Mirage VSTOLs and Swingers in service

[uk 75]

Although less capable and prctical than the UK what-ifs, the French Air Force did see some flying hardware to realise the NATO wide idea of a short strip nuclear response force.  Had their plans worked out, the French Air Force would have replaced its short range tactical aircraft (F100s, Mysteres) with 100-150 Mirage III Vstol variants.  In addition the Mirage IVa force would have received some 50 to 60 swing wing strike recce aircraft (Mirage G family).

Unfortunately there seem to be no models available of either type, though they are pictured on the Dassault history site and the VSTOL wheel sites.

Both types offer some interesting versions.

Mirage III Vs would have entered service in plain metal, but would then have adopted the standard 70s camo patterns of the French AF (both European and Desert schemes).  They would have carried the dumpy AN 52 nuclear store, or in the case of the Mirage G swing wingers, the radar Martel.

If the Mirage IIIV had worked for France, Israel would have had a clear need ofr such an aircraft (assuming France had not switched after 67 to a pro Arab military stance).

Some good possibilities here..  (BAC tried unsuccessfully to sell the type to the RAF and the RN)

[Archibald]

Main problem of the Mirage IIIV was its nightmarish propulsion system. 8 lifts engines (RB-162), and a TF-306 to move the thing in horizontal flight!

The swing wing Mirage were much better.

In fact there was two generations, the G and G8.

Mirage G First flight November 1967. One TF-306E turbofan, 10300kgp of thrust. Landing speed 110 kt, 316 flight logged until its destruction in January 1971. It interested the French navy as multirole fighter, but the service had to chose the Jaguar M and finally the SE instead. This mean a Mirage G with Exocets!

Mirage G8 2* Atar 9K50 7200kgp.
G8-01, two-seater first flight may 1971.
G8-02, single seater first flight 13th July 1972.
Just one year later, 13th July 1973, it flew at mach 2.34 (European speed record still valuable)
Had the G8 been in service with the AdA, they would have received the brand new M53 engine, a doppler radar and probably the ASMP nuclear missile. Of course, this plane could also be sused in the conventional bombing role, with the Martel
Missile.

Concerning the models... you're right, none is available (and Heller bankrupcy won't help things to improve!)
Making a Mirage G is quite easy : graft a Mirage 2000D cockpit and air intakes on a Mig-23 aft bofy. The result is astonishing!
Making a G8 is much more complicated... I managed to do one, but I can't find a decent nose cone to finish it! (Must try Heller Viggen!)

[Archibald]

Voila! I managed to finish my G8 yesterday. I used a Viggen nose cone, and decals from a 2000N. Now I have both VG Mirages...along with a french Tornado  

[famvburg]

Voila! I managed to finish my G8 yesterday. I used a Viggen nose cone, and decals from a 2000N. Now I have both VG Mirages...along with a french Tornado

   Any chance for some pics? You could email me direct. I'd also like some tips on what you did. I've been scrounging odds & ends myself.

[Archibald]

Here's some pics of my G8. Main problem is that the nose is too big : I haven't used a Mirage F-1 as basis.
To make those Mirages (and others models) I use paper and cardboard.  I also bought spare parts from Heller.

The MiG-23 has only one engine, the G-8 had two. So I bought two Mirage F1 exhausts from Heller. Then, I made a kind of tube of paper (with strong glue) around these two exhausts. I pushed this tube until it fit on the MiG-23 aft fuselage.
After that, I glued it with strong glue.
This method is not easy to explain!  

Here's some pics

[Archibald]

http://perso.orange.fr/jets.for.ever/Pages.../mirage%20g.htm

Some superb photos of the G8. I've just discovered this website, and I'm stunned!  

[Archibald]

In fact there was really a pile of protototypes in the 60's. This was due to the regular shifts in AdA requirements.
To keep the things simple (and brief!)
- VTOL Mirages ranned from 1961 to 1966. The Balzac was a subsonic testbed, followed by two bigger aircraft, the Mirage III-V 01 and 02.

After that, various aircrafts quite similar were made, the G  F2  F3 and F1.
The Mirage F2 was two-seat strike fighter with fixed wings. It flew in june 1966.
The Mirage F3 was a single-seat interceptor variant. It never flew.
The Mirage G was similar to the F2 but had a VG wing.

The three were powered by the TF-306 engine, which was cancelled in favor of the M53 in 1968. The three planes were abandonned, and a scaled-down F3 powered by an evolved Atar (the 9K50) was adopted by the AdA. It was the Mirage F1!

Enlarged variants of the G (powered by two Atar 9K50) become the G4 then G8...