Mirage IIIRD night recon flash dispenser?

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In Histoire et Collections's "LES MATERIELS DE L'ARMEE DE L'AIR" volume 8 on the Mirage IIIR, page 55 has an image of a flare dispenser module used for taking pictures at night.
The flare cartridges were 74 mm and arranged in clusters of 8. Ten of these clusters were installed in the forward bay where the gun pack or extra fuel normally fitted.
The same photo also appears in volume 9 on page 43.

Does anybody know if this was just a prototype or if it actually went into service. I haven't come across this anywhere else and Google isn't helping. It would definitely make a cool
drop-in resin upgrade for a model.
 
In Mirage III - les monoréacteurs Dassault à aile delta - Tome 3 by Bernard Chenel / Eric Moreau / Michel Liébert, DTU 2008, p.84, AdlA Général Vincent Lanata says two night photo campaigns(?) were conducted with the flare dispenser modules in place. A low-altitude mission could only be carried out over a military firing range because of fire risk on the ground.
On p.23 the module is named as ALKAN 80-74
- 10 clusters
- 8 74mm flash cartridges per cluster
1000010336.jpg
 
Translation:

As an anecdote, the Mirage IIIR was equipped to take night shots. We actually only did one or two night photo campaigns. It was necessary to start by replacing the front fuel hold (or the gun hold in the alternative case) with a box containing illuminating cartridges, in a word "flashes"!
Then the cameras were equipped with special films and their triggering was done at the rhythm of the explosions of the cartridges. Finally, the mission carried out at low altitude could only be carried out on a firing range due to the risk of fires on the ground and other light pollution.
In context, to give an idea of the power of the illumination, flying at 30,000 feet over Lyon in good weather, we could see the flashes of the allies who were firing on a firing range located in the north of the Netherlands!

Général Vincent Lanata


Apart from the classic firing its two cannons, the Mirage IIIR had an illuminating cartridge launcher for night photography and its use was very similar to real shooting. Placed under the fuselage, this cartridge launcher contained about twenty cartridges which could be considered small bombs, given the explosive charges they contained.
The development of this equipment was quite difficult to perfect, because the cartridges, synchronized with the cameras triggering, could only explode and therefore illuminate after having moved far enough away from the carrier aircraft.
I admit, having practiced this several times and probably being the first to have experienced it in Strasbourg, that I did not feel very comfortable in these missions. The night photos thanks to these cartridges were nevertheless very usable.

Général Philippe Vougny
 
Thanks a lot Arjen. Yes, that's the one. At least I now know that it was actually used. So many ideas don't get very far.
It looks like I'll have to add another out-of-print book to my wishlist!
 

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