Arising from fruitful British and French collaboration during the 1960s, the SEPECAT Jaguar proved to be a successful warplane that gave many years of useful service to both countries. Emanating from co-operation between the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) of Britain and Breguet (from December 1971, Dassault-Breguet) of France, the Jaguar was 'blooded' in several important war zones and areas of tension from the 1970s onwards. In French service the type flew with distinction in European skies and further afield, defending French interests, and was used in combat as a part of wider Allied air campaigns in southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The background to the Jaguar and its service with the French Air Force (Armee de I'Air) in Europe was covered in the first instalment of this two-part feature. Following the successful first flight of the initial Jaguar prototype (a French two-seater numbered E-01) in September 1968, continuing development and flight test work led to the French ordering 160 single-seat Jaguar A attack aircraft (numbered from A1 onwards), and 40 two-seat Jaguar E trainers (from E1).
No comments:
Post a Comment