Dassault Ouragan was an aircraft designed during World War II. Although the French, as citizens of an occupied country, were not able to contribute significantly to the great strides made in aircraft design made during World War II, after the war Marcel Dassault saw no reason why the French could not jump back into the race. In 1947, he outlined ideas for a jet fighter. The french government response for his fighter was positive but did not result in a development contract, and so Dassault decided to proceed on his own. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945 after the Allied atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945 after the Allied atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ... Marcel Dassault, born Marcel Bloch, (Paris, 22 January 1892 - Neuilly-sur-Seine, 17 April 1986) was a French aircraft industrialist. ... Formerly named Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch or MB, the Dassault Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional and business jets. ...

Detailed design work on the new aircraft, which was given the designation "MD (Marcel Dassault) 450", began in December 1947, with construction beginning in April 1948. A French government contract for three prototypes followed in June, and the initial MD 450 "Ouragan (Hurricane)" fighter flew at the end of February 1949. The prototype lacked pressurization and armament. 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

The Ouragan was inspired by American designs, and had a general configuration like that of the Republic F-84 Thunderjet: essentially a "stovepipe" with intake in the nose, low-set straight wing, bubble canopy, and tricycle landing gear; all gear had single wheels, with the nosewheel retracting forward and the main gear hinging in the wings in towards the fuselage. The Ouragan was smaller than the Thunderjet, however, weighing about a tonne less, and used a thin wing much like that of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, as well as a swept-back tailplane. The prototype Ouragan was powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene 102 centrifugal-flow turbojet, license-built by Hispano-Suiza, with about 22.27 kN (2,270 kgp / 5,000 lbf) thrust.

After delivery of the third prototype, the French government followed up with a order for 15 pre-production prototypes, which would eventually be used to evaluate different engines fits, as well as various weapons fits, such as rocket packs; reconnaissance payloads; and night-fighting radar (more on this last item later). Only 12 of the pre-production machines were actually built, however.

Well before delivery of the pre-production machines, the French government had placed an order with Dassault in late August 1950 for 150 full production Ouragans. This was a bit disappointing for Dassault, since the government had been considering the purchase of 850 fighters, but it was still a large order and nothing to complain about. In fact, the government would order 200 more Ouragans, and the firm would be strained to build them fast enough.

Specifications (MD 450 Ouragan)

wingspan 13.16 m (43 ft 2 in)

wing area 23.4 m² (252 ft²)

length 10.73 m (35 ft 2 in)

height 4.14 m (13 ft 7 in)

empty weight 4,140 kg (9,130 lb)

max loaded weight 6,800 kg (15,000 lb)

maximum speed 940 km/h (585 mph, 510 knots)

service ceiling 14,900 m (49,000 ft)

range 965 km (660 statute miles, 575 nautical miles)

The first operational Ouragans were delivered in 1952, replacing the De Havilland Vampire in French service. The first 50 Ouragans were built as "MD 450As" with the Nene 102 engine; the rest were "MD 450Bs", fitted with a Hispano-Suiza-built Nene 104B engine, which was lighter than the Nene 102 and had slightly greater thrust. Wingtip fuel tanks were fitted as standard in both cases. The Ouragan was armed with four Hispano Mark V 20-millimeter cannon beneath the air intake, and could carry up to a tonne (2,200 pounds) of stores under the wings. Typical stores included two 450 kilogram (1,000 lb) bombs; 16 105 mm (4 in) Matra T-10 rockets; or 8 rockets and two 460 liter (121 US gal) napalm bombs. 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Royal Canadian Air Force deHavilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire, or DH.100, was the second jet engined aircraft commissioned by the Royal Air Force during WW II, although it never saw combat. ...

Armee de l'Air (AdA) pilots found the Ouragan very pleasant to fly and a very stable gun and rocket firing platform, though it did have a tendency to snap into a spin in tight turns because it had a somewhat stubby fuselage. Top speed was about 930 km/h (580 mph) at low level. The Ouragan was the demonstration aircraft for the "Patrouille de France" aerobatic team for two years.

Several production Ouragans were modified for rough field operation, with the single-wheel main gear modified to a two-wheel configuration fitted with low pressure tires, retracting into a fairing added under the wing roots. These aircraft were also fitted with brake parachutes. This configuration was intended for operations in the war in Algeria, and aircraft so fitted were nicknamed "Barougans", from the Arab term "baroud", or "battle". However, nothing came of the project, and some of the test machines were reconverted back to standard Ouragan configuration.

The Ouragan did not have a long first-line service life with the AdA, being phased out in favor of the much-improved Dassault Mystere IVA (more later) beginning in the spring of 1955. Ouragans would persist in French service into the early 1960s as advanced trainers.

They would fly much longer in foreign service. In 1953, India ordered 71 Ouragans with the slightly uprated Nene 105 engine, with most of the order delivered that year. Additional orders from India brought the total to 104, though only the first 71 were new-build aircraft, with the remainder passed on from AdA service.

It was in use by the Indian Air Force. The Indians named the aircraft the "Toofani", the Hindi word for "Hurricane". As with the AdA, the Ouragan was quickly phased out of first-line service by the Dassault Mystere IVA, beginning in 1958, but the older aircraft would continue to be used as advanced trainers. The Indian Air Force apparently used the Ouragan in domestic counter-insurgency operations, but records are sketchy. The Indian Air Force (भारतिय वायु सेना : Bharatiya Vayu Sena) is part of the Military of India. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken in most states in northern and central India. ... This article is about weather phenomena. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) was an enthusiastic Ouragan user. In 1955, the Egyptian government signed an agreement with Czechoslovakia to buy advanced Russian arms, such as the MiG-15 fighter. The only jet fighter the IAF possessed was the Gloster Meteor, which was no match for the MiG-15, and the Israelis quickly moved to upgrade their force. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) (Hebrew: חיל האוויר Heyl haAvir) is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Israelis ordered 24 Dassault Mystere IICs (discussed below) and 24 Canadair Sabre Mark 6 fighters, but the Mystere IIC was found to suffer from structural problems, and the Canadians decided not to supply the Sabres since they might inflame Middle Eastern instability. The Israelis opted to buy the better Mystere IVA, but since it was not in production at the time, they ordered the Ouragan as a stopgap.

The IAF bought an estimated 75 Ouragans, with at least 12 of these being new-build aircraft, and the rest passed on from AdA service. First deliveries were in 1955, just in time for OPERATION MUSKETEER -- the 1956 Anglo-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt to seize the Suez Canal. The Israeli Ouragans were assigned to close support operations, since they could not match the performance of Egyptian MiG-15s. The Ouragan proved excellent in this role, being reliable and tough. Despite the fact that it wasn't assigned air combat missions, Egyptian pilots were poorly trained and Israeli pilots, flying Ouragans sometimes sporting lurid sharkmouth markings, took on Egyptian pilots with success. A senior IAF official later said: "The Ouragan was a much better aeroplane than had been thought." 1881 drawing of the Suez Canal The Suez Canal (Arabic, Qanā al-Suways), west of the Sinai Peninsula, is a 163-km maritime canal in Egypt between Port Said (Būr Saīd) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea. ...

Ouragans would be relegated to advanced training as better aircraft became predominant in Israeli service, but the type would see more combat in the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1975, the Israelis sold 18 of their Ouragans to El Salvador, where they remained in service until the late 1980s. 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Six-Day War Hebrew: Milhemet Sheshet Hayamim (מלחמת ששת הימים), also known as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Six Days War, or June War, was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ...

Reference

The initial version of this article was based on a public domain article from Greg Goebel's Vectorsite. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...