Dassault Mirage IIIV

History

The French Dassault Mirage IIIV was developed in response to a NATO requirement for a supersonic VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) fighter. Dassault's product became an evolution of the already successful Mirage III fighter line, but with a set of eight small turbofan engines in the fuselage to provide vertical lift (traditional jet engines provide the forward thrust needed for flight). Only two prototypes were built between 1965 and 1966, and the second prototype was lost in an accident, essentially ending the entire project.

NATO will eventually select the Hawker-designed Kestrel VTOL prototype - which will become the Harrier's famous Jump Jet strike fighter. However, the Mirage IIIV project was not lost, as some components went into the Mirage IIIF and Mirage F1 combat platforms.

The Phantom IIIV retains most of the form of the previous Phantom III production aircraft and was itself developed from the prototype Dassault Balzac V prototype described elsewhere on this site. The lone pilot sits under a largely unobstructed canopy behind a nose cone assembly for radar adaptation.

A single turbofan unit designed to provide the required forward thrust is buried in the fuselage and sucks in from two crescent-shaped air intakes located on either side of the cockpit bulkhead. Vacuum the unit with a single nozzle.

The main engine was initially a Pratt & Whitney JTF10 turbofan (SNECMA TF104B), but eventually gave way to a 16,750-pound thrust TF106 engine.

A fleet of eight Rolls-Royce RB162 turbofan lift engines for vertical lift, each providing 4,400 pounds of thrust. Unlike the Harrier jet, the Phantom IIIV's lift engines are not positioned to aid forward flight, but are held in place for launch only.

The overall triangular shape of the main plane of the wing has a very large surface area, so a horizontal stabilizer (a strut designed by Dassault for its fighters) is not required. However, a vertical tail was used, located above the exhaust ports of the main engine unit.

The tricycle landing gear is used for ground operation and is fully retractable.

While the Phantom III pedigree is solid, the challenge is the vertical flight quality required by NATO specifications. The engine array required for the new Dassault aircraft made the Phantom IIIV a complex and fuel-hungry development.

This challenge, combined with the setbacks unique to such a far-reaching design, and the lack of private funding, ensured that Mirage IIIV was more or less doomed.

The first flight of one of the two completed prototypes was recorded on 12 February 1965. The aircraft has an overall length of 59.4 feet, a wingspan of 28.6 feet and a height of 18 feet. While early tests reported speeds closer to Mach 1.32, the plane's top speed was quoted as Mach 2.04.

It was a big, fast aircraft by 1960s standards with a lot of potential, and if the tests were successful, it would have a career of 3 years or more. However, it was a technological nightmare, with limited range and increasing weightfeatures that have hampered most military fighter programs.

A second prototype appeared in June 1966, powered by a TF306 turbofan engine with 18,500 lbs of thrust. That November, the example was lost in an accident, and the Phantom IIIV program was never revived. Meanwhile, the British Harrier had a very successful combat career.

Specification

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