GAMD (CAC built CA-29) Mirage IIIO


Photo courtesy of Fergus

Photo courtesy of Fergus

Single engine single seat jet interceptor fighter/bomber

History of Type

In 1953 with the advent of the Cold War the French Government saw the need for a modern supersonic jet fighter able to intercept any high altitude Russian nuclear bomber threats.  The aircraft had to be able to operate at 60,000 ft with a top speed of at least Mach 1.3 (1.3 times the speed of sound or ~1,600 km/h).

In 1955 Dassault Aviation built and test flew a very small delta wing prototype called the Mirage 1 in response.  This showed great potential and was progressively and quickly improved.  All the design improvements including the “nipped in” fuselage of the newly discovered “area rule” were incorporated into a single new aircraft design called the Mirage 111 which first flew in November 1956.

The engine chosen by Dassault was the new very reliable SNECMA Atar afterburning jet of some ~9,500 lb thrust or some ~13,500 lb of thrust with the afterburner (afterburner is where raw jet fuel is pumped directly into the rear exhaust chamber of the engine to provide extra “rocket like” thrust).  The Atar itself was an enhanced version of a German jet engine from WW11 the BMW 003.

The armament was twin 30 mm DEFA cannons (based on German Mauser cannon) with two Sidewinder or Matra 550 air to air missiles.  A selection of drop tanks and bombs could also be carried.

Testing and continual upgrades saw the Mirage 111 able to exceed Mach 2 (~2,500 km/h) in level flight, and reach ~60,000 ft in under 9 minutes.  The sparkling performance of the aircraft was a sales success for Dassault with the French Air Force (Armee de l’Air) accepting deliveries in 1961 with worldwide sales of over 1,400 aircraft to no less than 21 air forces.  The basic design was so good that many have been continually upgraded and remain in service to this day.

When the Indonesian Air Force acquired long distance nuclear capable Soviet Tu-16 Badger bombers in the early 1960s the RAAF saw the immediate need for acquiring a high altitude point interceptor that had better high altitude performance than the existing Sabre.  The RAAF selected the Mirage in 1963 with the bulk of some 114 aircraft built here in Australia.

Fifty of Australia’s surplus Mirage III jets were sold to the Pakistan Air force in 1990 with the rest being acquired for museums or scrap.

History of A3-42

Our aircraft, A3-42, an IIIO(F) interceptor, was delivered on 1st August 1966 and served with 75 Sqn at Butterworth, Malaysia until late 1969.  The aircraft then went to 76 Sqn at Williamtown for a few years and then allocated to 2OCU (Fighter Operational Conversion Unit) and converted to a ground attack variant.  After serving time with 77 Sqn it was retired from service in October 1987 with 4,015 hr on the airframe and used as an apprentice training aid to RAAF Base Wagga Wagga.  All Mirages were retired in 1988 and replaced by the F/A-18 Hornet.

HARS acquired the aircraft in March 2015 and whilst airworthy the intention is to restore it to a taxi able condition.

 

Videos

Butterworth

 

Being a Student on an Instructional Sortie

Butterworth Ops ’87

 

 

 

Technical Specifications

Engines: 1 x SNECMA Atar 9C 9-stage axial-flow turbojet engine ~9,500 lb thrust (~13,500 lb with afterburner)

Maximum takeoff weight: ~13,700 kg

Length: 15.03 m

Wing span: 8.22 m

Height: 4.5 m

Maximum speed: Mach 2.1 (~2,350 km/h) at 39,000 ft

Ceiling: ~55,700 ft

Combat Radius: ~1,200 km

Crew: 1 x pilot