Breguet Br.1050 Alizé
Introduction
Br.1050 Alizé
A French navy Alizé with being serviced on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
Source: www.avionslegendaires.net -
© copyright lies with original owner
Anti submarine warfare aircraft
5 prototypes
India - Indian Navy
Description
Introduction
The Breguet Alizé is an early Cold War era anti-submarine warfare aircraft of French origin. It was developed by Breguet in the 1950's. The design was based on an earlier design for a fighter that did not go into production. As with many French aircraft the Alizé is named after type of wind, the tradewind in this case. The Alizé was to be used from aircraft carriers while the contemporary Breguet Atlantic carried out its missions from bases near the shore. Although the anti-submarine warfare capabilities were a bit lacking, it proved to be very capable as a maritime patrol aircraft. During several conflicts Indian navy Alizé proved effective against small surface vessels.
Design
The Alizé is a turboprop powered aircraft. It has a conventional design with a single low mounted wing and a single Rolls-Royce Dart engine in the nose. The crew of three consists of a pilot and radar operator seated side by side, with the sensor operator behind them. The wings can be folded to save space during storage on the aircraft carrier. Landing on the carrier deck is achieved by a hook at the tail of the plane that catches a wire on the landing deck. Weapons can be carried in the internal bay or on wing pylons.
Firepower
For use against submarines a single lightweight torpedo or two depth charges can be carried in the internal weapons bay. Free fall bombs, 68mm SNEB unguided rockets and AS.12 guided rockets can be carried on the wing pylons. There is no internal cannon or machine gun.
Sensors
The Alizé is fitted with a retractable radar for surface search and with sonobueys for detecting submarines. In the early 1980's a batch of French aircraft received an upgrade with a better radar, improved navigation and ESM systems. A second upgraded in the 1990's included a datalink, improved avionics and FLIR camera. Even though the upgrades were major improvements over the original equipment, the capabilities remained a bit limited compared to contemporary aircraft in the same role.
Mobility
As a turboprop aircraft the speed is rather limited with a 518 km/h maximum at altitude and 460 km/h at sea level. The limited speed makes the Alizé an easy target for fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft guns. On the other hand speed is not a major requirement in maritime patrol. Endurance and range are of greater importance and both are good given an endurance of over 5 hours.
Users
The Alizé was only acquired by France and India, with France being the major user. Both nations used the Alizé on aircraft carriers and to a lesser extent from shore bases. During several conflicts the Alizé proved to be very useful, even though its effectiveness against submarines was limited. The last Alizé retired in the year 2000 and none remains in service.
Variants
Br.1050 Alizé
Left side view of Breguet Alizé on approach in 1986.
Source: Mike Freer -
© GFDL 1.2
Variants of the Breguet Alizé
The Breguet Br.1050 Alizé is an anti-submarine warfare aircraft for use from aircraft carriers. Only a single type was produced and there are no real variants.
In French service the Alizé was upgraded twice and renamed Br.1050M after the first upgrade. Both upgrades consisted of improving the electronics and sensors.
After the first upgrade the Alizé was reffered to as the ALM (ALizé Modernisé) and comprised of 28 aircraft. The second upgrade was denoted as the ALH (ALizé mis à Hauteur) and was carried out on 15 aircraft.
Details
Media
Br.1050 Alizé
An Alizé anti-submarine warfare aircraft landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
Source: www.avionslegendaires.net
Copyright: copyright lies with original owner
Br.1050 Alizé
An Alizé with both wings folded and showing special pylons for 127mm rockets.
Source: Philippe Le Pallec
Copyright: copyright lies with original owner
Br.1050 Alizé
French navy Breguet Alizé landing on an aircraft carrier. Note the arrestor hook has catched the cable.
Source: www.marine.free.fr
Copyright: CC BY-SA 2.0
Br.1050 Alizé
Line diagram of internal arrangements of the Alizé.
Source: www.ffaa.net
Copyright: copyright lies with original owner
Br.1050 Alizé
Breguet Alizé parked with wings in folded position at an airshow in 1998.
Source: Mike Freer
Copyright: GFDL 1.2
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