Poll: Awesome Or Ugly? The 1946 Sud-Ouest SO.6000 Triton
Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 09:17PM 
The future is now! (1946 French style) - the Sud-Ouest SO.6000 Triton 2-seat jet
In the mid 40's the French were running a little behind on their jet aircraft designing... this little 2 seat side-by-side effort was their first jet, making its first flight in 1946. It was designed by Lucien Servanty who would later become one of the primary engineers responsible for the supersonic Concorde. That's a pretty impressive pedigree to say the least! Interestingly, I find the Triton to be one of the coolest looking aircraft because it seems to have so much of that 'futuristic' look that was popular in old films and comic books. It's sleek and simple, with a really small wing and just the right curves. Even the windshield design looks very futuristic to me. And those main gear legs are mounted about half way out those itty bitty wings! Lots and lots of cool going on here.
Only five of the French Sud-Ouest SO.6000 Tritons were built
With only five having been built, and nothing very remarkable about its performance, the Triton is mostly a curious little sidebar in aviation history. The prototype was actually powered underpowered by a Junkers Jumo jet engine (like used in the German Me 262, tho the 262 had two engines) because the French designed engine intended for it wasn't completed yet. The other Tritons built wound up having a far more powerful British Rolls Royce Nene engine fitted thus improving performance.
Stubby wings and sorta futuristic spacecraft look of the 1946 French SO.6000 Triton
Regardless of the fact that it was never put into production for military service as intended, I'm voting on the 'awesome' side of the poll on this one for sure! But what about you? Do you say awesome, ugly or both?
Reader Comments (1)
I think it's kinda cool, but the thin wings would indicate that the fuel is carried in the fuselage. Crew, fuel, and engine seem to take all the space available. Wonder what its intended mission was.