Alpha Jet of The Patrouille de France Air Display Aerobatic Team. GAV 2165-230
In the early 1960s, the British and French began a collaboration on development of what was originally supposed to be a supersonic jet trainer / light attack aircraft. The end result of this collaboration, the SEPECAT Jaguar, proved to be an excellent aircraft, but its definition had evolved in the interim, and the type emerged as a full-sized strike fighter, with two-seat variants used for operational conversion to the type. This left the original requirement unfulfilled, and the French began discussions with West Germany for collaboration on the effort. A joint specification was produced in 1968 -- the trainer was now subsonic, supersonic trainers having proven something of a dead end -- and a joint development and production agreement was signed in July 1969. The joint agreement indicated that each of the two nations would buy 200 machines, each assembled in their own country. Proposals were generated by three groups of manufacturers: Dassault, Breguet, & Dornier submitted the "TA501", which had been developed through a merger of the Breguet 126 and Dornier concepts. SNIAS / MBB submitted the " Eurotrainer". VFW-Fokker submitted the "VFT-291". All the proposals were to be powered by twin SNECMA-Turbomeca Larzac turbofans. The German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, had insisted that the trainer have two engines after suffering severe attrition from accidents with their single-engine Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. The Breguet-Dassault-Dornier TA501 was declared the winner of the competition in July 1970, with full development approved in February 1972. Two prototypes were to be built by Dassault in France, that company having bought out Breguet in the meantime, and two were to be built by Dornier in Germany. The first French prototype performed its initial flight at Istres on 26 October 1973, with the first German prototype following from Oberpfaffenhofen on 9 January 1974. The remaining two prototypes were in the air before the end of 1974. The French Ai
Size: 6144px × 3975px
Location: RAF Fairford. Gloucestershire. England. United Kingdom
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 2, 4, 04, 15, 976, 983, 1977., air, alpha, decided, flight, force, french, jet, larzac, lbs, max., november, performed, powerplant:, primarily, production, snec/ma, thrust, trainer, turbofan, turbomeca, variant, weight:
