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Mirage F1 South Africa 2

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The Dassault Mirage F1 entered service in 1973 as a replacement for the Mirage III.  Although similar in some ways, the F1 had a more conventional wing arrangement which provided a big improvement in performance.

The F1 was a success and like earlier Mirages it saw combat in the Middle East, South America, India, Pakistan, North Africa, and South Africa.

The Mirage F1 is armed with 2 x 30mm cannon, and up 5 pylons for drop tanks, bombs, and missiles including the Sidewinders or Magic R550s and Super F530Fs.

This example is a Mirage F1AZ of the South African Air Force 1980.
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artlovr59's avatar
Nicely done. I remember both colour schemes, and the later "air superiority grey". My wife is doing an M.A. on the fighting in Angola 1987/88 and it is now clear that the lack of proper air-to-air missiles due to sanctions gave the Cuban/Angolan MiG-23 an edge. Even so, they lost more than we did, but we couldn't shred them like the Israelis had.
I have seen a photo of a Sidewinder on a Mirage. Apparently some were brought in via Israel. Lots of shenanigans involved in sanctions-busting.