Nord Norécrin

1200 Norécrin
	Nord 1203 Norécrin
Role	Cabin monoplane
Manufacturer	Nord Aviation
First flight	15 December 1945
Number built	378

The Nord 1200 Norécrin is a French two or three-seat (later four-seat) cabin monoplane designed and built by Nord Aviation.

Development

The Norécrin was developed to meet a French ministry of transport sponsored design competition. The Norécrin is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear and the prototype (Nord 1200) was designed to receive a nose-mounted 75 kW (100 hp) Mathis G4-R piston engine but flew only with a 100 kW (140 hp) Renault 4Pei (first flight on 15 December 1945 with Georges Detre as test pilot). The production version had three-seats and was designated the Nord 1201 Norécrin I. A number of variants were produced with different engines fitted. Later variants had four-seats and the Nord 1203 Norécrin V was a two-seat military variant with machine-guns and rockets. It was a successful design and 378 aircraft were built.

Variants

1200 Norécrin: Prototype with a 100 kW (140 hp) Renault 4Pei engine.
1201 Norécrin I: Three-seat production variant with a 100 kW (140 hp) Renault 4P-01 engine (22 built)
1202 Norécrin: Prototype four-seat variant with a 120 kW (160 hp) Potez 4D-01 engine

Nord 1203 Norecrin II at Sherburn-in-Elmet airfield, Yorkshire, in July 1951

1203 Norécrin II: Production variant with 101 kW (135 hp) Regnier 4L-00 engine.
1203 Norécrin III: Norécrin II with modified landing gear.
1203 Norécrin IV: Powered by a 130 kW (170 hp) Regnier 4L-02 engine.
1203 Norécrin V: Armed military variant.
1203 Norécrin VI: 1955 production variant with a 120 kW (160 hp) Regnier 4L-14 engine.
1203 Norécrin M1: 1955 prototype with a 130 kW (180 hp) Lycoming O-360 engine, derated to 120 kW (160 hp) .
1204 Norécrin: Powered by a 93 kW (125 hp) Continental C125 flat-four engine.
1204/II Norécrin: Powered by a 108 kW (145 hp) Continental C145-2 flat-four engine.

Operators

Brazil

OMTA - One aircraft only.

Military operators

Argentina

Argentine Coast Guard

France

Israel

Israeli Air Force - Two aircraft only operated 1948–1949.^[1]

Switzerland

Swiss Air Force

Specifications (1203 Norécrin II)

Nord 1200 2-view drawing from L'Aerophile March 1946

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. p. 2616.

General characteristics

Crew: one
Capacity: three passengers
Length: 7.21 m (23 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 10.22 m (33 ft 6.25 in)
Height: 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 13 m² (139.93 sq ft)
Empty weight: 652 kg (1,437 lb)
Gross weight: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Regnier 4L-00 air-cooled inverted inline piston-engine , 101 kW (135 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 280 km/h (174 mph, 151 kn)
Range: 900 km (559 mi, 486 nmi)
Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,405 ft)

References

^ Aloni 2005, pp. 54–55

Aloni, Shlomo (September 2005). "Ils furent les deux premiers avions français de l'armée israélienne: Les deux "Norécrin d'Israël". Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 430. pp. 52–55.
Cuny, Jean (1989). Les avions de combat français, 2: Chasse lourde, bombardement, assaut, exploration [French Combat Aircraft 2: Heavy Fighters, Bombers, Attack, Reconnaissance]. Docavia (in French). Vol. 30. Ed. Larivière. OCLC 36836833.
Salatin, Claude (March 2002). "Courrier des Lecteurs" [Readers' Letters]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (108): 2. ISSN 1243-8650.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. p. 2616.
Le Trait d'Union (The Norecrin serie by Claude Salaun issue 109 to 121 1986-1988). French branch of Air Britain.

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[fana430p545-1] Aloni 2005, pp. 54–55

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