Mirage III
The Mirage III was a French, delta-winged, jet fighter aircraft used by the French Air Force during the Cold War. It was designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s. The prototype, the Mirage I, first flew on November 17, 1956, and, in 1961, entered into service in the French Air Force as the Mirage IIIC fighter. Around 1,450 units were built in France by Dassault Aviation. It was one of the most successful fighter aircraft manufactured in the post-war Europe, and the proud of France, as it was sold to many countries around the world and remaining in production for more than a decade. The most important custmor for the Mirage IIICs manufactured in France was the Israeli Air Force, which used the new French fighter widely and wisely during the Six-Day War, scoring kills against Syrian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s and MiG-21 aircraft.
At the time the Mirage IIIC was being manufactured and sold, the French firm Dassault was also considering a multi-role/strike variant of the aircraft, which eventually materialized as the Mirage IIIE. The first of three prototypes flew on 1 April 1961. The Mirage IIIE differed from the IIIC interceptor most obviously in having a 300 mm (11.8 in) forward fuselage extension to increase the size of the avionics bay behind the cockpit. The stretch also helped increase fuel capacity, as the Mirage IIIC had marginal range and improvements were needed. A number of reconnaissance variants were also produced under the general designation of Mirage IIIR. These aircraft had a Mirage 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.
Specifications for the Mirage IIIE
Engine: one SNECMA Atar 09C turbojet.
Maximum speed: Mach 2.2 (2,350 km/h, 1,460 mph)
Range: 2,400 km (1,500 mi).
Service ceiling: 17,000 m (56,000 ft).
Length: 15 m (49 ft 3.5 in).
Wingspan: 8.22 m (26 ft 11 in).
Crew: one.
Weapons: two 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannons; two Matra JL-100 drop tank/rocket pack, each with nineteen SNEB 68 mm rockets; two AM-39 Exocet anti-ship missiles; two Matra R550 Magics air-to-air missiles; aircraft could carry up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of payload on five external hardpoints.
Mirage III in the Six Day War (Video)
