Mirage III Ideas and Inspiration

[elmayerle]

On a different tangent, I wonder about a RAAF Mirage III fitted for anti-shipping strike with an Exocet such as shown on these:




Would be a subtle whiff to confuse people.

To go along with RAN Sea Harriers carrying one or two of the same missile?

[GTX_Admin]

Maybe.  The Exocet was quite heavy - some 200kg heavier than the Sea Eagles the SHAR could carrier, though I do suppose they could carry a pair whereas one Exocet would be less in total:

[GTX_Admin]

Your mention of the RAN made me also think of the supposed Mirage IIIM, a carrier-based variant, with catapult spool and arresting hook, for operation with the French Aéronavale.  I am thinking this would have been a feat to achieve and operate but maybe with canards able to add both lift and braking effect and thrust reversers a bit like from the Viggen and maybe also some highlight devices.  Thoughts?  May still be dicey trying from something like HMAS Melbourne...

[Kelmola]

The Viggen thrust reverser also automatically activated when the nose wheel hit the ground. Not sure regarding carrier landings if nose gear is supposed to hit the deck before or after the hook catches the wire, but maybe have the reverser in any case be activated by a detecting a tug on the hook? That way if you miss the wires the reverser won't activate even if the nose gear hit the deck and you can hopefully still get airborne for a "bolter", but if you do catch the wire, the plane will stop that much sooner (and with less strain on the arrester gear). This is because if the reverser activated but you didn't catch the wire it would not be enough to stop the plane alone and turning it off would cost priceless fractions of a second.

[Old Wombat]

Kemola, carrier landings are, basically, a controlled crash-landing &, as the main gear hits the deck, full throttle is applied to the engines in case either a) the hook fails to catch; or b) the hook catches but the wire fails/breaks. This is the only way an aircraft will have even the slightest chance of getting airborne in an emergency. Activating a reverse thrust system is fine, unless something goes wrong, in which case the aircraft is definitely going to be a write off & there's a good chance of the crew suffering serious injury or death.

[GTX_Admin]

Good point - maybe the thrust reverser was a step too far.

[GTX_Admin]

[GTX_Admin]

[GTX_Admin]

[GTX_Admin]

One that will make some go checking the books...

[GTX_Admin]

[GTX_Admin]

[GTX_Admin]

[GTX_Admin]

Quite the load:

[elmayerle]

Mirage IIIW?

[elmayerle]

Mirage IIIWD?

[GTX_Admin]

Cool shot

[GTX_Admin]

CFBV

[Geoff]

Thinking of doing a Turkish Mirage 5

[GTX_Admin]

Thinking of doing a Turkish Mirage 5

Instead of the F-5?  Suggestion for possible scheme:

[Geoff]

Thinking of doing a Turkish Mirage 5

Instead of the F-5?  Suggestion for possible scheme:

Yes Mirage 5 instead of NF-5 which replaced the Fiat-G-91s, and Mirage IIIEs instead of the F-104Gs. Which of course are replaced by Tornados the Germans tried to sell to Portugal.

It did occur to me that as Greece had Mirage 2K the THK planes would need large ID markings like Israeli and at one time RAAF had. Spookily enough I am using a Nesher  for the base kit 

[Empty Handed]

Mirage IIIB with a large ventral canoe fairing for testing various SEPR upper stage rocket configurations in support of the French space programme.

TARAN/AIM-4 variant (like the IIIS) for RoCAF.

Tiperons. You can never have enough tiperons.

[Rickshaw]

The Mirage IIIC originally was fitted with a rocket in it's tail, under the jet engine to enable it to climb high and fast enough to catch Soviet bombers before they dropped their instant sunshine on Paris...

[Empty Handed]

Yes a SEPR 841. I was thinking more of a SEPR Stromboli or a Vexin B (albeit of rather short-duration only).

http://www.astronautix.com/s/stromboli.html
http://www.astronautix.com/v/vexinb.html

Should be the hottest ticket in the French test pilot fraternity!

Perusing some of those pages has given me some related ideas like a Mirage IV with something like an Eridan underslung as a proto-ALBM and a L-1049G Constellation modified as a telemetry relay/range instrumentation aircraft with a large EC-18-like nose, named "Big Dipper".

[M.A.D]

More on my oddball Mirage III family there, does anyone know of a conversion for the Mirage Milan in 1/48:

I'm wondering, with the LTV A-7 and Dassault Milan together, what nationality air force trial might have been occuring here?🤔

MAD