Mirage 3C Mali model Artz 1:48

[Vinalssergio155]

Hi Yair. Precisely the performance of the Mirage at the IAF was the one that boosted the purchase of this plane in my country. It was the emblem of our air force for 43 years, loved by all who served with him and by all of us who live in those years. There are only words of praise for this plane here. His withdrawal from service in 2015 was a sad and emotional day for those of us who love the legendary Mirage.

[hyair]

Dear Sergio - the Mirage can claim to be one of the best mach 2.0 fighters ever evolved. If we look back historically we can see it's rivals :: Swedish Draken , Russian mig 21 , British lightning , American F-104. Only the mig 21 and Mirage were creditted with shutdowns of enemy planes. But mirage had 394 kills much more than any other olane in the IAF. So the mirage is Victorious here by far .Secend come the Draken and lightning Nu. 3.

Yair

[hyair]

The Mirage 3c is capable of mach 2.15 with the lowest thrust engine of 6 ton only- something that is is testimony for sleek fuselage and low drag.
The Super Tiger achieved mach 2.04 in test
flight. The mig 21bis is mach 2.05 .
The Starfighter 2.2 mach with 7.5 ton thrust. The F-8D Crusader and SU -9 Can be very close at 1.9 mach so I put then in the list. The Draken is mach 2.0 capable with 7.8 ton thrust Avon.
I put them all side by side .Soon the British Lightning will join them as it is under construction right now .

Yair

[Isaac]

Great collection Yair



Isaac

[hyair]

Thanks Isaac - in order to complete the mach 2.0 series I need to add the Viggen and Lightning which is currently under construction.
The F-105 , F-106 ,F-4 Phantom and Yak -28 Firebar are also mach 2.0 fighters but of bigger category.

Yair

[hyair]

The Hunter was the main jet fighter of the Jordanian air force. The Jordanian pilots were trained in GB and were the best Arabian pilots.
In 1966 Israeli ground troops were having a ground battle in Samo'a near Hebron.
The Jordanian called thier airforce for support and 8 hunters came to support.
Israeli ground controllers scrambled 4 mirages to intercept. the hunters.
The Israeli pilots started to fight with the hunters and a surprise came. The Israeli pilots
found the hunter a very tough opponent at low level dogfght. 5 min of dogfight passed without results. Then the Israelian formation leader Ran Peker decided to choose one
of the hunters so he dive on him and the hunter was going down and eastren into a canyon
flying very low. Ran was chasing him in a very low flight but because of the low flight couldn't
put the pipper on the hunter. The canyon walls were passing at more than 500 knots to both
pilots and all of a sudden the hunter had a small hump in front so he lift a bit- that is what
Ran was waiting for, a small burst hit the hunter in the aft section and the Jordanian pilot
ejected. Unfortunately for the Jordanian pilot at the ejection moment the hunter rolled
and the pilot was smeared into the canyon wall and died. Later it was known that the
Jordanian pilot name was Salti and he was the hunter squadron commander.
The battle took 8 full minutes and when Ran returned to base he did the traditional bazz
over the Israli air base before landing.
Attached are photos of the hunter and mirage.

Yair

[hyair]

The dogfight between the Mirage and the Hunter lasted full 8 min and was one of the longest ever !

Yair

[hyair]

During the long years of fighting with the Arab airforces no less than 644 planes were downed
by the pilots of the Israeli air force. The Mirage is responsible for 390 during the period between 1963 - 1973. Most of the victories were against the mig -21 , mig -17, mig-19 , SU-7 and Hawker Hunters.
No other plane in the IAF could rival this huge success of the Mirage . The Phantom come second with around 120 victories followed by F-15 and F-16.

Some photos of the Mirage with it's mig opponentes. The mirage is IAFM model from 1965 with original silver color scheme of the period between 1962- 1968.
The mig- 17 is from Electronic models with Egyptian airforce scheme. The mig -19 is GPM 120 with Polish airforce scheme. The mig -21 F is from Ecardmodels and represent the 007
deseted Iraqi mig -21 with the special IAF color markings.

Yair

[hyair]

The Mirage was the main IAF interceptor.
The Mirage shootdown the following types - hawker Hunter mig-17 mig-19 SU-7.

Yair

[hyair]

The Mirage IIIc and the Mig 21 F13 are arguably the most intense fighter rivals in the new jet era. They both poses many simillar features - delta wings sleek fuselage and light weight are the key points. Therfore an engine with a thrust of 6 ton was eneugh to give a mach 2.0 for the Mig and 2.15 for the Mirage. However the Mig lower weight gave the type an advantage in climb rate and acceleration !
The two were very close in handling - the mig xould turn faster without bleeding speed while the Mirage was behaving more delicately in tight maneuvers !
At the end the pilots level won the day with a kill ratio of 1:15 for the Mirage !!!
Some images of the two side by side.

Yair