Dassault Mystère

The Dassault MD.452 Mystère is a 1950s French fighter-bomber.

Development
After the success of the Ouragan, Dassault was working on a more advanced machine based on it, which would take to the air in early 1951 as the MD.452 Mystère I.

The first prototype Mystère I was essentially an Ouragan with a 30-degree swept wing and modified tail surfaces. Two further prototypes followed, powered by the Rolls-Royce Tay 250 centrifugal-flow turbojet, an improved version of the Rolls-Royce Nene, built under license by Hispano-Suiza, and rated at 28.0 kN thrust.

These three Mystère I prototypes led to two Mystère IIA prototypes, powered by the Tay and armed with four 20 mm Hispano cannon; and then four Mystère IIB prototypes, which traded the four 20 mm cannon for two 30 mm DEFA revolver-type cannon. A Mystère IIA was the first French aircraft to break Mach 1 in controlled flight (in a dive), on 28 October 1951.

The eleven pre-production machines that followed were designated Mystère IIC, nine of which were fitted with the SNECMA Atar 101C axial-flow turbojet, rated at 24.5 kN thrust, while two were experimentally fitted with the afterburning Atar 101F, with afterburning thrust of 37.3 kN.

Operational history
The French Air Force ordered 150 Mystère IICs, with the first production machine flying in June 1954, and delivered in October of that year. The production aircraft featured the twin 30 mm DEFA cannon, an Atar 101D turbojet with 29.4 kN thrust, increased tail sweep, and revised intake trunking and internal fuel tank arrangement. Top speed was 1030 km/h at low level. Details of external stores are unclear, but a reasonable assumption would be that they were similar to those of Ouragan.

The last Mystère IIC was delivered in 1957, by which time the type was already being relegated to advanced training duties. Aircraft design was moving at a breakneck pace in the 1950s and even as the Mystère IIC was becoming operational, the better Dassault Mystère IVA was flying. The Mystère IIC was very much an interim type, though it did persist in the training role until 1963.

There were no foreign buyers for the Mystère II. As noted, the Israelis wanted to buy 24 but changed their minds and bought Mystère IVAs instead. It appears that the Mystère II was never used in combat.

Variants

 * MD 452 Mystère I: The first of three protoypes was essentially an Ouragan with a 30-degree swept wing and modified tail surfaces. Two further prototypes followed, powered by the 28.0 kN Rolls-Royce Tay 250 centrifugal-flow turbojet.
 * MD 452 Mystère IIA:Two prototypes powered by the Tay and armed with four Hispano 20 mm cannon.
 * MD 452 Mystère IIB:Four IIB prototypes traded the four 20 mm cannon for two 30 mm DEFA cannon
 * MD 452 Mystère IIC: The standard production aircraft for the Armée de l'Air (ALA), with 150 delivered from June 1954. Eleven pre-production IICs were used for operational evaluation and trials with SNECMA Atar 101C axial-flow turbojet and the afterburning Atar 101F.
 * MD 453 Mystère IIIN: A single Mystère prototype built with lateral intakes and a two-seat cockpit, to continue development of the MD 451 Aladin initiated with the MD 350-30-L modified Ouragan. First flown on 18 July 1952 the sole IIIN was never fitted with a radar and was used for ejection seat trials once development of the MD 451 was abandoned. The second and third prototypes were cancelled before completion.

Operators

 * French Air Force
 * French Air Force
 * Israeli Air Force
 * Israeli Air Force