SNCASE SE.212 Durandal

The SNCASE SE.212 Durandal was a French jet and rocket mixed-power experimental fighter aircraft of the mid-1950s. It was designed by the French aircraft manufacturer SNCASE during the early 1950s, who were keen to exploit the potential advantages of a mixed-power propulsion system. In parallel, as part of a wider effort to re-build French military power and to furnish France with advanced, new domestically-produced designs, the French Air Force sought a supersonic-capable point defence interceptor aircraft with which to equip itself. Accordingly, the resulting design, designated SE.212 Durandal by the company, was at one stage specialised towards its application as a dedicated point-defence interceptor aircraft. The Durandal's development was in parallel to a number of lightweight fighter-bomber projects that were promoted in response to NATO's NATO Basic Military Requirement 1. While SNCASE did opt to submit their design for evaluation towards satisfying this requirement, the more conventional Fiat G.91 was picked as the competition's winner instead, subsequently being manufactured in quantity for numerous nations. Accordingly, the Durandal became one of a number of "also-rans." The first prototype performed its maiden flight on 20 April 1956. Despite promising results demonstrated by the prototypes during tests, the project was ultimately unordered and all work was terminated by the company during 1957. During the late 1940s, following the end of the Second World War, France quickly set about its recovery and the rebuilding of its military, particularly the French Air Force. During this time, the French Air Staff sought both to become a strong military force once again and to foster the indigenous development of advanced military aircraft. In this respect, one area of high interest for prospective development was the relatively new field of rocket-powered aircraft. According to author Michel van Pelt, French Air Force officials were against a pure rocket-powered fight, akin to the wartime-era Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, but instead favoured a mixed-propulsion approach, using a combination of rocket and turbojet engines.