SNCASE SE.3200 Frelon

The SE.3200 Frelon, meaning Hornet, was a French heavy multirole helicopter of the late 1950s, designed to serve the French Army, Air Force and Navy and to replace the Sikorsky S-58 that SNCASE built under licence. It had a single four-blade rotor driven by three Turbomeca Turmo gas turbines, chosen so that the loss of one engine would not bring the aircraft down, and a fixed tricycle landing gear. The cabin was intended for light vehicles, 24 fully equipped troops, or 15 stretchers with two attendants for air ambulance use. Two prototypes were built, the first flying on 10 June 1959 at Paris-Le Bourget, a few years after SNCASE had merged into Sud Aviation. The project was replaced by the larger SA 321 Super Frelon, and the Frelon never entered production.