Top speed 895 km/h Length 15 m | Wingspan 19 m Manufacturer Breguet Aviation | |
The Breguet Br.960 Vultur was a French prototype carrier-based attack aircraft that first flew on 3 August 1951. Only two examples were built, but the work done on them later proved useful in the development of the Breguet Alizé anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
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Design and development
The Vultur was a mixed-power design, combining an Armstrong Siddeley Mamba turboprop in the nose with a Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet in the tail. It was a low-wing aircraft, with the wing featuring a swept leading edge and a straight trailing edge, folding at the middle. The aircraft had tricycle landing gear, with the main gear hinged in the wings just inside the wing fold and retracting towards the fuselage, the nose gear retracting backwards.
The Vultur accommodated a pilot and copilot sitting side by side in a framed canopy. A typical payload was a single 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bomb and eight rockets. It was fitted with radar in a pod on the right wingtip, balanced by a fuel tank on the left wingtip. A large search radar could also be attached under the fuselage.
When the Aéronavale lost interest in a turboprop attack aircraft, but was keen to purchase a new anti-submarine warfare platform, Breguet modified the second prototype as a demonstrator. Now known as the Breguet Br.965 Épaulard ("Killer Whale"), this aircraft was the immediate forerunner of the Breguet Alizé.
Specifications (Br.960, second prototype)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1953–54
General characteristics
Performance
Armament