Aircraft / Special purpose / Breguet Br.1050 Alizé
Breguet Br.1050 Alizé
General Facts
- TYPE
Anti-submarine warfare aircraft - ORIGIN
France - NICKNAMES
Br.1050 (production designation) - DESIGNED
1950's - DESIGNER
Breguet - PRODUCTION
1957 - 1962 - PRODUCERS
France - Breguet - QUANTITY
87 production aircraft, 5 prototypes - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Well armed
Good endurance
Carrier borne
Limited capability sensors
Vulnerable to aircraft and AA-guns
Introduction
The Alizé is an anti-submarine warfare aircraft of French origin. It was developed by Breguet in the 1950's and was based on an earlier design for a fighter that did not go into production. As with many French aircraft the Alizé is named after type of wind, the tradewind in this case. The Alizé was to be used from aircraft carriers while the contemporarty Atlantic carried out its missions from bases near the shore. Although the anti-submarine warfare capabilities were a bit lacking, it proved to be very capable as a maritime patrol aircraft. During several conflicts Indian Alizé's were very effective against small surface vessels.
Layout
The Alizé is a turboprop powered aircraft. It has a conventional design with a single low mounted wing and a single Rolls-Royce Dart engine in the nose. The crew of three consists of a pilot and radar operator seated side by side, with the sensor operator behind them. The wings can be folded to save space during storage on the aircaft carrier. Landing on the carrier deck is achieved by a hook at the tail of the plane which catches a wire on the landing deck. Weapons can be carried in the internal bay or on wing pylons.
Firepower
For use against submarines a single lightweight torpedo or two depth charges can be carried in the internal weapons bay. Free fall bombs, 68mm SNEB unguided rockets and AS.12 guided rockets can be carried on the wing pylons. There is no internal cannon or machine gun.
Electronics
The Alizé is fitted with a retractable radar for surface search and sonobueys for detecting submarines. In the early 1980's a batch of French aircraft received an upgrade with a better radar, improved navigations and ESM systems. A second upgraded in the 1990's included a datalink, improved avionics and FLIR. Even though the upgrades were major improvements over the original equipment, the capabilities remained a bit limited compared to contemporary aircraft in the same role.
Mobility
As a turboprop aircraft the speed is rather limited with a 518 km/h maximum at altitude and 460 km/h at sea level. The limited speed makes the Alizé an easy target for fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft guns. On the other hand speed is not a major requirement in maritime patrol. Endurance and range are of greater importance and both are good with an endurance of over 5 hours.
Users
The Alizé was only acquired by France and India, with France being the major user. Both nations used the Alizé on aircraft carriers and to a lesser extent from shore bases. During several conflicts the Alizé proved to be very useful, even though its effectiveness against submarines was limited. The last Alizé retired in the year 2000 and none remains in service.
Alizé
The Breguet Br.1050 Alizé is an anti-submarine warfare aircraft for use from aircraft carriers. Only a single type was produced and there are no real variants. In French service the Alizé was upgraded twice and renamed Br.1050M after the first upgrade. Both upgrades consisted of improving the electronics and sensors.
- Specifications:
- Alizé
Type | Anti-submarine warfare aircraft |
---|---|
Crew | 3 (pilot, radar operator, sensor operator) |
Length | 13.86 m |
Width | 15.60 m wingspan, 7.0 m wings folded |
Height | 5.0 m |
Surface | 36.0 m2 |
Weight | 5.7 t empty, 8.2 t MTOW |
Powerplant | Rolls-Royce Dart Rda.7 Mk 21, 1.975 hp |
Speed | 520 km/h maximum at 3 km, 370 km/h cruise, 232 km/h patrol speed |
Range | 2.870 km ferry, 2.500 km standard |
Fuel | ? |
---|---|
Climb rate | 7.0 m/s at sea level |
Ceiling | 6.3 km |
Landing gear | Retractable tricycle, double wheels rear |
Cargo | 1.250 kg of ordnance |
Systems | Iguane radar, Equinox navigation system, ESM systems, datalink, 14x sonobuoy |
Remarks | 7 hour 40 minute max endurance, 5 hour normal endurance |
Weapon systems | Mk 43 torpedo Mk 44 torpedo Depth charges 127mm FFAR 68mm SNEB AS-12 missiles Free fall bombs |
Fixed weapons | - |
Hardpoints | 4 pylons |
Option 1 | Single Mk 43 or Mk 44 torpedo in weapons bay |
---|---|
Option 2 | Two depth charges instead of torpedo in weapons bay |
Option 3 | Single 127mm rocket on three small pylons replacing outboard pylon |
Option 4 | 7 round SNEB pod on pylon |
Option 5 | Single AS.12 missile on each outer pylon |
Option 6 | Free fall bomb on each pylon |
Option 7 | - |
Option 8 | - |