Dassault Mirage IV - French Nuclear Illusion
Developed in the 1960s following a French requirement for a supersonic bomber able to carry nuclear weapons at a range of 2000 kilometers, without aerial refueling, the Dassault Mirage IV was larger, faster and could carry more than the standard Mirage III already available in War Thunder.
History
History
It’s the 1950s, and France, having seen the accomplishments of the United States and the Soviet Union during and after World War II with the development of the nuclear bomb, began an extensive military program to create nuclear weapons. However, they were stopped dead in their tracks when they realized that no plane they had manufactured could carry such a weapon.
Thus, the French government of Guy Mollet drew up specifications for a nuclear-capable, long-range, supersonic bomber, capable of carrying a 3-ton, 5.2 meter long nuclear weapon, capable of transporting it up to 2,000 kilometers without aerial refueling, while being able to refuel mid-air.
The year is 1957, and the final specifications were jointly defined by the government of France and Dassault Aviation, with both Nord Aviation and Sud Aviation submitting proposals, however, neither was accepted, and Dassault’s proposal of an aircraft based on the unbuilt Mirage II interceptor and a formerly proposed night fighter version of the Mirage III won the design competition on the basis of it costing far less than the other prototypes.
In all, 62 production Mirage IV were built, with 4 prototypes, the production versions of which were phased into service from 1964-1968. They served with the French “Force de Dissuasion” (lit. “Deterrence Force”), with a proposal alongside the British Aircraft Corporation to create a variant for the Royal Air Force and potentially to be sold for export, that didn’t come to fruition. A reconnaissance variant was also built for the French Air Force. Eventually, the bomber variants were retired in 1996, while the reconnaissance variants were phased out in 2005, to be replaced by the more maneuverable, multirole, cost-effective and lightweight Mirage 2000.
Specifications
Specifications
General Characteristics
- Crew: 2 (pilot and navigator)
- Length: 23.49 meters (77’1")
- Wingspan: 11.85 meters (38’11")
- Height: 5.4 meters (17’9")
- Wing area: 78 square meters (840 sq. ft)
- Airfoil: root; 3.8%, tip; 3.2%
- 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 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): 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 Portée nuclear missile (Mirage IVP)
- 16 × 454 kg (1,000 lb) free-fall conventional bombs
Avionics
- Thomson-CSF navigation radar
- Doppler navigation
- CT-52 sensor pod for strategic reconnaissance
Sources
Dassault Aviation - Mirage IV page: Mirage IV: origins, characteristics and performance data
Musée De L’Air et de L’Espace - Dassault Mirage IV: Dassault Mirage IV A - Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace
Royal Aeronautical Society - The Development and History of the Mirage IVA: The Development and History of the Mirage IVA
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