French supersonic strategic bomber
The
Dassault Mirage IV
was a French
supersonic
strategic bomber
and deep-
reconnaissance aircraft
. Developed by
Dassault Aviation
, the aircraft entered service with the
French Air Force
in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the
nuclear triad
of the
Force de Frappe
, France's
nuclear deterrent
striking force. The Mirage IV was retired from the nuclear strike role in 1996, and the type was entirely retired from operational service in 2005.
During the 1960s, there were plans to export the Mirage IV. In one proposal, Dassault would have entered a partnership with the
British Aircraft Corporation
to jointly produce a Mirage IV variant for the
Royal Air Force
and potentially for other export customers, but this project did not come to fruition. The Mirage IV was ultimately not adopted by any other operators.
Development
[
edit
]
Mirage IV had 12 solid-fuel rockets for
rocket-assisted take off
(RATO)
Origins
[
edit
]
During the 1950s, France embarked on an extensive
military program
to produce
nuclear weapons
; however, it was acknowledged that existing French aircraft were unsuitable for the task of delivering the weapons.
[1]
Thus, the development of a
supersonic
bomber designed to carry out the delivery mission started in
1956
as a part of the wider development of France's independent
nuclear deterrent
. In May 1956, the
Guy Mollet
government drew up a specification for an aerially-refuelable supersonic bomber capable of carrying a 3 tonne, 5.2-metre-long nuclear bomb 2,000 km (without aerial refuelling).
[2]
According to aviation authors
Bill Gunston
and Peter Gilchrist, the specification's inclusion of supersonic speed was "surprising" to many at the time.
[3]
The final specifications, jointly defined by government authorities and
Dassault
staff, were approved on 20 March 1957.
Sud Aviation
and
Nord Aviation
both submitted competing proposals, both based on existing aircraft; Sud Aviation proposed the Super Vautour, a stretched
Sud Aviation Vautour
with 47 kilonewtons (10,500 lbf) thrust
SNECMA
Atar
engines and a combat radius of 2,700 kilometres (1,700 mi) at Mach 0.9.
[2]
Dassault's proposal for what became the Mirage IV was chosen on the basis of lower cost and anticipated simpler development, being based upon a proposed early 1956 twin-engined night-fighter derived from the
Dassault Mirage III
fighter and the unbuilt Mirage II interceptor.
[3]
[4]
In April 1957, Dassault were informed that they had won the design competition.
[3]
Dassault's resulting prototype, dubbed
Mirage IV 01
, looked a lot like the Mirage IIIA, even though it had double the wing surface, two engines instead of one, and twice the unladen weight.
[3]
The Mirage IV also carried three times more internal fuel than the Mirage III. The aircraft's aerodynamic features were very similar to the III's but required an entirely new structure and layout. This prototype was 20 metres (67 ft) long, had an 11 metres (37 ft) wingspan, 62 square metres (670 sq ft) of wing area, and weighed approximately 25,000 kilograms (55,000 lb).
[5]
It was considerably more advanced than the Mirage III, incorporating new features such as machined and chem-milled planks, tapered sheets, a small amount of titanium, and integral fuel tanks in many locations including the leading portion of the tailfin.
[2]
The 01 was an experimental prototype built to explore and solve the problems stemming from prolonged supersonic flight. At the time, no aircraft had been designed to cruise at over Mach 1.8 for long periods of time and there were sizable technological and operational uncertainties. Weapon-related issues were another issue. Building the 01 in Dassault's
Saint-Cloud
plant near
Paris
took 18 months. In late
1958
, the aircraft was transferred to the
Melun-Villaroche
flight testing
area for finishing touches and ground tests. On 17 June 1959, French General
Roland Glavany
, on a five-year leave from the
French Air Force
since 1954, took the 01 for its maiden flight.
[6]
[7]
[8]
On 19 September 1960, Rene Bigand (replacing Glavany as test pilot) increased the
world record for speed
on a 1000-kilometre closed circuit to 1,822 km/h (1,132 mph) around Paris and the Melun base.
[6]
[9]
Flight 138, on 23 September, corroborated the initial performance and pushed the record on a 500 km closed circuit to an average of 1,972 km/h (1,225 mph), flying between Mach 2.08 and Mach 2.14. The Mirage IV 01 prototype underwent minor modifications during testing in the autumn of 1959, most noticeably, the tail was enlarged (slight reduction in height, large increase in chord).
[10]
Production
[
edit
]
On display at a 2004 air show
In order to increase range, studies were made of a significantly larger
Mirage IVB
design, powered by two
Snecma
license-built
Pratt & Whitney J75
engines and having a wing area of 120 m² (1,290 sq ft) compared to 70 m² (750 sq ft) of the prototype IV, as well as a speed of Mach 2.4 and a gross weight of 64,000 kilograms (140,000 lb).
[11]
The
Mirage IVB
proposal had been instigated as a response to interest by de Gaulle in ensuring that two-way (including the aircraft's return to France) strike missions could be flown.
[8]
However, development of the aircraft was ultimately cancelled in July 1959 due to the greater cost involved, a decision having been taken to rely upon aerial refueling instead also being a factor.
[11]
With the Mirage IVB considered to be too expensive, the medium-sized
Mirage IVA
, slightly larger than the first prototype, was chosen for three more prototypes to be produced.
[6]
This aircraft had a wing area of 77.9 square metres (839 sq ft) and weighed about 32,000 kilograms (70,000 lb)
[12]
On 4 April 1960, a formal order for 50 production Mirage IVA aircraft was issued.
[13]
The three prototype aircraft were built between 1961 and 1963, with first flights on 12 October 1961, 1 June 1962, and 23 January 1963.
[12]
By 1962, the second prototype had conducted simulated nuclear bombing runs in the trials range at
Colomb-Bechar
in southern
Algeria
.
[13]
The third prototype was equipped with the navigation/bombing systems and flight refuelling probe. The fourth prototype Mirage IVA-04 was essentially representative of the production aircraft that would follow.
[12]
For production, various portions of the aircraft were subcontracted to Sud Aviation (wings and rear fuselage) and
Breguet Aviation
(tailfin), which was still a separate company from Dassault until 1967; Dassault manufactured the front fuselage and flight-control system internally.
[7]
Manufacture of both the prototypes and subsequent production aircraft was often hindered by an explicit requirement that there would be no reliance upon foreign suppliers to maintain France's nuclear capabilities; due to this, the Mirage IV initially lacked an
inertial navigation system
as French industry could not yet produce this device.
[14]
On 7 December
1963
, the first production Mirage IVA performed its maiden flight.
[15]
A series of 62 aircraft was built, and they entered service between
1964
and
1968
. Although Dassault had designed the Mirage IV for the low-level flight role right from the start,
[16]
the final batch of 12 aircraft ordered in November 1964 differed from the earlier aircraft in several areas, including the flight controls, avionics, and structural details, for the purpose of providing improved low-level performance. It had been planned for this batch to be powered by the newer
Pratt & Whitney/SNECMA TF106
turbofan
engine.
[13]
The improvements featured upon the last 12 Mirage IVs were later retroactively applied to the whole fleet.
[16]
In December 1963 Dassault proposed a
Mirage IV-106
variant with 2 Snecma TF106 (license-built Pratt and Whitney) engines, an enlarged 105,000 gross-weight fuselage, terrain-avoidance radar, and armed with a proposed French version of the American Douglas
GAM-87 Skybolt
air-launched ballistic missile
.
[17]
This version would have been very costly, and ultimately was not ordered.
Proposed export variants
[
edit
]
Mirage IV touching down
In 1963, the Australian government sought a replacement for the
Royal Australian Air Force
fleet of
English Electric Canberra
bombers, largely in response to the
Indonesian Air Force
's purchase of missile-armed
Tupolev Tu-16
bombers.
[18]
Dassault proposed a version of the Mirage IVA with
Rolls-Royce Avon
engines. Australian Air Marshall
Frederick Scherger
seriously considered purchase of the IVA in 1961 because it was considered to be proven hardware already in service (in contrast to the
BAC TSR-2
which was still in development), before settling on the
General Dynamics F-111C
.
[18]
The IVA was one of five aircraft types that were short listed for the role, but the F-111C was eventually selected.
[19]
[20]
In April 1965, the British
Government
cancelled the TSR-2 reconnaissance-strike aircraft. However the operational requirement still existed, so in response, Hawker Siddeley offered the
Buccaneer S.2
, the Americans the
General Dynamics F-111K
, while, in July 1965, Dassault and
British Aircraft Corporation
(BAC) jointly proposed a modified Mirage IV.
[21]
[22]
The Dassault/BAC aircraft, known as the
Mirage IV*
or
Mirage IVS
(S for Spey) would be re-engined with more powerful
Rolls-Royce Spey
turbofan engines with a total of 185 kilonewtons (41,700 lbf), larger (fuselage depth increased by 7.6 centimetres (3 in), had an approximately 0.61 metres (2 ft) forward fuselage extension, and was to weigh 36,000 kilograms (80,000 lb)), and use avionics planned for the TSR-2, although BAC preferred the French Antilope radar.
[23]
Although designed by Dassault, the production was to be carried out jointly between Dassault and its subcontractors (wing, mid-fuselage, and tail) and BAC (front and rear fuselage). The final assembly location was not determined before this proposal was rejected.
[12]
The Mirage IV* was to carry a bombload of up to 9,100 kilograms (20,000 lb).
[24]
The Mirage IV* was claimed to meet nearly every RAF requirement except for field length, and some claim it exceeded the F-111 slightly in speed and had at least equal range.
[25]
The estimated cost was
£
2.321 million per airframe (for 50) or £2.067 million (for 110), less than the price of the F-111K.
[26]
However Air Ministry and RAF studies of the proposal identified further modifications to meet the RAF low-level performance requirements. These included airframe strengthening and revised cockpit glazing to improve visibility for both the pilot and crew member. There was also a significant shortfall in range, despite the lengthened fuselage.
[21]
BAC claimed that the British government evaluation into the Mirage IV* was "relatively superficial".
[26]
RAF pilots who test-flew the Mirage IV were "favourably impressed" with its low-altitude handling.
[26]
[27]
However, some British government officials, including
Parliament
members
Julian Risdale
and
Roy Jenkins
, questioned the Mirage IV*'s capacity to operate from unprepared airstrips or to operate at low level, or claimed that the F-111 was a superior aircraft "in a class of its own".
[28]
Air historian Bill Gunston notes that low-level Mirage IV missions had been planned since 1963 and Mirage IVs operated regularly at low level since 1965, and argues that the ability of a strategic bomber to operate from unprepared airstrips is historically unimportant.
[26]
Ultimately, as much for strategic political reasons as for technical ones, the F-111K was preferred (only to be cancelled later in its turn) and the Spey-engined Mirage abandoned.
[21]
[29]
[30]
BAC and Dassault had also hoped to sell the Mirage IV* to France and to export the Mirage IV* to various nations, such as
India
, possibly
Israel
, and others; the lack of a British sale put an end to such possibilities.
[26]
Some aviation journalists claim that the rejection of the Mirage IV* may have dampened French interest in joint Anglo-French cooperation.
[31]
Design
[
edit
]
A French Air Force Mirage IV
The Mirage IV shares design features and a visual resemblance to the Mirage III fighter, featuring a tailless
delta wing
and a single square-topped vertical fin. However, the wing is significantly thinner to allow better high-speed performance and has a thickness/chord ratio of only 3.8% at the root and 3.2% at the tip; this wing was the thinnest built in Europe at that time and one of the thinnest in the world.
[7]
While being significantly smaller than an expensive medium bomber proposal for the role, the Mirage IV was roughly three times the weight of the preceding Mirage III.
[32]
The Mirage IV is powered by two Snecma Atar turbojets, fed by two air intakes on either side of the fuselage that had intake half-cone shock diffusers, known as souris ("mice"), which were moved forward as speed increased to trim the inlet for the shock wave angle. It can reach high supersonic speeds: the aircraft is redlined at Mach 2.2 at altitude because of airframe temperature restrictions, although it is capable of higher speeds. While broadly similar to the model used on the Mirage III, the Atar engine had a greater airflow and an elevated overspeed limit from 8,400
rpm
to 8,700 rpm for greater thrust during high altitude supersonic flight.
[14]
While the first Mirage IV prototype was fitted with double-eyelid engine nozzles, production aircraft featured a complicated
variable geometry
nozzle that automatically varied in response to the descent rate and airspeed.
[33]
[34]
The aircraft has 14,000 litres (3,700 gal (US)) of internal fuel, and its engines are quite thirsty, especially when the
afterburner
is active.
[32]
Fuel was contained within integral tanks within the wings, as well as a double-skinned section of the fuselage between and outboard of the inlet ducts, underneath the ducts and engines, and forward of the main spar of the tail fin; this provided a total internal capacity of 6,400 kilograms (14,000 lb).
[13]
A
refueling probe
is built into the nose; aerial refuelling was often necessary in operations as the Mirage IV only had the fuel capacity, even with external drop tanks, to reach the
Soviet Union
's borders, thus refuelling was required to allow for a 'round trip'.
[35]
In the event of nuclear war between the major powers, it was thought that there would be little point in having the fuel to return as the host air bases would have been destroyed; instead, surviving Mirage IVs would have diverted to land at bases in nearby neutral countries following the delivery of their ordnance.
[36]
The two-man crew, pilot and navigator, were seated in tandem cockpits, each housed under separate clamshell canopies.
[27]
A bombing/navigation radar is housed within an oblique-facing
radome
underneath the fuselage between the intakes and aft of the cockpit; much of the Mirage IV's onboard avionics systems, such as the radar communications, navigational instrumentation, and bombing equipment, were produced by
Thomson-CSF
.
[32]
Other avionics elements were provided by Dassault itself and SFENA; one of the only major subsystems not of French origin onboard was the
Marconi
-built AD.2300
doppler radar
.
[13]
Free-falling munitions could also be aimed using a ventral blister-mounted
periscope
from the navigator's position.
[14]
The Mirage IV has two pylons under each wing, with the inboard pylons being normally used for large
drop tanks
of 2,500-litre (660 gal (US)) capacity. The outer pylons typically carried
ECM
and
chaff
/flare dispenser pods to supplement the internal jamming and countermeasures systems. On later aircraft, this equipment typically included a Barax NG jammer pod under the port wing and a
BOZ
expendables dispenser under the starboard wing. No
cannon
armament was ever fitted aboard the type. The early Mirage IVA had a fuselage recess under the engines which could hold a single
AN-11
or
AN-22
nuclear weapon of 60
kt
yield. The Mirage IV can carry 12 solid-fuel rockets diagonally down below the wing flaps, for
rocket-assisted take off
(RATO).
[12]
[35]
From 1972 onward, 12 aircraft were also equipped to carry the CT52
reconnaissance
pod in the bomb recess. These aircraft were designated
Mirage IVR
for reconnaissance. The CT52 was available in either BA (
Basse Altitude
, low-level) or HA (
Haute Altitude
, high-altitude) versions with three or four long-range cameras; a third configuration used an
infrared
line scanner. The CT52 had no digital systems, relying on older wet-film cameras. The first operational use of the system took place during missions in
Chad
in September 1974.
[37]
During the 1980s, a total of 18 Mirage IVs were retrofitted with a centreline pylon and associated equipment to carry and launch the nuclear
ASMP
stand-off missile.
[38]
The Mirage IVA could theoretically carry up to six large conventional bombs at the cost of drop tanks and ECM pods; such armament was rarely fitted in practice.
[39]
Operational history
[
edit
]
Close-up of Mirage IV on the taxiway
Introduction and early operations
[
edit
]
"We don't have fighter aircraft, we have fear-inducing aircraft"
French President
Charles de Gaulle
, speaking of the Mirage IV in 1963.
[40]
In February 1964 deliveries of the Mirage IV to the French Air Force started, with the first French Mirage IV squadron being declared operational on 1 October that year.
[13]
[41]
The Mirage IV bomber force soon consisted of nine squadrons of four aircraft (2 pairs ? one aircraft carrying the nuclear bomb, one a buddy-refuelling tanker) each. When fully built up, the force consisted of three wings. These wings were each divided into three bomber squadrons, each equipped with a total of four Mirage IVs, with each deployed at a different base to minimise the potential for an enemy strike to knock out the entire bomber force. These squadrons were:
[42]
[43]
Underside of a low-flying Mirage IV, 1986
After establishment of its own deterrent force, the
Force de Dissuassion
, more commonly known as the
Force de frappe
, France withdrew from the military command structure of
NATO
in
1966
.
[44]
De Gaulle viewed the operational establishment of the Mirage IV fleet, a critical component of the independent
Force de frappe
, as highly influential to his decision to withdraw France from NATO, and that an independent French nuclear deterrent was necessary to ensure independence as a nation.
[45]
From 1964 to 1971, the Mirage IV was France's sole means of delivering nuclear ordnance. At this point they were each armed with a single 60 kiloton nuclear bomb.
[46]
Alert status consisted of an active inventory of 36 Mirage IVs. At any one time 12 aircraft would be in the air, with a further 12 on the ground kept at four minutes' readiness and the final 12 at 45 minutes' readiness, each equipped with an onboard functional nuclear weapon. These 36 active aircraft would be rotated with 26 reserve aircraft; the latter were kept in an airworthy condition or were otherwise subject to maintenance activities. Within the first decade of the type entering service, in excess of 200,000 hours were flown and 40,000 aerial refuelling operations were performed by the Mirage IV fleet alone; at one point, Mirage IV operations were consuming up to 44 per cent of the French Air Force's total spare parts budget.
[47]
The primary objectives of the Mirage IVA force were major Soviet cities and bases. With
aerial refueling
, the plane was able to attack
Moscow
,
Murmansk
or various
Ukrainian
cities when sortieing from French bases. A justification of the Mirage IV given by Armee de l'air Brigadier General
Pierre Marie Gallois
, an architect of the French nuclear deterrent, was that: "France is not a prize worthy of ten Russian cities".
[3]
In order to refuel the Mirage IVA fleet, France purchased 14 (12 plus 2 spares) U.S. Boeing
C-135
F
tankers
.
[2]
Mirage IVAs also often operated in pairs, with one aircraft carrying a weapon and the other carrying fuel tanks and a buddy refueling pack, allowing it to refuel its partner en route to the target.
[48]
Even so, some sources state that some of the mission profiles envisioned were actually one-way, with the crew having no chance of returning after bombing a Soviet city.
[49]
The inability for the Mirage IV to return after missions had been a point of controversy during the aircraft's early development.
[47]
Both flight and ground crews received training principally by
Strategic Air Forces Command
328, stationed at
Bordeaux
. Several
Nord Noratlas
were specially modified, having received the Mirage IV's radar, control consoles, and additional electrical generators, for the purpose of training navigators; these were later replaced by a pair of customised
Dassault Falcon 20
outfitted with much of the Mirage IVP's avionics.
[50]
Transition and upgrades
[
edit
]
Initially, the basic attack flight profile was "high-high-high" at a speed of Mach 1.85, engaging targets up to a maximum radius of 3,500 km (2,175 mi). In the late 1960s, when the threat of
surface-to-air missile
defences made high-altitude flight too hazardous, the Mirage IVA was modified for low-altitude penetration. Flying low, the maximum attack speed was reduced to 1,100 km/h (680 mph) and the combat radius was also decreased. By 1963, the majority of missions involving the Mirage IV were being planned as low-level flights.
[17]
By 1964, Mirage IVAs were conducting training penetration runs at an altitude of 200 ft, without the assistance of
terrain-following radar
, which subjected pilots to considerable workload and those on board to high levels of
turbulence
.
[48]
To improve survivability, the French Air Force began dispersing Mirage IVs to pre-prepared rough strips during the 1960s; while the use of hardened
bunkers
had been assessed, it was found to be financially impractical.
[48]
By the 1970s, it had become clear that vulnerability of the Mirage IV to air defences, even while flying at low altitudes, had made the delivery of
gravity bombs
such as the
AN-11
or
AN-22
impractical. Thus, it was decided to pass a greater share of the deterrent role onto land-based
missiles
and
submarine-launched ballistic missile
alternatives; as a result, a single wing of Mirage IVs was stood down in 1976, partially due to fleet-wide attrition losses.
[51]
[52]
Mirage IVP at
RAF Fairford
,
Gloucestershire
, England, 2003
In 1973, it was reported that a force of 40 Mirage IVs would continue to perform as a part of France's nuclear deterrent until the 1980s, and that steady improvements were to be undertaken.
[53]
In 1975, all Mirage IVs were progressively painted in a new green/grey camouflage scheme.
[52]
In 1979, in response to the decreasing effectiveness of free-fall bombs used by both its strategic and tactical nuclear forces, development of the ASMP stand-off missile was initiated; the ASMP would possess a range of up to 400 km (250 mi) and was alternative armed with either a single 150 or 300 kiloton nuclear warhead.
[54]
Various test launches of dummy and later live ASMPs were performed using the Mirage IV as the launch platform between 1981 and 1983.
[52]
In July 1984, a contract was formally issued for the upgrade of a total of 18 Mirage IVAs to carry the ASMP missile in the place of traditional bombs; these aircraft were redesignated
Mirage IVP
(Penetration).
[54]
[55]
The conversion of Mirage IVAs to IVPs involved a large number of modifications and re-workings of the aircraft. A deep centerline pylon was added, which could accommodate either a single ASMP missile or a CT52 reconnaissance pod.
[52]
The main radar and electronics suite were removed and replaced by newer counterparts; other modified systems included the navigation system, flight control system, and various elements of the cockpit. On 12 October 1982, the first modernised Mirage IVP performed its first flight; it re-entered active service on 1 May 1986.
[39]
[56]
In August 1985, a French proposal that would have seen Mirage IVPs stationed at air bases inside neighbouring
West Germany
was made public; this deployment would have marked a significant philosophical departure from traditional French nuclear defence policy.
[57]
Aviation authors Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist allege that French officials had historically discounted the option of recovering Mirage IVs in friendly territory as unduly optimistic, as those nations might become unfriendly or hostile in the aftermath of a French nuclear attack.
[3]
Phase-Out
[
edit
]
Mirage IV on a reconnaissance mission over a burning oil field in 1991 following the
Gulf War
On 31 July 1996, the Mirage IVP was formally retired in its bomber capacity, the nuclear mission having been transferred from the Mirage IV to the newer
Dassault Mirage 2000N
.
[58]
EB 2/91 was disbanded and EB 1/91 was redesignated ERS 1/91 (
Escadron de Reconnaissance Strategique
, Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron),
[59]
using five remaining Mirage IVPs based at
Mont-de-Marsan
; the remaining aircraft were stored at Chateaudun.
[60]
In the reconnaissance role, the Mirage IVP has seen service over
Bosnia
,
Iraq
,
Kosovo
and
Afghanistan
.
ES 1/91 Gascogne's surviving Mirage IVPs were retired in
2005
and are conserved and stored at the
Centre d'Instruction Forces Aeriennes Strategiques
(CIFAS) at Bordeaux Merignac. The retirement of all reconnaissance-configured Mirage IVPs in 2005 meant that the French Air Force's
Mirage F1
CRs were for some time the only aircraft capable of carrying out aerial reconnaissance missions. The long term replacement for the Mirage IVP was Mirage 2000N aircraft outfitted with a modern PRNG
Pod de Reconnaissance Nouvelle Generation
(New Generation Reconnaissance Pod), equipped with
digital camera
equipment.
[61]
The Mirage IV had been popular with its crews, who found it enjoyable to fly. In addition, it required surprisingly little maintenance considering its age and complexity.
[
citation needed
]
Operators
[
edit
]
Mirage IV in a hangar with guards
France
Aircraft on display
[
edit
]
- 02
is on display at the
Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace
at Paris-Le Bourget
- 1 "AP"
is on display at
Chateaudun Air Base
(CANOPEE Museum).
- 4 "AC"
is on display at Rochefort airbase.
- 6
is on display at Savigny-les-Beaune.
- 9 "AH"
is on display at the
Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace
at Paris-Le Bourget. This actual aircraft used to drop live nuclear bombs during
Tamoure
test.
[62]
[63]
[64]
- 11 "AJ"
is on display at Bordeaux airbase.
- 16
"AO" is on display at St Dizier airbase.
[
citation needed
]
- 18
"AQ"
is on display at Savigny-les-Beaune Museum.
- 23 "AV"
is on display at Cazaux airbase.
- 29 "BB"
is on display at Avord airbase.
- 32 "BE"
is on display at Orange airbase.
- 36 "BI"
is on display at Istres airbase.
- 43 "BP"
is on display at
Mont-de-Marsan Air Base
.
[
citation needed
]
- 45 "BR"
was formerly displayed in the
Paris Science Museum
, but was donated to the
Yorkshire Air Museum
in 2016; the aircraft arrived in March 2017.
[65]
- 59 "CF"
is on display at Creil airbase.
- 61 "CH"
is on display at St Dizier Aero retro Museum.
- 62 "CI"
is on display at the Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace at Paris-Le Bourget.
[66]
Specifications (Mirage IVA)
[
edit
]
Mirage IV line drawing
Mirage IVP on static display
A French Mirage IVP of
escadron de bombardement 1/91 Gascogne
on tarmac
Data from
Penetration Augmentation
[67]
General characteristics
- Crew:
2 (pilot &
navigator
/
bombardier
)
- Length:
23.49 m (77 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan:
11.85 m (38 ft 11 in)
- Height:
5.4 m (17 ft 9 in)
- Wing area:
78 m
2
(840 sq ft)
- Airfoil
:
root:
3.8%;
tip:
3.2%
[68]
- Empty weight:
14,500 kg (31,967 lb)
- Gross weight:
31,600 kg (69,666 lb)
- Max takeoff weight:
33,475 kg (73,800 lb)
- Powerplant:
2 ×
SNECMA Atar 9K-50
afterburning turbojet
engines, 49.03 kN (11,020 lbf) thrust each
[69]
dry, 70.61 kN (15,870 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
- Maximum speed:
2,340 km/h (1,450 mph, 1,260 kn) at 13,125 m (43,100 ft)
- Maximum speed:
Mach 2.2
- Combat range:
1,240 km (770 mi, 670 nmi)
- Ferry range:
4,000 km (2,500 mi, 2,200 nmi)
- Service ceiling:
20,000 m (66,000 ft)
- Time to altitude:
11,000 m (36,000 ft) in 4 min 15 sec
Armament
- 1×
AN-11
free-fall nuclear bomb
or
- 1×
AN-22
free-fall nuclear bomb
or
- 1×
Air-Sol Moyenne Portee
nuclear missile (Mirage IVP)
- 16× 454 kg (1,000 lb) free-fall conventional bombs
Avionics
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 195.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Gunston 1973, p. 104.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 196.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 106.
- ^
Gunston 1973. p. 106, 110.
- ^
a
b
c
Jackson 1987, p.165.
- ^
a
b
c
Gunston 1973, p. 108.
- ^
a
b
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 197.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 113.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 111.
- ^
a
b
Gunston 1973, p. 109.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Gunston 1973, p. 112.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 199.
- ^
a
b
c
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 198.
- ^
Jackson 1985, p.69.
- ^
a
b
Gunston 1973, p. 117.
- ^
a
b
Gunston 1973, p. 116.
- ^
a
b
Gunston 1973, p. 118.
- ^
The Australian Quarterly
, 41(2), June 1969. pp. 7?27
- ^
Bert Kinzey,
F-111 Aardvark
, RAB, 1989. p. 23.
- ^
a
b
c
Withington 2020.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 120.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 112, 120.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 123.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 121?3.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Gunston 1973, p. 122.
- ^
a
b
Tangible Mirage
January 1962, p. 20.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 123-4.
- ^
Jackson 1987, pp. 170?171.
- ^
Jackson 1985, pp. 72?73.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 124-5.
- ^
a
b
c
Tangible Mirage
January 1962, p. 21.
- ^
Tangible Mirage
January 1962, pp. 20?21.
- ^
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 198?199.
- ^
a
b
Lake 2002, p. 407.
- ^
Sokolski 2004, p. 118.
- ^
"Spot'aero"
. 26 July 2013. Archived from
the original
on 13 February 2017.
- ^
Sokolski 2004, p. 199.
- ^
a
b
Wagner 2009, p. 128.
- ^
Sokolski 2004, p. 95.
- ^
Jackson 1987, p. 168.
- ^
Jackson 1985, pp. 70?71.
- ^
Gunston 1973, p. 115.
- ^
Jackson 1987, pp. 168?170.
- ^
Sokolski 2004, pp. 58?60.
- ^
Sokolski 2004, p. 202.
- ^
a
b
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 196?197.
- ^
a
b
c
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 200.
- ^
Dumoulin, Andre,
"La dissuasion nucleaire francaise en posture mediterraneenne"
(PDF)
,
Les Cahiers du RMES
,
II
(1): 5?12, archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 13 March 2012
, retrieved
18 October
2010
,
(p. 5) Certes, la posture mediterraneenne ne pouvait totalement resoudre la question de l'autonomie apres le largage de la bombe a gravite AN-21 puis AN-22, et il etait imagine, au pire, des vols ≪kamikaze≫ jusqu'aux cibles russes mais egalement des profils de vols de retour avec planification des zones de crash, avec l'abandon de l'equipage au-dessus de territoires allies.
- ^
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 199?200.
- ^
Jackson 1987, p. 171.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 201.
- ^
"France's Aerospace Industry."
Archived
11 November 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
Flight International
, 22 November 1973. p. 860.
- ^
a
b
Jackson 1987, p. 163.
- ^
Michell 1994, p. 50.
- ^
Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 201?202.
- ^
"EFA progresses as France stalls."
Archived
17 April 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
Flight International
, 24 August 1985. p. 9.
- ^
"French air force phases out its Mirage IVP nuclear bombers."
Archived
17 April 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
Flight International
, 10 January 1996.
- ^
Łaz & Senkowski 1999
, p. 44
- ^
Norris, Robert S.; Arkin, William M.; Kristensen, Hans M.; Handler, Joshua (1 July 2001).
"French Nuclear Forces, 2001"
.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
. Archived from
the original
on 24 September 2015
. Retrieved
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2015
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Tucker 2010, p. 59.
- ^
Aerofossile2012 (28 May 2009),
Dassault Mirage 4
,
archived
from the original on 17 October 2023
, retrieved
13 July
2021
{{
citation
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
"The Development and History of the Mirage IVA"
.
Royal Aeronautical Society
.
Archived
from the original on 13 July 2021
. Retrieved
13 July
2021
.
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"Operation Tamoure (1)"
.
aviateurs.e-monsite.com
(in French).
Archived
from the original on 7 May 2017
. Retrieved
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2021
.
- ^
[1]
Archived
15 April 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
'Mirage IV arrives at Elvington at last', .
- ^
"Aviation Militaire: Dassault Mirage IV."
Archived
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.
- ^
Jackson 1987, p.166.
- ^
Lednicer, David.
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.
m-selig.ae.illinois.edu
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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2019
.
- ^
Donald and Lake 1994, p.127.
Bibliography
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edit
]
- Donald, David and John Lake.
Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft
. London:Aerospace Publishing, 1994.
ISBN
1-874023-95-6
.
- Gunston, Bill. Bombers of the West. New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons; 1973.
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Jet Bombers: From the Messerschmitt Me 262 to the Stealth B-2
. Osprey, 1993.
ISBN
1-85532-258-7
.
- Jackson, Paul.
Modern Combat Aircraft 23: Mirage
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Air International
, April 1987, Vol. 32 No. 4. pp. 163?171. ISSN 0306-5634.
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Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades 1994?95
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Getting MAD: Nuclear Mutual Assured Destruction, Its Origins and Practice
.
DIANE Publishing, November 2004.
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.
- Spencer, Tucker.
The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars [5 Volumes]: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts
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ISBN
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.
- "Tangible Mirages: The Most Successful Family of European Aeroplanes."
Flight International
, 4 January 1962. pp. 18?21.
- Wagner, Paul J. "Air Force Tac Recce Aircraft: NATO and Non-aligned Western European Air Force Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft of the Cold War (1949?1989)."
Dorrance Publishing
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- Withington, Thomas. "A Grand Illusion? The RAF & the Spey Mirage IV, 1965".
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- Łaz, Marek; Senkowski, Robert (1999). "Strategiczny samolot bombowy Mirage IV".
Lotnictwo Wojskowe
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ISSN
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Further reading
[
edit
]
- Cuny, Jean (1989).
Les avions de combat francais, 2: Chasse lourde, bombardement, assaut, exploration
[
French Combat Aircraft 2: Heavy Fighters, Bombers, Attack, Reconnaissance
]. Docavia (in French). Vol. 30. Ed. Lariviere.
OCLC
36836833
.
External links
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