SNCASO SO-4060

[Brian da Basher]

Nice work, Archie! I'm going to enjoy watching this one come together. I'm also very intrigued by the completed models at the bottom of the last shot. I wouldn't mind seeing more of those too.

Brian da Basher

[Phnx28]

Looking great, Archie! This one sure looks like it would've had better payload options than the Mirage IV, what with more room for wing pylons and all. A great stablemate to Mirage F.1s and such, perhaps after an Atar 9K50 upgrade like the Mirage IVP's got?

[Archibald]

The SO-4060 was really Mirage IV main rival. You can find different variants of these aircrafts in three differents competitions
- Aeronavale long range fighter and nuclear strike (from the Verdun... a kind of vigilante/ Phantom mix)
- AdA long range  fighter (to replace the Vautour)
- AdA light nuclear bomber.

Paradoxically, Mirage IVB rival (for the 60 tons, 5000km range supersonic  bomber) was not a scaled up SO-4060 but a Breguet.
The Br.1180  looked like a scaled up Jaguar... In fact the Br.1210 (Jaguar ancestor) and 1180 were drawn in paralel, at the beginning of the 60's. That's why they look similar

Lets go back to the SO-4060... problem was the AdA had no money for a twin-jet heavy fighter (until the 90's and the Rafale). Other problem was the Mirage IV seem to be superior for every missions due to its delta wing (more efficient at supersonic speeds).

(salvo, maybe, naval strike : delta wing is not welcome on a carrier due to high landing speed. In every case, the PA.58 Verdun was never build, so Mirage IVM and SO-4060M were non starter).


In fact, a SO-4060 prototype was started in 1955 with atar-101 engines of
4500 kgp only. That's why it was limited to mach 1.3... Mirage IV studies started in 1956 but due to shift in requirements (from heavy fighter to light nuclear bomber) the Mirage IV in the end won the race.
The SO-4060 prototype had been built around Atar-101, for the all weather mission.
Now what the AdA needed was a light bomber powered by Atar-9K...

To make things worse, huge budget cuts hapened in 1957 ( a kind of french white paper ).
SMB-2 and Vautour orders were cancelled along the Verdun carrier, AdA
Etendard IVs, Trident II, Leduc 022....  heavy fighters were replaced by the Mirage IIIC.
Only survivor (as the TSR-2 in GB, really!) was the medium bomber (Mirage IVB then Mirage IVA).

[Archibald]

Sorry for the long post...
Well we can imagine that in the end, Governement decided to finish the SO-4060 prototype, even if it had Atar-101s. Second prototype was modified to receive
Atar-9, and proved it had very good performances.
When de Gaulle came to power in 1958 he stopped French involvement in algeria, and decided to reinforce AdA strength.
Etendard IV (in the low and medium height interception role), Mirage IIIC (supersonic) SO-4060 (long range) and Trident II (above 60 000 ft) were bought in huge numbers...
The SO-4060 survived only because the Mirage IV become a bomber, and the Mirage III lacked range.
The plane also beated the Mirage IIIE in the all-weather strike fighter role.


Mr Phnx, this plane could have had a Phantom-like life. It could have been the only alternative in the heavy fighter field in the 60's.  
The Mirage IVP were not upgraded to the Atar 9K50 standard. Their engines stayed Atar 9K31 slightly less powerfull (6800kgp Vs 7200 kgp).

For the radar: Cyrano II and later IV, R-530 AAMs...

[Archibald]

R-530 are obvious as AAM (medium range, SARH, low...efficiency. I red that one day, a R-530 turned a barrel around its Mirage F1 launcher... the pilot was quite pale after that )
Short range IR AAM were AIM-9B (this was before the introduction of Matra
Magic 1 circa 1978).
I know how to have R-530... Heller Mirage F1 has two

Intakes and undercarriage fitted, and nose changed to a more pointed shape (long life to the putty, I used huge quantities of it for this model).

enjoy!

[GTX]

I wouldn't have believed it, but someone (Fonderie Miniatures to be exact) has released a kit of this interesting looking aircraft and in 1/48!  See here for more.

Regards,

Greg

[Archibald]

I already know it for a long time! Main problem is I'm a 1/72 scale fanatic  ^_^

(but you guys opened my eyes to the marvellous "scalorama" concept... what about a 1/3 scaled-up, heavy bomber Grognard (with a crew of 4 of course!) ?

What is interesting with 1/48 scale is Heller also made a Mirage IV, Fonderie Miniature also have a Vautour, so you can have the 3 french light bombers

[Archibald]

I'm still thinking about my alternate french aircraft industry!!!

Hmm let's try three groups (instead of Dassault alone)

1
Sud-Aviation (funded on 1st March 1957 by the merging of SNCA SE and SO) specialise in heavy fighters and light bombers, around three aircrafts...
    - SNCASE brings its Grognard (heavy, supersonic strike aircraft on the model    of the F-105 / F-107 ? still with two engines ? )
   - SNCASO has two aircrafts, the 4050 Vautour and 4060 Cyclone (yes, it was the "official" name of the plane I'm actually building.)

We can imagine that the Vautour evolve into a long-range, high subsonic bomber (on the model of the Bucc, the two aircrafts beeing very close )

And the SO-4060 Cyclone become a heavy fighter on the model of the Phantom (four R-530 recessed ala Sparrow + sidewinders and drop tanks underwings)

2
Breguet
Naval fighters (if the RN want the BR.1120 sirocco, we can imagine a Jaguar cooperative program 5 years earlier)

3
Dassault
Light fighters for the AdA (like in real world)

In the 70's, Breguet is taken over by Aerospatiale (Sud aviation + Nord aviation) and both form a powerfull group against dassault (their military aircrafts activities include
- Naval fighters
- heavy fighters
- Cooperative programs with foreign countries and licence build (A-7 Corsair II for example, Jaguar, T-45 Goshawk...)
- Transport and civilian aircrafts (Transall, Br.941, TBM-700, Caravelle and the like)



In brief... here's the two french heavy fighters of the 50's , the Mirage IVC and
SO-4060.
Both could have become a kind of French equivalent to the Toom, but the SO-4060 prototype was scrapped and the Mirage IVC become... a light nuclear bomber.

[Archibald]

In the end, the Mirage IVC benefited from the building of his "rival "...
Remains of the Mirage IVA intakes went to the... Mirage IVC (sounds logical now ?)
Heavy surgery again (to get ride ride of some crap), putty and paint... the
SO-4060 also received its coat of paint...

Pics...

[Sisko]

I wouldn't have believed it, but someone (Fonderie Miniatures to be exact) has released a kit of this interesting looking aircraft and in 1/48!  See here for more.

Regards,

Greg

I always maintain that this aircraft looks like something from "The Wings of Honneamise"



PS it is an anime, a damn good one. Wings of Honneamise

[Sisko]

Sorry Archie, I forgot to say that you model is looking good and I like the idea of a scaled up bomber version of the Grognard.

[GTX]

PS it is an anime, a damn good one

Sisko,

I couldn't agree more.  The Wings of Honneamise would have to be one of my all time favourites.  Not only was the story great, but I especially like some of the designs involved:






Regards,

Greg

[Archibald]

Nice! In fact there was a forerunner to the Grognard, the SE-580. The Dorsal intake come from this one... and it is very similar to the last two "things" of the pics.

[ysi_maniac]

In the end, the Mirage IVC benefited from the building of his "rival "...
Remains of the Mirage IVA intakes went to the... Mirage IVC (sounds logical now ?)
Heavy surgery again (to get ride ride of some crap), putty and paint... the
SO-4060 also received its coat of paint...

Pics...

I love these planes. And the anime too.          

[Archibald]

I've just changed the paint for humbrol 11 (aluminium). Plenty of putty to mask flaws.
Well I've to make a big letter to Heller (including a Mirage 2000B canopy for a certain person   ) asking for R-530, drop tanks and some other stuff...