Dassault Mirage IIIV

Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Fighter Prototype Aircraft [ 1965 ]

The Dassault Mirage IIIV was an ultimately-abandoned proposed VTOL development of the successful Mirage III fighter line - two prototypes were realized.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/07/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

The Dassault Mirage IIIV of France was designed to a NATO requirement calling for a supersonic-capable VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) fighter aircraft. This Dassault entry became a further development of the already-successful Mirage III fighter series but featured a series of eight small turbofan engines within the fuselage to achieve the vertical lift requirement (a conventional jet engine provided the needed forward thrust for flying). Only two prototypes were built between 1965 and 1966 and the second example was lost to an accident and this essentially ended the entire program. NATO would settle on the Hawker-designed "Kestrel" VTOL prototype in the end - becoming the famous Harrier "jump jet" strike fighter. However, all was not lost from the Mirage IIIV project for some components made their way into the Mirage IIIF and the Mirage F1 fighting platforms.

The Mirage IIIV retained much of the form of the preceding Mirage III seires aircraft and was, itself, developed from the prototype Dassault Balzac V prototype detailed elsewhere on this site. The single pilot sat under a largely unobstructed canopy aft of a nosecone assembly set to house a radar fit. The single turbofan installation, meant to provide the necessary forward thrust, was buried within the fuselage and aspirated by a pair of half-moon intakes located to either side of the cockpit wall. A single jetpipe was used for exhausting the unit. The primary engine was initially the Pratt & Whitney JTF10 turbofan (SNECMA TF104B) but this eventually gave way to the TF106 engine of 16,750lb thrust output.

For vertical lift, a series of eight Rolls-Royce RB162 turbofan lift engines were in play and each of these units provided 4,400lb of thrust. Unlike the Harrier jet, the lift engines of the Mirage IIIV were not positional so as to aid in forward flight - instead they were fixed in place to fire down only.

The wing mainplanes were triangular in their general shape and their surface area was such that no horizontal tailplanes were needed (a Dassault design staple for its fighters). A single vertical tailplane was, however, used and this was seated over the exhaust port of the primary engine installation. A tricycle undercarriage was used for ground-running and was fully-retractable.

While the Mirage III pedigree was a sound one, the challenge lay in the vertical flight quality required of the NATO specs. The series of engines required of the new Dassault aircraft made the Mirage IIIV a complicated and fuel-thirsty development. This challenge, coupled with setbacks typical of such a broad scope design and a lack of private funding made sure that the Mirage IIIV was, more or less, doomed to failure.

A first-flight of one of the two completed prototypes was recorded on February 12th, 1965. The aircraft had an overall length of 59.4 feet, a wingspan of 28.6 feet and a height of 18 feet. While early testing yielded speeds nearing Mach 1.32, the aircraft's maximum speed was listed at Mach 2.04.

It was a large and fast aircraft with plenty of potential by 1960s standards and would have held a career spanning three decades or more had it succeeded in testing. However, it was a technological nightmare with limited range and ballooning weight - qualities that kill most military fighter programs.

The second prototype followed into the air in June of 1966 and this model carried the TF306 turbofan engine of 18,500lb thrust output. That November, this example was lost in an accident and the Mirage IIIV program never recovered. Meanwhile the British Harrier went on to have a very successful combat career.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Dassault Aviation - France
Manufacturer(s)

France (cancelled)
Operators

1965
Service Year

France
National Origin

Cancelled
Project Status

1
Crew

2
Units

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

59.1 ft
(18.00 meters)
Length

28.6 ft
(8.72 meters)
Width/Span

18.2 ft
(5.55 meters)
Height

14,881 lb
(6,750 kilograms)
Empty Weight

26,455 lb
(12,000 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight

+11,574 lb
(+5,250 kg)
Weight Difference

1 x SNECMA (Pratt & Whitney) TF104B turbofan engine developing 19,842lb of thrust; 8 x Rolls Royce RB162 lift engines developing 4,410 lb of thrust each.
Propulsion

1,566 mph
(2,520 kph | 1,361 knots)
Max Speed

55,774 ft
(17,000 m | 11 miles)
Ceiling

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

None. Assumed internal cannons with external provision for air-to-air missiles.

4
Hardpoints

Mirage IIIV - Base Project Designation; two prototypes completed.

Mirage IIIV-01 - First prototype; fitted with TF104, then TF106, engine of 16,750lb thrust.

MIrage IIIV-02 - Second flyable prototype; fitted with TF306 engine of 18,500lb thrust; lost to accident.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for Special Forces

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Images

1 / 1

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)