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Dassault Mirage III

Mirage III

Royal Australian Air Force Mirage IIIO(F) (fighter) from 2

Operational Conversion Unit.

Role Interceptor aircraft

Manufacturer Dassault Aviation

First flight 17 November 1956

Introduction 1961

Status Active service

Primary users Pakistan Air Force

French Air Force (historical)

Royal Australian Air Force (historical)

Israeli Air Force (historical)

Swiss Air Force (historical)

Number built 1,422

Variants Dassault Mirage IIIV

Dassault Mirage 5

Atlas Cheetah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Mirage III)

The Mirage III (French pronunciation: [miʁaʒ]) is a supersonicfighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the mid-1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of othercountries.

The versatility of the design enabled production of trainer,reconnaissance and ground-attack versions as well as the

Dassault Mirage 5 variant.[1] It was a successful fighter aircraft,being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining inproduction for over a decade. Currently, the Pakistan Air Forceis the largest operator of Mirage III fighters, with 75 aircraft stillin service. It is the first European combat aircraft designcapable of exceeding a speed of Mach 2 in horizontal flight.

Contents

1 Development

2 Variants

3 Derivatives

4 Civilian Operators

5 Military Operators

6 Former Military Operators

7 Specifications (Mirage IIIE)

8 Notable appearances in media

9 See also

10 References

11 External links

Development

The Mirage III family grew out of French government studiesbegan in 1952 that led in early 1953 to a specification for alightweight, all-weather interceptor capable of climbing to 18,000 m (59,040 ft) in six minutes and able to reach Mach 1.3

in level flight.[citation needed]

Dassault's response to the specification was the Mystère-Delta 550, a diminutive and sleek jet that was to be poweredby twin Armstrong Siddeley MD30R Viper afterburning turbojets, each with thrust of 9.61 kN (2,160 lbf). A SEPR liquid-fuel rocket motor was to provide additional burst thrust of 14.7 kN (3,300 lbf). The aircraft had a tailless delta

configuration, with a 5% chord (ratio of airfoil thickness to length) and 60 degree sweep.[citation needed]

The tailless delta configuration has a number of limitations. The lack of a horizontal stabilizer meant flaps cannot be

used, resulting in a long takeoff run and a high landing speed.[citation needed] The delta wing itself limits maneuverability;and suffers from buffeting at low altitude, due to the large wing area and resulting low wing loading. However, the delta isa simple and pleasing design, easily built and robust, capable of high speed in a straight line, and with plenty of space

in the wing for fuel storage.[citation needed]

The first prototype of the Mystere-Delta, without afterburning engine or rocket motor and with an unusually large vertical

stabilizer, flew on 25 June 1955.[2] After some redesign, reduction of the fin to more rational size, installation ofafterburners and rocket motor, and renaming to Mirage I, in late 1955, the prototype attained Mach 1.3 in level flight

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Cockpit of a Mirage III simulator of

the Sw iss Air Force.

The Mirage prototype w ith the large vertical

stabilizer.

Cutaw ay view of the Cyrano radar system

without rocket assist, and Mach 1.6 with the rocket.[citation needed]

However, the small size of the Mirage Irestricted its armament to a single air-to-air missile, and even before this time it hadbeen prudently decided the aircraft wassimply too tiny to carry a useful armamentload. After trials, the Mirage I prototype

was eventually scrapped.[citation needed]

Dassault then considered a somewhatbigger version, the Mirage II, with a pair ofTurbomeca Gabizo turbojets, but noaircraft of this configuration was ever built. The Mirage II was bypassed for a muchmore ambitious design that was 30% heavier than the Mirage I and was powered bythe new SNECMA Atar afterburning turbojet with thrust of 43.2 kN (9,700 lbf). TheAtar was an axial flow turbojet, derived from the German World War II BMW 003

design.[citation needed]

The new fighter design was named the Mirage III. It incorporated the new area rulingconcept, where changes to the cross section of an aircraft were made as gradual as

possible, resulting in the famous "wasp waist" configuration of many supersonic fighters. Like the Mirage I, the Mirage III

had provision for a SEPR rocket engine.[citation needed]

The prototype Mirage III flew on 17 November 1956,[2] and attained a speed of

Mach 1.52 on its tenth flight.[3] The prototype was then fitted with manuallyoperated intake half-cone shock diffusers, known as souris ("mice"), whichwere moved forward as speed increased to reduce inlet turbulence. The

Mirage III attained a speed of Mach 1.8 in September 1957.[3]

The success of the Mirage III prototype resulted in an order for 10 pre-production Mirage IIIAs. These were almost two meters longer than theMirage III prototype, had a wing with 17.3% more area, a chord reduced to4.5%, and an Atar 09B turbojet with afterburning thrust of 58.9 kN(13,230 lbf). The SEPR rocket engine was retained, and the aircraft werefitted with Thomson-CSF Cyrano Ibis air intercept radar, operational avionics,

and a drag chute to shorten landing roll.[citation needed]

The first Mirage IIIA flew in May 1958, and eventually was clocked at Mach 2.2, making it the first European aircraft toexceed Mach 2 in level flight. The tenth IIIA was rolled out in December 1959. One was fitted with a Rolls-Royce Avon 67engine with thrust of 71.1 kN (16,000 lbf) as a test model for Australian evaluation, with the name "Mirage IIIO". This

variant flew in February 1961, but the Avon powerplant was not adopted.[citation needed]

Mirage IIIC and Mirage IIIB

The first major production model of the Mirage series, the Mirage IIIC, first flew in October 1960. The IIIC was largelysimilar to the IIIA, though a little under a half meter longer and brought up to full operational fit. The IIIC was a single-seat

interceptor, with an Atar 09B turbojet engine, featuring an "eyelet" style variable exhaust.[citation needed]

The Mirage IIIC was armed with twin 30 mm DEFA revolver-type cannon, fitted in the belly with the gun ports under theair intake. Early Mirage IIIC production had three stores pylons, one under the fuselage and one under each wing, butanother outboard pylon was quickly added to each wing, for a total of five. It was also possible to carry bombs on asleek supersonic tank that also had bomb carrying capacity. The outboard pylon was intended to carry an AIM-9BSidewinder air-to-air missile, later replaced by the Matra Magic R550 and also was armed with the Radar Guided R530

Missile on the center line pylon .[citation needed]

Although provision for the rocket engine was retained, by this time the day of the high-altitude bomber seemed to be

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The belly of a Mirage IIIS

Although provision for the rocket engine was retained, by this time the day of the high-altitude bomber seemed to beover, and the SEPR rocket engine was rarely or never fitted in practice. In the first place, it required removal of the

aircraft's cannon, and in the second, apparently it had a reputation for setting the aircraft on fire.[citation needed] Thespace for the rocket engine was used for additional fuel, and the rocket nozzle was replaced by a ventral fin at first, and

an airfield arresting assembly later.[citation needed]

A total of 95 Mirage IIICs were obtained by the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air, AdA), with initial operational deliveries

in July 1961. The Mirage IIIC remained in service with the AdA until 1988.[citation needed]

The Armée de l'Air also ordered a two-seat Mirage IIIB operational trainer, which first flew in October 1959. Thefuselage was stretched about a meter (3 ft 3.5 in) and both cannons were removed to accommodate the second seat.The IIIB had no radar, and provision for the SEPR rocket was deleted, although it could carry external stores. The AdAordered 63 Mirage IIIBs (including the prototype), including five Mirage IIIB-1 trials aircraft, ten Mirage IIIB-2(RV) inflightrefueling trainers with dummy nose probes, used for training Mirage IVA bomber pilots, and 20 Mirage IIIBEs, with theengine and some other features of the multi-role Mirage IIIE. One Mirage IIIB was fitted with a fly-by-wire flight controlsystem in the mid-1970s and redesignated Mirage IIIB-SV (Stabilité Variable); this aircraft was used as a testbed for

the system in the later Mirage 2000.[citation needed]

Mirage IIIE

While the Mirage IIIC was being put into production, Dassault was also considering amultirole/strike variant of the aircraft, which eventually materialized as the MirageIIIE. The first of three prototypes flew on 1 April 1961.

The Mirage IIIE differed from the IIIC interceptor most obviously in having a 30 cm(11.8 in) forward fuselage extension to increase the size of the avionics bay behindthe cockpit. The stretch also helped increase fuel capacity, as the Mirage IIIC hadmarginal range and improvements were needed. The stretch was small and hard tonotice, but the clue is that the bottom edge of the canopy on a Mirage IIIE endsdirectly above the top lip of the air intake, while on the IIIC it ends visibly back of the

lip.[citation needed]

Many Mirage IIIE variants were also fitted with a Marconi continuous-wave Dopplernavigation radar radome on the bottom of the fuselage, under the cockpit. However,while no IIICs had this feature, it was not universal on all variants of the IIIE. A similarinconsistent variation in Mirage fighter versions was the presence or absence of an HFantenna that was fitted as a forward extension to the vertical tailplane. On someMirages, the leading edge of the tailplane was a straight line, while on those with theHF antenna the leading edge had a sloping extension forward. The extension appears to have been generally standardon production Mirage IIIAs and Mirage IIICs, but only appeared in some of the export versions of the Mirage

IIIE.[citation needed]

The IIIE featured Thomson-CSF Cyrano II dual mode air / ground radar; a radar warning receiver (RWR) system with the

antennas mounted in the vertical tailplane; and an Atar 09C engine, with a petal-style variable exhaust.[citation needed]

The first production Mirage IIIE was delivered to the AdA in January 1964, and a total of 192 were eventually delivered to

that service.[citation needed]

Total production of the Mirage IIIE, including exports, was substantially larger than that of the Mirage IIIC, includingexports, totaling 523 aircraft. In the mid-1960s one Mirage IIIE was fitted with the improved SNECMA Atar 09K-6 turbojet

for trials, and given the confusing designation of Mirage IIIC2.[citation needed]

Mirage IIIR

A number of reconnaissance variants were built under the general designation of Mirage IIIR. These aircraft had aMirage IIIE airframe; Mirage IIIC avionics; a camera nose and unsurprisingly no radar; and retained the twin DEFA

cannon and external stores capability. The camera nose accommodated up to five OMERA cameras.[citation needed]

The AdA obtained 50 production Mirage IIIRs, not including two prototypes. The Mirage IIIR preceded the Mirage IIIE in

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Nose of a Mirage IIIRS: thinner than the

fighter version, this nose has several glass

apertures for medium-format cameras.

French Mirage IIIR

Mirage IIIC of the Argentinian Air Force

The AdA obtained 50 production Mirage IIIRs, not including two prototypes. The Mirage IIIR preceded the Mirage IIIE inoperational introduction. The AdA also obtained 20 improved Mirage IIIRD reconnaissance variants, essentially aMirage IIIR with an extra panoramic camera in the most forward nose position, and the Doppler radar and other avionics

from the Mirage IIIE.[citation needed]

Exports and license production

Exports

The largest export customers forMirage IIICs built in France wereIsrael as the Mirage IIICJ andSouth Africa as the Mirage IIICZ.Some export customers obtainedthe Mirage IIIB, with designationsonly changed to provide a countrycode. Such as the Mirage IIIDAfor Argentina, Mirage IIIDBR andMirage IIIDBR-2 for Brazil.Mirage IIIBJ for Israel, MirageIIIDL for Lebanon, Mirage IIIDPfor Pakistan, Mirage IIIBZ and Mirage IIIDZ and Mirage IIID2Z for SouthAfrica, Mirage IIIDE for Spain and Mirage IIIDV for

Venezuela.[citation needed]

After the outstanding Israeli success with the Mirage IIIC, scoring kills against Syrian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s andMiG-21 aircraft and then achieving a formidable victory against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the Six-Day War of June1967, the Mirage III's reputation was greatly enhanced. The "combat-proven" image and low cost made it a popular

export success.[citation needed]

The aircraft remained a formidable weapon in the hands of Pakistan Air force in No. 5 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force),which was fully operational by the 1971 War. Flying out from Sargodha, along with a detachment in Mianwali, thesewere extensively used for ground attacks. No Mirage was lost in the war. PAF defined their own work package for majorDepot level & Overhaul making them world's experts on the Mirage classic. The Mirage fleet is currently being modifiedto accommodate Aerial Refueling and to carry Hatf-VIII (Ra'ad) cruise missiles. In wake of delays from JF-17 Thunder,Mirages continue to play a major part in the defense of Pakistan airspace through Pakistani's Engineers ingenuity andengineering skills.

A good number of IIIEs were built for export as well, being purchased in smallquantities by Argentina as the Mirage IIIEA and Mirage IIIEBR-2 Brazil asthe Mirage IIIEBR, Lebanon as the Mirage IIIEL, Pakistan as the MirageIIIEP, South Africa as the Mirage IIIEZ, Spain as the Mirage IIIEE, andVenezuela as the Mirage IIIEV, with a list of subvariant designations, withminor variations in equipment fit. Dassault believed the customer was alwaysright, and was happy to accommodate changes in equipment fit as customerneeds and budget required. Pakistani Mirage 5PA3, for example, were fittedwith Thomson-CSF Agave radar with capability of guiding the Exocet anti-

ship missile.[citation needed]

Some customers obtained the two-seat Mirage IIIBE under the generaldesignation Mirage IIID, though the trainers were generally similar to theMirage IIIBE except for minor changes in equipment fit. In some cases theywere identical, since two surplus AdA Mirage IIIBEs were sold to Brazil underthe designation Mirage IIIBBR, and three were similarly sold to Egypt under the designation Mirage 5SDD. New-buildexports of this type included aircraft sold to Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Gabon, Libya,

Pakistan, Peru, Spain, Venezuela, and Zaire.[citation needed]

Export versions of the Mirage IIIR were built for Pakistan as the Mirage IIIRP and South Africa as the Mirage IIIRZ, andMirage IIIR2Z with an Atar 9K-50 jet engine. Export versions of the IIIR recce aircraft were purchased by Abu Dhabi,Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, and South Africa. Some export Mirage IIIRDs were fitted with British Vinten

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Mirage IIICJ in Israeli Air Force museum (13

victory markings)

Wreckage of dow ned Israeli Mirage during

Yom Kippur w ar

Australian Mirage IIIO (top) and Mirage IIID

(bottom) in 1980. These aircraft are now

operated by the Pakistan Air Force

cameras, not OMERA cameras. Most of the Belgian aircraft were built locally.[citation needed]

Israel

The IDF/AF purchased three variants of the Mirage III:[citation needed]

70 Mirage IIICJ single-seat fighters, received between April 1962 and

July 1964.

Two Mirage IIIRJ single-seat photo-reconnaissance aircraft, received in

March 1964.

Four Mirage IIIBJ two-seat combat trainers, three received in 1966 and

one in 1968.

The Israeli AF Mirage III fleet went through several modifications during theirservice life.

Over the demilitarized zone on the Israeli side of the border with Syria, a totalof six MiGs were shot down the first day Mirages fought the MiGs. In the Six-Day War, except for 12 Mirages (four in the air and eight on the ground), left behind to guard Israel from Arab bombers,all the Mirages were fitted with bombs, and sent to attack the Arab air bases. However the Mirage's performance as abomber was limited. During the following days Mirages performed as fighters, and out of a total of 58 Arab aircraft shot

down in air combat during the war, 48 were accounted for by Mirages.[citation needed]

In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Mirage performed in air-to-air operationsonly. At least 26 Mirages and Neshers were lost in air-to-air combat during

the war.[4][5][6]

License production

The Mirage IIIE was also built under license in Australia, Belgium andSwitzerland.

Australia

While an experimental Rolls-Royce Avon-powered version did not enterproduction, the Australian government decided that the Royal Australian AirForce (RAAF) would receive the IIIE, albeit a variant assembled by theGovernment Aircraft Factory (GAF) in Fishermans Bend, Melbourne fromAustralian-made components, under the designation Mirage IIIO. The majordifference between the IIIE and the IIIO was the avionics installed. The othermajor Australian aircraft manufacturer at the time, the CommonwealthAircraft Corporation (CAC), also in Melbourne, built the SNECMA Atar

engine.[citation needed]

GAF produced three variants: the Mirage IIIO(F), which was an interceptor,the Mirage IIIO(A), a surface attack aircraft and the twin seat MirageIIIO(D), a fighter lead-in trainer. Dassault produced two sample IIIO(F)aircraft, with the first flying in March 1963. GAF completed 48 IIIO(F), 50

IIIO(A) and 16 IIIO(D) aircraft.[citation needed]

All the surviving Mirage IIIO(F) aircraft were converted to IIIO(A) standardbetween 1967 and 1979. The Mirage was finally withdrawn from RAAFservice in 1988, and 50 surviving examples were sold to Pakistan in

1990.[citation needed]

Several examples are preserved in museums around Australia, and at least one is currently under restoration toairworthy condition.

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An Australian Mirage III-D in 1988

Sw iss Dassault Mirage IIIRS recon on

display

Mirage IIIS JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off)

Belgium

In 1968, the Belgian government ordered 106 Mirage 5s from Dassault to re-equip No 3 Wing at Bierset air base. Allaircraft but the first one were to be license-built by SABCA in Belgium. Component production at the SABCA Harenplant near Brussels was followed by assembly at the SABCA plant atGosselies airfield, near Charleroi. The ATAR engines were produced by FN

Moteurs at this company's Liège plant.[citation needed] SABCA productionincluded three versions: Mirage 5BA for the ground attack role, Mirage 5BRfor the reconnaissance role and Mirage 5BD for training and conversion.

By the end of the 1980s, a MIRage Safety Improvement Program (MIRSIP)was agreed to by parliament, calling for 20 low-time Mirages to be upgraded.Initial plans included a new more powerful engine, but this idea wasabandoned to limit cost. The upgrade eventually included a new state of theart cockpit, a new ejection seat, and canards to improve takeoff performanceand overall maneuverability. A new government canceled the MIRSIPhowever. SABCA, having a watertight contract, was allowed to carry out theupdate. After completion, the Belgian government sold all 20 aircraft to Chile

at a loss.[citation needed]

Switzerland

In 1961, Switzerland bought a single Mirage IIIC from France. This Mirage IIICwas used as development aircraft. The Swiss Mirages were built inSwitzerland by F+W Emmen (today RUAG ) (the federal government aircraftfactory in Emmen) as the Mirage IIIS. Australia too, bought, one French-made in preparation for licensed production. Cost overruns during the Swissproduction led to the so-called "Mirage affair". In all, 36 Mirage IIISinterceptors were built with strengthened wings, airframe, and undercarriage.The Swiss Air Force required performance comparable to those of carrierbased planes; the airframes were reinforced so the aircraft could be movedby lifting them over other aircraft with a crane, as in the Aircraft cavern in themountains that Swiss Air Force uses as bunkers, offer very little space tomaneuver parked aircraft. Also, the strengthened frames allowed for JATOcapability. The main differences to the standard Mirage III were as

follows:[citation needed]

New wiring of avionics with U.S. electronics

Changed cockpit design with gray instead of black panels

New U.S. radar, TARAN-18 from Hughes

Use of HM-55S "Falcon" (Swiss designation of the from SAAB in

Licence built Robot 27 (Rb27) which is similar to the Hughes AIM-26

"Falcon")

Radar warning receiver (RWR) on both wingtips and on the back of the

rudder

Strengthened structure for use of JATO-Rockets

Retractable nosecone and lengthened nosewheel leg for storing in Aircraft cavern

Four lifting points for moving aircraft in underground caverns with a crane

Bay at the fin with a SEPR rocket engine to double the velocity for short time or climb to 20 000 m (60 000 ft)

US TRACOR AN/ALE-40 chaff/flare dispenser at the back under the end of the engine (fitted with the upgrade

1988)

Canards designed and produced by RUAG Aerospace(fitted with the upgrade 1988)

New Martin-Baker ejection-seat (fitted with the upgrade 1988)

The Swiss Mirages are equipped with RWS, chaff & flare dispensers. Avionics differed as well, with the most prominent