If you’re in Paris and looking for something off the beaten path, the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget is worth a look.
We had limited time here, so I didn’t have a chance to stop and read every plaque. That means I’m going to have a hard time identifying most of the pre-WWII stuff.
Intermittent rain showers also prevented us from seeing most of the outdoor exhibits.
This next one is either a riding lawnmower or the world’s smallest airplane. Looks like it would go just fast enough to kill you.
OK! I know this one! It’s a de Havilland Dragon Rapide airliner from the 1930’s.
Potez 53 racing plane from 1933. From the looks I would say this was every bit as advanced as anything we were building in 1933.
Here’s one you don’t see every day. One of three surviving Dewoitine D.520’s. Roughly in the same class as an early Spitfire or Bf-109.
“It was a nasty little brute. Looked beautiful but didn't fly beautifully. Once you get it on the ground, I was told not to leave the controls until it was in the hangar and the engine stopped. You could be taxiing toward the hangar and sit back when suddenly it would go in a right angle.”
Captain Eric “Winkle” Brown on flying the D.520
Spitfire in Free French markings (Cross of Lorraine in light blue under the windshield)
The ubiquitous P-51 Mustang. I didn’t think that France ever flew these, but my research tells me that the Free French operated the reconnaissance version.
The sinister looking FW-190, sometimes nicknamed the “Butcher Bird”.
Arguably one of the best fighters produced by any nation in WWII.
Poorly lit photograph of a P-47 in French markings and the wing of a C-47. The French Air Force operated the P-47 as late as 1960. They saw combat in Algeria.
C-47 sporting D-Day invasion stripes on the wings. I think this was a specific model of the C-47 meant for dropping paratroops. I noticed it sported a few extra antennas.
The rather cozy interior of the C-47.
A-1 Skyraider in French markings. French Skyraiders also saw combat in Algeria.
One my all time favorite aircraft, the Mirage IV strategic bomber.
Just getting to see one of these was worth the trip.
You can see the JATO rockets near the landing gear. The large white and black object is a free-fall nuclear weapon.
The museum has not one, but two Concordes. While a commercial failure it was a technical triumph. Plus it has some of the best lines of any aircraft ever built. The one in the back (red and white) was used as a scientific test bed.
Afterburners, or “reheat” if you’re a Brit.
Clam shell type thrust reverser.
Close up of the Rolls Royce Olympus engines.
Two beautiful ladies.
This was as close as I could get to the cockpit. Looked about as cramped as the rest of it. Roughly the size of a 727 cockpit I would say.
This shows the rather cozy passenger compartment. I’d say the seating is roughly equivalent to an Embraer 190 regional jet.
Now we get to the really fun stuff. The hall of prototypes.
This the Leduc 0.10 experimental ramjet, launched from atop a SE161 mother ship.
Despite ramjet power and swept wings, the Leduc 0.22 was unable to break the sound barrier.
Sud-Ouest Triton. The first French-designed jet aircraft. Flew in 1946.
This little guy is the Payen 49 experimental delta wing. It doesn’t look like it would be very stable, but amazingly enough it flew.
Prototype for the highly successful Mirage III fighter.
The SNCASO Trident was a prototype interceptor using two wingtip mounted turbojets plus a rocket engine. It had pretty impressive performance for its time, reaching Mach 1.8 and 65,000 feet.
The Nord Griffon was to have been a Mach 2+ interceptor. It featured a unique turbo-ramjet engine similar to the one used on the SR-71. Some of the French research data was used in the development of the SR-71’s engines.
Behind the Griffon you can see the prototype VTOL Mirage IIIV. It worked but wasn’t practical. The eight lift engines would have been dead weight except for takeoff and landing. Range was severely limited. It still holds the record for the fastest VTOL aircraft.
Dassault Mystere IV, which I believe was supersonic only in a dive.
Prototype swing-wing Mirage G that never saw production.
Behind the Mirage is the truly weird Atar Volant test vehicle. AKA the “flying drainpipe”. It did fly, but later crashed on a test flight. It took a lot of courage to be a test pilot in the 1950’s.
Martin-Baker ejection seat and French pilot gear. That is very similar to the seat used in the F-4. The primary handle is the “face curtain” at the top. The secondary handle was between the pilot’s legs.
Mirage 2000. Still in service with several countries. The French have replaced these with the more modern Rafale.
I believe that is a “Mistral”, which was a license-built version of the de Havilland Vampire.
North American F-100 (left). I’m not sure about the one on the right. I’d say it’s probably an F-86D but it could be the Mystere IV N.
Cutaway version of a Mirage F1.
Dassault Ouragan (Hurricane). First operational French-designed jet fighter.
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak. Among other things, these were known for exceptionally long takeoff rolls.
“Don’t give me an F-84. It’s nothing but a ground-loving whore. It’ll huff and it’ll wheeze, it’ll never clear the trees! Don’t give me an F-84!”
Dassault Super Mystere. The first French supersonic fighter and roughly equivalent to our F-100.
Unfortunately that’s all we got to see. I hope to get back there sometime and see the rest of it.