The SNCAC Martinet was a German-designed but French-built twin-engined military trainer and light transport monoplane. It was operated by the French military and in small numbers by French airlines from the late 1940s.

Development

To aid the German war effort, the SNCAC factory at Bourges was ordered to produce 455

Siebel Si 204 The Siebel Si 204 is a small twin-engined transport and trainer aircraft developed in World War II. It was based on the Siebel Fh 104 Hallore. Originally designed in response to a German Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Ministry of Aviation ...

s light transports for the Luftwaffe. Production started in 1942 and 168 had been delivered before the Liberation stopped production. The French decided to continue producing the aircraft and designated the aircraft NC.700. Only a prototype NC.700 was built powered by

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-00 engines (derived from the German AS-411) although the designation was also used for a small number of aircraft originally intended for the Luftwaffe and diverted to the French Air Force. The company then produced two variants; the NC.701 Martinet based on the Si 204D with a glazed unstepped nose and powered by two

engines, and the NC.702 Martinet with a conventional stepped windscreen nose based on the Si 204A.

Operational history

The Martinet was used by both the French Air Force and Navy and the final example did not retire until 1963. A small number were used by commercial operators including

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

but were soon replaced by larger aircraft like the

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

. A number were used by the French Postal Service but they were grounded following an accident to F-BBFA is July 1946. The aircraft was used by the

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for photo-survey work and a few aircraft were also exported to Poland and Sweden for use on photo-mapping duties.

Variants

;NC.700 :A

powered Si-204, one prototype. ;NC.701 :Trainer version with dual controls and transparent nose based on the Si-204D. Room for five students as a radio trainer. ;NC.702 :Eight-seat transport version based on the Si-204A.

Operators

; *

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 ...

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

; ; *

LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. A founding member of IATA, it is one of the world's oldest airlines. With a fleet of 87 aircraft as of June 2025, LOT is Europe's 16th ...

operated 6 NC.701 for aerial photography in 1947–1948.Jońca, Adam (1985). ''Samoloty linii lotniczych 1945-1956'', Barwa w lotnictwie polskim no.4, WKiŁ, Warsaw, , p.12 *

Polish Air Forces The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

operated 6 aircraft taken from LOT airlines in 1948 for aerial photography until the 1950s. ; * Rikets Allmänna Kartverk operated five aircraft for aerial photography and survey.

Survivors

*NC.702 282 with the Conservatoire de l'Air et de l'Espace d'Aquitaine, France *NC.702 331 with the Deutsches Technikmuseum, Berlin, Germany *NC.701 SE-KAL on display at the Air and Space Museum, Arlanda, Stockholm, Sweden.

Specifications (NC.701)

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Siebel Si 204
{{SNCAC aircraft 1940s French military trainer aircraft Low-wing aircraft Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft SNCAC aircraft Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear Aircraft first flown in 1944 Twin-tail aircraft