Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

Dassault MD.452 Mystere

1955 COLD WAR

Managing Director of Dassault. 452 Mystery Stories

The German invasion and subsequent occupation of France caused significant damage to the French aviation industry. However, after the war ended in 1945, the division quickly recovered and focused on new jet-powered developments - the biggest success being the 1952 straight-wing fighter/fighter-bomber Dassault "Ouragan" ("Hurricane"). Hundreds of examples were built and it was a technical success and was adopted by the French Air Force, while it will also be used under the flags of India, Israel and El Salvador.

The French Air Force itself operated some 370 prototypes, which remained in service until the 1980s.

Ouragan became France's first operational jet fighter.

With advances in swept-wing aerodynamics, a swept-wing version of the successful Ouragan was quickly thought of. Under the leadership of MD, prototype work began. The 452 "Mystere I" made its first flight on February 23, 1951.

This phase of the project consisted of three prototypes and the engine of choice became a British 6,300 pound thrust Rolls-Royce Tay 250 turbojet - produced locally by Hispano - Siza.

Mystere I is the Ouragan fuselage with a 30 degree sweep of the main wings. Anticipating higher operating speeds also required revisions to the tail surface, but the basic look of the original fighter remained: the air intakes were in the nose and the exhausts were under the tail. The wings were set low amidships, and the empennage contained a fin with a horizontal plane in the middle.

The pilot's position is directly behind the nose and in front of the wing main aircraft. Retractable landing gear for ground operations. All this was typical of jet fighters at the time.

This work evolved to welcome a new prototype form under the name Mystere IIA. Armed with a 4 x 20mm Hispano-Suiza automatic cannon capable of inflicting a severe, controlled explosion on any air target known at the time in a short period of time.

The Mystere IIA was the first French aircraft to fly faster than Mach 1 when it dived on October 28, 1951 (a common feature of many early jets, which dived to Mach 1 or higher, albeit at a loss of some control).

This resulted in a series of four advanced prototypes, named Mystere IIB, and in the process the gun battery was modified to the 2 x 30mm DEFA type, offering greater lethality potential. The production line was subsequently downgraded to Mystere IIC standard, which included 11 pre-production/evaluation aircraft for additional testing.

At this point, the 5,500-pound SNECMA Atar 101C turbojet was in action, nine of the batches were completed with it, while the remaining two were flown with the 8,400-pound SNECMA Atar 101F afterburner turbojet.

The pre-production aircraft accurately mirrored the final form of the Mystere jet fighter, an image the French Air Force established when it signed a contract for 150. The series entered service in 1954, with production spanning from 1951 to 1957, with a total of 171 units.

First deliveries to the French Air Force began in October 1954, and these were equipped with SNECMA Atar 101D turbojets rated at 6,600 pounds of thrust and some minor fuselage and wing changes.

The Mystere IIC has a crew seated under a light frame canopy with an overall length of 38.4 feet, a wingspan of 43 feet and a height of 14 feet. Curb weight is 11,520 lbs and MTOW is 16,500 lbs.

Power comes from a SNECMA Atar 101D axial turbojet engine rated at 6,000 lbf, and features include a top speed of 660 mph, a range of up to 550 miles, and a service ceiling of 50,030 feet. The climb rate is 4,500 feet per minute.

Airborne 2 x 30mm DEFA cannons, 150 rounds per cannon. The aircraft is also equipped with underwing missiles (2 x Matra pods, each containing 18 SNEB missiles) and four external cradles for carrying up to 2,000 lb artillery or multiple fuel tanks for increased range.

Mystere (IIC) had a poor record of accidents during service, which limited its future in the French Air Force, and these accidents were mainly focused on structural failures which was the risk of early high-speed flight. This led to the service working on the more promising Mystere IV in the future (details elsewhere on this site), while the Mystere IIC aircraft were quickly relegated to a training role before being retired.

The Mystere IIIN is a one-off prototype (three planned) designed with a tandem two-seater cockpit and side air intakes (as opposed to the original nose mount). This example made its first flight on July 18, 1952, but its flight time was short.

It spent the rest of its time testing the ejection seat.

Mystere's contemporaries include the famous North American F-86 Saber and the classic Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter - all similar in type and features, including those with swept wings and nose air intakes main aircraft. These two examples were far more successful than the French designs, taking part in the first jet combat of the 1950-1953 Korean War.

The Dassault Mystere has no export and only serves the French Air Force during the airflight. Israel seemed willing to order about 24 French fighter jets, but opted for the Mystere IV.