Editing SNCASE Armagnac

{{Short description|French long range airliner with 4 piston engines, 1949}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name = S.E.2010 Armagnac 
 |image = SE.2010 Armagnac SAGETA Le Bourget 1957.jpg
 |caption = SAGETA Armagnac at Paris Le Bourget airport in 1957
 |type = Airliner
 |manufacturer = [[SNCASE]]
 |designer =  
 |first_flight = 2 April 1949
 |introduction = December 1952
 |retired = 1959
 |produced = 
 |number_built = 9 
 |status = 
 |unit cost =
 |primary_user = [[Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux]]
 |more_users = SAGETA
 |developed_from = 
 |variants = 
}}

The '''SNCASE S.E.2010 Armagnac''' was a large [[France|French]] [[airliner]] of the late 1940s built by [[SNCASE]] (Sud-Est). The aircraft's disappointing performance and range prevented it from achieving commercial success. Although the SNCASE Armagnac did not have a sterling career, its passenger compartment design gave it a much roomier feel and greater capacity and foreshadowed the future [[wide-body aircraft|wide-body]] jet airliners.

==Design and development==
Designed originally around a French requirement for an 87-passenger, long range airliner issued in 1942, the S.E. 2000 was to have been powered by four 2,100&nbsp;hp [[Gnome-Rhône]] 18R engines. At an early stage, the S.E. 2000 was abandoned in favour of a larger, more capable version, the S.E. 2010 Armagnac. 
The Armagnac was a cantilever mid-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear designed for [[transatlantic flight|transatlantic]] service. A number of versions were planned from a 60-passenger "sleeping berth" version to 84-passenger, 108-passenger and 160-passenger versions.<ref name= "Stroud p. 61">[[#refStroud1993|Stroud 1993]], p. 61.</ref><ref name="Green and Pollinger p. 175"/>
 
After delays to the planning because of [[World War II|wartime]] conditions, work proceeded quickly at Toulouse, Marseilles and Paris, where various components were being built and tested. The Armagnac was designed from the outset in a [[Cook-Craigie plan|Cook-Craigie]] production line prior to the first prototype which flew on 2 April 1949 with Sud-Est Chief Pilot Pierre Nadot at the controls but was lost on 30 January 1950 while still undergoing tests.<ref name= "Stroud p. 59">[[#refStroud1993|Stroud 1993]], p. 59.</ref> The first production series aircraft F-BAVD flew on 30 December 1950.<ref name="Green and Pollinger p. 175"/> Examples of the S.E.2010 were demonstrated at the 1951 and 1953 Paris ''Grand Palais''.

Although the S.E.2010 was powered by [[Pratt & Whitney R-4360|Pratt & Whitney R-4360-B13 Wasp Major]] engines, the most powerful [[piston engine]] ever placed into production for aircraft use, a concern that the final design was underpowered led to a planned redesign.<ref name= "Stroud p. 59"/> The final (15th) production aircraft was intended to be re-engined with 5,400&nbsp;hp [[Allison T40]] turboprops, but production was curtailed at eight and the more advanced version was never built.<ref name= "Stroud p. 59"/> An Armagnac, S.O. 2060, ended its days as an engine test-bed, alternately fitted with turbojet engines fitted in a nacelle below the fuselage. It was tested with two [[Snecma Atar]] 101 turbojets each engine having a different system of afterburner.<ref name= "Stroud p. 61"/> The [[Snecma Vulcain]] was also tested in a similar manner.<ref name="Green and Pollinger p. 175">[[#refGreenandPollinger1955|Green and Pollinger 1955]], p. 175.</ref>

==Operational history==
[[File:SE.2010 Armagnac 1953 Paris Air Show 286-MP-par-05190.jpg|thumb|left|F-BAVH at 1953 Paris Air Show]]
[[File:F-BAVI.jpg|thumb|left|F-BAVI used at the 1956 Olympic Games, Melbourne, Australia]]

At the time, the Armagnac was one of the largest civil aircraft ever built with a wingspan of almost 50 meters and weight over 77 tonnes. The capacious pressurized cabin (with a near-circular fuselage section with 4.7 m/ 15&nbsp;ft width and height) was intended for a three tier sleeping compartment configuration which ultimately was not fitted to any of the S.E.2010 versions. The fuselage was left with a good deal of unusable space with only open luggage shelves mounted in the upper fuselage.<ref>[[#refStroud1993|Stroud 1993]], p. 60.</ref>

Initial production of 15 aircraft was planned for delivery to launch customer [[Air France]]. After evaluation of the prototype by Air France, the airline declined delivery in 1952 when the first production aircraft was ready, citing inadequate performance. Despite being designed for transatlantic service, the aircraft's range of 5,000&nbsp;km, fell short of the 6,500&nbsp;km required range for this use. Additionally, the aircraft was too large to be operated profitably for shorter range routes.

Including the sole prototype, only nine aircraft were built with TAI (''[[Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux]]'') (later [[Union des Transports Aeriens|UTA]]) evaluating the first production aircraft in April 1952. A total of four S.E.2010s were delivered to TAI in December 1952, who used them for eight months and then discarded them as unprofitable.  The aircraft passed to SAGETA (the ''Société Auxiliaire de Gérance et d'Exploitation de Transport Aériens'') in 1953 who operated seven Armagnacs to ferry cargo, mail and troops from [[Toulouse]] to [[Saigon]] in [[French Indochina]]. They were highly regarded in this role, but French rule in the area was almost over and they were surplus by mid-1954.

Most Armagnacs were broken up in 1955 although two were used to transport the French contingent to the 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Jack Russell, a retired Australian Air Traffic Controller fondly recalled the Armagnac which was the most distinctive of the various aircraft types to visit Australia for the Games. His description: "...an 80-ton aircraft which resembled two shipping containers welded together lengthways with a wing and two under-powered engines protruding on each side. The aircraft's performance matched its appearance."<ref name="Melbourne 1956">[http://www.airwaysmuseum.com/EN%20olympic%20terminal%201956.htm "Olympic Terminal, Essendon - 1956."] ''Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society'', 2009. Retrieved: 1 May 2009.</ref> Visiting aircraft were ferried to [[Mangalore Airport (Australia)|Mangalore Airport]]. While passing above a Mangalore-bound Armagnac, a [[Trans Australia Airlines]] pilot when asked to report the S.E. 2010's position, exclaimed "If it's that block of flats below us, we're passing it now!" <ref name="Melbourne 1956"/> F-BAVI, one of the Melbourne caravan was the last SNCASE Armagnac survivor, and was scrapped in 1975 at Bordeaux/Merignac after having lain derelict for many years.

==Operators==
; {{FRA}}
* [[Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux]] (TAI)
* Société Auxiliaire de Gérance et de Transport Aériens (SAGETA)

==Incidents and accidents==
On 30 June 1950, F-WAVA, the prototype was lost after it crashed and caught fire on takeoff after a wing leading edge panel separated. Two fatalities on board and one on the ground resulted.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19500630-1 "SNCASE SE.2010 Armagnac F-WAVA."] ''Aviation Safety Network'', 5 May 2007. Retrieved: 31 April 2009.</ref>  SAGETA F-BAVG flying out of Tunis on 29 January 1957, crashed at Paris-Orly in inclement weather, resulting in two fatalities.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19570129-0 "SNCASE SE.2010 Armagnac F-BAVG."] ''Aviation Safety Network'', 5 May 2007. Retrieved: 31 April 2009.</ref> While flying from [[Algeria]], on 19 December 1957, F-BAVH flying for SAGETA, was crippled midair when a bomb detonated in the lavatory, causing a large hole in the fuselage. Despite the severe damage, a safe emergency landing was carried out at [[Lyon]], 90 minutes later.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19571219-0 "SNCASE SE.2010 Armagnac F-BAVH."] ''Aviation Safety Network'', 5 May 2007. Retrieved: 31 April 2009.</ref>

==Specifications==
[[File:SNCASE SE-2010 Armagnac drawing.tiff|250 px|right|3-view of SNCASE SE-2010 Armagnac]] 
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1947,<ref name=JAWA1947>{{cite book |title=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1947 |editor1-last=Bridgman |editor1-first=Leonard |year=1947 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co |location=London |page=138c}}</ref> French Postwar Transport Aircraft<ref name="ab">{{cite book|last1=Chillon|first1=J.|last2=Dubois|first2=J-P.|last3=Wegg|first3=J. |title=French Postwar Transport Aircraft|date=1980|publisher=Air-Britain|location=Tonbridge |isbn=0851300782|pages=26–27}}</ref>
|prime units?=met
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=6-9 (with relief crew) + 3-4 cabin crew
|capacity=60 to 160 pax
|length m=39.6
|span m=48.95
|height m=11.4
|wing area sqm=236
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=30409
|empty weight note={{convert|4000|km|abbr=on}} range, 60 pax plus {{convert|5600|kg|abbr=on}} of freight.
|gross weight kg=67082
|gross weight note={{convert|4000|km|abbr=on}} range, 60 pax plus {{convert|5600|kg|abbr=on}} of freight.
|max takeoff weight kg=77500
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=4
|eng1 name=[[Pratt & Whitney R-4360-B13 Wasp Major]] 
|eng1 type=28-cylinder 4-row air-cooled radial piston engine
|eng1 hp=3500

|prop blade number=4
|prop name=Curtiss-Electric C644-5-B-306 constant-speed reversible propellers
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed kmh=580
|max speed note=at {{convert|7500|m|abbr=on}}
|cruise speed kmh=450
|cruise speed note=at {{convert|6000|m|abbr=on}}
* '''Landing speed:''' {{convert|156|km/h|mph kn|abbr=on}}
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed kts=
|minimum control speed note=
|range km=5120
|range note=maximum
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range nmi=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m=6800
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading kg/m2=280
|wing loading note={{convert|4000|km|abbr=on}} range, 60 pax plus {{convert|5600|kg|abbr=on}} of freight.
|fuel consumption kg/km= 
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass=6.075 kg/kW (10.5 lb/hp)
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
|related=

|similar aircraft=
* [[Boeing 377 Stratocruiser]]
* [[Bristol Britannia]]
* [[Douglas DC-7]]
* [[Lockheed Constellation]]

|lists=
* [[List of civil aircraft]]

|see also=
}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{commons category|SE-2010 Armagnac}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Delmas|first1=Jean|title=L'espoir d'un long-courrier, qui tourna court: S.E. 2010 Armagnac |journal=Le album de fanatique de l'Aviation |date=March 1970 |issue=9|pages=16–21|issn=0757-4169 |language=fr|trans-title=The Hope of a Long-haul Aircraft That Was Cut Short: The S.E. 2010 Armagnac}}
* <cite id=refGreenandPollinger1955>Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. ''The Aircraft of the World''. London: Macdonald, 1955.</cite>
* ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
* <cite id=refStroud1993>Stroud, John. "S.E.2010 Armagnac." ''Aeroplane Monthly'', Volume 21, no. 11, Issue no. 247, November 1993.</cite>

{{SNCASE aircraft}}

[[Category:1940s French airliners]]
[[Category:Four-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Mid-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1949]]
[[Category:Four-engined piston aircraft]]
[[Category:SNCASE aircraft|Armagnac]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]