Aboard were 2 x 30mm DEFA 552 autocannons with 150 projectiles afford per gun. The aircraft could carry 2 x Matra rocket pods with 18 x SNEB 68mm rockets each. Early airframes housed a 35-count 68mm retractable ventral rocket pack but this was soon dropped from production. Provision also included support for air-to-air missiles (including the American "AIM-9 Sidewinder"). There were four hardpoints in all and these were cleared to carry conventional drop bombs, rockets, mission pods and fuel drop tanks (up to 5,000lb).
Contemporaries of the Super Mystere included the North American F-100 "Super Sabre" and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 "Farmer" jet fighters (both detailed elsewhere on this site).
The French Air Force made use of the Super Mystere for two decades, finally giving them up in 1977. Some of the stock was then sold to Israel who took delivery of thirty-six in 1958 and these saw combat in the 1967 "Six Day War" as well as the subsequent "Yom Kippur War" of 1973 where they gave good service - even against enemy MiG-19 fighters. In true Israeli fashion, some of the fleet were re-engined with the American Pratt & Whitney J52-P-8A turbojet engines of 9,300lb thrust that helped to alter performance some. These flew under the designation of IAI Sa'ar.
At least twelve of the Israeli stock was sold, in turn, to the Honduras Air Force in 1976 where they ended their days. A follow-up batch secured an additional four fighter-bombers in 1979 and the fleet was used in anger during the border campaign with neighboring Nicaragua. The group soldiered on into the early-to-mid-1990s by which point the Honduran Air Force upgraded to the American Northrop F-5 Tiger / Freedom Fighter line.
At least two Super Mysteres were completed by Dassault under the B.4 designation in, or around, 1958 and these were given the SNECMA Atar 9B afterburning turbojet engine of 13,227lb thrust coupled to revised wing mainplanes featuring 48-degree sweepback. No series adoption or serial production came from this work for the Dassault Mirage III was taking hold in Dassault Aviation marketing.
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