aircraft in Portuguese service were retired by
September 1977. One is preserved with the
PAF Museum at Sintra.IN AFRICA
A substantial number of air arms operated
the Noratlas in Africa:
Angola: Two were acquired from the
Portuguese Air Force, ex 6415 and 6413.
Republic of the Congo: Four aircraft
transferred from the French Air Force, TN234
to TN237.
Djibouti: The country was granted
independence on June 27, 1977 having been
a French colony for many years. Two former
French Air Force Noratlases were transferred
to the Djibouti Air Force – J2-MAA (No 147)
and J2-MAC (No 37)
Mozambique: Was previously a
Portuguese colony until independence in- With the withdrawal of Portuguese
forces from Africa, Mozambique, Angola
and Guinea Bissau were all granted
independence. Seven Noratlases were
abandoned by the Portuguese Air Force on
withdrawal and acquired by the Mozambique
Air Force becoming C9-ARC, ’D, ’E, ’H, ’I,
’J and ’K. Niger: Became independent on
August 3, 1960. The air force was formed
with French assistance, which included
four former Luftwaffe N2501D Noratlases:
5U-MAM (ex WGAF 52+05), 5U-MAN (ex
WGAF 52+06), 5U-MAO (ex WGAF 52+10)
and 5U-MAP (ex WGAF 53+21).
Nigeria: The Nigerian Air Force was
formed in 1964 with West German aid,
whose initial deliveries included Dornier Do-
27s and Noratlases. Of the ten Noratlases
to be supplied, only two were taken on
strength (NAF301 and ’302). Those allocated
serials NAF303 to ’310 were never received
by Nigeria and were delivered to Israel
instead. Another report stated that another
four examples were received by Nigeria and
given the serials NAF052, NAF055, NAF061
and NAF068 corresponding with their
construction numbers. A further two (c/n
157 and c/n 159) were also purchased for
spares. All aircraft have since been replaced
by C-130H Hercules.
Rwanda: Two former French Air Force
aircraft were acquired in 1984 and 1986,9XR-GX (c/n 177) & 9XR-GY (c/n 120).
Uganda: At least one Noratlas was
acquired by the Uganda Army Air Force
from Israel in 1972, serialled 701, but little
more is known.CIVILIAN USE
Following the evaluation of a production
aircraft in August and September 1954
on its French West African network, UAT
(Union Aéromaritime de Transport) ordered
two N2501A variants. They were delivered
in September 1954 and February 1955,
and based at Doula, French Cameroon.
In 1955, a new version appeared,
the N2502A/B, which added two small
Turbomeca Marboré IIE turbojets at the
wing tips. UAT ordered ve of this variant,
delivered between 1956 and 1958. Air
Algérie acquired two N2501As from the
French Air Force and a third which was
an N2502B. The rst two were converted
to N2501B standard with the wingtip jets.
However, in commercial service, the type
never found the success of the military
versions, and only ten were built.
Elbe ug, a German cargo airline, operated
15 former Luftwaffe machines between 1972
and its collapse in 1977. Ecuadorian carrier
ATESA also acquired former-military N2501s
from the West German and French air forces,
later purchasing two further Noratlases
from the then-defunct Elbe ug in 1977. The
last commercially-operated Noratlas was
retired in 1990, having passed from ATESA
to Cibao Cargo Airways and nally to APA
Internacional.68 Aviation News incorporating Jets December 2018
Above: West German cargo airline Elbe ug
was the largest civil operator of the Noratlas,
ying 15 N2501Ds between 1972 until its
collapse in 1977. Werner Gysin-Aegerter
Below: Former French Air Force Noratlas,
F-AZVM (105/62-SI), is the only example
of the type still airworthy. It is operated
by L’association Le Noratlas de Provence.
AirTeamImages.com/Philippe NoretSURVIVORS
At the time of writing, there were known
to be 40 Noratlases surviving in various
stages of preservation in France from
pristine to wrecks, plus 13 in Germany,
nine in Greece, six in Israel, ve in
Portugal and one in Rwanda. Only one
Noratlas survives in airworthy condition
today and that is No.105/F-AZVM at
Aix-les-Milles in France, which is own
regularly at airshows.