The baguette was strong with this one... F.A.Q Section Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both. Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos? A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :) Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators? A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible. Feel free to leave you questions below - I may not be able to answer all of them, but I will keep my eyes open :)
@@todaywefly4370 Indeed, but that shouldn't stop the amateurs. And hope that even the people in Airbus or Boeings commercial divisions can appreciate the people who give it a shot.
As a Frenchman and an aviation enthusiast, I am grateful to those crazy people who dared to try, sometimes at the risk of their lives, without worrying about the sarcasm of Twitter and Facebook. Thank you for bringing them back to our memory. Those who have brought the most madness to aviation are also those who have opened up new paths in design and technology. Often, success is only a matter of perseverance.
Dans les années 50, les avions Leduc étaient les seuls à utiliser un statoréacteur comme mode de propulsion. J'ai toujours été sidéré de voir que ces avions volaient grâce à un tube... vide !
I notice that a fair number of the aircraft of this list were functional and effective. Are the French people secretly 40k space Orks? Are their aircraft powered by the "WAAAAGH!!!"? If so, paint your aircraft yellow, red, and maybe a bit of blue for good luck, and you can basically take the planet.
Thank you for making this comment M. Richard! As fans of aviation and particularly aviation history, I believe all of us viewing Rex's Hangar and other similar channels acknowledge and appreciate the indelible and undeniable contribution the French nation has made to aeronautics. As an American, I can't but help but point out the fact that my countrymen flew Spads and Nieuports in WWI. As an aerospace engineer myself, you are completely correct that only those who take risks make any kind of advancement. Having said all that, this was a completely fun video and I hope Rex targets other nationalities soon! Vive la France!
@didierichard2486 I don't think most people are making fun of France or the designers. One can make light of the designs now and think they are ugly and yet not dismiss the designers will, courage, or vision to create something new. In what has became a "cookie-cutter" world where largely one thing looks like the next in most every industry, it is fun to see people thinking outside the box; even if it did not turn out to be successful.
I'm a student pilot, and I'm really enjoying that I can tell where the central idea was for (almost) each plane. They're super fascinating designs and had France not fallen during WWII, the world of aviation would've had so many more cool ideas.
This is exactly why spreading out information access is so important today. Some kid, who is seriously passionate about aircraft, could be the next Kelly Johnson, Marcel Bloch, or the unknown designer who made the (7/8ths scale) Qahir-313. If they had access to the necessary information.
Actually, I really like those ASW chonkers like the Alize and Gannet. I don't think they're ugly, just a different breed from sleek fighters. Like a Newfoundlander compared to a Greyhound.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the Jabiru was an art deco masterpiece and the three engined F.4X version being the art deco hooligan of the family.
The resemblance between the Breguet Elise and the Fairy Gannet is uncanny. Their long and successful service lives and both being well loved by their crews suggests there were good reasons to look like that. I can't wait for that comparative video, hint hint!
They were the aviation equivalent of convergent evolution. Two aircraft designed to carry out identical missions tend to look similar. Darwin would have been ever so pleased by this.
As a Frenchman I admire your research and expertise. I spent many hours as a boy watching Alphajets from the Tours training school flying above the Loire Valley skies... On a lucky day we'd see a Mirage or two... And on the best day of all, we saw one of the last Crusaders from the Flotille 12F... Thank you ever so much for bringing back some very nice memories...
The Arsenal- Delanne 10 design was also used in the twin-wing Westland Lysander. Also to no avail! Another interesting Westland type was the hill Pteradactyl.
#7 gives a while new meaning to "3 point landing" could you imagine trying to get that thing down in high winds or with battle damage, not to mention the training accidents that were inevitable.
Imagine getting down any battle damaged aircraft. Obiously there was no problem (or not too many problems) with it, otherwise they would not have chosen it for production. That said, they were still French, so ...
A college buddy served as president of the Citroën Car Club (US). His favorite tee-shirt was "I think your car looks funny too!" might need an aeronautical version.
I love the beautiful design of the Sud-Est Grognard, even though the wings look a bit small compared to the size of the fuselage. Also the Loire 130 looks like a flying locomotive.
Eu sou um entusiasta da aviação! E a maioria dos aviões que aparecem aqui no canal eu ainda não conhecia, incrível! Gratidão pelo vídeo e pelas informações! 🌟
I'd bought a large book on aircraft long ago, and found myself fascinated by the French WW2 aircraft shown in it...all ones I'd just never seen in any books before.(some on this list) honestly I love that you tend to cover alot of the interwar aircraft, as those tend to be the more interesting ( and in some cases, comical) aircraft. Keep up the good work!
I feel like a lot of #2's problems stem from having the cockpit on top. Deleting that, and putting him in tandem with what I presume is the navigator's station would've helped out a lot. Add on retractable landing gear as well, and you would've had a pretty decent looking aircraft
France, especially during the interwar years, created some of the most beautiful, and at the same time fascinatingly ugly aircraft in the world. I love the fact that they went down their own path, instead of just following everybody else. As you said uniquely, unapologetically, and I would add, downright amazing French.
@@alfnoakes392 well the french pretty much invented automobiles back in the 18th century with the first car accident happening in Paris before the revolution. Before WW2 the french automobile industry was the strongest on earth in terms of design, technology and superiority of speed, comfort etc.. These guys were pushing far away until Germany went full crazy and literally steal all the machining tools from the french.
@@gusgus-yp6qh Well Gus Gus, I think you totally missed the point of my comment. And in the plane story, as you put it, France was actually at the point of the spear, so to speak, after the Wright brothers proved that heavier than air flight was possible. The French aircraft industry for many years led the way, with many firsts, partly because of World War 1. So I have to disagree with what you said, about them being nothing.
Love the Amiot greenhouse for some strange reason. It's so ugly funny, that it's actually lovely, and - in my opinion - fares on paper not too bad compared to the contemporary HP52 Heyford.
I almost agree except for the #10, the Leduc. It is not really an ugly plane. It is rather weird... And beeing french and living in the same city as Leduc lived, I am keen of his experimental aircrafts. It is unique, one of the very first ram jet. René Leduc pioneered ram jet aircrafts, a little bit too much in advance on his time. Great video, I discovered most of these aicrafts
G'day Mate, I am constantly surprised, amazed & con-fuddled by the vast array of odd shapes, designs & total weirdness that man can actually get off the ground.
@@roadsweeper1 It's how you show off who's the best designer of course! The more absurd you can make your plane look and still fly well? Clearly that takes skill!
Thank you Dr.Rex; nice documentary as ever. However I have to say that once I saw the Bleriot 125, I was impressed by its originality and liked it very much in spite of its engineering failure. It's one of those cases when one wishes they had found a solution to make it a successful though different aircraft.
A good set of weird-looking planes. Very glad the Jabiru made it to no. 1. I wondered, what about the Vedovelli Fantome, which looked like not so much a plane, more like the contents of a timber & hardware store.
Aviation Designer: How big do you want your plane? Company Boss: I want my baguettes extra thicc and chonki, and supersize it while you're at it. Aviation Designer: *surprise pikachu face* *French Aviation History in a nutshell*
To be honest, the "Grognard" actually looks futuristic for its time. Resembles a F-16 Fighting Falcon, that was overturned! And the Bleriot 125 looks as if it where a Bloated Cattermeran (twin bow sailboat) with wings...
The plane at 0:46 is actually a Polish bomber, LWS-6 Żubr. Influenced heavilly by French airplanes, it was obsolete from the start and ordered only to save the state-owned factory LWS, which couldn't handle producing anything more modern. Turned out it was so underpowered that it couldn't take any bomb load, so the few that were build were used for training, while Polish Air Force adopted the PZL P.37 Łoś - one of the most modern and most beautifull early war bombers in the world
I'm afraid that you can made it a top 100 list instead of 10 and you can still fill the entire list with different kinds of hideous aircraft, while still having tons of the less eye-damaging models out there. As a random quote said "The French copied no one, and no one copied the French."
Brilliant video! That first aircraft with the pilot housed in the pointed peak of the air intake does remind one of…….Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbird One” in a convoluted sort of way. The aircraft that looked like a Baguette with rear bogies incorporated into the rear fins has the silhouette of “Thunderbird Two”. Another aircraft - the first swept wing with the air intake on top looks like an early prototype of the Angel Interceptor from the “Captain Scarlet” series! The last aircraft was an abomination (as were a few others), and I was sorely tempted to wash my eyes out with Carbolic Soap….!!! 😅 Brilliant stuff, Rex! More of the same, please….!!! 😃👍🏾
Greetings from Louisiana ⚜ Rex. Definitely excited to watch this. If you want to see something like a Naval equivalent, go watch Drachs video on French pre Dreadnoughts. You'll regret it pretty immediately. The French are just weird.
French are weird ... so are you. Keep in mind that for the French (I'm a Frenchman) the anglo-saxons appear to be very weird and not only with regards to aviation products, it's a very relative notion. We even say sometimes (in the aviation world): if it's ugly, it's British (Gannett, Argosy, Islander, Skyvan, Nimrod and so many others...) or ... Russian. So be careful with these kind of statements.
"...a moldy piece of Brie..." I barelly fell off my armchair laughing because of that last one. Brilliant, I love your sense of humour ! Each of the comparison you made was equally funny and accurate ! Great channel !
I'm fairly certain the French were simply trying to invent the electric shaver with the Jabiru EDIT: Oddly, the first electric shavers were created around the same time! Which is hysterical.
@@rjbartrop2 All those windows crammed in such a narrow fuselage can present difficulties. I was worried i might accidentally punch those windows loose inside the fuselage but managed all right.
Love the second instalment of this series, although I disagree on the S.E. 100 in this list (#7). Unorthodox? Why yes. 🤨 Ugly? Not on your life! 😍 Great channel, kutgw! 👍
This title must have been hard to limit to only 10. It's like choosing from Fairey types or RN machines (2 overlapping categories of gruesome.) Did anyone else feel the ghost of the Flying Flea hovering over that tandem-wing thing?
I like some of these designs because they took an interesting approach. There are several things we interact with daily that adhere to strict design decisions, following "rules" across all examples even though they truly aren't requirements. These, and many other french designs, seem to be a challenge. "What if we ignored this particular requirement" they said to themselves. "Well, why don't we?". I love many french firearm designs because of this. You don't see it anywhere else
thank you for this very well documented video, I took a lot of fun with the text, and learned on planes from my country that I even didn't know. Notice that the Leduc engine (not that ugly I think) was well in advance for his time. I believe the concept is now used in cruise missiles (and partly in the SR71, is'nt ?)
Rex carrying on the British traditions of poking fun of the French and understated humor. For another good military review of the Brits poking fun of the French see Drachinifel's video about French Battleships: When Hotels Go To War
I'm a firm believer that if it works than it's not ugly. Clearly I forgot about the French 🤣 I gotta know though, how long did this video take to make? All the jokes you slipped in would've had me laughing hysterically if I were narrating. Great job!
I do not understand your hatred for full glass cabins. Thin duraluminium sheet has exactly the same bulletproof capability as glass or polycarbonate... none. Crewmembers were ment to wear flack jackets regardless of the plane's construction :)
4:50 My grand father flew on those Amiot 143, you are right saying that they were used mostly for night missions over Germany. My grand father even told me he flew almost above Berlin, not to throw bombs but...flyers telling that German should not make a war which will lead them to disaster.. I do belong some of those flyers he gave me that I preciously keep. I would like to mention a particular mission on 14th june 1940, the only which occured at noon in daylight! When the germans broke through the Ardenne, the french headquarter threw ALL what they had to stop them. The old Amiot 143 had to bomb german forces which crossed the river Meuse at Sedan, the crews considered it was a suicide mission. My grand father showed me a picture of him, explaining me he took it for his parents, thinking he wouldnt come back. Two escadrilles were planed, the leader of one of them decided to fly back to the the base, disobeying the order considering it was useless, the escadrille of my gf flew on target and lost 3 planes, he saw his best friend dying while his plane was crashing. He was lucky enough to survive and come back "thank to the ability of his pilote" he told me. He was a gunner and told me they repulsed a Bf109 attack whith his crew, very lucky on Amiot planes flying 180km/h vs 600km/h fighters. He and his mates got a medal for this "suicide" mission. Few people know about this, I know it thanks to my grand father, and I felt to tell this story to you guys who are interested in WW2 stories. Thank you for your video british friend ;)
L'histoire de votre grand-père est très touchante , merci de l'avoir racontée ! Je savais qu'il y avait eu de nombreuses missions "largages de tracts" , énorme prise de risque pour les équipages , résultat nul !
Hey there Rex's crew! Just thought I'dd say that if you need help with (french to english) translations, I'm fluent in both languages and have already translated a book, and I'dd be quite happy to help out.
After watching the video, I couldn't help but think about the best and biggest aviation museum I've ever visited: "Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace" in Paris. A fantastic collection, and a fantastic experience. Can absolutely be recommended.
I notice that one variant of the Jabaroo had three 4 blade propellers that were NOT at an even 90 degrees. I have never seen that before ; can you think of any rational for that ? Maybe it was to keep with the ugly aperance ; )
As an Englishman it can sometimes be a hard experience to find oneself approving of anything French. However, in the spirit of fair play with any 'uglies' aside , I will say that the country that can birth the grace and elegance that is the Fouga Magister can be forgiven a lot.
Merci à vous , ami Anglais ! Votre Spitfire reste un chef-d'œuvre d'une beauté intemporelle ! P.S : regardez quand même nos Dewoitine D520 et Arsenal VG33...
The baguette was strong with this one...
F.A.Q Section
Q: Do you take aircraft requests?
A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:)
Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others?
A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.
Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos?
A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :)
Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators?
A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible.
Feel free to leave you questions below - I may not be able to answer all of them, but I will keep my eyes open :)
Martin-Baker series of aircraft to the astounding piston MB5a, then might as well add when they went to rocket seats, for jets. Yes? 🙂😎
Baguettes?
They look all like flying croissants! 😁👍
I noticed the farman 160 snuck into the video when you were on the number 1 spot I hope it gets its own video someday!
Mile's aerovan. That seemed so practical i don't get how it didn't succeed 🤷♂️
Where can we find the suggestions list/where can we put suggestions ?
Aesthetics aside, you gotta respect a community that actually values experimental designs as the aviation community does
Used to mate. You’d go a long way to find anyone doing commercial experimentation these days.
@@todaywefly4370 Indeed, but that shouldn't stop the amateurs. And hope that even the people in Airbus or Boeings commercial divisions can appreciate the people who give it a shot.
@@madzen112 The drone guys aren't doing too bad either😁
MOST of these are so hideous, there is _no_ 'aesthetics aside.'
Much agreed - I look at designs from over the world and it makes you grateful that we have our different visions 👍
As a Frenchman and an aviation enthusiast, I am grateful to those crazy people who dared to try, sometimes at the risk of their lives, without worrying about the sarcasm of Twitter and Facebook.
Thank you for bringing them back to our memory.
Those who have brought the most madness to aviation are also those who have opened up new paths in design and technology.
Often, success is only a matter of perseverance.
The “sarcasm of UA-cam” is often the most entertaining part of these presentations.
Dans les années 50, les avions Leduc étaient les seuls à utiliser un statoréacteur comme mode de propulsion. J'ai toujours été sidéré de voir que ces avions volaient grâce à un tube... vide !
I notice that a fair number of the aircraft of this list were functional and effective. Are the French people secretly 40k space Orks? Are their aircraft powered by the "WAAAAGH!!!"? If so, paint your aircraft yellow, red, and maybe a bit of blue for good luck, and you can basically take the planet.
Thank you for making this comment M. Richard! As fans of aviation and particularly aviation history, I believe all of us viewing Rex's Hangar and other similar channels acknowledge and appreciate the indelible and undeniable contribution the French nation has made to aeronautics. As an American, I can't but help but point out the fact that my countrymen flew Spads and Nieuports in WWI. As an aerospace engineer myself, you are completely correct that only those who take risks make any kind of advancement. Having said all that, this was a completely fun video and I hope Rex targets other nationalities soon! Vive la France!
@didierichard2486 I don't think most people are making fun of France or the designers. One can make light of the designs now and think they are ugly and yet not dismiss the designers will, courage, or vision to create something new. In what has became a "cookie-cutter" world where largely one thing looks like the next in most every industry, it is fun to see people thinking outside the box; even if it did not turn out to be successful.
The Farman F.120 is well named. Here in Brazil, Jaburu (Jabiru's local name) is a slang for something extremely ugly.
The Jabirus here in Australia aren't any better to look at either.
The bird looks better than the plane. At least.
Hey uncool
@@peterpenberthy2918 Australian Jabirus just look like Cessna knockoffs
Always called those birds tuiuiús
I'm a student pilot, and I'm really enjoying that I can tell where the central idea was for (almost) each plane. They're super fascinating designs and had France not fallen during WWII, the world of aviation would've had so many more cool ideas.
Cool idea or cruel fate for their crews?
@@markfryer9880
Not worse than what the US and USSR did to these poor bastards
This is exactly why spreading out information access is so important today. Some kid, who is seriously passionate about aircraft, could be the next Kelly Johnson, Marcel Bloch, or the unknown designer who made the (7/8ths scale) Qahir-313. If they had access to the necessary information.
Ifn they haddent had their heads so far up their Keisters designing total lunacy they might NOT have fallen in the first place.
@@JTA1961well the bigger problem was the Maginot line, and the British bring totally useless until they were on home soil and protected by the sea
Finally a suitable companion video to Drachnifel's French Pre-Dreadnaught offering!
I thought the same!
When hotels fly into battle...
Your guys beat me to it.
Hahaha beat me there 🤣 when he mentioned the greenhouse that immediately lead me to think of the hotels
If only they kept and modernized the design it might have become a floating combat hotel with flying greenhouse escort.
My grand father who died last year was an engineer on the development of the very first french jets! Ouragan and vautour! Thanks for him!
Ahhhh! Finally a French aircraft video. Also I don't think the Breguet Alize(number 9) look that bad. Actually, I think it's actually look quite good
Looks a LOT better than the Gannet, that's for sure.
@@gordonprice695 The Gannet looks fine tho
They were built for scouting
After locating a Soviet submarine they could use their range to shadow it or their weapons to destroy it!
I think number 7 actually looks quite pretty, albeit the croissant look it carried a nice array of weapons and flush curves.
I don’t like the way it looks, but compared to the rest of these planes, it’s a downright looker!
The last flying Alize is stored at the place i work. Always looked weird to me but always got great feedback of it from veterans and enthusiasts
Actually, I really like those ASW chonkers like the Alize and Gannet. I don't think they're ugly, just a different breed from sleek fighters. Like a Newfoundlander compared to a Greyhound.
They don't exactly need to do Mach in order to catch submarines, either.
or a b24 compared to a b29 or b17
Alize looks kinda cute. At least I think so.
Id wager an Alize or Gannet could have made plenty mess of a Ka25 or Ka27 chopper too
@@KyriosMirage Yep! On the contrary, they need loitering ability.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the Jabiru was an art deco masterpiece and the three engined F.4X version being the art deco hooligan of the family.
The resemblance between the Breguet Elise and the Fairy Gannet is uncanny. Their long and successful service lives and both being well loved by their crews suggests there were good reasons to look like that. I can't wait for that comparative video, hint hint!
They were the aviation equivalent of convergent evolution. Two aircraft designed to carry out identical missions tend to look similar. Darwin would have been ever so pleased by this.
@Retired Bore Indeed. Were Darwin alive I can just see him with a smug look on his face and thinking " See? Evolution works in all areas." :0)
@@kevindolin4315 Did he ever actually think that? I've read "Origins" 4 times, cover to cover, and I don't recall that line??
Come on,... the Gannett !
Oh god, just image the anime that would accrue if the Japanese made the Allize and Gannet sentient!
As a Frenchman I admire your research and expertise.
I spent many hours as a boy watching Alphajets from the Tours training school flying above the Loire Valley skies...
On a lucky day we'd see a Mirage or two...
And on the best day of all, we saw one of the last Crusaders from the Flotille 12F...
Thank you ever so much for bringing back some very nice memories...
Would have been wonderful to see those aircraft. I’ve always loved the Mirage and Crusaders.
The Arsenal- Delanne 10 design was also used in the twin-wing Westland Lysander. Also to no avail!
Another interesting Westland type was the hill Pteradactyl.
#7 gives a while new meaning to "3 point landing" could you imagine trying to get that thing down in high winds or with battle damage, not to mention the training accidents that were inevitable.
Imagine getting down any battle damaged aircraft. Obiously there was no problem (or not too many problems) with it, otherwise they would not have chosen it for production. That said, they were still French, so ...
honestly I'd just try to belly land it at that point
Thanks!
A college buddy served as president of the Citroën Car Club (US). His favorite tee-shirt was "I think your car looks funny too!" might need an aeronautical version.
I love the beautiful design of the Sud-Est Grognard, even though the wings look a bit small compared to the size of the fuselage.
Also the Loire 130 looks like a flying locomotive.
Eu sou um entusiasta da aviação! E a maioria dos aviões que aparecem aqui no canal eu ainda não conhecia, incrível! Gratidão pelo vídeo e pelas informações! 🌟
I'd bought a large book on aircraft long ago, and found myself fascinated by the French WW2 aircraft shown in it...all ones I'd just never seen in any books before.(some on this list) honestly I love that you tend to cover alot of the interwar aircraft, as those tend to be the more interesting ( and in some cases, comical) aircraft. Keep up the good work!
Imma be real with you, there's a reason why they don't show those planes
I feel like a lot of #2's problems stem from having the cockpit on top. Deleting that, and putting him in tandem with what I presume is the navigator's station would've helped out a lot. Add on retractable landing gear as well, and you would've had a pretty decent looking aircraft
I love the fact that the French did not shy away from trying new designs, no matter how outrageous they looked.
France, especially during the interwar years, created some of the most beautiful, and at the same time fascinatingly ugly aircraft in the world. I love the fact that they went down their own path, instead of just following everybody else. As you said uniquely, unapologetically, and I would add, downright amazing French.
Absolutely agree. I speak as someone who fondly remembers their first car, a Citroen 2CV.
As they say, "The French copy no one and no one copies the French."
@@alfnoakes392 well the french pretty much invented automobiles back in the 18th century with the first car accident happening in Paris before the revolution.
Before WW2 the french automobile industry was the strongest on earth in terms of design, technology and superiority of speed, comfort etc..
These guys were pushing far away until Germany went full crazy and literally steal all the machining tools from the french.
france it was nothing in war plane sorry
@@gusgus-yp6qh Well Gus Gus, I think you totally missed the point of my comment. And in the plane story, as you put it, France was actually at the point of the spear, so to speak, after the Wright brothers proved that heavier than air flight was possible. The French aircraft industry for many years led the way, with many firsts, partly because of World War 1. So I have to disagree with what you said, about them being nothing.
Love the Amiot greenhouse for some strange reason. It's so ugly funny, that it's actually lovely, and - in my opinion - fares on paper not too bad compared to the contemporary HP52 Heyford.
I almost agree except for the #10, the Leduc. It is not really an ugly plane. It is rather weird...
And beeing french and living in the same city as Leduc lived, I am keen of his experimental aircrafts.
It is unique, one of the very first ram jet. René Leduc pioneered ram jet aircrafts, a little bit too much in advance on his time.
Great video, I discovered most of these aicrafts
Bro made a supersonic soda can.
14:02 what’s with those props?
G'day Mate, I am constantly surprised, amazed & con-fuddled by the vast array of odd shapes, designs & total weirdness that man can actually get off the ground.
strap enough horsepower to something, and you can make just about anything fly... for a short while anyway :)
@@roadsweeper1 It's how you show off who's the best designer of course!
The more absurd you can make your plane look and still fly well? Clearly that takes skill!
"Thrust triumphs over aerodynamics"
@@5peciesunkn0wn Wasn't that the F-104 Starfighter motto?
@@markfryer9880 Nope. That was the F-14 Phantom's lol
Thank you Dr.Rex; nice documentary as ever. However I have to say that once I saw the Bleriot 125, I was impressed by its originality and liked it very much in spite of its engineering failure. It's one of those cases when one wishes they had found a solution to make it a successful though different aircraft.
Ouch, but true. Well done mate.
Another terrifically interesting and entertaining video from this great channel. Top work Rex!
A good set of weird-looking planes. Very glad the Jabiru made it to no. 1. I wondered, what about the Vedovelli Fantome, which looked like not so much a plane, more like the contents of a timber & hardware store.
I saw a photo of the Fantome😆, and I can't tell if this was before or after the crash.
The Vedovelli Fantome sits at no. 0, my eyes cannot comprehend this
I just saw this monstrosity on the web... please God... make it go away! 😢😢😢
Priceless humour. Love it!!!!
"Unique and terrifying", indeed! Good work Rex & Company!
Thanks for making this comment! I'm too shocked to actually think of a good comment!
Rex... you've excelled yet again! Humour, great references and facts!... keep it going mate!
Once again, great video. You should also look into the Bugatti model 100 racer! Thats worth a feature film on its own!
Aviation Designer: How big do you want your plane?
Company Boss: I want my baguettes extra thicc and chonki, and supersize it while you're at it.
Aviation Designer: *surprise pikachu face*
*French Aviation History in a nutshell*
Leduc 022 looks kinda cool imo. Looking at models and art pieces of it reminds me of atomic era design.
Looks like Thunderbird 1
@@米空軍パイロット Yeah it does, haha.
I think I discovered a great aviation channel today! Nice video!
To be honest, the "Grognard" actually looks futuristic for its time.
Resembles a F-16 Fighting Falcon, that was overturned!
And the Bleriot 125 looks as if it where a Bloated Cattermeran (twin bow sailboat) with wings...
sidenote: the name is a reference to the Imperial Old Guard of Napoleon,
and means "grumbler"
Catamaran?
If the Grognard looks like the F-16, you should check out the Nord 1500 Griffon.
@@aidanpysher2764Thx. Looks like a socialist F-16.
The plane at 0:46 is actually a Polish bomber, LWS-6 Żubr. Influenced heavilly by French airplanes, it was obsolete from the start and ordered only to save the state-owned factory LWS, which couldn't handle producing anything more modern. Turned out it was so underpowered that it couldn't take any bomb load, so the few that were build were used for training, while Polish Air Force adopted the PZL P.37 Łoś - one of the most modern and most beautifull early war bombers in the world
"the French copy nobody - and nobody copies the French"
YES! You covered the Grognard! I was hoping you would... I have the Mach 2 resin kit of this bird... It's fugly, but in a futuristic way!
I'm afraid that you can made it a top 100 list instead of 10 and you can still fill the entire list with different kinds of hideous aircraft, while still having tons of the less eye-damaging models out there.
As a random quote said "The French copied no one, and no one copied the French."
With good reason
@@mpetersen6 Except it complete rubbish.
@@canicheenrageTiens , un français ! On se sent un peu seul ici dans ce déluge fr-bashing , manque souvent de l'humour...
Brilliant video! That first aircraft with the pilot housed in the pointed peak of the air intake does remind one of…….Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbird One” in a convoluted sort of way. The aircraft that looked like a Baguette with rear bogies incorporated into the rear fins has the silhouette of “Thunderbird Two”. Another aircraft - the first swept wing with the air intake on top looks like an early prototype of the Angel Interceptor from the “Captain Scarlet” series!
The last aircraft was an abomination (as were a few others), and I was sorely tempted to wash my eyes out with Carbolic Soap….!!! 😅
Brilliant stuff, Rex!
More of the same, please….!!! 😃👍🏾
Greetings from Louisiana ⚜ Rex. Definitely excited to watch this. If you want to see something like a Naval equivalent, go watch Drachs video on French pre Dreadnoughts. You'll regret it pretty immediately.
The French are just weird.
I didn't know the French had Predreadnoughts. I thought those were hotels on a boat.
@@Maritimesgestein touche indeed
@@admiraltiberius1989
Just a mere scratch. (mon ami)
Maybe it was just some really bad cheese and wine the designers had before starting on their projects.
French are weird ... so are you. Keep in mind that for the French (I'm a Frenchman) the anglo-saxons appear to be very weird and not only with regards to aviation products, it's a very relative notion. We even say sometimes (in the aviation world): if it's ugly, it's British (Gannett, Argosy, Islander, Skyvan, Nimrod and so many others...) or ... Russian. So be careful with these kind of statements.
I havent watched one of your videos in a while. What a great video!
The Breguet Alizée proved to be a highly reliable Aircraft. It also does not look ugly.
as if French engineers decided that terror is the weapon that doesn’t need any ammunition
13:35 That plane looks suspiciously like the Sikorsky Ilya muromets of Imperial Russia
Edit: Spelling and grammar
"...a moldy piece of Brie..." I barelly fell off my armchair laughing because of that last one. Brilliant, I love your sense of humour ! Each of the comparison you made was equally funny and accurate ! Great channel !
I'm fairly certain the French were simply trying to invent the electric shaver with the Jabiru
EDIT: Oddly, the first electric shavers were created around the same time! Which is hysterical.
Well done!! Your voiceover as always was great!!
I believe there is beauty in ugliness. I love the Amiot 143. I built the Heller kit ten years ago. I would describe as handsome in a stoic way.
Extreme designs make very satisfying scale modeling.
Working on the Heller kit right now. It's (ahem) unique looks were what made me buy it in the first place.
@@rjbartrop2 All those windows crammed in such a narrow fuselage can present difficulties. I was worried i might accidentally punch those windows loose inside the fuselage but managed all right.
Speaking of extreme designs I built the AMT Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing a year ago. Pretty cool model I recommend.
3:25 A grade-school field trip to an aircraft carrier active flight deck? Way more cool than our trips to museums and such when I was a kid!
For action, there is a reaction.
For every Mirage III and Caravelle there is a Leduc 02 and a Farman F.120
It would be a lot funnier if the title was just top 10 ugliest air craft and they were all just french anyways
The Sud est Grognard somehow reminds me of the stealth fighters developed in the 90's, like the Bird of Prey.
11:30 There was Lysander Delane.
Fun fact: I actually have the no 3 sitting in my hangar in WoWP.
Those images don't do it's uglyness justice, that's all I am going to say.
Lol
Rex...........I do love your dry sense of humour, The video made me chuckle throughout!
In the first version of the Leduc, the pilot was inside the ramjet intake
Ejections must have been fun
The horror, the horror, won't someone think of the children
With a forty year career and 1800 mile range, #9 actually must have been a pretty good airplane.
Great plane really. Retired in the year 2000. Had they started with a little bit more speed, they might have lasted even longer.
And doesn't even look ugly in my opinion.
Loved your video and funny narration : )
Love the second instalment of this series, although I disagree on the S.E. 100 in this list (#7).
Unorthodox? Why yes. 🤨
Ugly? Not on your life! 😍
Great channel, kutgw! 👍
These planes actually look really incredible
This title must have been hard to limit to only 10. It's like choosing from Fairey types or RN machines (2 overlapping categories of gruesome.)
Did anyone else feel the ghost of the Flying Flea hovering over that tandem-wing thing?
14:47 - ...uhh, you do realise, that the white rind on Brie is actually mold, right?
I like some of these designs because they took an interesting approach. There are several things we interact with daily that adhere to strict design decisions, following "rules" across all examples even though they truly aren't requirements. These, and many other french designs, seem to be a challenge. "What if we ignored this particular requirement" they said to themselves. "Well, why don't we?". I love many french firearm designs because of this. You don't see it anywhere else
thank you for this very well documented video, I took a lot of fun with the text, and learned on planes from my country that I even didn't know. Notice that the Leduc engine (not that ugly I think) was well in advance for his time. I believe the concept is now used in cruise missiles (and partly in the SR71, is'nt ?)
Yeah, we need somebody to make 1/72 & 1/48 kits of the Jabiru. For study purposes of course. 😁
Love unusual/ugly airplanes, I can’t wait to see more about them . Thank You
Rex carrying on the British traditions of poking fun of the French and understated humor.
For another good military review of the Brits poking fun of the French see Drachinifel's video about French Battleships: When Hotels Go To War
Rex is Australian.
Rex is Australian, NOT British.
Post WW2 English designs don't have much to brag about IMHO :)
bravo! Hilarious, yet somehow also respectful, commentary and soundtrack, well done.
I'm a firm believer that if it works than it's not ugly. Clearly I forgot about the French 🤣 I gotta know though, how long did this video take to make? All the jokes you slipped in would've had me laughing hysterically if I were narrating. Great job!
You made this baguette here proud, and honestly your butchering of names wasn't as bad as I feared and am used to, so you got that going for you too
I do not understand your hatred for full glass cabins. Thin duraluminium sheet has exactly the same bulletproof capability as glass or polycarbonate... none. Crewmembers were ment to wear flack jackets regardless of the plane's construction :)
This was really enjoyable. You have a very smooth and charismatic voice. If it wasn't such a fascinating topic, I would've been lulled to sleep.
Even more than your dedication and commitment I appreciate your sense of humour with these god-awful aircraft designs :)
No lack of uglyness to choose from, especially in the interwar period.
12:07 its looking nice
For me
You put out the most entertaining videos! :>)
4:50 My grand father flew on those Amiot 143, you are right saying that they were used mostly for night missions over Germany. My grand father even told me he flew almost above Berlin, not to throw bombs but...flyers telling that German should not make a war which will lead them to disaster.. I do belong some of those flyers he gave me that I preciously keep. I would like to mention a particular mission on 14th june 1940, the only which occured at noon in daylight! When the germans broke through the Ardenne, the french headquarter threw ALL what they had to stop them. The old Amiot 143 had to bomb german forces which crossed the river Meuse at Sedan, the crews considered it was a suicide mission. My grand father showed me a picture of him, explaining me he took it for his parents, thinking he wouldnt come back. Two escadrilles were planed, the leader of one of them decided to fly back to the the base, disobeying the order considering it was useless, the escadrille of my gf flew on target and lost 3 planes, he saw his best friend dying while his plane was crashing. He was lucky enough to survive and come back "thank to the ability of his pilote" he told me. He was a gunner and told me they repulsed a Bf109 attack whith his crew, very lucky on Amiot planes flying 180km/h vs 600km/h fighters. He and his mates got a medal for this "suicide" mission. Few people know about this, I know it thanks to my grand father, and I felt to tell this story to you guys who are interested in WW2 stories. Thank you for your video british friend ;)
L'histoire de votre grand-père est très touchante , merci de l'avoir racontée ! Je savais qu'il y avait eu de nombreuses missions "largages de tracts" , énorme prise de risque pour les équipages , résultat nul !
These are easily my favorite videos from you, hope to see more of them.
@5:10
Rex: Despite having a slow top speed of 295...
Me: That's pretty good for a 1928 bomber
Rex: Kilometers per hour...
Me: Oh 🙄
Your sense of humor is very fine. You made my week. Greetings from Buenos Aires...
Hey there Rex's crew! Just thought I'dd say that if you need help with (french to english) translations, I'm fluent in both languages and have already translated a book, and I'dd be quite happy to help out.
Well, the French invented manned flight, balloons and then the airplane and the seaplane. I’m full of respect for them👍🏻
Ugly? Quite possibly. Fascinating? Definitely!
Brilliant. And more to come... Thanks matey.
Your intros just get better and better.
This may well be the best to date.
Congratolations on 101k subscribers!
Mom can we have A10 at home
French people: donte worry mon amy we have ze plane for you...
LE PLANE :
12:30
The 143 looks like they put wings on a zeppelin cabin.
After watching the video, I couldn't help but think about the best and biggest aviation museum I've ever visited: "Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace" in Paris. A fantastic collection, and a fantastic experience. Can absolutely be recommended.
When it comes to machines, I love the ugly weird designs.
I notice that one variant of the Jabaroo had three 4 blade propellers that were NOT at an even 90 degrees. I have never seen that before ; can you think of any rational for that ? Maybe it was to keep with the ugly aperance ; )
[0:46 - 0:48] the aircraft in this interval is a Polish LWS-6 Zubr , not a French aircraft.
Otherwise known as the PZL.30 - completely outdated by the time it entered service (several months after the innovative PZL.37 did so).
As an Englishman it can sometimes be a hard experience to find oneself approving of anything French. However, in the spirit of fair play with any 'uglies' aside , I will say that the country that can birth the grace and elegance that is the Fouga Magister can be forgiven a lot.
Merci à vous , ami Anglais !
Votre Spitfire reste un chef-d'œuvre d'une beauté intemporelle !
P.S : regardez quand même nos Dewoitine D520 et Arsenal VG33...
Isn't 7:12 straight up Sea Duck from TaleSpin?