The Dassault MD.450 Ouragan (Hurricane) is an early French jet fighter-bomber built in the late 1940s. Detailed design work on the new aircraft, which was given the designation MD (Marcel Dassault) 450, began in December 1947, with construction beginning in April 1948. A French government contract for three prototypes followed in June, and the first Ouragan fighter flew at the end of February 1949. The prototype lacked pressurization and armament. The Ouragan was inspired by American designs, and had a general configuration like that of the Republic F-84 Thunderjet: essentially a "stovepipe" with intake in the nose, low-set straight wing, bubble canopy, and tricycle landing gear; all gear had single wheels, with the nosewheel retracting forward and the main gear hinging in the wings in towards the fuselage. The Ouragan was smaller than the Thunderjet, however, weighing about a tonne less, and used a thin wing much like that of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, as well as a swept-back tailplane. The prototype Ouragan was powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene 102 centrifugal-flow turbojet, license-built by Hispano-Suiza, with about 22.27 kN (2,270 kp / 5,000 lbf) thrust.