Dassault Mirage IV
Mirage IV | |
---|---|
A Mirage IV at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2000 | |
Role | Supersonic strategic bomber |
National origin | France |
Manufacturer | Dassault Aviation |
First flight | 17 June 1959 |
Introduction | 1 October 1964 |
Retired | 1996 all bomber variants 2005 all reconnaissance variants |
Primary user | French Air Force
|
Produced | 1963–1968 |
Number built | 62 + 4 prototypes |
Developed from | Dassault Mirage III |
The Dassault Mirage IV was a French
During the 1960s, there were plans to export the Mirage IV. In one proposal, Dassault would have entered a partnership with the British Aircraft Corporation to jointly produce a Mirage IV variant for the Royal Air Force and potentially for other export customers, but this project did not come to fruition. The Mirage IV was ultimately not adopted by any other operators.
Development
Origins
During the 1950s, France embarked on an extensive
The final specifications, jointly defined by government authorities and
Dassault's resulting prototype, dubbed Mirage IV 01, looked a lot like the Mirage IIIA, even though it had double the wing surface, two engines instead of one, and twice the unladen weight.[3] The Mirage IV also carried three times more internal fuel than the Mirage III. The aircraft's aerodynamic features were very similar to the III's but required an entirely new structure and layout. This prototype was 20 metres (67 ft) long, had an 11 metres (37 ft) wingspan, 62 square metres (670 sq ft) of wing area, and weighed approximately 25,000 kilograms (55,000 lb).[5] It was considerably more advanced than the Mirage III, incorporating new features such as machined and chem-milled planks, tapered sheets, a small amount of titanium, and integral fuel tanks in many locations including the leading portion of the tailfin.[2]
The 01 was an experimental prototype built to explore and solve the problems stemming from prolonged supersonic flight. At the time, no aircraft had been designed to cruise at over Mach 1.8 for long periods of time and there were sizable technological and operational uncertainties. Weapon-related issues were another issue. Building the 01 in Dassault's
On 19 September 1960, René Bigand (replacing Glavany as test pilot) increased the world record for speed on a 1000-kilometre closed circuit to 1,822 km/h (1,132 mph) around Paris and the Melun base.[6][9] Flight 138, on 23 September, corroborated the initial performance and pushed the record on a 500 km closed circuit to an average of 1,972 km/h (1,225 mph), flying between Mach 2.08 and Mach 2.14. The Mirage IV 01 prototype underwent minor modifications during testing in the autumn of 1959, most noticeably, the tail was enlarged (slight reduction in height, large increase in chord).[10]
Production
In order to increase range, studies were made of a significantly larger Mirage IVB design, powered by two
With the Mirage IVB considered to be too expensive, the medium-sized Mirage IVA, slightly larger than the first prototype, was chosen for three more prototypes to be produced.
For production, various portions of the aircraft were subcontracted to Sud Aviation (wings and rear fuselage) and Breguet Aviation (tailfin), which was still a separate company from Dassault until 1967; Dassault manufactured the front fuselage and flight-control system internally.[7] Manufacture of both the prototypes and subsequent production aircraft was often hindered by an explicit requirement that there would be no reliance upon foreign suppliers to maintain France's nuclear capabilities; due to this, the Mirage IV initially lacked an inertial navigation system as French industry could not yet produce this device.[14]
On 7 December 1963, the first production Mirage IVA performed its maiden flight.[15] A series of 62 aircraft was built, and they entered service between 1964 and 1968. Although Dassault had designed the Mirage IV for the low-level flight role right from the start,[16] the final batch of 12 aircraft ordered in November 1964 differed from the earlier aircraft in several areas, including the flight controls, avionics, and structural details, for the purpose of providing improved low-level performance. It had been planned for this batch to be powered by the newer Pratt & Whitney/SNECMA TF106 turbofan engine.[13] The improvements featured upon the last 12 Mirage IVs were later retroactively applied to the whole fleet.[16]
In December 1963 Dassault proposed a Mirage IV-106 variant with 2 Snecma TF106 (license-built Pratt and Whitney) engines, an enlarged 105,000 gross-weight fuselage, terrain-avoidance radar, and armed with a proposed French version of the American Douglas GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile.[17] This version would have been very costly, and ultimately was not ordered.
Proposed export variants
In 1963, the Australian government sought a replacement for the Royal Australian Air Force fleet of English Electric Canberra bombers, largely in response to the Indonesian Air Force's purchase of missile-armed Tupolev Tu-16 bombers.[18] Dassault proposed a version of the Mirage IVA with Rolls-Royce Avon engines. Australian Air Marshall Frederick Scherger seriously considered purchase of the IVA in 1961 because it was considered to be proven hardware already in service (in contrast to the BAC TSR-2 which was still in development), before settling on the General Dynamics F-111C.[18] The IVA was one of five aircraft types that were short listed for the role, but the F-111C was eventually selected.[19][20]
In April 1965, the British
The Mirage IV* was claimed to meet nearly every RAF requirement except for field length, and some claim it exceeded the F-111 slightly in speed and had at least equal range.[25] The estimated cost was £2.321 million per airframe (for 50) or £2.067 million (for 110), less than the price of the F-111K.[26] However Air Ministry and RAF studies of the proposal identified further modifications to meet the RAF low-level performance requirements. These included airframe strengthening and revised cockpit glazing to improve visibility for both the pilot and crew member. There was also a significant shortfall in range, despite the lengthened fuselage.[21] BAC claimed that the British government evaluation into the Mirage IV* was "relatively superficial".[26] RAF pilots who test-flew the Mirage IV were "favourably impressed" with its low-altitude handling.[26][27] However, some British government officials, including Parliament members Julian Risdale and Roy Jenkins, questioned the Mirage IV*'s capacity to operate from unprepared airstrips or to operate at low level, or claimed that the F-111 was a superior aircraft "in a class of its own".[28] Air historian Bill Gunston notes that low-level Mirage IV missions had been planned since 1963 and Mirage IVs operated regularly at low level since 1965, and argues that the ability of a strategic bomber to operate from unprepared airstrips is historically unimportant.[26]
Ultimately, as much for strategic political reasons as for technical ones, the F-111K was preferred (only to be cancelled later in its turn) and the Spey-engined Mirage abandoned.[21][29][30]
BAC and Dassault had also hoped to sell the Mirage IV* to France and to export the Mirage IV* to various nations, such as India, possibly Israel, and others; the lack of a British sale put an end to such possibilities.[26] Some aviation journalists claim that the rejection of the Mirage IV* may have dampened French interest in joint Anglo-French cooperation.[31]
Design
The Mirage IV shares design features and a visual resemblance to the Mirage III fighter, featuring a tailless delta wing and a single square-topped vertical fin. However, the wing is significantly thinner to allow better high-speed performance and has a thickness/chord ratio of only 3.8% at the root and 3.2% at the tip; this wing was the thinnest built in Europe at that time and one of the thinnest in the world.[7] While being significantly smaller than an expensive medium bomber proposal for the role, the Mirage IV was roughly three times the weight of the preceding Mirage III.[32]
The Mirage IV is powered by two Snecma Atar turbojets, fed by two air intakes on either side of the fuselage that had intake half-cone shock diffusers, known as souris ("mice"), which were moved forward as speed increased to trim the inlet for the shock wave angle. It can reach high supersonic speeds: the aircraft is redlined at Mach 2.2 at altitude because of airframe temperature restrictions, although it is capable of higher speeds. While broadly similar to the model used on the Mirage III, the Atar engine had a greater airflow and an elevated overspeed limit from 8,400 rpm to 8,700 rpm for greater thrust during high altitude supersonic flight.[14] While the first Mirage IV prototype was fitted with double-eyelid engine nozzles, production aircraft featured a complicated variable geometry nozzle that automatically varied in response to the descent rate and airspeed.[33][34]
The aircraft has 14,000 litres (3,700 gal (US)) of internal fuel, and its engines are quite thirsty, especially when the
The two-man crew, pilot and navigator, were seated in tandem cockpits, each housed under separate clamshell canopies.[27] A bombing/navigation radar is housed within an oblique-facing radome underneath the fuselage between the intakes and aft of the cockpit; much of the Mirage IV's onboard avionics systems, such as the radar communications, navigational instrumentation, and bombing equipment, were produced by Thomson-CSF.[32] Other avionics elements were provided by Dassault itself and SFENA; one of the only major subsystems not of French origin onboard was the Marconi-built AD.2300 doppler radar.[13] Free-falling munitions could also be aimed using a ventral blister-mounted periscope from the navigator's position.[14]
The Mirage IV has two pylons under each wing, with the inboard pylons being normally used for large
From 1972 onward, 12 aircraft were also equipped to carry the CT52 reconnaissance pod in the bomb recess. These aircraft were designated Mirage IVR for reconnaissance. The CT52 was available in either BA (Basse Altitude, low-level) or HA (Haute Altitude, high-altitude) versions with three or four long-range cameras; a third configuration used an infrared line scanner. The CT52 had no digital systems, relying on older wet-film cameras. The first operational use of the system took place during missions in Chad in September 1974.[37]
During the 1980s, a total of 18 Mirage IVs were retrofitted with a centreline pylon and associated equipment to carry and launch the nuclear
Operational history
Introduction and early operations
"We don't have fighter aircraft, we have fear-inducing aircraft"
French President Charles de Gaulle, speaking of the Mirage IV in 1963.[40]
In February 1964 deliveries of the Mirage IV to the French Air Force started, with the first French Mirage IV squadron being declared operational on 1 October that year.[13][41] The Mirage IV bomber force soon consisted of nine squadrons of four aircraft (2 pairs – one aircraft carrying the nuclear bomb, one a buddy-refuelling tanker) each. When fully built up, the force consisted of three wings. These wings were each divided into three bomber squadrons, each equipped with a total of four Mirage IVs, with each deployed at a different base to minimise the potential for an enemy strike to knock out the entire bomber force. These squadrons were:[42][43]
- Mont de Marsan
- 2/91 'Bretagne' based at Cazaux
- 3/91 'Beauvaisis' based at Creil
- 1/93 'Guyenne' based at Istres
- 2/93 'Cevennes' based at Orange
- 3/93 'Sambre' based at Cambrai
- 1/94 'Bourbonnais' based at Avord
- 2/94 'Marne' based at St-Dizier
- Luxeuil
After establishment of its own deterrent force, the Force de Dissuassion, more commonly known as the
Alert status consisted of an active inventory of 36 Mirage IVs. At any one time 12 aircraft would be in the air, with a further 12 on the ground kept at four minutes' readiness and the final 12 at 45 minutes' readiness, each equipped with an onboard functional nuclear weapon. These 36 active aircraft would be rotated with 26 reserve aircraft; the latter were kept in an airworthy condition or were otherwise subject to maintenance activities. Within the first decade of the type entering service, in excess of 200,000 hours were flown and 40,000 aerial refuelling operations were performed by the Mirage IV fleet alone; at one point, Mirage IV operations were consuming up to 44 per cent of the French Air Force's total spare parts budget.[47]
The primary objectives of the Mirage IVA force were major Soviet cities and bases. With aerial refueling, the plane was able to attack Moscow, Murmansk or various Ukrainian cities when sortieing from French bases. A justification of the Mirage IV given by Armée de l'air Brigadier General Pierre Marie Gallois, an architect of the French nuclear deterrent, was that: "France is not a prize worthy of ten Russian cities".[3]
In order to refuel the Mirage IVA fleet, France purchased 14 (12 plus 2 spares) U.S. Boeing
Both flight and ground crews received training principally by Strategic Air Forces Command 328, stationed at Bordeaux. Several Nord Noratlas were specially modified, having received the Mirage IV's radar, control consoles, and additional electrical generators, for the purpose of training navigators; these were later replaced by a pair of customised Dassault Falcon 20 outfitted with much of the Mirage IVP's avionics.[50]
Transition and upgrades
Initially, the basic attack flight profile was "high-high-high" at a speed of Mach 1.85, engaging targets up to a maximum radius of 3,500 km (2,175 mi). In the late 1960s, when the threat of surface-to-air missile defences made high-altitude flight too hazardous, the Mirage IVA was modified for low-altitude penetration. Flying low, the maximum attack speed was reduced to 1,100 km/h (680 mph) and the combat radius was also decreased. By 1963, the majority of missions involving the Mirage IV were being planned as low-level flights.[17] By 1964, Mirage IVAs were conducting training penetration runs at an altitude of 200 ft, without the assistance of terrain-following radar, which subjected pilots to considerable workload and those on board to high levels of turbulence.[48]
To improve survivability, the French Air Force began dispersing Mirage IVs to pre-prepared rough strips during the 1960s; while the use of hardened
In 1973, it was reported that a force of 40 Mirage IVs would continue to perform as a part of France's nuclear deterrent until the 1980s, and that steady improvements were to be undertaken.[53] In 1975, all Mirage IVs were progressively painted in a new green/grey camouflage scheme.[52] In 1979, in response to the decreasing effectiveness of free-fall bombs used by both its strategic and tactical nuclear forces, development of the ASMP stand-off missile was initiated; the ASMP would possess a range of up to 400 km (250 mi) and was alternative armed with either a single 150 or 300 kiloton nuclear warhead.[54] Various test launches of dummy and later live ASMPs were performed using the Mirage IV as the launch platform between 1981 and 1983.[52]
In July 1984, a contract was formally issued for the upgrade of a total of 18 Mirage IVAs to carry the ASMP missile in the place of traditional bombs; these aircraft were redesignated Mirage IVP (Penetration).[54][55] The conversion of Mirage IVAs to IVPs involved a large number of modifications and re-workings of the aircraft. A deep centerline pylon was added, which could accommodate either a single ASMP missile or a CT52 reconnaissance pod.[52] The main radar and electronics suite were removed and replaced by newer counterparts; other modified systems included the navigation system, flight control system, and various elements of the cockpit. On 12 October 1982, the first modernised Mirage IVP performed its first flight; it re-entered active service on 1 May 1986.[39][56]
In August 1985, a French proposal that would have seen Mirage IVPs stationed at air bases inside neighbouring West Germany was made public; this deployment would have marked a significant philosophical departure from traditional French nuclear defence policy.[57] Aviation authors Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist allege that French officials had historically discounted the option of recovering Mirage IVs in friendly territory as unduly optimistic, as those nations might become unfriendly or hostile in the aftermath of a French nuclear attack.[3]
Phase-Out
On 31 July 1996, the Mirage IVP was formally retired in its bomber capacity, the nuclear mission having been transferred from the Mirage IV to the newer Dassault Mirage 2000N.[58] EB 2/91 was disbanded and EB 1/91 was redesignated ERS 1/91 (Escadron de Reconnaissance Stratégique, Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron),[59] using five remaining Mirage IVPs based at Mont-de-Marsan; the remaining aircraft were stored at Chateaudun.[60] In the reconnaissance role, the Mirage IVP has seen service over Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
ES 1/91 Gascogne's surviving Mirage IVPs were retired in
The Mirage IV had been popular with its crews, who found it enjoyable to fly. In addition, it required surprisingly little maintenance considering its age and complexity.[citation needed]
Operators
- French Air Force
Aircraft on display
- 02 is on display at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espaceat Paris-Le Bourget
- 1 "AP" is on display at Châteaudun Air Base (CANOPEE Museum).
- 4 "AC" is on display at Rochefort airbase.
- 6 is on display at Savigny-les-Beaune.
- 9 "AH" is on display at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Paris-Le Bourget. This actual aircraft used to drop live nuclear bombs during Tamouré test.[62][63][64]
- 11 "AJ" is on display at Bordeaux airbase.
- 16 "AO" is on display at St Dizier airbase.[citation needed]
- 18 "AQ" is on display at Savigny-les-Beaune Museum.
- 23 "AV" is on display at Cazaux airbase.
- 29 "BB" is on display at Avord airbase.
- 32 "BE" is on display at Orange airbase.
- 36 "BI" is on display at Istres airbase.
- 43 "BP" is on display at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base.[citation needed]
- 45 "BR" was formerly displayed in the Paris Science Museum, but was donated to the Yorkshire Air Museum in 2016; the aircraft arrived in March 2017.[65]
- 59 "CF" is on display at Creil airbase.
- 61 "CH" is on display at St Dizier Aero retro Museum.
- 62 "CI" is on display at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Paris-Le Bourget.[66]
Specifications (Mirage IVA)
Data from Pénétration Augmentation [67]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 (pilot & bombardier)
- Length: 23.49 m (77 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 11.85 m (38 ft 11 in)
- Height: 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 78 m2 (840 sq ft)
- Airfoil: root: 3.8%; tip: 3.2%[68]
- 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 × afterburning turbojet engines, 49.03 kN (11,020 lbf) thrust each [69]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 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
- Bombs:
Avionics
- Thomson-CSF navigation radar
- Doppler navigation
- CT-52 sensor pod for strategic reconnaissance
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 195.
- ^ a b c d Gunston 1973, p. 104.
- ^ a b c d e f Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 196.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 106.
- ^ Gunston 1973. p. 106, 110.
- ^ a b c Jackson 1987, p.165.
- ^ a b c Gunston 1973, p. 108.
- ^ a b Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 197.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 113.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 111.
- ^ a b Gunston 1973, p. 109.
- ^ a b c d e Gunston 1973, p. 112.
- ^ a b c d e f Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 199.
- ^ a b c Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 198.
- ^ Jackson 1985, p.69.
- ^ a b Gunston 1973, p. 117.
- ^ a b Gunston 1973, p. 116.
- ^ a b Gunston 1973, p. 118.
- ^ The Australian Quarterly, 41(2), June 1969. pp. 7–27
- ^ Bert Kinzey, F-111 Aardvark, RAB, 1989. p. 23.
- ^ a b c Withington 2020.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 120.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 112, 120.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 123.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 121–3.
- ^ a b c d e Gunston 1973, p. 122.
- ^ a b Tangible Mirage January 1962, p. 20.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 123-4.
- ^ Jackson 1987, pp. 170–171.
- ^ Jackson 1985, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 124-5.
- ^ a b c Tangible Mirage January 1962, p. 21.
- ^ Tangible Mirage January 1962, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 198–199.
- ^ a b Lake 2002, p. 407.
- ^ Sokolski 2004, p. 118.
- ^ "Spot'aero". 26 July 2013. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017.
- ^ Sokolski 2004, p. 199.
- ^ a b Wagner 2009, p. 128.
- ^ Sokolski 2004, p. 95.
- ^ Jackson 1987, p. 168.
- ^ Jackson 1985, pp. 70–71.
- ^ Gunston 1973, p. 115.
- ^ Jackson 1987, pp. 168–170.
- ^ Sokolski 2004, pp. 58–60.
- ^ Sokolski 2004, p. 202.
- ^ a b Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 196–197.
- ^ a b c Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 200.
- ^ Dumoulin, André, "La dissuasion nucléaire française en posture méditerranéenne" (PDF), Les Cahiers du RMES, II (1): 5–12, archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2012, retrieved 18 October 2010,
(p. 5) Certes, la posture méditerranéenne ne pouvait totalement résoudre la question de l'autonomie après le largage de la bombe à gravité AN-21 puis AN-22, et il était imaginé, au pire, des vols «kamikaze» jusqu'aux cibles russes mais également des profils de vols de retour avec planification des zones de crash, avec l'abandon de l'équipage au-dessus de territoires alliés.
- ^ Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 199–200.
- ^ Jackson 1987, p. 171.
- ^ a b c d Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 201.
- ^ "France's Aerospace Industry." Archived 11 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine Flight International, 22 November 1973. p. 860.
- ^ a b Jackson 1987, p. 163.
- ^ Michell 1994, p. 50.
- ^ Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 201–202.
- ^ "EFA progresses as France stalls." Archived 17 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Flight International, 24 August 1985. p. 9.
- ^ "French air force phases out its Mirage IVP nuclear bombers." Archived 17 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Flight International, 10 January 1996.
- ^ Łaz & Senkowski 1999, p. 44
- ^ Norris, Robert S.; Arkin, William M.; Kristensen, Hans M.; Handler, Joshua (1 July 2001). "French Nuclear Forces, 2001". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ Tucker 2010, p. 59.
- ^ Aerofossile2012 (28 May 2009), Dassault Mirage 4, archived from the original on 17 October 2023, retrieved 13 July 2021
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Development and History of the Mirage IVA". Royal Aeronautical Society. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Opération Tamouré (1)". aviateurs.e-monsite.com (in French). Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ [1] Archived 15 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine 'Mirage IV arrives at Elvington at last', .
- ^ "Aviation Militaire: Dassault Mirage IV." Archived 12 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Jackson 1987, p.166.
- ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ Donald and Lake 1994, p.127.
Bibliography
- Donald, David and John Lake. Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft. London:Aerospace Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-874023-95-6.
- Gunston, Bill. Bombers of the West. New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons; 1973. ISBN 0-7110-0456-0.
- Gunston, Bill and Peter Gilchrist. Jet Bombers: From the Messerschmitt Me 262 to the Stealth B-2. Osprey, 1993. ISBN 1-85532-258-7.
- Jackson, Paul. Modern Combat Aircraft 23: Mirage. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan, 1985. ISBN 0-7110-1512-0.
- Jackson, Paul. "Pénétration Augumentation". Air International, April 1987, Vol. 32 No. 4. pp. 163–171. ISSN 0306-5634.
- Lake, Jon. The Great Book of Bombers: The World's Most Important Bombers from World War I to the Present Day. Zenith Imprint, 2002. ISBN 0-7603-1347-4.
- Michell, Simon. Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades 1994–95. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7.
- Sokolski, Henry D. Getting MAD: Nuclear Mutual Assured Destruction, Its Origins and Practice. DIANE Publishing, November 2004. ISBN 1-4289-1033-6.
- Spencer, Tucker. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars [5 Volumes]: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts. ABC-CLIO, 2010. ISBN 1-8510-9947-6.
- "Tangible Mirages: The Most Successful Family of European Aeroplanes." Flight International, 4 January 1962. pp. 18–21.
- Wagner, Paul J. "Air Force Tac Recce Aircraft: NATO and Non-aligned Western European Air Force Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft of the Cold War (1949–1989)." Dorrance Publishing, 2009. ISBN 1-4349-9458-9.
- Withington, Thomas. "A Grand Illusion? The RAF & the Spey Mirage IV, 1965". The Aviation Historian. No. 33. 2020. pp.38-45.
- Łaz, Marek; Senkowski, Robert (1999). "Strategiczny samolot bombowy Mirage IV". Lotnictwo Wojskowe (in Polish). No. 2(5)/1999. Magnum-X. ISSN 1505-1196.
Further reading
- Cuny, Jean (1989). Les avions de combat français, 2: Chasse lourde, bombardement, assaut, exploration [French Combat Aircraft 2: Heavy Fighters, Bombers, Attack, Reconnaissance]. Docavia (in French). Vol. 30. Ed. Larivière. OCLC 36836833.
External links
- Mirage IV information and photos by Yves Fauconnier (French)
- Mirage IV data from former Forces Aériennes Stratégiques website Archived 17 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine (French)
- AirForceWorld.com Mirage IV bomber page (English)