The aircraft is a deposit that came to our Museum from the
North East Aviation Museum in Sunderland, United Kingdom
A single-seat fighter-bomber designed at Avions Marcel Dassault in the early 1950s as an improved version of the MD.452 Mystere II. The prototype was first flown in October 1952, and serial production began in 1954.
The American government financed the purchase of 225 examples for the French Air Force. By 1958, 421 examples had been produced. In the French Air Force, they were used as fighter-bombers and later as trainers until 1982. Besides France, the users of Mystere IVA aircraft were Israel and India. Mystere IVA aircraft were used in combat by France and Israel during the Suez Crisis in 1956.
The French Air Force also used them for ground attack missions during the Algerian War in the 1950s and early 1960s. In the Israeli Air Force, Mystere IVAs fought several victorious engagements against Egyptian MiG-17s in the early 1960s and carried out ground attack missions during the Six-Day War in 1967. Indian Mystere IVAs were used in combat during the wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.
The museum example, serial number 146, was produced in 1956. It belonged to squadron EC 2/8.
| Wingspan | 11.12 m |
| Length | 12.89 m |
| Takeoff weight | 9500 kg |
| Maximum speed | 1110 km/h |
| Ceiling | 15 000 m |
| Range | 2280 km |
| Armament | 2 DEFA cannons, 30 mm calibre, bombs or unguided rockets up to 1000 kg |
| Powerplant | Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350 turbojet engine with 34.32 kN thrust |
