The SNCASE SE.3200 Frelon (''Hornet'') is a French helicopter built in the late 1950. Intended to serve as a multirole helicopter for the French Army, Air Forces and Navy, two prototypes were built and flown before the project was replaced by the
SA 3210 Super Frelon.
Design and development
The SNCASE SE.3200 Frelon was a heavy helicopter designed to equip the
French Armed Forces
The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...
, replacing the
Sikorsky S-58
The Sikorsky H-34 (company designation S-58) is an American Reciprocating engine, piston-engined military utility helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky Aircraft, Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States ...
built under license by then
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 ...
(Société Nationale de Construction Aéronautique Southeast).
The specifications called for an aircraft of less than 5 tonnes gross weight. The prototypes were powered by three
Turbomeca Turmo
The Turbomeca Turmo is a family of French turboshaft engines manufactured for helicopter use. Developed from the earlier Turbomeca Artouste, later versions delivered up to . A turboprop version was developed for use with the Bréguet 941 transp ...
IIIB 750 hp turbines to avoid all risk of engine failure: production aircraft were to have used the 1000hp Turmo IIC. The engines drove a single four blade rotor.
[Frelon SE.3200]
''Flight'' 27 May 1960 SE 3200 Frelon presenting with a fuselage rather short on the sides with two fuel tanks a capacity of 1100 liters each offering the opportunity to be drop with the tip back, swivel, should facilitate the loading of light vehicles.
The Frelon was able to carry light vehicles or 24 fully-equipped troops or 15 stretchers and two attendants if used as an air ambulance. It was equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear.
[http://aerostories.free.fr/giravia/helico/liron/liron04/ in French]
Only two prototypes were built, the first one flying on 10 June 1959 at
Paris – Le Bourget Airport
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 ...
.
Specifications
See also
References
Frelon
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