Caudron Simoun Explained

The Caudron Simoun was a 1930s French four-seat touring monoplane. It was used as a mail plane by Air Bleu, flew record-setting long-range flights, and was also used as a liaison aircraft by the Armée de l'Air during World War II. The aircraft later was used as an inspiration to the famous Mooney "M series" aircraft by Jacques "Strop" Carusoam.

Variants

C.500 Simoun I:Experimental, one built.

C.520 Simoun:Experimental, one built.

C.620 Simoun IV:Experimental, one built.

C.630 Simoun:Initial production version with Renault Bengali 6Pri engine, 20 built.

C.631 Simoun:Modified version with a Renault 6Q-01 engine, three built.

C.632 Simoun:Similar to C.631, one built.

C.633 Simoun:Modified fuselage with a Renault 6Q-07 engine, 6 built.

C.634 Simoun:Modified wing and take-off weight with either a Renault 6Q-01 or Renault 6Q-09 engine, 3 built.

C.635 Simoun:Improved cabin layout and either a Renault 6Q-01 or Renault 6Q-09 engine, 46 built and conversions from earlier versions.

C.635M Simoun:Military version with either a Renault 6Q-09 or Renault 6Q-19 engine, 489 built.

Operators

• Belgian Air Force

France

• Air Bleu
• Armée de l'Air
• Aeronavale

• Luftwaffe (small numbers)^[1]

• Royal Hungarian Air Force

• Royal Air Force
  • No. 267 Squadron RAF

United States

• United States Navy

See also

• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's desert crash

References

• Cony . Christophe . Hauet . André. Caudron "Simoun": La gloire des ailes Françaises . Avions . November–December 2006 . 154 . 4–23 . fr . 1253-5354.
• Cony . Christophe . Hauet . André . Caudron "Simoun": La gloire des ailes Françaises: Deuxième partie . Avions . January–February 2006 . 154 . 35–54 . fr . 1253-5354.
• Lucchini. Carlo. Le meeting saharien de 1938 . Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire . April 1999 . 73 . 53–57 . The 1938 Sahara Air Meeting. French . 1243-8650.
• Book: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing.

External links

• Century of Flight – Caudron C.630 Simoun Sandstorm
• WebSite for l'Association Renaissance du Caudron Simoun

Notes and References

1. Ketley, Barry, and Rolfe, Mark. Luftwaffe Fledglings 1935–1945: Luftwaffe Training Units and their Aircraft (Aldershot, GB: Hikoki Publications, 1996), p.11.