French Air Force During its service life with the Armée de l'Air, the Noratlas was initially predominantly operated in it cargo-carrying role; however, 10 had been fitted out, as ordered, to facilitate performing passenger operations as well. However, following the conclusion of
Algerian War of Independence in 1962 and the conclusion of French military operations in that theatre, many aircraft underwent conversion work to perform additional secondary roles. Of the various post-delivery customisations and modifications made to the Noratlas fleet, the eight
Nord Gabriels, which were used in the
electronic warfare role, was perhaps the most useful as well as being the longest serving aircraft. During 1989, the final Gabriel was finally phased out of operations with the Armée de l'Air, marking the complete retirement of the wider type as well. The Noratlas had been able to attain particular recognition and notoriety amongst the general public as a consequence of its use during the
Suez Crisis of 1956. During the opening phase of the
Anglo-French operation, French paratroopers had been successfully air-dropped using the type to quickly deploy at various strategic locations, such as immediately south of
Port Said and
Port Fouad in
Egypt.
German Air Force ,
Speyer, Germany During the post-war years, the newly formed nation of
West Germany was faced with a similar situation to that which had prompted France to pursue development of the Noratlas. As such, the government decided to address the
German Air Force's requirement for new transport aircraft in the same manner, eventually ordered a total of 187 Noratlases from 1956. Flugzeugbau Nord had been involved in the Noratlas programme from an early stage, which was the company's first post-war aviation project, having been responsible for the design and manufacture of the majority of the aircraft's fuselage. According to author John P. Cann, if the Noratlas in German service had a weakness, it was that the fleet was furnished with four different sets of cockpit instrumentation and electronic systems as a result of its complex procurement arrangement. The favourable experience with the Noratlas gave enthusiasm for further Franco-German collaborative efforts, leading directly to the larger and more advanced
Transall C-160 transport aircraft. During 1959, having been suitably impressed by its use under combat conditions, the IAF purchased another three N-2501ISs; prior to the
Six-Day War of 1967, an additional 16 ex-German Air Force N-2501Ds had also been acquired and put into service. The Noratlas fleet was primarily intended for cargo and paratroop transport, although several aircraft conducted more unconventional operations, being used as improvised bomber aircraft to perform long-range strike missions into Egypt (known as Operation Drought), much as the contemporary
C-130s deployed the
Daisy Cutter bomb in
Vietnam. Amongst the other secondary roles that the IAF are known to have used their Noratlases for included
maritime reconnaissance at the outset of the Six-Day War. IAF Noratlas aircraft intermittently tracked prior to the
Liberty Incident. During 1978, the IAF retired the last of their Noratlas fleet.
Hellenic Air Force During 1970, the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) received 50 surplus Noratlases from Germany as part of a compensation package for events during the Second World War, as well as being an element of
NATO-organised military assistance to Greece. The HAF Noratlases were operated by the 354th Tactical Airlift Squadron, based at Elefsis AFB on the outskirts of
Athens. On the night of 21–22 July 1974, multiple HAF Noratlases played a role during the
Operation Niki (meaning
Victory in Greek), being used to airlift the 1st Greek Rangers Squadron from
Souda,
Crete to
Nicosia,
Cyprus, as part of Greece's response to the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus. In spite of the aircraft's age and the adverse flying conditions present throughout, 12 of the 15 aircraft which participated in Operation Niki had managed to arrive and land at
Nicosia International Airport; at least one Noratlas is believed to have been shot down by
friendly fire from Greek-aligned forces. Regardless, the operation had allowed the Greek 1st Rangers Squadron to help retain the Nicosia airport under the control of the
United Nations and avoid its surrender to the Turkish Brigade that had attacked it.
Portuguese Air Force with wingtip
Turbomeca Marbore auxiliary jets in 1957 The
Portuguese Air Force operated a large number of Noratlases. During 1960,
Portugal decided to purchase an initial batch of six militarised
N-2502A (designated
N-2502F) from French airline
Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT). This purchase was quickly followed by six more of the same model, this time directly from Nord Aviation itself. Later on, an additional 19 N-2501Ds were purchased from the
German Air Force. Overall, multiple units of the Portuguese Air Force operated the Noratlas, including
Esquadra 32, based at
Tancos Air Base, from 1970 to 1977,
Esquadra 92, based at
Luanda Air Base in
Portuguese Angola, from 1961 to 1975,
Esquadra 102, based at
Beira Air Base in
Mozambique, from 1962 to 1975, and
Esquadra 123, based at
Bissalanca Air Base in
Portuguese Guinea, from 1969 to 1974. Between 1961 and 1975, the Portuguese Air Force extensively operated their Noratlas fleet across all three of the African theatres of operations of the
Portuguese Colonial War. In this lengthy conflict, the Noratlas was primarily used to conduct the intra-theatre tactical transportation missions, as well as to transport and deliver Portuguese
paratroopers during airborne assault operations. Shortly following the independence of
Angola and
Mozambique in 1975, a batch of six ex-Portuguese Noratlas were given to the governments of these two new countries. By September 1977, all of the remaining Noratlases had been withdrawn from Portuguese service.
Civilian operations By 1951, a civil-orientated version of the Noratlas, was under development and had received multiple orders from domestic and overseas customers. Known as the
N-2502A/B, it was designed to be suitable for the transportation of both passenger and cargo payloads; the principal difference between the military models and the civil variant was the addition of a pair of small
Turbomeca Marboré IIE turbojets, installed within the wingtips, for the purpose of improving the type's performance during the takeoff phase of flight only. The personnel doors normally used by paratroopers were also eliminated as it was seen as lacking value to the prospective civil customers it was aimed at. The 2502 was used primarily by civil operators such as
Aéromaritime de Transport (N-2502A) and CGTA-
Air Algérie (N-2502B). However, the Noratlas never achieved the same level of success of the military versions in the civil market; only ten aircraft of this model were ever completed. However, this model would also often end up in military service via acquisitions from civil operators; as such, it saw relatively limited service with civilian customers. ==Variants==