Breguet 941

The Breguet 941 was a French four-engine STOL transport aircraft developed by Breguet in the 1960s. Although widely evaluated, it was not built in large numbers, with only one prototype and four production aircraft being built.

Design and development
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the French aviation pioneer Louis Charles Breguet developed a concept for a Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft using four "Free Turbine" turboshaft engines to drive a common power shaft, which, in turn drove four oversize propellers, which were evenly spaced along the leading edge of the wing with large, full-span, slotted flaps, with the arrangement known as "l'aile soufflée" or blown wing.

An initial, experimental prototype, powered by four Turbomeca Turmo II engines, the Breguet 940 Integral, first flew on 21 May 1958, and was used to prove the concept, demonstrating excellent short field performance. This led to an order being placed in February 1960 for a prototype of an aircraft employing the same concept, but capable of carrying useful loads. This aircraft, the Breguet 941, first flew on 1 June 1961.

Testing of this prototype resulted in an order for four improved production aircraft, the Breguet 941S for the French Air Force, first flying on 19 April 1967. These were fitted with more powerful engines and a modified rear cargo door to allow for air-dropping of stores.

Br 942
Breguet intended to develop the 940 genre further by adding a pressurised fuselage with airline seating as the Breguet Br 942. Wings undercarriage, empennage and engines were essentially similar to the Br 941, but were to be mated to a new 3.1 m diameter circular section fuselage, with airline seating for 40 first/business class or up to 60 economy class passengers. After the limited success of the Br 941 and Br 941S and expected high running costs, further development was abandoned.

Operational history


The 941 prototype was tested extensively by both France, and the United States, where a license agreement had been made with McDonnell Aircraft. The prototype, known as the McDonnell 188 in the USA, was evaluated by both NASA and the US Military, but no orders were placed. Some pictures of the McDonnell-Douglas 188 are on show at the Air museum of San Diego, in American Airlines and Eastern Airlines liveries. The second Br 941S also carried out a tour of the United States, being evaluated as a STOL passenger airliner for operation from small city airports, although, again, no orders resulted.

The four Breguet 941S entered service with the French Air Force in 1967, continuing in service until 1974.

Variants

 * Breguet Br 940 Integral
 * Experimental prototype for concept demonstration, one built, powered by 4x 400 hp Turbomeca Turmo II turboshaft engines.


 * Breguet Br 941
 * Prototype transport, one built, powered by 4x 1,225 hp Turbomeca Turmo IIID turboshaft engines.


 * Breguet Br 941S
 * Production version for the French Air Force, an enlarged version of the 941, 4 built, powered by 4x 1,450 hp Turbomeca Turmo IIID3 turboshaft engines.


 * Breguet Br 942
 * The proposed airliner development to have had a pressurised fuselage with airline seating for 40 first/business class or up to 60 economy class passengers.


 * Breguet 945
 * Studies for a smaller version of the Breguet 942, primarily for military use, for operation from 1000 ft length hot and high airstrips. Power was to be supplied by two 1,450 hp Turbomeca Turmo IIIDs and a payload of about 3300 lb would be carried for more than 900 mi at about 240 mph. Development of the 945 was not continued to production status.


 * McDonnell 188: (later McDonnelll-Douglas 188) Proposed licence manufacture and development in the United States by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.

Operators

 * Armée de l'Air
 * Armée de l'Air

Survivors

 * The third Breguet 941S is on display at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris, France.
 * The fourth Br 941S aircraft is on display at the Parc Avenue amusement park in Lanas, France.