This Day in Aviation History
June 17th, 1959
First flight of the Dassault Mirage IV.
 
The Dassault Mirage IV was a French jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft. Developed by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft entered service with the French Air Force (Forces aériennes stratégiques) in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the nuclear triad of the Force de Frappe, France’s nuclear deterrent striking force. The Mirage IV was retired from the nuclear strike role in 1996, and the type was entirely retired from operational service in 2005.
 
During the 1960s, there were plans of export sales for the Mirage IV; in one proposal, Dassault would have entered a partnership with the British Aircraft Corporation to jointly produce a Mirage IV variant for the Royal Air Force and potentially for other export customers, however this project did not come to fruition. The Mirage IV was ultimately not adopted by any other operators beyond the French Air Force….
 
Source:
Wikipedia, Dassault Mirage IV: http://gstv.us/1Tsoyxa
 
YouTube, Dassault aviation Mirage IV: http://gstv.us/1Tsp6Dn
 
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Photo from: http://gstv.us/25OtqFD
 
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