War Planes, France

War Planes are a small collection of ex-military aircraft, laying in a seldom-used corner of a French airfield. This location is also known as “Urbex Airlines”. We visited the planes on a summer evening, staying until sunset and enjoying a beer (or two).

There are three planes in this area;

Lockheed Neptune SP-2H

These American-built turboprop aircraft were in service between 1945 and 1984, and were designed as a maritime patrol and anti-submarine (ASW) aircraft. They were used extensively during the Cold War, where they were paired with destroyer warships in “Hunter-Killer” teams to track and annihilate Soviet submarines. The belly-mounted radar enabled detection of submarines as they surfaced, even across large distances. They were also fitted with Magnetic Anomaly Detectors, which could also aid in submarine detection. Sonar buoys could be launched from the rear of the plane, to tag the last-know location of a submarine so the destroyer warships could zero in on the target.

At the end of World War II some aircraft were retrofitted with jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) rocket boosters to enable deployment from aircraft carriers. They were fitted with compact “Little Boy” nuclear bombs, to increase the US Navy nuclear strike capability at this critical time. The aircraft could not land on aircraft carriers so would have to find a friendly airbase, or ditch in the sea next to the Navy fleet.

Nord Noratlas N.2501

The Nord Noratlas is a French designed and manufactured military transport aircraft. They operated between 1953 and 1989. They were used to transport troops, paratroopers, cargo or medics and patients. They were designed to replace the bigger transport aircraft that were used in World War II, and offer a more flexible medium-sized military service aircraft.

Fouga CM-170 Magister R

Fouga CM-170 is a French two-seater jet trainer aircraft, first flown in 1952. These aircraft were used to train the French Air Force in the newly developed jet propulsion engine technology.