Nord Noratlas

Operational Nord 2501 of 1/61 squadron of the 61 Escadre de Transport of the French Air Force in 1969

During its service life with the Armée de l'Air, the Noratlas was initially predominantly operated in it cargo-carrying role; however, 10 had been fitted out, as ordered, to facilitate performing passenger operations as well. However, following the conclusion of Algerian War of Independence in 1962 and the conclusion of French military operations in that theatre, many aircraft underwent conversion work to perform additional secondary roles. Of the various post-delivery customisations and modifications made to the Noratlas fleet, the eight Nord Gabriels, which were used in the electronic warfare role, was perhaps the most useful as well as being the longest serving aircraft. During 1989, the final Gabriel was finally phased out of operations with the Armée de l'Air, marking the complete retirement of the wider type as well.

The Noratlas had been able to attain particular recognition and notoriety amongst the general public as a consequence of its use during the Suez Crisis of 1956. During the opening phase of the Anglo-French operation, French paratroopers had been successfully air-dropped using the type to quickly deploy at various strategic locations, such as immediately south of Port Said and Port Fouad in Egypt.

Nord Aviation N 2501D Noratlas at the Technik Museum, Speyer, Germany

During the post-war years, the newly formed nation of West Germany was faced with a similar situation to that which had prompted France to pursue development of the Noratlas. As such, the government decided to address the German Air Force's requirement for new transport aircraft in the same manner, eventually ordered a total of 187 Noratlases from 1956.[1] Of these, the first 25 aircraft were manufactured in France, while the other 161 Noratlases were manufactured by the West German-based Flugzeugbau Nord company under contract; such aircraft were designated as N-2501D. Of these aircraft, only 173 were delivered.[5] Flugzeugbau Nord had been involved in the Noratlas programme from an early stage, which was the company's first post-war aviation project, having been responsible for the design and manufacture of the majority of the aircraft's fuselage.[6]

According to author John P. Cann, if the Noratlas in German service had a weakness, it was that the fleet was furnished with four different sets of cockpit instrumentation and electronic systems as a result of its complex procurement arrangement.[7] The favourable experience with the Noratlas gave enthusiasm for further Franco-German collaborative efforts, leading directly to the larger and more advanced Transall C-160 transport aircraft.[8] As a result of the superior Transall becoming available, the German Air Force came to consider its Noratlas fleet to have been supplanted and rendered surplus to requirements. Accordingly, as early as 1964, the German Air Force began to offer individual Noratlases for resale; in this fashion, Germany became the primary source for the various smaller national operators that came to operate the type. Portugal was a major customer for the ex-German aircraft, purchasing many for their own military requirements.[9][1]

During 1956, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) initially purchased three examples of the N-2501IS. However, this procurement had been made under duress—the French government would only allow Israel to purchase 12 of its Dassault Ouragan jet-powered fighters if the nation also acquired at least three Noratlases in the same deal. The Israelis were upset by the terms of the offer, however, at the time, France was one of only a few countries that were willing to sell modern armaments and combat platforms to Israel; eventually, the Israeli government agreed to France's terms. However, once in service, IAF personnel quickly came to realize the utility of the Noratlas following its performance during the Suez Crisis of 1956.[10]

During 1959, having been suitably impressed by its use under combat conditions, the IAF purchased another three N-2501ISs; prior to the Six-Day War of 1967, an additional 16 ex-German Air Force N-2501Ds had also been acquired and put into service. The Noratlas fleet was primarily intended for cargo and paratroop transport, although several aircraft conducted more unconventional operations, being used as improvised bomber aircraft to perform long-range strike missions into Egypt (known as Operation Drought), much as the contemporary C-130s deployed the Daisy Cutter bomb in Vietnam. Amongst the other secondary roles that the IAF are known to have used their Noratlases for included maritime reconnaissance at the outset of the Six-Day War. It has been claimed that an IAF Noratlas had supposedly identified the USS Liberty prior to the USS Liberty Incident. During 1978, the IAF retired the last of their Noratlas fleet.

Noratlas of the Hellenic Air Force with serial 53-228 in 1979.

During 1970, the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) received 50 surplus Noratlases from Germany as part of a compensation package for events during the Second World War, as well as being an element of NATO-organised military assistance to Greece. The HAF Noratlases were operated by the 354th Tactical Airlift Squadron, based at Elefsis AFB on the outskirts of Athens. On the night of 21–22 July 1974, multiple HAF Noratlases played a role during the Operation Niki (meaning Victory in Greek), being used to airlift the 1st Greek Rangers Squadron from Souda, Crete to Nicosia, Cyprus, as part of Greece's response to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. In spite of the aircraft's age and the adverse flying conditions present throughout, 12 of the 15 aircraft which participated in Operation Niki had managed to arrive and land at Nicosia International Airport; at least one Noratlas is believed to have been shot down by friendly fire from Greek-aligned forces.[11] Regardless, the operation had allowed the Greek 1st Rangers Squadron to help retain the Nicosia airport under the control of the United Nations and avoid its surrender to the Turkish Brigade that had attacked it.

Civilian N-2502 of Aeromaritime with wingtip Turbomeca Marbore auxiliary jets in 1957

Former Portuguese Air Force N-2502F

The Portuguese Air Force operated a large number of Noratlases. During 1960, Portugal decided to purchase an initial batch of six militarized N-2502A (designated N-2502F) from French airline Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT). This purchase was quickly followed by other six of the same model, this time directly from Nord Aviation itself. Later on, an additional 19 N-2501Ds were purchased from the German Air Force.[8] Overall, multiple units of the Portuguese Air Force operated by the Noratlas, including Esquadra 32, based at Tancos Air Base, from 1970 to 1977, Esquadra 92, based at Luanda Air Base in Portuguese Angola, from 1961 to 1975, Esquadra 102, based at Beira Air Base in Mozambique, from 1962 to 1975, and Esquadra 123, based at Bissalanca Air Base in Portuguese Guinea, from 1969 to 1974.

Between 1961 and 1975, the Portuguese Air Force extensively operated their Noratlas fleet across all three of the African theatres of operations of the lengthy Portuguese Colonial War. In this lengthy conflict, the Noratlas was primarily used to conduct the intra-theatre tactical transportation missions, as well as to transport and deliver Portuguese paratroopers during airborne assault operations. Shortly following the independence of Angola and Mozambique in 1975, a batch of six ex-Portuguese Noratlas were given to the governments of these two new countries. By September 1977, all of the remaining Noratlases had been withdrawn from Portuguese service.

By 1951, a civil-orientated version of the Noratlas, was under development and had received multiple orders from domestic and overseas customers. Known as the N-2502A/B, it was designed to be suitable for the transportation of both passenger and cargo payloads; the principal difference between the military models and the civil variant was the addition of a pair of small Turbomeca Marboré IIE turbojets, installed within the wingtips, for the purpose of improving the type's performance during the takeoff phase of flight only.[12] The personnel doors normally used by paratroopers were also eliminated as it was seen as lacking value to the prospective civil customers it was aimed at.[13]

The 2502 was used primarily by civil operators such as Aéromaritime de Transport (N-2502A) and CGTA-Air Algérie (N-2502B). However, the Noratlas never achieved the same level of success of the military versions in the civil market; only ten aircraft of this model were ever completed. However, this model would also often end up in military service via acquisitions from civil operators; as such, it saw relatively limited service with civilian customers.

 Angola

• FAPA/DAA[17]

 Republic of the Congo

• Force Aérienne Congolaise

 Djibouti

• Djibouti Air Force

 France

• French Air Force

 Germany

• German Air Force

 Greece

• Hellenic Air Force

 Israel

• Israeli Air Force

 Mozambique

• Mozambique Air Force

 Niger

• Niger Air Force[18]

 Nigeria

• Nigerian Air Force

 Portugal

• Portuguese Air Force[19]

 Rwanda

• Rwandan Air Force

 Uganda

• Ugandan Air Force

 Algeria

• Air Algérie

 Ecuador

• Aero Taxis Ecuatorianos - operated six ex-Luftwaffe Nord 2501Ds.[20]

 France

• Union Aéromaritime de Transport

• 52-128 (painted as 52-133) - 2501D on display at the Makedonitissa Tomb, the place where a similar aircraft crashed killing nearly all on board during the Turkish invasion of 1974.[21][22]

• 105 - 2501F-3 preserved in flying condition by L'association Le Noratlas de Provence, based at Marseille Provence Airport. Carries civil registration F-AZVM.[23]
• 184 - 2501F on display at L'Epopée de l'Industrie et de l'Aéronautique in Albert, Somme.[24]
• 146 - 2501 on display at Ecole des metiers de l'automobile, at Viuz-en-sallaz Homepage

• 52+37 - 2501D in dilapidated state, formerly used as a pub (now defunct) at Schwelm.[25]
• 99+14 - 2501D on display at the Militärhistorisches Museum Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow in Berlin.[26]
• 154 - 2501F on display at Technik Museum Speyer in Speyer.[27]
• D-ACUT - 2501D on display at Flugausstellung Hermeskeil in Hermeskeil.[28]
• D-NORA - 2501F on display at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport.[29]

• 055 - 2501D preserved at the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hatzerim Airbase.[30]
• 072 / 4X-FAW - 2501D preserved as a memorial at Defenders Park, Nahshon Junction near Beko'a.[31]
• 4X-FAE - 2501D on display at the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hatzerim Airbase.[32]

• 6403 - 2502A on display at the Museu do Ar in Sintra.[33]

• Bridgman, Leonard. (ed). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1957-58. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd., 1957.
• Bridgman, Leonard. (ed). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59. London: Jane's All the World's Aircraft Publishing Co. Ltd., 1958.
• Cann, John P. Flight Plan Africa: Portuguese Airpower in Counterinsurgency, 1961-1974. Helion and Company, 2015. ISBN 1-909982-06-7
• Chillon, Jacques; Dubois, Jean-Pierre & Wegg, John (1980). French Post-War Transport Aircraft. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain. ISBN 0-85130-078-2.
• Fontanellaz, Adrien; Cooper, Tom; Matos, Jose Augusto (2020). War of Intervention in Angola, Volume 3: Angolan and Cuban Air Forces, 1975-1985. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. ISBN 978-1-913118-61-7.
• Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London, UK. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1964.
• Hayes, Karl. "The Last Luftwaffe Noratlas". Air-Britain Aeromilitaria, Winter 2008, Vol. 34, Issue 136. pp. 147–152. ISSN 0262-8791.
• Jackson, Paul A. German Military Aviation 1956-1976. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. ISBN 0-904597-03-2
• Lopes, Rui. West Germany and the Portuguese Dictatorship, 1968–1974. Springer, 2014. ISBN 1-137402-08-3
• Norton, Bill. Air War on the Edge: A History of the Israeli Air Force and Its Aircraft Since 1947. Midland, 2004. ISBN 1-857800-88-5