| Vautour | |
|---|---|
| A Vautour IIN | |
| Role | Fighter bomber |
| Manufacturer | Sud Aviation |
| First flight | 16 October 1952 |
| Introduction | 1958 |
| Retired | 1979 |
| Primary users | French Air Force Israeli Air Force |
| Produced | 149 |
The Sud Aviation (SNCASO) S.O. 4050 Vautour II was a French bomber, interceptor, and attack aircraft used by the Armée de l'Air (AdA). Later, 28 of these aircraft were used by the Israeli Heyl Ha'Avir (Air Force). Vautour is the French word for the vulture bird of prey.
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In June 1951 the French Armée de l'Air issued a requirement for a jet aircraft capable of acting as a bomber, a low-level attack aircraft, or an all-weather interceptor. SNCASO adapted its existing S.O. 4000 for this purpose, the first prototype S.O. 4050 making its initial flight on 16 October 1952.[1]
Subsequently named Vautour II, the aircraft was built in three versions. It entered service with the AdA in 1958, with the last French aircraft leaving frontline service in 1979. A few soldiered on in various duties into the early 1980s. The Vautour saw no combat in French service, and it was maligned as obsolescent and underpowered. Although a decent aircraft in its day, it never had engines sufficient to its weight. As an interceptor it was outclassed by the Dassault Mirage III, and as a bomber or attack aircraft its lack of an advanced navigation/attack system was a crippling limitation.
The only export customer for the Vautour was Israel, which purchased 28 for the IDF/AF. The Israeli Vautours also entered service in 1958. They saw combat against Egypt beginning the following year and in a series of actions through the Six Day War and War of Attrition. The Israeli Vautours took part in bombing, strafing and air-to-air engagements. In the Six Day War, over three days Vautours fought repeated combats with Iraqi Air Force fighters while raiding H-3 airfield in Western Iraq. On June 6, 1967, Captain Ben-Zion Zohar scored the type's only aerial victory when he downed an Iraqi Hawker Hunter, although two Vautours fell to the guns of Iraqi Hunters on the following day.[2] In all 15 Vautours were lost . They were retired in 1971 in favor of the A-4 Skyhawk, and the last aircraft left service in March 1972, serving as decoys in the Sinai. The Israelis were pleased with the Vautour's range and versatility, and it was well regarded in Israeli service.
The Vautour was a shoulder-wing monoplane with a 35° swept wing and a "flying" tail. Two SNECMA Atar 101 turbojet engines were carried in pods in the wings. It had bicycle-type landing gear, with the main units in the fore and aft fuselage and smaller stabilizing gear in the engine pods. The central fuselage carried a large 5.0 meter (16 ft 5 in) weapons bay and substantial internal fuel tankage.
The IIB bomber lacked radar or any other modern nav/attack systems, weapons being aimed by the bombardier in a glass nose section with a World War II-vintage Norden bombsight. Both the IIB and IIA were limited to clear-weather day use. The IIN interceptor had some capacity for night and adverse weather thanks to its radar. In Israeli service, where the weather was generally favorable and daylight missions commonplace, the Vautour's lack of advanced targeting and navigation equipment was not a crippling limitation, but in Europe it was considered a major disadvantage. As a result, the French AdA did not use the single-seat IIA in a frontline capacity, and most IIB bombers were converted to IIBR standard for photo recce work. Some reports suggest French IIB could carry a single AN-11 or AN-22 nuclear weapon in its internal weapons bay, although the primary carrier of those weapons was the Dassault Mirage IV.
The Vautour was produced in three principal variants, which had 90% commonality between them:
Some IIB aircraft were converted to various specialized roles, principally reconnaissance (IIBR and IIBN), ECM, and eventually target tug (IIB-TT).
Total production was 149 aircraft, divided as follows:
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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