French Swingers; The Dassault Mirage G 

Variable geometry is unequivocally the coolest aspect of 3rd and 4th generation jets.

French aviation history is so under appreciated in the non french world, especially the archivements of the postwar french industry.

I absolutely love how all Mirage variants look more or less the same, but yet are completely different machines.

The Mirage G8-02 also STILL holds the record for the fastest aircraft from Western Europe to this day! An amazing piece of engineering, its a shame it never got to fly in its intended M53 engine configuration.

“Les perfidious Anglais”? Lovely turn of phrase, Ed!

Vought and Dassault created a joint venture to answer the Naval Fighter Experimental program that ends to the Grumann F-14 Tomact, procurement, finaly. The V-507 Vagabond, had in particular, the sweep wings and air intakes technologies from the Dassault Mirage G. This prototype was very similar to the Mirage G. The Mirage G8 single seat with two Atar 9K50 engines (same engine as the Mirage F1) was able to reach Mach 2 at 45 000 ft, within 2 minutes from break release, and was able to sustain Mach 2 during 30 minutes.

Once more, it's pronounced DaSo with a soft S and not DaZo 😉. Anyway, in the 60s, my uncle who was an engineer at Dassault aviation worked on the Mirage VTOL project. Fun fact, it had been named "Balzac 00-01" just because it was the phone number of the advertising company ("Jean Mineur publicité") Marcel Dassault was owning!

Mirage fighters, all of them, are simply the most gorgeous of all, hands down! Specially the Mirage 50 for the Venezuelan air force with its point nose and canards.

The Dassault designers knew what they were doing. All the Mirages were just fine looking aircrafts, works of art literally.

As always thanks for the content Ed. That is a damn good looking plane IMO

This is the first time in my life anyone had said the TF30 was good for something in an airplane.

You've done it again, Ed. I knew nothing of this/these aircraft. Thank you for this. ☮

Kind of too bad that Dassault didn't design a "Mirage G1" with a single Atar 9K as the cheaper option. But then again, "variable geometry wings" and "cheaper" would've run at cross purposes, so I suppose he made the right decision with the F1 even if it would've looked a lot cooler with swing wings.

fun fact is that french aircraft nomenclature follows a logic of car makers. you can have the mirage sedan, mirage compact, mirage station wagon... but the convertible and van get a new name despite being based on a common platform.

I'm not the only one who thinks those are beautiful planes...

an informative vid as ever Mr Nash. Havimng memories of building this Mirage. And as ever your accent takes me back to my airport and airfield days around Essex and Chelmsford

A wonderful channel that deserves a thousand thousand greetings, great admiration and greater respect. Your esteemed channel is full of very accurate and useful information. Your effort is remarkable and great. I wish you lasting success. And I write to you with the utmost frankness and respect, and in the form of hope ((translate into Arabic)) The number of your followers will increase greatly. I am absolutely confident that you are interested in providing benefit to everyone without exception. My utmost respect, appreciation and pride to you, gentlemen

getting vibes of the BAC TSR-2 too on the Mirage F2 for some reason...

Considering how many problems the US had with the TF-30 in it's operational life, I'd say the Mirage family dodged a bullet.

Merci! Très bon. French stories are always so interesting. Dramatic even and well told by you.

That pic at :15 is a classic Gunston and textbook shot. For good reason.

Not only a lovely spring day but a lovely Ed video😊

Another terrifically researched and illustrated video. Thanks Ed!

Merci beaucoup pour cette video !

I love your channel; it's one of the very best.

So many wonderful aircraft, so little money...

I thank you for your great effort in providing accurate, useful and wonderful information on your esteemed channel. A thousand greetings of respect, appreciation and pride. I wish you success and progress in your wonderful work. Much respect

Pretty sweet, thanks again for such informative and entertaining videos.

A thousand greetings, great respect and admiration for your esteemed and wonderful channel, which provided accurate and useful information. I wish you lasting success. A wonderful work and a great effort that deserves pride, appreciation and pride. My utmost respect and appreciation to you

A great interesting video and aircraft I have never heard about.Have a good one Mr.Ed.

Thanks Ed. Great detailed story. Very complicated so I may have to watch it again to remember the facts

2:00 The Mirage F2 looks & the mission it was supposed to adopt, sounds awfully like the Brit's TSR2.

Very cool looking plane, and fast! Interesting history and a lot of engineering went into the G, in it's day it was an achievement for Dassault.

The TF30 had good thrust to weight for its era, but was notoriously susceptible to compressor stalls (especially in the early models). It took ~20 years to make it a really satisfactory powerplant in the F-111, and was never a good match to the requirements of the F-14. I almost hate to say it, but Dassault was probably right to bail on this engine - and any project that was supposed to be powered by it.

Adore the Mirage G & Mirage G8s!

Fascinating stuff! 🇫🇷 ✈ 🙌

Love waking up to an Ed Nash video

That TF30-series engine was powerful but not without its issues. Early Tomcat pilots would discover the need for careful throttle handling to avoid the wick going out!

Thunderbird 1 was also a swing wing design. Art imitating life.

​@EdNashsMilitaryMatters >>> 👍👍

Interestingly, both the Mirage F1, F2 and G were originally named Mirage III F1 etc. (as can be seen in some of the videos).

one of my favourites

Mm. Here's one of the planes that could have used Orenda's Iroquois, had that engine survived the cancellation of the Arrow...

French engines have cool sounding designations.

The TF30 effed up the F-14A big time. Took a long time to come up one that worked for the Vark.

TY 🙏🙏

Oooo! Sexy planes. Gimmie gimmie! Such great designs.

could you also do a video on the Hawker Tornado in the near future?

Brilliant video! Is the Mirage F2 also in a museum? I recall seeing what I think was the G8 1 and 2 at Le Bourget outside of Paris?

I'm surprised you left out Dassault selling (licensing?) Mirage G / G8 data to Vought for their V-507 VFX entry. Vought made an elaborate mockup as part of the effort that ended up being won by Grumman to produce the F-14 Tomcat.

Just a bit of history. A carrier plane can work just great for an Air Force. For example, the F-4, A-4. A-7, E-2, F-14, and of course the F-18. The reverse has not worked out in my memory but I could be wrong.

Is there enough info on the F-18L to do a video on that? Sad it was never fully developed because the Iran thing fell through. Seems like it would have been significantly lighter, sleeker than the Hornet.

Extremely entertaining & technical video. But please, as a Frenchman, where on earth did you find a "z" sound in Dassault???... The two "s" are pronounced like assault, or ass. Thank you, keep up the frenglish work.

The mirage 3 and its derivitivs is possibly the greatest looking line of jet fighters ever produced. Even the ugly ones like the Atlas Cheetah still have a lot of cool factor about them

The Mirage G8 had the good looks that the AFVG lacked. Had the G8 been built by Dassault & BAC it would have been a winner. Especially if powered by the reheated version of the Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan as fitted to the F4K/M Phantoms.

Wow , it really was the swinging sixties

Interesting. I never knew that the F-1 grew out of these swing wing programs. But to my eye the Mirage G = MIG-23, and the Mirage G-4 = Tornado. The French have a history of coming out with domestic planes that are very close to other nation's (the Ouragan and Mystere, etc.), which I suppose can be attributed to parallel development theories.

"French swingers" 😄🤣 Oh behaaave!

How about Polish PZL P37 ŁOŚ or PZL P11/P24 models ?

Wait is that a Mirage looking more like a MIG-23?

How is it you can make canceled aircraft seem so interesting and so often make us wish the canceled were adopted instead. Notable cancellations: F-8U-3 SuperCrusader, F11F-1F, F-20.

I wonder if we will see a return of variable geometry fighters. We are moving towards more stealthy aircraft, which might lead to neither canards nor ailerons, but also heavier machines. Being able to swing the wings could give future aircraft more flexibility (shorter take-off, high top speed, manoeuvrability for dogfighting if necessary...)

Slt...............La Géométrie Variable, Le Mirage G 8, le "Petit Frère" mythique F14 A Tomcat !!

The P&W TF-30 might have been better than any a French engine but is was the weakest link in the F-111 and F-14.

Dassault play a canny game, which is why they still exist. They're (still?) demanding lead in the FCAS programme over partner Airbus - seems to be very wise and just hubris

French jets always look good...

3:00 Whaaaa?? How?

A beautiful plane, much more than the SEPECAT or Panavia designs.

The French MiG-23

Didn’t know this started as a joint project- although it just confirms I have no idea why the British bother, I mean aside from the Jaguar every single ( military) jet project with the French at some point has with them pulling out, they are just bad at working with anyone ...😅

Bet you've been waiting to use that title for awhile Ed 🙂

Dassault is famous for finding ways to get rid of competitors. Look how they convinced the French to buy the less capable Super Etendard in place of the Anglo-French Jaguar M. Twice Dassault used its economic and political power to keep the Aeronavale purchasing either upgraded A-7s or F/A-18s.

Damn, spitting image of the Mig 23/27 from the top, with an extra engine of course.

Is it me or does the G have more than a passing resemblance to MRCA...

Mirage f2

That looked like a French f111 May have been a good one, but alas

Looks like a Mirage with an F-14’s wings.

SO not ZOO!💋

Israel used the Mirage during the 1967 Six Day War. This ended with France playing a role as the Jewish's state main arms supplier (for a while).

Why do people say ‘mi-RAGE’ except when they talk about the aircraft when it becomes ‘MI-rage’?

French Swingers? *Call me a luddite but I always rated Jane Birkin* 🙄 Mais J'amie aussi le Mirage G8

Mirage III V = mach 2.2 VTOL = UK idea = TORNADO

:)

If the issues of the VTOL Mirage had been solved just how much better than the cobbled together sea harrier would it have been?

I think the complexity of the Mirage G design was its downfall. And it was nowhere as capable as the Panavia Tornado, either.

I speak French and I know French words sometimes are difficult to pronounce for English speakers but it seems you are especially struggling pronouncing "Dassault" never pronouncing the same way twice. So I'm providing this for education purposes. Not trying to bust your chops (or is it "taking the piss"). It is pronounced DahSoh. No 'z'...No 'e' and the 'l' and 't' are silent (as are half the letters in most French words).

I didn't know british aerospace could be fucked up even further

Another beautiful aircraft cancelled.

The French pulling out of a project became a theme. They pulled out of being involved in the Eurofighter because the other countries refused to delay it so as the French could build and sell their aircraft.

DaSSault not Dazault!

They sure look like F102/F106 and the F111. Coincidence?

French swinger's....ok then. It's a Mirage.

A brief fad and a dead end. But I thought VG was ultimate cool when I was a kid way back then.

I'm here for the French swingers. To say I'm disappointed... 😜

Dass-O. Not dazzo

Probably just as well that they dropped out of NATO, since the French decision making process seems to go something like this: 07:00 Soviets attack western Europe. 07:15 "Let's support NATO." 07:38 "Let's sit this war out." 08:04 "Let's design a new fighter." 10:23 "Let's make it a rocket powered torpedo plane instead." 11:01 "Let's fight the Soviets after all." 11:02 "Our own communist party has started rioting, so let's not fight, and we will put a Ugandan rubber band motor in our new bomber that will be an ornithopter." 11:19 "All aircraft production is to immediately cease until we have had croissants and fig jam." 12:00 "Now that we are through with croissants and jam, it's lunch time." 13:05 "Do we have a design yet for our rocket rubber band torpedo interceptor? Non, Mssr Dassault is upset that a Japanese company is making money building aircraft that have nothing to do with Europe." 13:18 "Mssr Dassault says he will give us 11 new designs as long as we give him half the treasury and none of the designs have to be built." 13:21 "Are we at war or not?" 13:22 "Oui, we have just attacked Iceland, and are about to surrender to the town of Woolsey-on-Thames".

Funny you keep pronouncing Dassault as « dazault ». It really is pronounced like the word « assault » which is the exact point as it was the « nom de guerre » of Paul Dassault in the French Résistance, elderly brother of Serge Dassault, both born Bloch (some forgotten (?) types built under that brand). « Assault » like in « char d’assaut » (attack tank). He added the « l » before the trailing « t » to look like the English word « assault ». So, it is pronounced the same way you’d pronounce the English word « assault », that is, not « azault »! Just don’t pronounce the « l » to sound French.

The French knew more about the British aerospace industry more than the British :D

British speak english funny: "comba taircraft" 😆

Lovely bit of clickbait there Ed - I salute you....