Academy 12247 Mirage III C Fighter. AUS Decals. Scale 1:48

Mirage III C Fighter Jet with RAAF Decals, 1:48 Scale

ACA-12247

The Dassault Mirage III, is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It holds the distinction of being the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizontal flight.

During 1952, the French government issued its specification, calling for a lightweight, all-weather interceptor. Amongst the respondents were Dassault with their design, initially known as the MD.550 Mystère-Delta and later renamed as the Mirage I.

Following favourable flight testing held during 1955, in which speeds of up to Mach 1.6 were attained, it was decided that a larger follow-on aircraft would be required to bare the necessary equipment and payloads. An enlarged Mirage II proposal was considered, but was discarded in favour of a further-developed design, powered by the newly developed Snecma Atar afterburning turbojet engine, designated as the Mirage III.

Following flight tests of a prototype, Dassault received an initial order for a fleet of 10 pre-production fighters, known as the Mirage IIIA. During October 1960, the first major production model, designated as the Mirage IIIC, performed its maiden flight. Initial operational deliveries of this model commenced during July 1961; a total of 95 Mirage IIICs were obtained by the French Air Force. The Mirage IIIV was rapidly followed by numerous other variants.

It was also the RAAF's premium fighter plane for multiple decades until it was replaced by the F-111. This kit includes both the French Air Force and RAAF decal sets.

Glue and paint are required for this model. (Not included).