FR7002 Dassault MD 450 Ouragan

History:
The Ouragan was the first in a long series of Dassault jet fighters including the Mystère, Super Mystère, Entendard IV, Super Entendard, Mirages III/V, F1 & 2000, and Rafale. All achieved notable success in French and export service. The MD 450 design was influenced by the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and Republic F-84 Thunderjet, as well as various other American and German projects. The MD 450’s shape was defined by December 1947: circular fuselage, arrow-shaped wing and high tailplane. Construction of a single prototype began as a private venture, but the French government soon awarded Dassault a contract on June 29, 1948 to build three prototypes.

Constantin Rozanoff was the pilot for the prototype’s maiden flight at Melun-Villaroche on February 28, 1949. Successful testing led to an order for twelve pre-production aircraft, followed by an initial production order for 150 Ouragans on August 31, 1950. Total production was 350 with 185 aircraft financed by the USA.

France: From November 1951, the Ouragan gradually replaced the Vampire and Meteor in the 2 ème (Dijon), 4 ème (Bremgarten) and 12 ème (Cambrai) Escadres de Chasse. It also equipped the Patrouille de France between 1954 and 1956, as well as the École de Chasse and the École de l'Air. The Ouragan's service with the Armée de l'Air was relatively brief in what was a period of rapid technical advancement. And so, it was gradually replaced in front line service by Mystère IIs and Mystère IVs from May 1955.

India ordered 71 Ouragans on June 25, 1953, with delivery made between October 1953 and mid-1954. These aircraft differed slightly from the French ones: the 20 mm guns were Hispano-Suiza, but built under license as the Mk.5, and the engine was a Nene 105 A rated at 5,180 lbs of thrust. India renamed the Ouragan (Hurricane) to Toofani (Typhoon, as hurricanes are called in Southern Asia).

The first Indian pilots trained on the MD 450O flew the first four Indian Toofanis, IC553 to IC556 from Mont-de-Marsan to New Delhi (Palam) between October 18 and 24, 1953. The remaining Indian aircraft were delivered in November by aircraft carrier. 3 Sqn (Cobra), 4 Sqn (Urial) and 8 Sqn (Pursoot) were the first to be equipped with the aircraft, followed by 29 Sqn (Scorpions) and 47 Sqn (Black Archers).

In 1957, India acquired a further 33 aircraft from French stocks. These aircraft were used in operations against rebels in Nagaland and Mizoram (1960, 1967), in the conflict with Portugal (Goa, December 1961), in the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962, and in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. The last Toofani were withdrawn from combat units in March 1968 and transferred to training units.

Israel had placed an order for Mystère IICs, but difficulties with this aircraft’s development led the IAF Chief of Staff, Maj Gen Dan Tolkovsky, to recommend the purchase of 24 Ouragans. Half were delivered in October 1955 and the remainder in November. The Ouragans proved to be superior to the IAF’s Gloster Meteors for ground attack, so the IAF used them in this role rather than as air superiority fighters. However, a 113 Sqn Ouragan downed an Egyptian Vampire over the Negev desert on April 12, 1956, in an escalation that led to the 1956 war. Meanwhile, Israel ordered six more Ouragans for allocation to 113 Sqn.

Operation Kadesh, also known as Operation Musketeer, saw Ouragans strike Egyptian troops in Sinai during late October/early November 1956. In 1957, a number of Ouragans were used for pilot training. which lead to a higher attrition rate. Israel compensated for this by obtaining 40 more Ouragans taken from Armée de l'Air stocks which were delivered between 1962 and 1965. The arrival of these aircraft enabled a second unit, 107 Squadron, to be activated in October 1965.

Ouragans flew ground attack missions against the Egyptian airfields of Bir Gafgafa, Bir Tamada, El Arish in the Sinai and Fayid, near the Suez Canal, during the Six-Day War. The attacks were particularly effective, destroying the Egyptian air force on the ground, with a Ouragan even shooting down a MiG-21 as it took off from Bir Gafgafa. The conflict then shifted to Jordan and Syria, where Ouragans also participated. Several aircraft returned to base in very poor condition due to by anti-aircraft fire, demonstrating the strength of the aircraft, although ten were lost. 107 Sqn stopped using Ouragans in July 1967 following these losses.

Ouragans were also used during the War of Attrition (July 1967 - August 1970) for attacks in the Canal Zone. They were withdrawn from service on March 8, 1973, after an air parade over the Hatzor base.

El Salvador: the “Football War” saw Honduras and El Salvador clash between July 14 and 18, 1969. Following the conflict, the two countries strengthened their militaries, with Honduras acquiring F-86 Sabres and then SMB2s, and El Salvador purchasing 18 Ouragans from France and Israel between 1973 and 1975. The latter aircraft were modified by Israel Aircraft Industries to use Rafael Shafrir 2 missiles. Salvadoran Ouragans would not face an external enemy, but were used against Farabundo Marti Front guerrillas during the civil war of 1980 to 1992. The guerrillas scored a major success on January 27, 1982, when a raid by around a hundred of them destroyed five Ouragans at the Itopango base, as well as some helicopters. The Chapultepec Agreements ended the civil war in January 1992 and the Ouragans were withdrawn from service, with one remaining at the Itopango base.

Specifications: Single-seat clear weather air superiority and ground attack fighter. Engine: Rolls Royce Nene 104B single-flow turbojet, thrust 2,350 Kgp (5,180 lbs). Wingspan 13.16 m, length 10.74 m, wing area 23.70 m2. Ceiling 15,000 m, maximum speed 940 Km/h. Armament: 4 Hispano-Suiza 20 mm cannons, 908 kg external load (bombs, rockets, additional tanks).