1953 S.O.9000, Trident I, F-ZWRY

Turbojet and rocket powered. Originally two 882 lbs Turbomèca Marborè on the wing tips and a 9920 lb SEPR Rocket model 481 in tail. Later the turbojets were replaced with two 1642 lbs Dassault MD30 Vipers (license built Armstrong Siddeley Vipers ASV 5).

This is the first of two prototypes built. Initial flights were made with the turbojets only. The second prototype (F-ZWSG) crashed Sept 1,1953 due to poor performances of the Marborè turbojets during takeoff on a hot day.

First flight of this prototype using the rocket motor was on Sept 4, 1954. After a failure of the rocket motor during a takeoff on Oct 26, 1954, the turbojets were replaced with the larger 1642 lbs Dassault MD30 Vipers.

This prototype hit Mach 1 on April 30, 1955. The test program ended Dec 1956 after obtaining Mach 1.63.

Musée de l'air et de l'espace, Paris, France, Dec 2018

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