82
pages, 20x24 cm
The
Mirage family us not well served by publications, especially not in
English. As such it comes as no surprise that this volume has been
translated from French, and is part of the excellent “Planes and
Pilots” series from Histoire and Collection, Paris, France. This
volume is clearly geared at the modeller, as almost half the content
consists of colour profiles. So what is in the package and how does it
shape up?
The 82 page booklet offers a 3 page introduction to the Mirage development
from the Mystère, via the MD 550 “Delta Mystère” in various guises
to the final Mirage IIIA 01. The difference between these various variants
is clearly presented in a series of profiles, as well as a number of
useful photos.
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The
first production variant, the Mirage IIIC occupies a significant part of
the book (15 pages), of which 12 are devoted to a series of profiles
depicting aircraft is usage by the French Air Force, the Israeli Air
Force and the South African Air Force (SAAF), the only other major user
of the type, and who also used this variant operationally to great
effect in Angola. Only 1 Mirage IIIC was used by the Swiss Air Force for
evaluation of the type (not portrayed). These profiles will certainly be
a handy reference for anybody wishing to a build a slightly different
model from the excellent Eduard kit. Like, all profiles, they should be
used with a degree of caution, as they do not provide any external
changes which took place during the lengthy service of these aircraft in
their respective services. In this manner, although the book does
provide details about the last air superiority grey scheme employed by
SAAF Mirage IIIC’s, it does not indicate that these aircraft were
equipped chaff / flare dispenser in the belly strake (refer to: http://kits.kitreview.com/mirageiiicjreviewsh_1.htm).
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It,
however, to its credit does indicate that several Israeli Mirage IIICJ’s were
re-engined at the end of their lengthy combat careers. Of particular interest to
those modellers wishing to build a SAAF version of their Eduard kit, the book
contains a photo of Mirage IIICZ in dark green and tan camouflage which
completely dispels with the incorrect dark earth and tan camouflage scheme
Eduard have depicted in their instructions. This once again indicates that even
colour photos should be interpreted with caution!
The
next chapter is devoted to the Mirage IIIE, possibly the most widely used
variant, and again has a number of pages devoted to profiles and photos of this
aircraft in service with the air forces of France, Argentina, Australia
(including the ARDU Fanta scheme), Lebanon, Pakistan, Spain, Switzerland (with
canards) and Venezuella. Oddly, the SAAF have been left out of this section,
even though they operated a number of Mirage IIIEZ’s operationally in combat.
Further sections of the book address the Mirage 5 and 50, the recce versions and
the two seaters (both B and D versions). Again, these are complemented by a good
set of photographs, many of which I have not seen before (such as a SAAF IIIRZ
prior to its delivery). Of further particular interest is an excellent photo of
a Mirage 5 in Saudi Arabian markings (for diplomatic reasons) prior to it’s
shipping to Egypt. The camouflage schemes depicted in a number of profiles do,
however, look somewhat suspicious, and as such I urge any reader to carefully
check his references and use photos as a definite guide.
The penultimate section of this very informative small booklet is devoted
possibly to the most interesting Mirage variants, The Israeli Kfir and the SAAF
Cheetah. Apart from one of two odd translation errors (Cheetah does not mean
Leopard in SA), this section contains a lot of useful information, supported by
photos and profiles, which will be a great help to modellers wishing to build
any of these variants.
The last section, which is kept very brief, deals with Mirage variants which did
not make it past the prototype or drawing board stage, such as the VTOL Mirage
IIIV 01 Balzac and the odd Milan with its peculiar moustache.
Click on
images below to see larger images |
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Mirage III 2 seater schemes |
SAAF MirageIIICZ 800 correct camo |
All
in all, this is a superb little book, which costs little more than the average
Squadron and signal publication, and which will be a great resource to lovers of
this wonderful little French delta. Now Eduard, please role out the rest of the
family.
Sinuhe
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