The MIG-17 is out and the Hawker Hunter is coming, so now we need the Mirage III-C to play Six-Day War!
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
Mirage IIIC and Mirage IIIB[edit]
The first major production model of the Mirage series, the Mirage IIIC, first flew in October 1960. The IIIC was largely similar 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 the air intake. Early Mirage IIIC production had three stores pylons, one under the fuselage and one under each wing, but another outboard pylon was quickly added to each wing, for a total of five. It was also possible to carry bombs on a sleek supersonic tank that also had bomb carrying capacity. The outboard pylon was intended to carry an AIM-9B Sidewinder 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 over, 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] The space 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. The fuselage 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 AdA ordered 63 Mirage IIIBs (including the prototype), including five Mirage IIIB-1 trials aircraft, ten Mirage IIIB-2(RV) inflight refueling trainers with dummy nose probes, used for training Mirage IVA bomber pilots, and 20 Mirage IIIBEs, with the engine and some other features of the multi-role Mirage IIIE. One Mirage IIIB was fitted with a fly-by-wire flight control system 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]
Single-seat all-weather interceptor-fighter aircraft, with longer fuselage (14.73 m (13 ft 11¾ in)) than the IIIA and equipped with a Cyrano Ibis radar. The Mirage IIIC was armed with two 30 mm cannons, with a single Matra R.511, Nord AA.20 or Matra R530 air-to-air missile under the fuselage and two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles under the wings. It was powered by an Atar 9B-3 turbojet engine, which could be supplemented by fitting an auxiliary rocket motor in the rear fuselage if the cannon was removed. 95 were built for the French Air Force.[15]
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 15.03 m (49 ft 3½ in)
Wingspan: 8.22 m (26 ft 11? in)
Height: 4.50 m (14 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 34.85 m² (375 ft²)
Empty weight: 7,050 kg (15,600 lb)
Loaded weight: 9,600 kg (21,164 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 13,700 kg (30,203 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × SNECMA Atar 09C turbojet
Dry thrust: 41.97 kN (9,436 lbf)
Thrust with afterburner: 60.80 kN (13,668 lbf)
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.2 (2,350 km/h, 1,268 knots, 1,460 mph) at 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Combat radius: 1,200 km (647 nmi, 746 mi)
Ferry range: 4,000 km(2,152 nmi, 2,486 mi)
Service ceiling: 17,000 m (55,775 ft)
Rate of climb: 83 m/s+ (16,405 ft/min)
Armament
Guns: 2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannons with 125 rounds per gun
Rockets: 2× Matra JL-100 drop tank/rocket pack, each with 19× SNEB 68 mm rockets and 66 US gallons (250 liters) of fuel
Missiles: 2× AIM-9 Sidewinders OR Matra R550 Magics plus 1× Matra R530,
Bombs: 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of payload on five external hardpoints, including a variety of bombs, reconnaissance pods or Drop tanks; French Air Force IIIEs through 1991, equipped for AN-52 nuclear bomb.
I hope I followed the rules and gave enough info!
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Topic: Mirage III (Read 56815 times)
