In the 1950s, the French Air Force and aviation industry were looking for new solutions
to improve the combat capabilities and combat stability of tactical aviation
The most interesting and promising development was considered to be the creation of short or vertical take-off and landing aircraft
The Dassault Balzac V experimental aircraft was the first example
Such a plane could handle all sorts of missions and didn't need a long runway
The concept of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft was developed by the Dassault Group
On the Mirage III, the experts used the main engine SNECMA with a thrust of 88 kN and Rolls-Royce lifting engines of 24 kN each
However, the test engine did not produce the expected results and Dassault had to adjust its plans
The Mirage III's Snecma Atar G.2 propulsion engine was replaced with a non-afterburning Bristol Siddeley Orpheus, with a thrust of 21.57 kN
The lift engines were grouped in tandem pairs around the aircraft's center of gravity on either side of the propulsion engine's intake duct
with each pair in a row separated by the main undercarriage wheelbays
To save costs, the new vertical take-off aircraft was built on the prototype of the Mirage III-001
Later, the experimental project was named the Mirage Balzac V
According to the concept of the project, the Mirage Balzac V was a tailless low-mounted wing aircraft
similar in appearance to other aircraft in the Mirage fighter family
To install the lift engine, the fuselage had to be rearranged to increase the area of the central part of the fuselage
The air intakes were located above the fuselage, covered with movable flaps
To control in level flight, they retained the standard cable and rigid wiring from the Mirage-3
Balzac V had a length of 13.1 m (43 ft 0 in), wingspan of 7.3 m (23 ft 11 in), height of 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
It had an empty weight of 6.1 tons, and a maximum take-off weight of 7 tons
By design, the Balzac V could reach a maximum speed of Mach 2.
In the tests, it only reached 1,100 km/h
To perform take-off, the pilot had to start the main engine, after which the lifting engines were started using compressed air
By increasing the thrust of the lifting unit, the aircraft had to rise to a height of at least 30 m, and then horizontal acceleration was allowed
At a speed of 300 km/h it was possible to retract the chassis and turn off the lifting motors
Project Mirage Balzac V was ready by the end of 1961
In January 1962, a prototype began being assembled at the Dassault plant
The aircraft was ready in May and the first ground tests were conducted in July
On October 12, 1962, the first takeoff took place at Milan-Villaros airport
The flights resumed only in March 1963, with flight tests of horizontal take-offs and landings
On March 18, a vertical takeoff was performed for the first time
followed by a transition to horizontal flight and landing like a normal airplane
On January 10, 1964, in a test, the plane capsized and crashed, killing the pilot
Undeterred, they decided to restore the damaged plane, which took about a year
On February 2, 1965, test flights resumed
Over the following months, another 65 flights were made with vertical and horizontal takeoff and landing methods
On October 8, 1965, another test flight took place, with US pilot Philip Neal
While taking off vertically at an altitude of approximately 50 m, the plane suddenly lost control and began to fall
The pilot tried to escape, but the parachute was not high enough to deploy, he was killed and the plane was severely damaged
Despite the crashes, two pilots killed and the prototype damaged, the Mirage Balzac V project was still recognized as a success
However, the Balzac V was not developed further, but contributed to the experience of the French fighter industry