The SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc was a French four-engined airliner produced by

SNCASE SNCASE (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Est'') or Sud-Est was a French aircraft manufacturer. The company was formed on February 1, 1937, by the nationalization and merger of Lioré et Olivier, Pote ...

(Sud-Est). Developed from the Bloch MB.160 and known in the late 1930s as the (SNCSO) Bloch MB.161, the SE.161 was in service with

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 ...

and the French military after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Design and development

In 1936, Air Afrique needed a new airliner for its African services. Marcel Bloch proposed a development of his Bloch MB.160 aircraft, the

Bloch MB.161 The Bloch MB.162 was a France, French four-engine, long-range bomber developed by Société des Avions Marcel Bloch in the late 1930s. Only one prototype was built; after capture by Nazi Germany, German forces, it was pressed into service with th ...

, which after World War II became the SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc. Design work on the new aircraft began in 1937. The prototype, F-ARTV, first flew on 15 December 1939, shortly after the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was powered by four

Gnome-Rhône 14N The Gnome-Rhône 14N was a 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine designed and manufactured by Gnome-Rhône just before the start of World War II. A development of the Gnome-Rhône 14K, the 14N was used on several French and even one Germa ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

s of each. The aircraft underwent a slow development programme; test flying was not completed until January 1942. The French

Vichy government Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

placed an order for twenty in December 1941, but none were built. The programme was finally abandoned following Allied bombing of the factory at ,

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

in 1944. After the

liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

the provisional government led by

General De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

authorised production of the aircraft, now designated SE.161, to be resumed. The first series production aircraft, registered ''F-BATA'', first flew either on 25 August 1945 or 17 September 1945. An initial batch of 40 aircraft was completed for

between October 1945 and April 1948. The Languedoc was an all-metal four-engined low wing cantilever monoplane airliner with twin fins and rudders. It had a crew of five (pilot, co-pilot/navigator, radio operator, flight engineer and steward) Standard cabin accommodation was for 33 passengers seated in eleven rows of three, two on the starboard and one on the port side. An alternative first class arrangement was for 24 seats. A 44-seat higher-density version was introduced by Air France in 1951.Chillon 1980, p. 31 The Languedoc was fitted with underwing retractable main undercarriage wheels and a tailwheel landing gear, and was powered by four Gnome-Rhône 14N 44/45 or 54/55 radial engines in wing-leading edge

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a streamlined container for aircraft parts such as Aircraft engine, engines, fuel or equipment. When attached entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a Hardpoint#Pylon, pylo ...

s, with partial convertibility to inline water-cooled pistons. A total of 100 aircraft were built for Air France, 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Several examples were utilised as test aircraft with the CEV at Villacoublay and elsewhere. The only export customer for new production aircraft was the Polish airline LOT, which bought five, some being refitted with

Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It has 14 cylinders, arranged in two rings of seven. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments a ...

radial engines.

Operational history

The SE.161 was named the Languedoc before it entered service with

on the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

route from 28 May 1946. By October they were withdrawn from service with a number of faults, including landing gear problems, poor view from the cockpit when landing in bad weather and a lack of de-icing equipment and cabin heating. The Gnome Rhône engines also had a very short

time between overhauls Time between overhauls (abbreviated as TBO or TBOH) is the manufacturer's recommended number of running hours or calendar time before an aircraft engine or other component requires overhaul. On rotorcraft, many components have recommended or ma ...

.Stroud 1966, pp. 194–195. They re-entered service in 1947, re-engined with reliable American-built

Pratt & Whitney R-1830 The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It has 14 cylinders, arranged in two rings of seven. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments a ...

engines; also de-icing equipment, medium-range cockpit radios, and limited cabin heating, the designation changing to ''SE.161.P7''. These costly enhancements partially reassured commercial airline customers. The Languedoc was soon a familiar type on Air France's increasing European network and continued to operate scheduled services to London Heathrow, Berlin Tempelhof, Paris Le Bourget and Brussels Melsbroek until summer 1952, when they were steadily replaced by the reliable and popular

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...

. The Languedoc was never as reliable as the Douglas DC-4 or the ultra-modern

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a retired British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. T ...

, and many French passengers refused to fly on the unreliable, unheated and noisy aircraft. Air France ultimately sold some of its Languedocs to

Air Liban Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. (), more commonly known as Middle East Airlines (MEA) (), is the flag carrier of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut, near Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. It operates scheduled internat ...

of Lebanon, Misrair of Egypt and

Aviaco Aviación y Comercio, S.A., doing business as Aviaco, was a Spanish airline headquartered in the ''Edificio Minister'' in Madrid."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. 16 May 1981. p1411 "Maudes 51, Edificio Minister, Madrid 3, Spai ...

of Spain. Others were transferred to the French military. Ten ex-Air France aircraft were converted for operation in the Search and Rescue (SAR) role with SGACC. They were modified with a large ventral gondola, observation windows and a ventral search radar under a transparent fairing, similar to the design adopted in the French Navy SAR

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

The largest military operator was the French Navy, which operated 25 different Languedoc aircraft over the years. The first aircraft were delivered in 1949 and used as long-range transports between Paris, Marseille and Lyon in France, and North Africa. Later aircraft were used as flying classrooms, modified with a nose

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

and a ventral "dustbin" radar, for non-pilot aircrew training. The aircraft was withdrawn from Naval service in 1959. A few Languedocs were used as flying testbeds and

mother ship A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bomber aircraft, bombers converted to carry exp ...

s, succeeding the pair of

He 274 The Heinkel He 274 was a German heavy bomber aircraft with pressurized crew accommodation developed during World War II, designed for high-altitude bombing. Due to the Allied advance through Northwest Europe, the prototypes were abandoned at th ...

prototype airframes left behind by the Luftwaffe in 1944 that were partly being used as "mother ships" for high-speed French aerodynamic research aircraft, with four Languedocs being used as mother ships for René Leduc's experimental

ramjet A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around and can operate up to . Ramjets can be particularly appropriat ...

aircraft in place of the hard-to-maintain He 274s, which were scrapped in 1953. Languedocs were also used for other types of experimental work including an unsuccessful use as live airborne television relay for Charles de Gaulles's Algerian visit in 1958. The last Air France Languedoc, now unable to compete with more modern airliners, was withdrawn from domestic service in 1954.

Accidents and incidents

*On 2 April 1943, F-ARTV force-landed and overturned at La Chapelle-Baloue,

Creuse Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...

with one fatality. *On 7 October 1947, F-BATY of

crashed at

Bône Annaba (), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River and is in the Annaba Province. With a population of about 263,65 ...

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 ...

. *On 26 January 1948, F-BCUC of Air France crashed at

Romainville Romainville () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, located in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. Location It is located from the center of Paris. History On 24 July 1867, a part of the territory of Romainville was detached ...

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

whilst on a training flight, killing all nine people on board. *On 4 February 1948, F-BATK of Air France was damaged beyond economical repair at Marignane Airport,

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

. *On 10 February 1948, F-BATH of Air France was damaged beyond economical repair at

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

. Its fuselage subsequently served for many years as a ground training airframe. *On 14 June 1948, F-BATG of Air France crashed at Coulommiers - Voisins Aerodrome,

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

. *On 29 August 1948, F-BATO of Air France crashed at Le Bourget Airport, Paris. *On 23 November 1948, F-BATM of Air France crashed at

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

whilst on a test flight, killing one of the five people on board. The cause of the accident was that the

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...

controls had been assembled incorrectly. *On 9 April 1949, F-BATU of Air France overran the runway at

Nice Airport Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

and was damaged beyond economic repair. *On 30 July 1950, F-BCUI of Air France was damaged beyond economic repair when its undercarriage collapsed on landing at Marignane Airport, Marseille. *On 22 December 1951, SU-AHH of Misrair crashed west of Tehran, Iran killing all 20 people on board. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, Iraq to Tehran. *on 3 March 1952, F-BCUM of Air France crashed shortly after take-off from

Nice Airport Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. *On 30 July 1952, SU-AHX of Misrair was damaged beyond economic repair in a wheels-up landing at

Almaza Air Base Almaza Air Base is a Air base of the Egyptian Air Force located in Heliopolis, Cairo, Cairo Governorate. It was established as a civilian aerodrome, but was partly taken over by the British military, designated RAF Almaza. Today it is a militar ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Almaza to

Khartoum Airport Khartoum International Airport () is the principal airport in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The airport was shut down for nearly two years as it was stormed and occupied from 15 April 2023 to 25 March 2025 during the Battle of Khartoum (2023 ...

, Sudan; it returned to Cairo following a fire in No. 1 engine. *On 23 October 1952, F-RAPC of Aéronavale crashed at

Bonneuil-sur-Marne Bonneuil-sur-Marne (, literally ''Bonneuil on Marne'') is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Transport Bonneuil-sur-Marne is served by ...

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a ...

, killing all eleven people on board. *On 6 January 1954, OD-ABU of

crashed on take-off from Bir Hassan Airport,

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and was destroyed by fire. The aircraft was operating a scheduled international passenger flight from Beirut to Kuwait Airport, Kuwait. *On 24 April 1954, SU-AHZ of Misrair was written off at Damascus Airport, Syria when the starboard undercarriage collapsed on landing. *On 29 September 1956, EC-AKV of

crashed on approach to

Los Rodeos Airport LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

killing one person on the ground. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from

Málaga Airport Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Spain after Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, Madrid–Barajas, Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport, Barcelona–El Prat and Palma de Mallorca Airport, Palma d ...

to Tenerife. *On 4 December 1958, EC-ANR of Aviaco crashed into the La Rodilla de la Mujer Muerta mountain, in the

Guadarrama Mountains The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is in Spain, between the systems Sierra de ...

, Spain, killing all 21 people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Vigo Airport to

Barajas Airport Barajas may refer to: * Barajas (Madrid), the district of Madrid in which the airport lies ** Barajas (Madrid Metro), station along Line 8 of the Madrid Metro ** Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, principal airport of Madrid, Spain * Barajas ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Variants

;Bloch 161-01 :Prototype powered by 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-38 & 2 × 900 hp Gnome-Rhône 14N-39, first flown on 15 December 1939. ;SE.161/1 :Production aircraft with 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-44 & 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14N-45 radial engines, LOT aircraft were fitted with 14N-54 / 14N-55 engines and later re-engined with 14N-68 / 14N-69 engines.

Aeronavale French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: (contraction of ), or , or more simply ) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is . Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval pat ...

aircraft were also fitted with 14N-68 / 14N-69s. ;SE.161/P7 :Re-engined Air France aircraft with four

Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SIC-3-G The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It has 14 cylinders, arranged in two rings of seven. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments a ...

engines.

Operators

; * Misrair ; * Vichy French Government *

* *

EARS 99 In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear cons ...

** GT I/61 "Maine" *

** Escadron 31S ** Escadron 10S ** Escadron 54S ** Escadron 56S ; *

; * Air Atlas ; *

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 ...

bought five aircraft in 1947 (reg. SP-LDA to LDE). Due to engine failures, the fleet was suspended in 1948 and broken up in 1950.Jońca, Adam (1985). ''Samoloty linii lotniczych 1945-1956'', Barwa w lotnictwie polskim no.4, WKiŁ, Warsaw, , p.15 ; *

; * Tunis Air

Specifications (SE.161/1)

Sud-Est SE161 Languedoc 3-view silhouette

Notes

Bibliography

* Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1948''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1948. * * * Munson, Kenneth. ''Civil Airliners since 1946.'' London: Blandford Press, 1967. * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985).'' London: Orbis Publishing, 1985. * * Stroud, John. ''European Transport Aircraft since 1910.'' London: Putnam, 1966. * Taylor, Michael J. H. ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation.'' p. 844 London: Studio Editions, 1989. .

External links

{{Bloch aircraft 1930s French airliners

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

Low-wing aircraft Four-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939 Four-engined piston aircraft Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear