Despite the decline of the seaplane’s importance after the Second World War, France still saw a limited future for the type and commissioned from the Societe Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord (generally known as SNCAN or Nord) a flying boat for the reconnais¬sance and air/sea rescue roles.
This was an all-metal monoplane with a gulled wing and a two ¬step hull, and had accommodation for a crew of seven, plus a roomy rear cabin with a large sliding door on the port side for rescue operations. It first flew on 6 January 1949 as the N.1400.01 Noroit prototype (F-WFDL) with 1,600-hp (1,193-kW) Gnome-Rhone 14R radials. The N.1400.02 second prototype introduced retractable tailwheel landing gear to provide an amphibious capability. Retractable tailwheel landing gear was installed on the N 1400-01 at a later date. There followed a pair of N.1401 pre-production machines with two 1,800-hp (1,342-kW) SNECMA-built Junkers Jumo inlines and annular radiators. The N 1401 Noroit (F-WFKU) was flown on 6 August 1949, the second example (F-SFKN) being flown later, and both were tested in 1950 with two Bristol Hercules radial engines. Finally there came 21 N.1402 Noroit (North-West Wind) production aircraft, the last of them delivered in 1956. Together with the two N.1401s modified to the same standard, these served with Flottille 5F.
Nord N. 1402 Noroit
Engines: two 2,100-hp (1,566-kW) SNECMA 12H.00 (Junkers Jumo 213A) inline piston
Maximum speed 230 mph (370 km/h) at 8,695 ft (2,650 m)
Initial climb rate 984 ft (300 m) per minute
Range 2,610 miles (4,200 km)
Empty weight 28,660 lb (13,000 kg)
Maximum take-off weight 45,040 lb (20,430 kg)
Wingspan 103 ft 8 in (31.60 m)
Length 72 ft 4 in (22.05 m)
Height 22 ft 5.5 in (6.85 m)
Wing area 1,076.43 sq ft (100.00 sq.m)
Armament: six 20-mm cannon in two-gun nose, dorsal, and tail positions, and bombs carried in nacelle bays plus provision for eight rockets on the hull sides.
Crew: 7
All Aero 