Under the designation Nord 1400, Nord designed a maritime reconnaissance and air-sea rescue amphibian flying-boat for service with the French navy. A cantilever gullwing monoplane with a two-step all-metal hull, the aircraft had accommodation for a crew of seven, plus a roomy rear cabin with a large sliding door on the port side for rescue operations. It was first flown as a flying-boat on 6 January 1949, as the N 1400-01 Noroit (F-WFDL), then powered by two 1193kW Gnome-Rhone 14R radial engines; retractable tailwheel landing gear to provide amphibious capability was installed initially on the N 1400-02 and on the N 1400-01 at a later date. The N 1401 Noroit (F-WFKU) was flown on 6 August 1949 with two 1342kW SNECMA-built Junkers Jumo engines, the second example (F-SFKN) being flown later with similar power-plant, and both were tested in 1950 with two Bristol Hercules radial engines. These pre-production aircraft, plus 21 other examples, were all completed to N 1402 Noroit standard for the French navy's Escadrille 5F, the last of them being delivered in 1956.