Dassault MD.452
Mystere IV
Although bearing a distinct resemblance to the earlier Mark II, the
Mystere IV was, in fact, a
completely new aircraft, designed with supersonic flight in
mind. The first prototype (probably
the
machine seen above) took to the air on 28 September 1952 and deliveries
commenced to
the
Armee de l'Air in April of 1953. The first 50 production
aircraft were powered by Rolls-
Royce
Tay engines, although the remainder of the 480 built had the French
licence-built Hispano
-Suiza
Verdon 350 version of the same engine. The Indian Air
Force had over 100 of the
Mark IV Mysteres, while they were used in considerable numbers by the
Israeli Defense Air
Force in
the 1956 Suez crisis.