T

he  rst prototype Nord Noratlas

took to the air on September 10,

1949 powered by two Gnome-

Rhône 1,600hp 14R engines

driving three-bladed variable-pitch

propellers, but alas it proved to be too slow

for most applications. The second prototype

replaced the 14Rs with two SNECMA-built

Bristol Hercules 738/9 2,040hp engines

driving four-bladed propellers, and this

model was rechristened the Nord 2501.

The aircraft had been designed to replace

transport aircraft used in World War Two

that were now outdated. The origins of

the Noratlas can be traced to 1947 when

the Direction Technique Industrielle (DTI

• industrial technical direction) organised
  a design competition for a medium-weight

cargo aircraft offering great  exibility in

use. Société Nationale de Construction

Aéronautique du Nord (SNCAN) responded

with the Nord 2500, whereas Société

Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques

du Sud-Ouest (SNCASO) and Breguet,

proposed designs called the SO-30C and

BR-891R Mars respectively. The Nord 2500,

with its rear-opening clamshell doors and

tricycle undercarriage, which allowed ease of

loading, was deemed the best option and so

DTI ordered two prototypes on April 27, 1948.

DTI ordered three more pre-production

Nord 2501s, which they  ight-tested

extensively against the similar Fairchild

C-82 Packet. The N2501 was found to

be superior, and an initial order for 34

was placed on July 10, 1951. Of the three

pre-production aircraft which followed, one

became the SNCAN demonstrator from

1953 as F-BFRG. This aircraft undertook

a demonstration tour to South America,

resulting in high hopes of sales, particularly

in Brazil where licence-production was

considered but in the end didn’t happen.

Aerovias ordered  ve aircraft, with delivery

of the  rst due in June 1954, but the contract

was not  nalised and all other expected

sales in Latin America failed to materialise.

Production for the French Air Force went

ahead, the  rst aircraft  ying in the autumn

of 1952 at Les Mureaux. The  nal assembly

64 Aviation News incorporating Jets December 2018

NORATLAS

RUGGED AND RELIABLE

Above: The Hellenic Air Force operated 56

Noratlas aircraft between 1969 and 1985.

Richard Vandervord

Nord 2501, F-WFUN, was one of three developmental aircraft. It crashed

during a demonstration  ight at Lyon-Bron on July 6, 1952. Key Collection

The Nord Noratlas was a French transport mainstay for three decades

and, as Adrian M Balch explains, it served with many other air arms.