Sud - Est Grognard The Sud - Est Grognard was designed as a single - seat , low - level ground - attack aircraft . Although in development in the 1950s for the French " Armée de l ' Air " , the program was cancelled in favor of the Sud - Ouest Vautour II . Design and development . An " Armée de l ' Air " specification for a ground - attack aircraft drawn up in 1948 was intended to spur the French aviation industry to produce a jet - powered design . Sud - Est entered the competition with a development of the earlier SE . 2400 attack aircraft , after testing a model in the " ONERA " ( Meudon - Chalais ) wind tunnel . The design featured an unusual 47˚ swept wing design along with two " stacked " Nene jet engines fed by a single dorsal inlet in a compact , bulbous fuselage . The cockpit was awkwardly situated at the extreme end of the nose ; the whole arrangement soon acquiring the derisive nickname : " Hunchback " . The official name SE . 2410 " Grognard " ( French : Grumbler ) was derived from the nickname for a soldier of Napoleon ' s Old Guard . Problems encountered in test flights led to a number of modifications to the tail unit and ailerons . Development continued with Sud - Est building two prototypes with a further refinement that led to the SE . 2415 , identified as the " Grognard " II , a two - seat development that included a " stretched " fuselage incorporating a raised cockpit with a bubble canopy and reduced 32˚ wing sweep back . Following initial testing , two boundary layer fences were installed on the outer wings of the SE . 2415 ; underwing spoilers were also tested . Although neither prototype was initially armed , the planned armament array included two DEFA 30mm cannon as well as bombs and rockets . Operational history . The first flight of Sud - Est SE . 2410 " Grognard " I ( F - WFRV ) took place on 30 April 1950 , while the second prototype ( F - WFRX ) flew on 14 February 1951 but suffered from tailplane flutter . Both prototypes underwent many weapons tests , notably becoming the first French aircraft to fire an air - to - air missile ( the Matra T - 10 ) . The " Grognard " II was heavily damaged in a belly landing after a false fire warning , although the airframe was salvaged and subsequently used as a target for firing tests . During the trials , the " Armée de l ' Air " radically altered the specifications for fighter and bomber aircraft , virtually eliminating the attack category . This change jeopardized future development of the " Grognard " as the unpressurized airframe was not readily adaptable to other missions . Although a dedicated " all - weather " fighter variant with a radar in the nose , the SE . 2421 was planned , a definitive attack variant , the SE . 2418 would have used two x 2 , 850 kgp ( 6 , 2850 lb st ) Rolls - Royce Tay s with an anticipated performance that included a maximum speed of at sea level . The SE . 2418 , incorporating the wing of the " Grognard " I with the lengthened fuselage and other refinements from the " Grognard " II was actually being readied for production when the program was shut down in 1952 with the Vautour multi - purpose fighter / bomber having proved to be a more promising design . The SE . 2410 continued to " soldier on " until its retirement and scrapping in 1954 .