- Yes, don’t care how
- Yes, as a researchable vehicle
- Yes, as a premium/event/squadron vehicle
- No
Hi again, in this suggestion we’ll be having a look at a rather quirky version of the Étendard IV, the IVB.
The étendard IVB was a one off version to test out new technologies, the vehicle was numbered 03 in the pre-production line, with the numbers before and after it being conventional IVM versions. The IVB however differed in a few key aspects. First of all the engine of this vehicle was no longer the Atar 08B with 4400kgf of thrust, but rather the Rolls-Royce Avon which produced about 5100kgf of thrust. This excess of thrust was then used for blown flaps. This is a system that blows air from the engine out underneath the flaps to increase their effectiveness. For the IVB the results of this were a much-decreased stall speed, down from 220kph to 185kph. 220 kph as stall speed would now only be valid for an aircraft carrying an extra 1000kg of weight. A slight negative of these additions were the extra weight though. It is also said that the aircraft was fairly difficult to control at low speeds, since the blown flaps were bound to engine thrust. When one would lower the throttle at landing, the lift would also rapidly decrease, which made the aircraft fairly temperamental and not easy to fly.
The single example first flew at Melun-Villaroche on the 2 of december 1959. The vehicle continued to fly for a while and was seen doing a series of catapult take-off and deck-arrester trials at RAE, Bedford in the UK. The complex blown flaps system was however judged to be too complicated and costly to be worth implementing on a larger scale, leading to the IVB project coming to an end. The one vehicle was converted into a regular IVM model in 1962 and ended its life in the mechanic school of Rochefort.
Externally the vehicle is very similar to the étendard IVM that we already know and love in game. This one just like the IVMs started its life without the rather iconic wing under the nose and later on received it. The key feature you can use to distinguish this vehicle from the rest however is the engine nozzle, which is slightly different.
General Characteristics:
Engine: 1 x 5080kg Rolls-Royce Avon 51
Wingspan: 9.60 m
Length: 14.35 m
Height: 3.90 m
Wing area: 28.40 m^2
Max take-off weight: 10200 kg
Empty weight: +/- 7000 kg
Max. speed: 1,099 km/h
Crew: 1
Armament:
While little is know about the full armament of this aircraft, we can assume that the changes on the engine and flaps did not impact the suspended weapons that could be carried by the vehicle and loadouts can most likely be copied over from the Etendard IVM. However, it seems that on this prototype at least, the guns were missing. They were likely gonna be in the same place as on the regular Etendard IVM in an eventual production model, but this one at least didn’t have guns yet.
- (projected) 2x 30mm DEFA cannons
- Up to 4x 500lb bombs
- 2x 1000lb bombs
- 2x AS 30
- 2x AA 20
- Up to 4x SNEB x18 rocket launcher pods (Matra type 155 likely)
- Sidewinders aren’t entirely clear, this vehicle operated between 1959 and 1962, as of right now I’m not sure when France first received AIM-9B and whether or not Etendards had to be modified to use them.
Place in game:
As far as I’m concerned this aircraft would be most suited as a premium, squadron or event vehicle. It’s role and functionality will reply heavily on whether or not it will be implemented with guns or not. If it does then it will play out as a similar but not identical Etendard IVM, only missing the sidewinders but still quite capable of taking up the A2A role. Without the DEFAs it’ll be much more like a lighter Buccaneer, very much being focussed on ground strike with only AA 20 Nords for A2A. In this latter case I would expect the vehicle to sit at a lower BR then the regular Etendard IVM though, at which point it will become a good option for lower BR lineups to take, as it still comes with CCIP for your bombs, allowing you to do some precision ground strikes.
Sources
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/dassault-etendard-prototypes-and-projects.11138
Jane’s all the world’s aircraft 1962-1963 OR 1961-62 also mentions the aircraft, but I am yet to find a good copy of said editions to confirm what else it has other than the short snippet on google books.
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