SW - Sud-Est SE.2410 Grognard

An Armée de l'Air specification for a ground-attack aircraft drawn up in 1948 was intended to spur the French aviation industry to produce a jet-powered design. Sud-Est entered the competition with a development of the earlier SE.2400 attack aircraft, after testing a model in the ONERA (Chalais-Meudon) wind tunnel. Problems encountered in test flights led to a number of modifications to the tail unit and ailerons. They built two prototypes: one-seat SE.2410 and two-seat SE.2415 with different wings, too. Although neither prototype was initially armed, the planned armament array included two DEFA 30mm cannon as well as bombs and rockets. The first flight of the first prototype took place on 30 April 1950, while the second prototype flew on 14 February 1951 but suffered from tailplane flutter. During the trials, the Armée de l'Air radically altered the specifications for fighter and bomber aircraft, virtually eliminating the attack category. This change jeopardized future development of the Grognard as the unpressurized airframe was not readily adaptable to other missions. The program was shut down in 1952 with the Vautour multi-purpose fighter/bomber having proved to be a more promising design. The SE.2410 was eventually retired and later scrapped by 1954.