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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 1059.PDF
11 FLIGHT International. 5 July 1962 ~M H; *m 1, i ii- '»*'•-- • aJTT^^^W ••^^PpKeiW^..^^ >.:. • « lyj _£i fr , -*W»:,. taJBij^toMKa^ Etendard IVMs and Mirage IIICs and IIICJs lined up outside Dassault's Bordeaux Merignac assembly hall BETWEEN PARIS SHOWS The French Industry in 1962 THE following account by Mark Lambert is the first instalment of a report on the present activities of the French aircraft industry, prepared following a comprehensive four-day tour arranged by the Union Syndicate des Industries Aeronautiques et Spatiales—France's equivalent of the SBAC. Nord-Aviation and GAM Dassault, described here, are respon sible for much of the important export business now being done by the industry as a whole—not by the companies alone, but also under the able encouragement and direction of the government departments whose task it is to dovetail national requirements with potential export sales. We are indebted to the USIAS for this opportunity of reviewing virtually a com plete aircraft industry in so short a time. "Flight International" photo graphs illustrate our report. THE commercial intuition and design achievements of Das sault are fascinating and impressive to observe. The com pany has, since World War 2, successfully brought to the production stage practically every major design it has produced in prototype form and is still in the forefront of technical development and production. The list of projects in hand is truly impressive, ranging from a sizeable share in the French missile and fixed-wing nuclear strike force, through the brilliant Mirage III and Etendard IV, to the Spirale III assault transport and the Mystere 20 execu tive jet. Longer-term projects include the Mirage IIIV and Balzac VTOL. To these should also be added an extensive electronics department. During the tour we were shown the Mirage and Etendard pro duction lines and Mystere 20 and Spirale mock-ups at Bordeaux Merignac, the experimental work at Melun Villaroche and the flight test section at istres, each in its way a show-piece in its own right. Some 500 Mirage Ills have now been ordered in attack, recon naissance and trainer versions. Licence production is getting under way in two countries, and production in France is at ten per month. Dassault claim that the Mirage is the cheapest M2 aircraft in the world and capable of operating from three times as many airfields as is any other M2 type. The first Mirage III flew in May 1958 and exceeded M2 in October that year. The first production aircraft flew in 1960 and this year all armament development is complete and the first squadrons formed. C.S.F. Cyrano, Hughes Taran or Dassault Aida radars are offered, together with a wide selection of air-to-air and air-to- ground weapons. Guns and rockets have been fired at 700kt and missiles may be launched at M2. Some 300 pilots, including 50 foreigners, have flown the type. The Mirage can operate from less than 6,000ft of tarmac, p.s.p. or hard earth with a tyre pressure varying between 85 and 1201b/sq in, according to how much of the 8,8001b of "payload" is carried in addition to the normal internal fuel. The Mirage IIIB trainer does not carry radar, rocket motor or air-to-air weapons, but Dassault claim it can cover the full flight and weapon training sequences following the basic 50hr in Magister or Cessna T-37. Dassault report that five air forces have ordered the Mirage HI, but have named only the French, Swiss, Australian and South African. Other orders are confidently expected and the company say they are still competing with the F-104—and presumably with Mock-up of Dassault's Mystire 20 executive jet at Bordeaux Mirignac
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