The ARSAERO CT 10, also known as the Arsenal/SFECMAS Ars 5501, was a remote-controlled
target drone
A target drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, generally remote controlled, usually used in the training of anti-aircraft crews.
One of the earliest drones was the British DH.82 Queen Bee, a variant of the Tiger Moth trainer aircraft operation ...
developed by the
Arsenal de l'Aéronautique
''Arsenal de l'Aéronautique'' (commonly named Arsenal) was a national military aircraft manufacturer established by the French Government in 1936 at Villacoublay. In the years before World War II, it developed a range of technically advanced fi ...
(ARSAERO) for the
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...
. It was developed as a copy of the German
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...
and was used to simulate
bombers
A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes
air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles.
There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is ...
for training anti-aircraft artillery crews and fighter pilots.
History
The CT 10's design process began in August 1946 with reverse-engineering of V-1 missile stocks captured from the ''
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
''. It was first launched from the
Centre interarmées d'essais d'engins spéciaux
The Centre Interarmées d'Essais d'Engins Spéciaux (CIEES, ) was France's first space launch and ballistic missile testing facility. Outside France, the facility is often referred to by the name of the nearest town, Hammaguir. It was establish ...
missile range near
Colomb-Bechar,
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, in December 1949 and became operational in 1952. It was mass-produced by
Nord
Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to:
Acronyms
* National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization
* New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Film and televisi ...
in
Châtillon and
Villeurbanne
Villeurbanne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France.
It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France ...
. More than 400 copies were eventually built. The CT 10 was used primarily by France, though the United Kingdom, Italy, and Sweden used it as well. It was retired from French service during the 1950s in favour of more advanced derivatives such as the
CT20 and
CT41 but was still in widespread use by the British and Swedish air forces throughout the 1960s.
Design
The CT 10 was ground-launched or air-launched. When ground-launched, it would be propelled down a launch ramp by a pair of solid rockets. When air-launched, it would be released from a
LeO 45
Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to:
* Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky
* Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac
* Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually masc ...
bomber. It was then engaged by fighter aircraft or ground-based guns and missiles.
The CT 10's design is largely identical to that of the V-1 missile it was based on. However, there were some important differences between the two:
* The CT 10 was scaled-down from the V-1: it is 6 m long, versus 8.32 m for the V-1.
* The CT 10 was propelled down its launch ramp by a pair of solid rocket boosters, which had more thrust than the liquid-fueled ''Dampferzeuger'' ("Steam generator") used to launch the V-1. This allowed the CT 10's launch ramp to be considerably shorter.
* The CT 10 was designed to be recovered, and therefore carried a parachute.
* The CT 10 was radio-guided from a nearby ground station.
Surviving examples
A CT 10 is displayed in the
Overlord Museum
The Overlord Museum is a museum which focuses on the Allied landings in Normandy with Operation Overlord and the subsequent development of the Second World War. It is located in Colleville-sur-Mer in the Calvados department of the Normandy regio ...
in
Colleville-sur-Mer
Colleville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Colleville on Sea'') is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandie region in northwestern France.
History
It was originally a farm owned by a certain ''Koli'', a Scandinavian settler in the Middle ...
, France.
Specifications
See also
References
{{Nord aircraft
1950s French special-purpose aircraft
Target drones of France
Pulsejet-powered aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1949