"......... Desired for a decade". Good grief!
Military Aircraft, Ian Allen, 1956
What on earth is the problem? Take your pick; everybody had one in 1956.
One suspects that, rather like Jack Northrop's Flying Wing, this is a brilliant idea that has been in a holding pattern for 60-odd years, waiting for the technology to catch up with the concept.
Nice to see that Europe was holding its own back then. One hopes that the Test Pilot of USAF's current project will follow M. Sablier's lead and trade his shorts/tee-shirt combo for more sensible tweeds, tie and
moto-helmet. It must have been chilly at 8,000 feet above le Bourget.
(Note, 6 hp by the way. And no, I've no idea about anti-torque).