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This subject has come up before but I recently acquired a book about the later Mirage variants in which it was said that the Mirage III V vstol tactical fighter was supposed to carry a nuclear store on a centre pylon (surrounded by hot lift jets!).
This prompted me to look for more info on the eventual French tactical nuclear weapon which the aircraft would have used if it had entered service in the late 60s as once planned.
A model of the weapon on this site http://www.belcherbits.com/lines/148conv/bb30.htm# shows how ungainly the bomb was. In fact it made me wonder how much it imposed limitations on the Jaguar and Mirage IIIE aircraft that actually carried it from the 70s. Compared with the contemporary British and US weapons it looks crude and clumsy. I think Aeronavale Etendards also carried it.
This prompted me to look for more info on the eventual French tactical nuclear weapon which the aircraft would have used if it had entered service in the late 60s as once planned.
A model of the weapon on this site http://www.belcherbits.com/lines/148conv/bb30.htm# shows how ungainly the bomb was. In fact it made me wonder how much it imposed limitations on the Jaguar and Mirage IIIE aircraft that actually carried it from the 70s. Compared with the contemporary British and US weapons it looks crude and clumsy. I think Aeronavale Etendards also carried it.
