{"id":29237974,"date":"2026-10-23T11:02:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T09:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/dassault-mirage-iii-delta-fighter-history-six-day-war-swiss-affair\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T11:03:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T09:03:25","slug":"dassault-mirage-iii-delta-fighter-history-six-day-war-swiss-affair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/dassault-mirage-iii-delta-fighter-history-six-day-war-swiss-affair\/","title":{"rendered":"Dassault Mirage III: The Delta That Made France a Fighter Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n\n\n\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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No Western European aircraft had done it before. Nine years later, the same design would win one of the most decisive air campaigns in history for a country that was not France, and along the way it would bring down the senior leadership of the Swiss military.<\/p><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mirage-iii\/\">Dassault Mirage III<\/a> was elegant, simple, fast and, crucially, for sale. It turned Marcel Dassault&rsquo;s company from a national supplier into a global name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:28px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117;font-size:17px\">Quick Facts<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0;font-size:15px;color:#333\"><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Dassault Mirage III single-engine delta-wing fighter<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0;font-size:15px;color:#333\"><strong>Origin:<\/strong> 1952 French requirement for a light interceptor; MD.550 Myst\u00e8re-Delta first flew 25 June 1955<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0;font-size:15px;color:#333\"><strong>Prototype first flight:<\/strong> 17 November 1956<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0;font-size:15px;color:#333\"><strong>Mach 2:<\/strong> 24 October 1958, Mach 2.2 in level flight (first in Western Europe)<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0;font-size:15px;color:#333\"><strong>Engine:<\/strong> Snecma Atar afterburning turbojet<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0;font-size:15px;color:#333\"><strong>Armament:<\/strong> Two 30 mm DEFA cannon, plus missiles and bombs<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0;font-size:15px;color:#333\"><strong>Built:<\/strong> About 1,400 Mirage III\/5\/50 family aircraft<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0;font-size:15px;color:#333\"><strong>Still flying:<\/strong> Pakistan Air Force, the last operator<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">From Myst\u00e8re-Delta to Mach 2<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>The Mirage III grew out of a 1952 French specification for a lightweight all-weather interceptor. Dassault&rsquo;s first answer, the MD.550 Myst\u00e8re-Delta, flew in June 1955 and was refined into the Mirage I. The Mirage II was never built. Instead Dassault went bigger, wrapping a tailless delta wing around the new Snecma Atar afterburning turbojet.<\/p><p>The prototype Mirage III flew on 17 November 1956, and the production Mirage IIIC interceptor reached the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/french-air-and-space-force\/\">French Air and Space Force<\/a>, then the Arm\u00e9e de l&rsquo;Air, from July 1961. The delta gave it a large wing for its weight, plenty of room for fuel and high speed, at the cost of long take-off runs and a tendency to bleed energy in tight turns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The British had flown a similar delta, the Fairey Delta 2, first. Marcel Dassault was famously blunt about why it was France that sold it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;If it were not for the clumsy way in which you tackle things in Britain, you could have made the Mirage yourself.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Marcel Dassault<\/strong> &mdash; founder of Dassault Aviation, as quoted in histories of the type<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GSDRy0jYgA0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">The history of the Dassault Mirage family, from the III to the 2000 (Cap Aviation, in French).<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Six days in June<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Israel was the Mirage III&rsquo;s most famous customer, flying it as the Shahak. On 5 June 1967, the opening day of the Six-Day War, most of the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/israeli-air-force\/\">Israeli Air Force<\/a>&rsquo;s Mirages joined the strikes on Arab air bases while a small force of 12 guarded Israel&rsquo;s own skies. In the air fighting that followed, Mirage pilots were credited with 48 of the 58 Arab aircraft claimed in air-to-air combat.<\/p><p>Israeli pilots relied heavily on the two 30 mm cannon, and several of the country&rsquo;s greatest aces, including Giora Epstein, began their scores in the type. When France imposed an arms embargo after the war, Israel built its own derivatives, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/iai-nesher\/\">Nesher<\/a> and later the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/iai-kfir\/\">Kfir<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/dassault-mirage-iii-delta-fighter-history-six-day-war-swiss-affair-img1.jpg\" alt=\"Israeli Air Force Mirage III in desert camouflage at the Hatzerim museum\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An Israeli Air Force Mirage III, known in Israel as the Shahak, at the Israeli Air Force Museum at Hatzerim. (Photo: Oren Rozen \/ CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Swiss Mirage affair<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>In June 1961 the Swiss parliament approved 871 million francs for 100 Mirage IIIs, most to be built under licence in Switzerland. Swiss-specific changes and rising costs soon broke the budget. In May 1964 the Federal Council asked for another 576 million francs, and parliament set up the country&rsquo;s first parliamentary inquiry committee, led by National Councillor Kurt Furgler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;There is a limit for permissible underestimates; this limit has been exceeded here.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Kurt Furgler<\/strong> &mdash; National Councillor and chairman of the parliamentary inquiry, 1964 (translated)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The order was cut to 57 aircraft: 36 Mirage IIIS interceptors, 18 IIIRS reconnaissance jets and a few two-seaters. The chief of aviation was suspended, the chief of the general staff removed, and defence minister Paul Chaudet left office in 1966. The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/swiss-air-force\/\">Swiss Air Force<\/a> nonetheless flew its Mirages for decades, the reconnaissance versions until the early 2000s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/dassault-mirage-iii-delta-fighter-history-six-day-war-swiss-affair-img2.jpg\" alt=\"Swiss Air Force Mirage IIIS J-2309 on the ground\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Swiss Air Force Mirage IIIS J-2309. The fighter that sparked a political scandal served Switzerland for decades. (Photo: Rob Schleiffert \/ CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MQU1f_bgPFE\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Mirage IIIS and IIIRS of the Swiss Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A fighter for half the world<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>The multirole Mirage IIIE became the most widely exported version, and the simplified Mirage 5, developed at Israel&rsquo;s request, flew in May 1967. Australia built its own Mirage IIIO under licence in Melbourne and flew them until 1988; in 1990-91 about 50 went to the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/pakistan-air-force\/\">Pakistan Air Force<\/a>. Argentina flew Mirage IIIs in the Falklands War, and South Africa turned its fleet into the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/atlas-cheetah\/\">Atlas Cheetah<\/a>.<\/p><p>Pakistan, upgraded under Project ROSE, is the last air force still flying the type, and its Mirages took part in strikes as recently as February 2019. Nearly seventy years after the Myst\u00e8re-Delta, Dassault&rsquo;s delta is still in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MXSI4H3HNv4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">The Mirage III, a short history (Australian Military Aviation History).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (Dassault Mirage III; Mirages affair), blue News (Swiss Mirage affair), We Are The Mighty, Dassault Aviation<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What was the Dassault Mirage III?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Dassault Mirage III is a French single-engine, delta-wing fighter that first flew on 17 November 1956. In October 1958 it became the first Western European aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in level flight. About 1,400 Mirage III, 5 and 50 aircraft were built for air forces worldwide.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How fast was the Mirage III?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A Mirage IIIA reached Mach 2.2 in level flight on 24 October 1958, making it the first Western European aircraft to fly faster than twice the speed of sound in level flight.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How did the Mirage III perform in the Six-Day War?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israeli Mirage III pilots were credited with 48 of the 58 Arab aircraft claimed shot down in air-to-air combat, while other Mirages took part in the strikes on Arab air bases. Israel called the type the Shahak.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What was the Swiss Mirage affair?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In 1961 Switzerland approved 871 million francs for 100 Mirage IIIs, but costs rose sharply and in 1964 the government asked for another 576 million. A parliamentary inquiry led by Kurt Furgler followed, the order was cut to 57 aircraft and senior officials lost their posts.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is the Mirage III still in service?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. The Pakistan Air Force is the last operator, flying upgraded Mirage IIIs, many of them former Royal Australian Air Force aircraft modernised under Project ROSE.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which aircraft were developed from the Mirage III?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Mirage III led to the Mirage 5 and Mirage 50, Israel\u2019s IAI Nesher and Kfir, and South Africa\u2019s Atlas Cheetah rebuild.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the Dassault Mirage III?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Dassault Mirage III is a French single-engine, delta-wing fighter that first flew on 17 November 1956. In October 1958 it became the first Western European aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in level flight. About 1,400 Mirage III, 5 and 50 aircraft were built for air forces worldwide.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How fast was the Mirage III?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A Mirage IIIA reached Mach 2.2 in level flight on 24 October 1958, making it the first Western European aircraft to fly faster than twice the speed of sound in level flight.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How did the Mirage III perform in the Six-Day War?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israeli Mirage III pilots were credited with 48 of the 58 Arab aircraft claimed shot down in air-to-air combat, while other Mirages took part in the strikes on Arab air bases. 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The Pakistan Air Force is the last operator, flying upgraded Mirage IIIs, many of them former Royal Australian Air Force aircraft modernised under Project ROSE.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Which aircraft were developed from the Mirage III?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Mirage III led to the Mirage 5 and Mirage 50, Israel\u2019s IAI Nesher and Kfir, and South Africa\u2019s Atlas Cheetah rebuild.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fighter-pilot-training-in-mirage-iii-1970s-switzerland\/\">Fighter Pilot Training in Mirage III &#8211; 1970s, Switzerland<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/iai-kfir-nesher-mirage-j79-israeli-fighter-history\/\">IAI Nesher and Kfir: How an Embargo Made Israel Build Its Own Mirage<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/dassault-mirage-iiiv-balzac-nine-engine-vtol-mach-2\/\">Dassault Mirage IIIV: The Nine-Engine VTOL Fighter That Hit Mach 2<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/atlas-cheetah-south-africa-mirage-embargo\/\">Atlas Cheetah: The Fighter South Africa Built Because Nobody Would Sell It One<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story On 24 October 1958, a slim silver delta with tricolour roundels pushed past Mach 2 in level flight, reaching Mach 2.2. No Western European aircraft had done it before. Nine years later, the same design would win one of the most decisive air campaigns in history for a country that was not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":29237958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29237974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dassault Mirage III: The Delta That Conquered | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Dassault Mirage III was Western Europe\u2019s first Mach 2 fighter, Israel\u2019s Six-Day War star and the cause of a Swiss political scandal. 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