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| After early tests of the Gerfaut la, Nord designed and built the Nord 1500-01 Griffon I research aircraft, which was intended to flight-test a combined turbojet-ramjet power unit. A delta wing aircraft with 60° of sweepback on the leading edge, the N 1500 had rwings with elevons for control in pitch and roll. Thus the tail unit comprised only swept vertical surfaces, and fixed foreplanes were mounted on each side of the forward fuselage. The Griffon I was flown for the first time on 20 September 1955. Initially powered by a 4100kg thrust SNECMA Atar 101G21 turbojet, it was flown later with a 3800kg thrust Atar 101F. At the completion of initial testing the airframe was modified to accept a 3500kg thrust Atar 101E3 turbojet within the ducting of an integral ramjet of Nord design, the turbojet being located just forward of the ramjet burners. Then redesignated N 1500-02 Griffon II, it was flown first on 23 January 1957, completing more
than 200 test flights before the Nord research programme ended in 1959.
| R.W. Horn, e-mail, 15.01.2012 23:01 From what I've been able to learn about this extraordinary machine, there were no plans to operate the crft om ramjet power alone, but simply allow that excess air beyond the needs, and "swallowing" capacity, of the turbojet to feed the ramjet at high Mach numbers, (i.e. M2+), the two operating together. What I don't understand is the progressive use of a LOWER(!!)-powered ATAR turbojet as a sustainer, unless the descending thrust figures are a "typo". Another question that has intrigued me is the controllability of the ramjet unit itself, which was a major, if not insurmountable, problem for contemporary Leduc in his 022. reply | | dashanya, 20.06.2011 05:39 I would like to know if the Griffon II ever completed transition from turbojet to ramjet and, if so, what Mach number was reached in tests. reply | | bombardier, e-mail, 25.05.2011 09:35 The aircraft was not experimental it was a prototype fighter reply | | anon, e-mail, 06.03.2010 00:26 The highest mach number achieved by the Griffon II was 2.19 reply | |
| | Jim Lloyd, e-mail, 26.04.2009 15:42 27 October 1958 pilot Andre Turcat set closed circuit speed record of 1,638 kmh. reply | | Joe Watts, e-mail, 24.06.2008 02:56 I would like to know if the Griffon II ever completed transition from turbojet to ramjet and, if so, what Mach number was reached in tests. reply |
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