The Breguet Br.552 Faucon (French postwar Stuka)

[RAFF-35]

In the chaotic aftermath of the Second World War, France found itself simultaneously rebuilding a devastated nation and attempting to reassert control over its far-flung colonial possessions. This strategic dilemma required military equipment that could be produced quickly, cheaply, and in large numbers, particularly for the close-air-support and counter-insurgency (COIN) missions essential to colonial warfare. It was in this environment that France, like in several other postwar states, turned to captured German designs, whose patents were now royalty-free and whose manufacturing tooling and parts were available in abundance.

Breguet thus began production of the Br.550 Faucon, a straightforward, domestically assembled version of the Junkers Ju-87, using both leftover wartime components and newly manufactured French equivalents. Although primitive by 1945 standards, it offered qualities France urgently needed. Precision strike capability, the ability to operate from improvised frontline airstrips, and low cost and simplicity.
Powered by the SNECMA-built J12-000, a French copy of the Jumo 211, and armed with MG 151/20 cannons, the Br.550 immediately filled a gap for close air support in Southeast Asia in the immediate postwar period. A small run of 30 aircraft, produced between 1945–46, entered service with Groupe de Chasse 1/7 "Provence."

With the Indochina conflict escalating, the French needed a more versatile COIN platform. The Br.551, first flown in July 1947, introduced updated avionics, flexible stores options (including bombs, auxiliary fuel tanks, and MATRA T10 rockets) and removed the obsolete rear gun position as there was no aerial threat from the guerilla forces. It served effectively through the late 1940s, but as the Viet Minh grew more capable and the conflict expanded geographically, more endurance, payload, and power were demanded.
Breguet addressed these requirements with the Br.552 Faucon, which first flew on 6 April 1950. The aircraft received a major powerplant upgrade: the 2,000hp Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop, dramatically improving climb rate, weapons carriage, and hot-and-high performance. To reduce drag, and improve the area for under wing stores area, the dive brakes were moved from the wings to the fuselage sides. The Br.552's 2,200kg load capacity, enlarged fuel supply, and compatibility with napalm, large bombs, SNEB and MATRA rockets made it one of the most potent purpose-built COIN aircraft of its era. With a clean top speed of 292 mph and a range exceeding 1,150 miles with drop tanks, the Br.552 gave France, for the first time, a modern, rugged, and highly accurate colonial strike aircraft.

France entered the Indochina conflict with a motley collection of aging and unsuitable aircraft such as Ki-43s and E13A seaplanes, Morane-Saulnier Criquets (Fi-156 copies). The British-transferred Spitfires and Mosquitos.
These aircraft were worn out, short ranged, and poorly suited to tropical conditions, rough airfields, and the demands of colonial COIN operations.
The new French-built Stuka derivatives, the Br.550/551 and eventually the Br.552 thus became some of the few purpose-designed tactical aircraft in theater. The Faucon had the ability to operate from PSP (Pierced Steel Plank) or dirt strips, high accuracy in dive-bombing, inherited from the German Ju-87 doctrine, ease of maintenance in remote bases and large and flexible ordnance options, especially in the Br.552 variant.
When other WWII aircraft rapidly deteriorated in Indochina's humidity and dust, the Faucon remained dependable.
The Faucon saw action in major operations such as the assault at Colonial Route No. 4 (1947–49). During Viet Minh ambushes along this critical supply corridor, the early Faucons were used for rapid, precise close air support against infantry formations, often rescuing the isolated outposts or broken French columns.
In Operation Lorraine (1952) the Faucon provided interdiction and close support to French mobile groups advancing deep into Viet Minh territory. Its long loiter time proved invaluable during the covering of withdrawals.
At Na San (December 1952), the Faucon's accurate delivery of napalm and fragmentation bombs was crucial in repelling repeated Viet Minh assaults on the airstrip and outer defensive positions of the fortified hedgehog compound. French commanders repeatedly praised its reliability during these high-tempo defensive operations.
Although larger bombers were able to conduct most deep strike sorties in support of the isolated French forces at Dien Bien Phu between 1953 and 1954, the Faucon, flying from Red River Delta airfields, supported the defense of road interdictions and emergency close air support for the besieged positions.
The Br.552's precise dive attacks proved especially effective whenever weather permitted, though the ever-tightening Viet Minh anti-aircraft ring increasingly restricted its operations in the final months.

When the Algerian War erupted, seemingly advanced jet aircraft like the SE.535 Mistral soon proved too fast, too fragile, and too short-ranged for the rugged COIN environment. F-47 Thunderbolts were effective but worn and difficult to maintain. Commanders turned again to other rugged, propeller-driven aircraft. This time with the Br.552 Faucon as one of the premier assets.
Early in the conflict, the FLN had virtually no anti-air capability, giving the Faucon a free hand to operate at low level, slow speed, and high precision.
Napalm, SNEB rockets, and fragmentation bombs were used to break up FLN bands before French paras or Legionnaires arrived.
The Faucon often delivered the first blow in rapid-reaction operations.
With the rear gun removed and a forward-facing observer's position installed, the Br.552 was excellent at finding small guerilla groups hidden in wadis, forests, and mountains.
The Faucon played a significant role along the Moroccan and Tunisian borders, attacking supply columns attempting to cross into Algeria.
While many light COIN squadrons were equipped with Flamants, MS.500s, or SIPA trainers, the Br.552 provided the heavy punch these units often lacked. Its accuracy and load carried far exceeded the four-rocket or twin-gun armament typical of lighter platforms and it supported the EALA (Escadrilles d'Aviation Légère d'Appui) well.

By the time the Suez Crisis erupted in 1956, the Breguet Faucon was no longer France's most modern combat aircraft, but it remained one of its most reliable and adaptable. While jet fighters and bombers carried out the politically charged opening strikes of Opération Mousquetaire, the Faucon quietly performed the kind of work for which it had already proven indispensable in Indochina and Algeria. Operating from austere forward airstrips in North Africa and later from hastily prepared bases in the eastern Mediterranean, Faucons were tasked with armed reconnaissance, convoy overwatch, and close air support for French airborne and amphibious forces securing key objectives around Port Said and the Canal Zone. Their long endurance and ability to loiter at low altitude allowed them to identify Egyptian troop movements, artillery positions, and supply columns that fast jets frequently overflew. When called upon, the Faucon delivered highly accurate rocket and bomb attacks, often flying multiple sorties per day in support of paratroopers on the ground. In a campaign dominated in public memory by carriers and jet aircraft, the Faucon's contribution was largely invisible, but to the soldiers it supported, its slow circling presence overhead was familiar and reassuring.

Although overshadowed by France's later embrace of helicopters and jet aircraft, the Breguet Br.552 Faucon occupies a unique place in postwar aviation history. It was one of the very last purpose-built dive/attack aircraft anywhere in the world.The Faucon was a bridge between WWII strike doctrine and modern COIN warfare. It was a key component in two of France's most intense colonial conflicts.
Its long service in harsh environments and its strong reputation for accuracy, endurance, and reliability ensured that the Faucon remained one of the most respected French aircraft of the early Cold War.

[RAFF-35]

I used ChatGPT to make a realistic picture of the Faucon in action...

[Old Wombat]

 

[NARSES2]

I like that, both the model and the backstory 

And Tom beat me to the Wiffies Nom 

[Dizzyfugu]

Cool. The dive bomber's concept may have been dead after WWII but France certainly needed such an aircraft (and did a lot of research into that direction), so it's very plausible. 

[Glenn Gilbertson]

Great looking model & a very plausible story!

[Rheged]

Excellent work.  The whole piece is most plausible.

[RAFF-35]

Thank you all for the supportive comments chaps! I think recently I've come to realise that plausibility is my main aim when doing Whifs... most of the time anyway 

[Captain Canada]

Excellent ! Looks the same and totally different at the same time lol.

[DogfighterZen]

I like that a lot!   
Would have been great to see flying along some AMD Rancunier fighters... 
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[RAFF-35]

I like that a lot!   
Would have been great to see flying along some AMD Rancunier fighters... 
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They look like natural stablemates! When did you build that?

[DogfighterZen]

Finished it about a year and a half ago. I used a similar scenario of the French building existing types of aircraft to quickly rebuild the country's aeronautic industry and get its air force back to strength after the end of WWII while jets are being developed.
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=52792.45
They do look like brothers of the same mother but of a different father...  

[su27rules]