Dassault Mirage IIIV
| Dassault Mirage IIIV | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Experimental V / STOL - warplane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
February 12, 1965 |
| Commissioning: |
was never put into service |
| Number of pieces: |
2 |
The Dassault Mirage IIIV (manufacturer's name Mirage III V; V for vertical) was a French experimental aircraft that should be able to take off and land vertically ( VTOL ). The aircraft had a lift and thrust engine configuration ("lift + cruise"). The Mirage IIIV was a further development of the Balzac V and Dassault's proposal within a NATO competition for the creation of a VTOL fighter aircraft.
history
Four designs were submitted to the NATO competition in January 1962 based on the AC / 169 specification for a supersonic V / STOL fighter aircraft:
- the Mirage IIIV
- the Fokker-Republic D.24 Alliance
- the BAC 584
- the Hawker Siddeley P.1154
These also had to meet NBMR 3 (= basic military requirement 3). In May 1962 it was decided that the P.1154 was technically superior. With the inclusion of financing and the division of labor, the Mirage IIIV was equivalent. NATO was unable to fund the development of both winners, so the projects were returned to the states.
The Mirage IIIV was a further development of the Balzac V, two prototypes were built. The first prototype carried out the first attempt at levitation on February 12, 1965. The aircraft had the general structure of the earlier Mirage fighter planes, but was longer and had larger wings and - like the Balzac - nine engines: a SNECMA TF104 (modified Pratt & Whitney JTF30 ) with a thrust of 53.4 kN and eight in pairs Rolls-Royce RB.162 -1 lifting engines, each with 15.7 kN thrust, arranged along the center line . The TF-104 was originally tested on a specially built experimental machine, the Mirage IIIT. With the exception of the changes for the engine installation, the Mirage IIIT looked like the Mirage IIIC.
Before the first prototype made the transition from hovering to forward flight in March 1966, the TF104 engine was replaced by the improved TF106 engine with a thrust of 74.5 kN. This enabled him to reach top speeds of up to Mach 1.32 on the test flights.
The second prototype received the TF306 as a cruise engine with a thrust of 82.4 kN. The first flight took place in June 1966. In September it reached Mach 2.04 in level flight, but was lost in an accident on November 28, 1966.
The loss of the second prototype ended the program, as did the prospect of a vertical takeoff Mach-2 fighter, for decades. The British Hawker P.1154 program was stopped by the government in 1965. At this time the prototypes of the Hawker-Siddeley Kestrel subsonic aircraft were being made .
The Mirage IIIV was never a viable combat aircraft. The eight lift engines would have caused problematic maintenance. In addition, the increased weight would have resulted in a smaller radius of action and a lower payload.
The technology of the Mirage IIIV was partially reused in the extremely successful Mirage IIIF, later the Mirage F1 .
Technical specifications
- March engine:
- IIIV 01: 1 × turbofan SNECMA TF104, 53.4 kN (12,000 lb; 20,000 lb with afterburner)
- IIIV 01 after conversion: 1 × turbofan SNECMA TF106, 74.5 kN (16,755 lb)
- IIIV 02: 1 × turbofan SNECMA TF306, 78.14 to 82.4 kN (18,520 lb)
- Hoist drives:
- 8 × Rolls-Royce RB.162-1 turbofans, each 15.7 kN (3,525 lb)
- Crew: 1
- Length: 18.00 m (IIIV 01) or 16.3 m (IIIV 02)
- Span: 8.72 m (IIIV 01) or 8.80 m (IIIV 02)
- Height: 5.55 m
- Empty weight: 6,750 kg to 10,000 kg (depending on the engine)
- Maximum weight: 13,440 kg
- Top speed: Prototype 1: Mach 1.32
- Top speed: Prototype 2: Mach 2.04 on September 12, 1966
- Range: 467 km with a 907 kg nuclear weapon
See also
literature
- William Green, Gordon Swanborough: The Complete Book of Fighters. Color Library Direct, Godalming 1994, ISBN 1-85833-777-1 (English).
Web links
- Aviastar page with picture and three-sided tear
- Mirage III V: origins, characteristics and performance data. In: dassault-aviation.com. Retrieved September 21, 2019 .