Nord 1002 Pingouin II (c/n 274, G-ETME, formerly ´274´ of the French Air Force, then F-BFRV and N108J), static display during open doors day at Classic Trainers / Hangar 3 collection, Plzeň-Líně, May 2024.
In 1942, Germany transferred production of Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun (English: typhoon) to occupied France. The task of manufacturing the aircraft was assigned to Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Nord company, usually officially abbreviated SNCAN but commonly referred to as Nord.
The company was established in 1936, as a result of nationalisation of the French aviation industry. SNCAN consolidated the former Potez, CAMS, ANF, Amiot and Breguet factories into one, state-owned body. After the fall of France, all the SNCAN facilities were located in the occupied zone.
Until the end of the World War II, the Nord company have built 170 examples of Taifun. Production was then continued after the war, under the new designation Nord 1000. The aircraft was being made with use of the already built airframes and stored Argus engines.
When stock supply of the German engines was over, the company adapted the Bf 108 airframe to French-made, six-cylinder, inline engines of Renault 6Q family that generated about 230 hp.The first of such retrofitted aircraft was designated Nord 1001 Pingouin I (English: penguin). The aeroplane was powered by Renault 6Q-11 engine with counter-clockwise rotation. Then, another variant of the French-made Taifun was introduced into the market, designated Nord 1002 Pingouin II, this time powered by clockwise-rotating 6Q-10.
Further developments included Nord 1002 M for naval aviation, Nord 1100 based on Me 208 and powered by Argus engine, Nord 1110 powered by turboprop engine and Nord 1100 Noralpha with tricycle landing gear.
Production of the Pingouin was ceased in the late 1950s, after manufacturing 286 examples of the aeroplane. Most of them were used by the French armed forces for liaison and utility duties. In 1962, the last Pingouin was retired from the French military service. Then, many of them were sold to private owners all over the world.
The aircraft presented within our Photo of the Week series was built in 1951 as the Nord 1002. Initially, the aeroplane served with the French Air Force and then, at the beginning of the 1960s, was sold to private owner in the United States.
In the following years, this particular example of the Nord 1002t changed ownership several times. It often involved a change of its painting scheme as well. For several years, that Pingouin II was even painted to represent a Messerschmitt Bf 109 ´yellow 14´ of Jagdgeschwader 51 ´Mölders´.
Somewhere along the way, one of its owners decided to replace the original Renault powerplant with Lycoming O-540 E4, six-cylinder, inline engine – the one that Nord 1002 is powered until today. In 2022, the aircraft received its current livery, representing the Bf 108 Taifun F8+CA of the German Luftwaffe.
On 4th May 2024, the Nord 1002 visited Plzeň-Líně airfield, during the open day held at Classic Trainers association, and was put on static exhibition there.
More information about the original Bf 108 Taifun can be found here, in our article issued in February of 2021. For more details about the Classic Trainers association, please refer to our article from April of 2022.
