Say good-bye this week to two loyal servants of France’s Air Force that are making their swan songs as opening acts of the daily Dassault military flying parade.
The Sepecat Jaguar, originally a joint program by Breguet and the British Aircraft Corp., has spent three decades as a tactical fighter, at one time armed with AN52 nuclear weapons. The 200 delivered to the Armée de l’Air in the 1970s have been reduced to a handful with Escadron de Chasse 1/7 “Provence” at Saint-Dizier, the unit that will convert to the Rafales next month.
Even more venerable, the Dassault Mirage IV was the aircraft that gave France its strategic nuclear deterrent in 1964. Relieved of its AN22 bombs with the advent of the Mirage 2000 and ASMP, it continued to fly in the reconnaissance role and has only now reached the end of a remarkable 41-year career with final squadron Escadron de Reconnaissance Strategique 1/91 “Gascogne” at Mont-de-Marsan. A flamboyantly decorated aircraft, No. 59 of the 62 delivered, is flying here but will be withdrawn this month to bring down the curtain on a chapter of French aviation history. — Paul Jackson
