the Zéphyr called the ''Patrouille de Voltige d'Hyéres''.
Variants
* CM-170M Esquif - prototype; 2 built.
* CM.175 Zéphyr - production version; 30 built.
Operators
;
*
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
**
59 Escadrille de Servitude
Specifications (CM.175)
See also
References
Further reading
*
* Kopenhagen, W., ed. ''Das große Flugzeug-Typenbuch.'' Stuttgart, Germany: Transpress, 1987. .
* Jackson, Paul A, ''French Military Aviation'' Leicester, England: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. .
External links
History of the Fouga Zéphyr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fouga CM.175 Zephyr
Zephyr
In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind.
Zephyr may also refer to:
Arts and media Fictional characters
* Zephyr (comics), in the Marvel Comics univers ...
Fouga Magister
The Fouga CM.170 Magister is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer aircraft that was developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer ''Établissements Fouga & Cie''. Easily recognizable by its V-tail, almost 1,000 have been built in Fr ...
Twinjets
V-tail aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1956