SNCAC NC.701French Air Force North Africa. Compare the glazed nose to the NC.702 picture above
TheSNCAC Martinet was a German-designed but French-built twin-engined military trainer and light transport monoplane. It was operated by the French military and in small numbers by French airlines from the late 1940s.
To aid the German war effort, the SNCAC factory at Bourges was ordered to produce 455Siebel Si 204s light transports for the Luftwaffe. Production started in 1942 and 168 had been delivered before the Liberation stopped production. The French decided to continue producing the aircraft and designated the aircraftNC.700. Only a prototype NC.700 was built powered byRenault 12S-00 engines (derived from the German AS-411) although the designation was also used for a small number of aircraft originally intended for the Luftwaffe and diverted to the French Air Force.
The company then produced two variants; theNC.701 Martinet based on the Si 204D with a glazed unstepped nose and powered by twoRenault 12S engines, and theNC.702 Martinet with a conventional stepped windscreen nose based on the Si 204A.
The Martinet was used by both the French Air Force and Navy and the final example did not retire until 1963. A small number were used by commercial operators includingAir France but were soon replaced by larger aircraft like theDouglas DC-3. A number were used by the French Postal Service but they were grounded following an accident to F-BBFA is July 1946. The aircraft was used by theIGN for photo-survey work and a few aircraft were also exported to Poland and Sweden for use on photo-mapping duties.
