From your description, it sounds more like a 1950’s take on an AH-56 Cheyenne.

Hey, maybe! In fact I don’t know much about the Cheyenne’s intended purpose… but Maybe the Cheyenne could fit well this topic, too…

Was there any cause of that mentioned?

From memory: engine failure while flying at low altitude. The pilot managed to find a field to land in, but something went wrong when he touched the ground (an unspotten obstacle, I think…).

Your memory wasn’t so bad, Merlock. Very interesting.

Thanks a lot. Always pleased to speak with you. 🙂
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Honda Cl100

What does that magazine say about the Potez 75?

Well… I read it many years ago. The article mostly agrees with what you said yourself, but from memory it added some interesting infos:

The potez 75 was a French army (not Air force) project. It was designed as an anti-tank aircraft and was expected to use the (then under development) anti-tank guided missiles SS-11 from Aerospatiale. This explains the curious configuration of this twin-seated aircraft: the pilot in the cabin’s nose, and the gunner at the very top of the plane to get a maximum visibility while guiding (or trying to) the AS-11 missiles… It could carry four of them.
The whole system proved really impractical, despite the excellent stability of the P-75 ? low speed and altitude. Let’s be honest the potez-75 was designed to land VERY SHORT absolutely everywhere and was a very easy aircrat to fly, with no vice or danger for young pilots. It’s overall flying qualities where deemed as “excellent”…

When it was understood that it couldnit survive a modern battlefield, the Potez-75 was tested as a COIN aircraft in Algeria. Although it was fairly good at the job, it was not better than others aircrafts and there was few interest in buying it (as you said the Skyraider was already here and perfomed better).
It was then expected to use it as a liaison aircraft, but an armed and armored aircraft was a bit too much for such a role…

Finally, the only prototype crashed, killing the crew and ending the project…

To be fair with the Potez-75, the concept of an anti-aircraft was not that stupid at the beginning of the Cold war, and the idea to use air-launched anti-tank missiles was revolutionnary (it finally catched when ATGM where adapted to helicopters). But the plane was simply not up to the job…

Still, I can’t help but considering it (from a tactical concept’s point of view) as tha A-10 thunderbolt’s ancestor…

Some more infos here (in french)
http://avions.legendaires.free.fr/potez75.php
http://www.aviafrance.com/875.htm

and in PDF
http://richard.ferriere.free.fr/archives/essai/potez75.pdf
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Ultimate Fighter

Potez 75 – Outdated by the time WWII started, this open-cockpit, fixed landing gear ground attack aircra…wait. What? This was mid-50s aircraft? Are you joking? I wasn’t counting aircraft that didn’t see service, but someone was dumb enough to sign a contract for over 100 of these. I mean seriously. For a country that had the Skyraider in service… Seriously…

Damn you Logan Hartke!! You managed to find something EVEN WORSE than my Arsenal VB-10!! 😡
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Toyota Tsusho History

And droptanks?

That too. I’m not serious about the “KC-380”, of course, and in fact I’m afraid it could not carry anything underwing at all (at least not without serious modifications), but I may be wrong… 😉

My sympathies to the French people, they have always had my greatest respect.

Thank you, Pete.

There’s been a few comments made in the UK that brunt of the fighting is mainly down to the US, Brits and Canadians and that other nations involved, from the EU in particular, haven’t been prepared to do the business.

Well… France has been in Afghanistan since the beginning, and had already suffered some casulaties, but it’s he first time it happens in such importance…

Now, more than one week later, some informations make clear that the soldiers made some mistake that lead them to the ambush (the most important was the lack of previous recon mission…).

Apparently, some decision has been taken to avoid such event, with the sending of drones and spec force (that were currentley unavailable! :mad:) in the country…

I would mostly agree with your point of vie, although in a less infuriated manner. Since I learned that French troops were to be sent in Afghanistan, I expected some casualties (but not that important!), the trouble is that in France a majority of people “don’t see the point” in being at war in Afghanistan and this could become a major internal politic issue…
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Volcano Classic Vaporizer

Upgraded offer, eh?

Why not go the whole hog with a KC-380?:D:diablo:

I’ve already asked myself this question… 😀

Note, that a “KC-380” would offer a LOT of room as a freighter (the planned freighter version was expected to carry 150 tonnes on 10,400 km), but I’m afraid it would cause some serious problems to add the underwing refueling pods…

Yes……………trust me the KC-45 is not going to win this second round. On the other hand the US understands the political fallout both ways. So, the A-400 is the only real solution. Of course its just talk at this stage…..Really, if I was EADS(Airbus) and Europe in general I would be floating the idea as exceptable solution……….Maybe EADS should partner with LM and not Northrup Grumman???

Interesting, thanks for the info. 😉

Not that I will hold my breath about a USAF-operated A-400M, but I cross my fingers, just in case…

Some strange/interesting figures here :- [url]Range
1,600 nautical miles (2,900km)

Is that the Ferry range (6,610kg fuel toal) or the internal fuel range (4500 kg) ?