There are many iconic bombers from the Cold War era. The B-52 of course, the Soviet TU-95, the Avro Vulcan, but you don't really think much about the French. It's not well known that they had their own nuclear bomber, the Mirage IV and it had an operational life of over 40 years, from 1963 to 2005.
Why do I like this thing?
1. It's French, and I'm a bit of a francophile.
2. It's got a delta wing and I'm a sucker for delta wings.
3. It's sexy. Just look at those lines.
4. It's got rockets! Rockets are always cool!
Mirage IVs in formation
In 1956 the French, being every bit as stubborn and independent minded as we are, decided to create their own strategic nuclear deterrent. It's been said that we hate the French because they're so much like us.
The French nuclear force would be called the Force de Frappe or "Strike Force". The idea was to make any potential Soviet invasion of France far more costly than it was worth.
French Air Force General Pierre Marie Gallois said "Making the most pessimistic assumptions, the French nuclear bombers could destroy ten Russian cities; and France is not a prize worthy of ten Russian cities."
The specification for the Mirage IV came out of that decision and development was begun in 1957. The aircraft needed to be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to cities in western Russia (Moscow obviously) and be able to sustain Mach 2+ for an extended period of time.
What they came up with was basically a double-sized version of the Dassault Mirage III fighter, with 2 engines and much greater fuel capacity.
Mach 2 was fairly easily achieved in the late 1950s, but very few aircraft of the day could sustain it for more than a few minutes. The tremendous friction generated by those speeds would cause the skin of the aircraft to heat. If you took something like an F-104 to Mach 2 for very long, things would start to melt.
To solve this problem the Mirage IV was quite advanced for its day, making limited use of advanced materials like titanium.
Note the extra fuel tanks. Range was always a problem for these.
First flight was in 1959 and it went operational in 1963. By 1966, with 62 Mirage IVs operational, the French government felt that they had a sufficient deterrent to ensure the independence of the nation. This aircraft played a large part in France's controversial decision to pull out of NATO.
So much for the politics, let's take a look at the aircraft itself. It's almost a stretch to call it a "bomber". A Mirage III is a small airplane even by fighter standards. Even doubling the size to make a Mirage IV results in a small airplane. A good bit smaller than its closest US counterparts the B-58 and FB-111. Its max takeoff weight of 73,000 lbs is less than half that of a B-58. Even the FB-111 topped out at 100,000 lbs.
A larger version, using Pratt & Whitney J75 engines was considered but was axed due to cost and not wanting to be dependent on another country for engines.
Performance was quite impressive. Service ceiling of 65,000 feet and a maximum sustained speed of Mach 2.2.
See, I told you it had rockets!
Mirage IV Rocket Assisted Takeoff
I don't speak French, but Woo! Hoo! probably works in any language.
Gratuitous Mirage IV Video
The small size severely limited range and payload. It could carry a single 60 kt nuclear bomb semi-recessed under the fuselage. Despite cramming fuel into every space they could find, even the vertical fin, it had a combat radius of maybe 600 miles.
Obviously air refueling would have played a big part in any operational sorties. The French Air Force purchased 12 KC-135s for this purpose. Some plans involved sending two Mirage IVs, one carrying a bomb and the other carrying a "buddy pack" to refuel the other.
Even so, any actual strike against the Soviet Union would have likely been a one-way ticket. Who am I kidding - it's not like any of us were probably coming back anyways.
Mirage IV refueling from a KC-135.
Note that he's using a touch of afterburner to stay on the tanker.
That delta wing probably doesn't like to fly at KC-135 speeds.
Defense was provided by internal jammers plus chaff and flares. No guns or air-to-air missiles were ever fitted. Its main defense would have been speed. The average Soviet interceptor of the day would probably have emptied its fuel tanks trying to chase one of these down.
Looks like a typical 1960s fighter cockpit.
These weren't very roomy.
Doesn't look like the back-seater had much room at all.
Mirage IV tactics closely mirrored US bomber tactics. Initially the plan was for an attack from high altitude. When the high altitude regime was deemed too risky, tactics switched to low level penetration. This shortened the Mirage's already poor range. In later years the single free-fall bomb was replaced with an ASMP cruise missile, giving it a much needed standoff capability.
They were never exported. Australia was interested at one point but chose the F-111 over the Mirage. When the British government cancelled the TSR2 program, the RAF briefly considered buying a version of the Mirage IV equipped with Rolls Royce engines instead of the French Atars. They also decided to go with the F-111 instead, but then cancelled that purchase as well.
The RAF pilots that evaluated the Mirage IV were apparently impressed with its low level performance. That says a lot actually, since RAF training missions frequently involve taking off and never climbing above 300 feet for the entire mission (those guys are crazy).
Note the high angle of attack required for landing a delta wing.
Finally in 1996, with the advent of the two-seat Mirage 2000N (N for Nuclear), the Mirage IV no longer served in a nuclear role. It soldiered on until 2005 as a reconnaissance aircraft, seeing service in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Sadly I never got a chance to refuel one of these. I have refueled Mirage 2000s, however.
Some of the Mirage 2000N pilots I spoke to had flown these and liked them, despite the rather cramped cockpit.
The last flight of the Mirage IV.
In formation with KC-135 and Mirage 2000Ns.
Hope you found this interesting. We'll look at some other Cold War oddities in future diaries.