Mirage III
Mirage 5
Mirage 50
Both the Mirage III and Mirage 5 have been built in very large numbers and are in service in many countries. The two airframes are basically the same, except the Mirage 5 has a longer nose.
A contemporary of MiG-21, the Dassault-Breguet Mirage III entered service with the French air force in 1960. Since then it has been sold to more than 20 countries and it has seen combat from the Middle East to southern Africa and South America. It was the principal fighter of the Israeli air force for many years-so much so that when France suspended deliveries in 1967 Israel developed a copy, the IAI Dagger - later used by Argentina in the Falklands war. Argentina also used Mirage III interceptors during that campaign, but kept them back to defend mainland bases after the famous 'Black Buck' bombing raid: Since 1960 there have been many versions of the Mirage III, including reconnaissance aircraft, fighter-bombers and the clear-weather day fighter, the Mirage V.
The Mirage III has low-mounted delta wings with pointed tips. There is one turbojet engine inside fuselage, with semicircular air intakes forward of the wing roots below the canopy and a large, single exhaust. The fuselage is long, slender, and tubular with a pointed nose and a bubble cockpit. The tail is large, swept-back, and has a tapered tail fin with a square tip. There are no tail flats.
