La comète patrouille - The SNCASE SE 206M Pacifique
In October 1951, France's Secrétariat Général à l'Aviation Civile (SGAC) issued two jet airliner requirements. The first was for a domestically-built, licensed version of the British de Havilland DH.106 Comet for long-range use by the flag-carrier Air France. The second was for a more ambitious French-designed mid-range airliner. In early 1952, an agreement was reached between de Havilland Aircraft and the Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Est to license-build the new DH.106 Comet in France. This arrangement made sense - SNCASE already had a relationship with de Havilland, building DH.100 Vampire fighter under license (as the SNCASE Mistral).
The Comet airframe was to be adjusted to French construction standards as well as to metric measures. Initially, the aircraft would be powered by locally-assembled Ghost turbojets but developed versions of the airliner were expected to be powered by French Snecma ATAR engines. It all sounded like this avion de ligne à turboréacteur would proceed smoothly. That was not to be. Investigations into what would become the mid-range SE 210 revealed that the domestic ATAR would be both overweight and underpowered. Fortunately, de Havilland was working on a follow-on Comet variant to be powered by Rolls-Royce Avon axial-flow turbojets. The Avon was also adopted for the SE 206 (and mid-range SE 210, now as a lightened twin-jet).
The Comet was also encountering structural problems. In May 1953, a Comet broke up in flight over India. The on-site investigation concluded that this break-up had begun with a spar failure of the elevator. On the assumption that this failure was resonance-related, the SNCASE bureau de dessin devised an entirely new empennage with the horizontal tail raised well above the turbojet efflux (this same tail design would later reappear on the SE 210). So, the problem appeared to be addressed and prototype construction could begin. But time was passing and Air France - the launch customer for the SE 206 Comète - had announced its intention to buy three British-built DH.106 Comets to fill the gap.
Problèmes d'abandon - The Flag-Carrier Bails on the SE 206 Comète
The Air France announcement made things rather dire for SNCASE ... but it was about to get worse. In January 1954, another Comet 1 broke up in mid-air - this time, shortly after taking off from Rome. In 1954, a third Comet 1 broke up an plunged into the Mediterranean. Immediately, the Comet fleet was grounded and British production at Hatfield halted. The outcome of the investigations into those crashes is well-known. In France, the result was Air France returning its Comet 1s to de Havilland and cancelling all orders with SNCASE for up to ten SE 206 Comète 10F airliners. This left SNCASE with prototypes SE 206-01 and '-02 as well as two pre-production machines under construction at its factory in Toulouse. The question now was what to do with these unfinished airframes?
In its process of rendre domestiqué, SNCASE had been forced to adopt more conservative construction techniques than those employed by de Havilland. This meant pre-drilled riveting techniques, more readily-available aluminum alloys, and less metal bonding. By happenstance, these limitations proved to be a blessing. It meant that the SE 206 would be immune to many of the structural flaws of the Comet. SNCASE had also adopted stylish 'Gothic arch' windows. Again by chance, this ogival shaping helped prevent stress cracks from forming around the window openings. And yet, Air France would not be moved. Earlier interest from Union Aéromaritime de Transport in the SE 206 Comète also evaporated.
SE 206 Comètes Enlist in the Aéronautique Navale
Fortunately for SNCASE, la République was willing to step in. [1] The four Comète airframes were to be completed - unpressurized for added safety - as patrol aircraft rather than as airliners. Dubbed the SE 206M Pacifique, these aircraft would form a new land-based Aéronavale patrol unit based in French Polynesia. Escadrille 62S was formed specifically for the task. The SE 206M Pacifique patrol aircraft were operated from a newly-created airstrip at BAN (Base d'aéronautique navale) Papeete. [2] To suit their new task, the SE 206Ms were fitted with an under-belly stores pannier and maritime surveillance sensors - the latter including ASV Mark III search radar sets taken from recently-retired Aéronavale Avro Lancasters. Although kitted out for minimal ASW, the key role for the Pacifiques was surveillance of the zones maritimes de souveraineté (EEZs) of French Polynesia.
Image SNCASE (Sud Aviation) SE 206M Pacifique of Escadrille 62S, BAN Papeete. This aircraft wears the delivery scheme including large 'EFO' markings which became obsolete in 1957. [3]
The SE 206M Pacifique continued to operate until 1965 when the remaining pair were replaced by P2V-6 Neptunes (ex-Flottille 21F).
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[1] This had mostly to do with keeping SNCASE afloat until the SE 210 mid-range jet could be launched.
[2] BAN Papeete would be expanded in 1959-60 to become the new Aéroport international de Tahiti - Faa'a.
[3] The Établissements français d'Océanie (French Establishments/Settlements of Oceania) became Polynésie française (French Polynesia) in 1957. However, the 'EFO' titles remained in place on the Pacifique fleet until early 1960.
