History

The Dassault Mirage IIIO was manufactured in Australia by the Government Aircraft Factories and Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1963 and 1968.

One hundred Mirages were delivered for service with the RAAF.

In 1960 the Australian government decided that the Dassault Mirage III would become Australia’s front line interceptor.

The first two Mirages were made in France but the rest were assembled in Australia with CAC making the wings and engines and the GAF making the fuselages and assembling them.

The first Australian assembled Mirage, A3-3, flew on 16 November 1963 and the final one, A3-100, was delivered in December 1968.

This model represents A3-2, the second Mirage IIIO, flying with the Aircraft Research and Development Unit in the 1970s.

Frog 1/72 kit with Roodecals and Hasegawa decals completed by Leigh Edmonds in August 2005.

Data

MODEL: Dassault Mirage IIIO (A3-2, ARDU, RAAF, 1970s)

ROLE: Fighter

TIME PERIOD: 1963-

ENGINES: one SNECMA Atar 9C afterburning turbojet of 6200kg thrust

WING SPAN: 8.22m

LENGTH: 15.03m

MAXIMUM TAKE OFF WEIGHT: 13,699kg

MAXIMUM SPEED: 1390km/h

RANGE: 1200km

CREW: 1

ARMAMENT: two 30mm DEFA cannon and provision for two AIM-9 or Matra Magic and one Matra 530 missiles

SCALE: 1/72

KIT:

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