|
Surely the Bréguet
approach of STOL transport aircraft brought interesting and
original solutions which are listed with the last pictures of
this issue. In the early sixties American engineers of McDonnell
discovered them with the greatest astonishment when the Bréguet
941 prototype (also wearing on fuselage in great letters Mc
Donnell 188 due to possible production agreement for USA) was
repaired in their Saint-Louis plant. This after a heavy crash, on
July 8, 1964 at Wright Field Patterson Test Center, due to the
incredible and uncomprehensible reflex of a USAF flight test
pilot seating right who unlocked levers to apply full reverse to
propellers when the 941 was passing 35 ft before touch-down!!!
From the Bréguet 94O Integral STOL flying test-bench flown for
the first time on May 5, 1961 followed by Br 941 01 prototype for
a military or civil transport aircraft which did first flight on
June 1, 1961 the old French aircraft manufacturer produced a
derivative, the BR 941 S of which only four were built, first
machine flying from Biarritz on April 19, 1967 and entered
official tests from the following november. These four with C/n O1
to 04 might be considered as pre-production machines were
submitted to evaluation from September 1969 at the Mont-de-Marsan
CEAM ( Military Air Experiments Center ) for special duty STOL
cargo transportation registered F-WZRK to RN and fuselage codes
118-IX, -IY, -IH... Here, they became Br 941 S C/n 1 to 4
production and went to the specially created 3/62 Squadron named
Escadrille Bréguet and having their base at Reims..