The Breguet 941 was a French four-engine turboprop STOLtransport aircraft developed by Breguet in the 1960s. Although widely evaluated, it was not built in large numbers, with only one prototype and four production aircraft being built.
Design and development
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the French aviation pioneerLouis Charles Breguet developed a concept for a Short Take Off and Landing aircraft using four free-turbine turboshaft engines to drive a common powershaft, which, in turn drove four oversize propellers, which were evenly spaced along the leading edge of the wing with large, full-span, slotted flaps, with the arrangement known as "l'aile soufflée" or blown wing. An initial, experimental prototype, powered by four Turbomeca Turmo II engines, the Breguet 940 Integral, first flew on 21 May 1958, and was used to prove the concept, demonstrating excellent short field performance. This led to an order being placed in February 1960 for a prototype of an aircraft employing the same concept, but capable of carrying useful loads. This aircraft, the Breguet 941, first flew on 1 June 1961. Testing of this prototype resulted in an order for four improved production aircraft, the Breguet 941S for the French Air Force, first flying on 19 April 1967. These were fitted with more powerful engines and a modified rear cargo door to allow for air-dropping of stores.
Br 942
Breguet intended to develop the 940 genre further by adding a pressurised fuselage with airline seating as the Breguet Br 942. Wings, landing gear, empennage and engines were essentially similar to the Br 941, but were to be mated to a new diameter circular section fuselage, with airline seating for 40 first/business class or up to 60 economy class passengers. After the limited success of the Br 941 and Br 941S and expected high running costs, further development was abandoned.
Operational history
The 941 prototype was tested extensively by both France, and the United States, where a license agreement had been consummated with McDonnell Aircraft. The prototype, known as the McDonnell 188 in the US, was evaluated by both NASA and the US military, but no orders were placed. Several photos of the McDonnell-Douglas 188 are on display at the Air Museum in San Diego, in American Airlines and Eastern Airlines liveries. The second Br 941S also carried out a tour of the United States, being evaluated as a STOL passenger airliner for operation from small city airports, although, again, no orders resulted. This aircraft demonstration activity included flights for Eastern Airlines in the northeast U.S. The four Breguet 941S aircraft entered service with the French Air Force in 1967, serving until 1974.
Variants
;Breguet Br 940 Integral ;Breguet Br 941 ;Breguet Br 941S ;Breguet Br 942 ;Breguet 945 ;McDonnell 188:. Proposed licence manufacture and development in the United States by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.
