SNCAN N2501 Noratlas

History The Nord 2501 Noratlas was developed in the late 1940s as a replacement of the Douglas DC3 (which you…

History

The Nord 2501 Noratlas was developed in the late 1940s as a replacement of the Douglas DC3 (which you can see alongside) and the Junkers Ju 52/3m, the transport aircraft then in service with the French Air Force. These aircraft offered only a limited payload and suffered from being taildraggers with lateral freight doors, which made loading/unloading on the ground rather impractical. The Noratlas emerged as the winner of a call for tender launched by the French general staff to remedy these problems.

After its maiden flight on the 10th of September 1949, the Bristol-Hercules powered machine saw service in virtually all French territories and many confl icts, including Indochina, the African colonies and the Suez Crisis. Its tasks consisted of carrying cargo and passengers, but also dropping paratroopers and electronic intelligence gathering. It served with distinction in the French Air Force from 1953 until its retirement in 1989.

Nord manufactured 420 aircraft, of which 208 were used by the French Air Force, while export customers including Israel, Portugal and Germany.

Caracteristics

Wingspan  32,48 m
Length  21,95 m
Height  6 m
Maximum take off weight  13,3 t
Empty weight  22,2 t
Payload  5T or 45pax
Speed  400 km/h
Range  1.300 km
Crew 5
Engine  2 Bristol Hercules 738 (2100 hp)
Serial number  191 and 201

 

 Our aircrafts

Our aircraft served with the French Air Force in Djibouti, East Africa. It joined our collection in 1984 in airworthy condition. We kept it in taxiing condition for several years, but had to stop this due to some mechanical problems.

Our second Noratlas had been based for several years at Toulouse-Blagnac airport, owned by a private collector. It joined our collection in 2003.

AILES ANCIENNES TOULOUSE

Our goal is the preservation of the aviation heritage. All this work aims to place the collection in the shelter in a suitable and visitable premises: an Aeronautical Museum in Toulouse (now called Aeroscopia)

AÉROSCOPIA

THE 40 YEARS OF THE ASSOCIATION

OUR PARTNERS

THEY TALK ABOUT US

COME DISCOVER OUR RESTORATION WORK AND OUR COLLECTION

WEDNESDAYS AND THURSDAYS

from 2pm to 5.30pm

SATURDAYS

from 10am to 5.30pm

SELF TOUR

GROUP VISIT

COME TO THE AILES ANCIENNES

OUR COLLECTION

Gathered for years by our association, the collection includes many aircraft (aircraft, helicopters, gliders) but also a large amount of various aeronautical equipment (engines, dashboards, ejection seats, missiles, …). Here is a small overview of the collection, which will reveal its secrets during your visit.

AIRPLANES

GLIDERS

HELICOPTERS

MICROLIGHTS

SUPPORT THE ASSOCIATION

Most of the association’s resources come from collection visits, but unfortunately it is not always enough to carry out our projects.

If you wish to help us, you can:
– Make a tax-free donation to our association via our endowment fund
– Become a volunteer and participate in the activities of the association

BECOME VOLUNTEER

MAKE A DONATION