Fouga CM.170 Magister

The Fouga Magister (company designation CM.170) is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer. The related CM.175 Zéphyr was a carrier-capable version for the French Navy.

Although it is sometimes lauded as the first purpose-built two-seat turbojet-powered trainer aircraft, similar claims are made for the Fokker S.14 Machtrainer whose first flight, production and service entry were all about a year earlier. However, the Magister was much more successful than the Machtrainer, being produced in far greater numbers and being exported to many nations. Nearly 1,000 Magisters were constructed compared to the 21 Machtrainers.

Design and development
In 1948, Fouga designed a jet-powered primary trainer called CM.130 for the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air, AdA) to replace piston-engined Morane-Saulnier MS.475 aircraft. When AdA found the aircraft lacking in power from the two Turbomeca Palas turbojets, Fouga enlarged the basic design and used the more powerful Turbomeca Marboré engine. The distinctive V-tail of the new CM.170 Magister originated on the CM.8 (Aka Castel-Mauboussin 8) glider Fouga was using to experiment with jet engines. In December 1950, AdA ordered three prototypes, with the first aircraft flying on 23 July 1952. A pre-production batch of 10 were ordered in June 1953 followed by the first production order for 95 aircraft on 13 January 1954. Fouga built a new assembly plant at Toulouse-Blagnac to produce the aircraft. The aircraft entered service with AdA in 1956.

The Fouga Magister 170R was designed in 1949 by Robert Castello and Pierre Mauboussin. The first prototype flew on 23 July 1952 and the first one sold to AdA flew for the first time in February 1956.

Due to different industrial mergers, the aircraft has been known as the "Fouga CM.170 Magister", "Potez (Fouga) CM.170 Magister", Sud Aviation(Fouga) CM.170 Magister" and "Aérospatiale (Fouga) CM.170 Magister" depending on where and when they were built.

The French Navy's Aéronavale adopted a derivative of the Magister, the CM.175 Zéphyr, as a basic trainer for deck-landing training and carrier operations. These were preceded by two "proof of concept" prototypes designated the CM.170M Magister, which made their first flights in 1956/57.

An improved version of the Magister designated the CM.170-2 Magister was produced from 1960. It used a more powerful Turbomeca Marboré IV engine. Production of the Magister stopped in France in 1962 but it continued to be built in Finland up to 1967.

The development of the aircraft came to an end when the French Air Force selected the Alpha Jet as their new jet trainer.

After retirement, a number of Magisters were bought by private-owner pilots in the USA and are operated in the experimental category.

Operational history


The first export customer was Germany who ordered 62 aircraft from Fouga, and Flugzeug Union Süd (a consortium of Heinkel and Messerschmitt ) license-built a further 188 aircraft. In addition the CM.170 was built under license by Valmet in Finland, and Israel Aircraft Industries in Israel, with a total of 929 built. Of these 286 were completed under license.

Israel
The Israeli Air Force operated a license-manufactured version, the IAI Tzukit. While principally a trainer, it was used in the 1967 Six Day War by 147 Squadron as a close support aircraft, attacking targets on the Egyptian front during the first day of the war, when Israel's more capable combat aircraft were deployed on Operation Focus against Arab air bases. They were then deployed against Jordanian forces, including armour, on the West Bank. The Magister proved effective at the close-support mission albeit with heavy casualties, with six being lost.

El Salvador
9 former Israeli and 3 French Magisters were acquired by the Salvadoran Air Force and used as both trainers and ground attack aircraft in the Salvadoran Civil War using bombs and nose-mounted 7.62mm machine guns. None are recorded as being lost to enemy fire, but only five were in operational condition by the end of the war.

Finland
In 1958-1959, Finland purchased 18 Fouga Magisters from France. At the same time they also obtained a manufacturing license. The Finnish aircraft manufacturer Valmet later built 62 Fouga aircraft between 1958–67. The French built aircraft carried the designations FM-1...-18 and the Finnish built FM-21...-82. The aircraft served as a jet trainer in the Finnish Air Force between 1958–1988 until superseded by BAe Hawks. A total of 21 Fouga Magisters were destroyed in accidents, six with fatal outcome. The usual Finnish Air Force nickname for the aircraft was Kukkopilli (Ocarina) because of the unique sound of the Turbomeca Marboré turbojet.

Belgium
The Belgian Air Force operated 50 Magisters as primary trainers. The aerobatic team The Red Devils also used them as display aircraft. A small number of Magisters remained in use until September 2007, as flight maintenance aircraft for senior officers. The Belgian Air Force was the last country that used Magisters for full duty.

Katanga
During the Congo Crisis, the pro-secessionist Katangese Air Force (FAK) purchased nine Magisters from France. Confirmed operational by July 1961, they were apparently piloted by white mercenaries responsible for eliminating several ONUC aircraft later that September, including a Douglas DC-4. Only one example - abandoned by its crew at Kolwezi due to mechanical problems - survived the conflict.

Ireland
The Irish Air Corps operated six Fouga Magisters from 1975 to 1999, four of which equipped the Silver Swallows display team.

Brazil
The Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB) used the Fouga Magister in their aerobatic display team, the Esquadrilha da Fumaça, from 1968 until 1975. Their aircraft were numbered T-24 in the trainer series of FAB type designations.

Variants



 * CM.170 Magister - three prototypes and 10 pre-production aircraft.
 * CM.170M Magister - two prototypes for the French Aéronavale
 * CM.170-1 Magister - first production version with Turbomeca Marboré II engines; 761 were built including 188 in West Germany, 62 in Finland and 50 in Israel.
 * CM.170-2 Magister - uprated Marboré VI engines with 4.7 kN (1,055 lbf) thrust each; 137 built.
 * CM.171 Makalu - enlarged airframe, Turbomeca Gabizo engines with 10.8 kN (2,422 lbf) thrust each, the only prototype lost in an accident on 20 March 1957
 * CM.173 Super Magister/ Potez 94 - Marboré Super VI engines with 5.1 kN (1,143 lbf) thrust each and ejection seats; one prototype built.
 * CM.175 Zéphyr - A shipboard trainer for the Aéronavale, with strengthened undercarriage, catapult attachments and arrestor hook; 30 built.
 * Potez CM.191 - 4-seat version of the Magister; two prototypes built.
 * IAI Tzukit or AMIT Fouga - Israeli Air Force version, updated with new cockpit, composite materials
 * Fouga 90/90A - Development based on the CM.170 with Turbomeca Astafan engines with 7.6 kN (1,715 lbf) thrust each, reshaped canopy for better visibility, and upgraded avionics. One prototype built. Proposed version 90A was equipped with a 790 kp Turbomeca Astafan engine; both versions failed to attract orders.

Operators

 * 🇦🇹 Austria
 * Austrian Air Force (18 aircraft)
 * Bangladeshi Air Force (eight ex-German aircraft)
 * Belgian Air Component (50 aircraft, of which five are ex-German)
 * Biafra
 * Biafran Air Force (five aircraft)
 * Brazilian Air Force (seven aircraft)
 * Civilian CM-170M Magister registered as PT-ZIS
 * 🇰🇭 Cambodia
 * Cambodian Air Force (four aircraft)
 * Cameroon Air Force (nine ex-French aircraft)
 * Air Force of El Salvador (nine ex-Israeli aircraft)
 * Finnish Air Force (80 aircraft, 18 manufactured in France, 62 in Finland)
 * French Air Force (397 aircraft)
 * French Navy (32 aircraft)
 * Gabonese Air Force (five ex-German aircraft)
 * Luftwaffe (250 aircraft (62 new and 188 license production))
 * German Navy (15 aircraft)
 * Irish Air Corps (Seven CM170-2)
 * French Air Force (397 aircraft)
 * French Navy (32 aircraft)
 * Gabonese Air Force (five ex-German aircraft)
 * Luftwaffe (250 aircraft (62 new and 188 license production))
 * German Navy (15 aircraft)
 * Irish Air Corps (Seven CM170-2)
 * Luftwaffe (250 aircraft (62 new and 188 license production))
 * German Navy (15 aircraft)
 * Irish Air Corps (Seven CM170-2)
 * Irish Air Corps (Seven CM170-2)
 * Israeli Air Force (52 aircraft, 16 new and 36 license production, replaced by the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II)
 * Katanga
 * Force Aérienne Katangaise
 * Khmer Republic
 * Khmer National Air Force
 * 🇱🇧 Lebanon
 * Lebanese Air Force (eight ex-German aircraft)
 * Libyan Arab Air Force (12 ex-French aircraft)
 * Royal Moroccan Air Force (21 new, ex-French and ex-German aircraft)
 * Nicaraguan Air Force
 * 🇷🇼 Rwanda
 * Rwandan Air Force (three ex-French aircraft)
 * Senegalese Air Force (five ex-Brazilian aircraft)
 * Togolese Air Force (four ex-German aircraft)
 * Ugandan Air Force (12 ex-Israel aircraft)
 * Rwandan Air Force (three ex-French aircraft)
 * Senegalese Air Force (five ex-Brazilian aircraft)
 * Togolese Air Force (four ex-German aircraft)
 * Ugandan Air Force (12 ex-Israel aircraft)
 * Togolese Air Force (four ex-German aircraft)
 * Ugandan Air Force (12 ex-Israel aircraft)
 * Ugandan Air Force (12 ex-Israel aircraft)