Nord 1500 Griffon is a kind of no or very low probability yet fascinating figure, whose presence is paramountly striking when regarded as part of a standard fighter family – it seems as if it was conceived mostly to sensationally demonstrate the limits of aerodynamic engineering and propulsion technology. In the early period of the 1950s, France was eager to test the limits of speed and different types of engines; thus, the Griffon became its experimental flying laboratory. It was initially built to achieve not combat, but to go beyond Mach 2 with a human pilot and check the feasibility of ramjet propulsion.
It all began in 1953 with the French government ordering two experimental aircraft as part of the program to study an advanced wing design, such as the delta and the swept wing. To gather the needed data, Arsenal de l’Aéronautique—later called SFECMAS—used a wooden glider known as the Arsenal 1301.
This glider was adaptable to different wing modifications and small canards; thus, it was a flexible test platform for new ideas. The three projects of interceptors: 1400, 1500, and ambitious 1910 were the direct result of the trials. The 1400 became the Nord Gerfaut, the 1500 was converted to the Griffon whereas the 1910 never stepped out of the blueprint phase.
The Griffon was different from other typical fighters due to its eye-catching double-engine layout. With this, the designers combined a standard turbojet and a ramjet, which was a smart but tricky construction. The SNECMA Atar 101G turbojet supplied the machine with enough speed to start the ramjet, thus the latter could not do by itself as they require very high velocity for the air to be compressed and for the combustion to be maintained.
Ramjets are not able to generate power from zero position; they depend on the aircraft going at high velocity, usually over 1,000 kilometers per hour, in order to run effectively. It was the plane’s Nord Stato-Réacteur ramjet that, after ignition, allowed it to go beyond Mach 2. Thanks to this setup, the plane could traditionally perform take-offs and landings, but at the same time, it could also utilize the ramjet to fly at high speeds.
The Griffon was very strong and sturdy enough to handle the various stresses of transporting at supersonic speed, but it still had its limitations. At full throttle, the aircraft suffered intense heating because no advanced heat-resistant materials were available then, and the ramjet could behave at mid-range velocities with less stability.
However, this did not stop it from accomplishing the unimaginable. Its first flight was on September 20, 1955, and in 1959, it managed to attain a world closed-course speed record at Mach 2.19.
Despite these, the Griffon could not escape the fate of being overshadowed by other, less complex and more practical planes. The Dassault Mirage III, a purposely single-engine turbojet interceptor, was capable of offering the same performance without the dual-engine intricacies. Only two Griffons were ever constructed, and the whole project was stopped at last.
The 2nd modified model, however, is now located in the French Air and Space Museum in Le Bourget, a gesture of remembering the times when the aviation sector progressed due to imagination and experimentation.
The Griffon was indeed a one-of-a-kind aircraft that taught the industry so much through the experiences it delivered. Its technology formed the groundwork for future interceptor designs as well as the ramjet-powered missiles. While eventually, ramjets were installed in missiles only, the Griffon still stands as an intriguing case of a period when inquisitiveness and courage drove the advances.
Once more, it is with the case of the Griffon that we remind ourselves that the grandest and most unconventional concepts can still affect history profoundly and long-lastingly—even when they never do become mainstream.