Mystere IVA

This page is about the French jet fighter Mystere IVA. For other versions, see Mystere (Family).

Mystere IVA

M.D.452 IIC

Super Mystere B2

Mystere IVA

M.D.452 IIC

Super Mystere B2

France

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.0	8.7	8.7

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:160 000

Purchase:450 000

Show in game

Description

The Mystere IVA was a major milestone for France in their process to upgrade their Air Force to a global power status. The Mystere IV was the first aircraft capable of transonic speeds in service with the French Air Force. Based upon the lessons learned from the Mystere II, it had very important upgrades in avionics and aerodynamics, helping the aircraft reach the desired speeds. The first 50 Mystere IVA production aircraft were powered by British Rolls-Royce Tay turbojets, while the remainder had the French-built Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350 version of that engine. In total, France operated 6 squadrons of Mystere IVs, most of which were purchased under a United States Offshore Procurement contract.

It was introduced in Update "Red Skies". The M.D.454 Mystere IVA follows a similar principle to delta wing fighters in War Thunder, it has a good top speed and relatively good engine, as well as good agility for dogfights, good high speed handling and excellent AOA (angle of attack) but it also means that it loses speed very quickly in sharp turns and other manoeuvres of the kind. Is armed with a pair of 2 x DEFA 30mm cannons, that have easy to learn ballistics and good damage output, but lack the fire rate of other cannons such as the Colt 20mm cannons or 12.7mm Browning HMGs found in many American fighters. The aircraft should avoid prolonged fights at all costs, using its good agility at high speeds to quickly point your gun at the enemy, and then maintain a steady course to regain the lost speed.

General info

Flight performance

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 0 m1 109 km/h

Turn time25 s

Max altitude13 000 m

EngineHispano-Suiza Verdon-350

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight10 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	1,073	1,039	13000	26.1	27.2	27.2	27.2	800
Upgraded	1,124	1,109		24.2	25.0	48.1	37.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1,166	447	620	586	408	~12	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 590	< 610	< 635	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Hispano-Suiza Verdon-350		1	6,028 kg		250 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		9m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	33m fuel
950 kg	Centrifugal-flow turbojet		6,615 kg	7,204 kg	7,791 kg	7,986 kg	9,600 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%)
Condition	100%	WEP	9m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	33m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	3,300 kgf	N/A	0.50	0.46	0.42	0.41	0.34
Optimal	3,300 kgf (0 km/h)	N/A	0.50	0.46	0.42	0.41	0.34

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear447 km/h

Armour plates

• 16 mm steel - in front of cockpit
• 16 mm steel - behind pilot
• 40 mm bulletproof glass - armoured windscreen

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 265 → 4 437

RB9 404 → 12 780

SB10 712 → 14 557

Total cost of modifications140 700

225 000

Talisman cost2 400

Crew training130 000

Experts450 000

Aces2 200

Research Aces890 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

130 / 380 / 600 %

214 / 214 / 214 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 000 250 Compressor Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 000 250 Airframe Research: 8 000 Cost: 13 000 350 New boosters Research: 8 000 Cost: 13 000 350 Wings repair Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 G-suit Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 Cover Research: 15 000 Cost: 24 000 660 Engine Research: 15 000 Cost: 24 000 660		aden_belt_pack Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 000 250 ALCAN 502 500 Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 000 250 Matra Type 61 Research: 5 700 Cost: 9 000 250 Type 21B Research: 8 000 Cost: 13 000 350 Matra Type 116 Research: 8 000 Cost: 13 000 350 aden_new_gun Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 ALCAN 502 1000 Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 Nord AA.20 Research: 15 000 Cost: 24 000 660

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Mystere IVA is armed with:

• 2 x 30 mm DEFA 552 cannons, chin-mounted (150 rpg = 300 total)

The guns, while deadly if they hit, have slow velocity, so it is important to get close to targets to ensure a hit. The armour-piercing shells are also very effective for taking out pillboxes, so while grinding out modifications keep in mind that extra points can be easily gained by shooting down a few light pillboxes. They can also penetrate the roof of most MBT's, so it is possible to destroy high level tanks in mixed battles when attacking from directly above purely with the guns.

Suspended armament

The Mystere IVA can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

	1	2	3
400 kg SAMP Type 21 bombs	1		1
500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs	1		1
1,000 lb AN-M65A1 Fin M129 bombs	1		1
SNEB type 23 rockets	19	55	19
T10 151 rockets	6		6
AA-20 Nord missiles	1		1
Maximum permissible loadout weight: 1,100 kg Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 450 kg

Default weapon presets
Without load 2 x AA-20 Nord missiles 12 x T10 151 rockets 38 x SNEB type 23 rockets 55 x SNEB type 23 rockets 2 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (1,000 lb total) 2 x 400 kg SAMP Type 21 bombs (800 kg total) 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 Fin M129 bombs (2,000 lb total)

The Mystere has access to incredibly powerful rocket armaments. The heavy duty T10 151 rockets perform similarly to US HVARs, being rather slow, but deadly upon direct hit. They are very effective when attacking heavy tanks, as well as pillboxes, displaying 390 mm of penetration at a 30 degree angle. The other option is the high velocity SNEB type 23, which is effective for attacking medium tanks and MBT's, as well as light pillboxes. There is an option to have the SNEBs be mounted inside the fuselage, which will cause them to be launched 5 at a time just under the nose of the plane, for increased accuracy.

The AA-20 Nord air-to-air missiles are manually guided and not very agile, so they are best used against slow moving targets with a steady heading like Tu-4s. They are also very effective in head-on engagements with practice from the user.

Usage in battles

In air realistic battles, the Mystere is a very deadly aircraft in the hands of a good pilot.

Due to its very bad energy retention in manoeuvres, it is best used in more of a "boom and zoom" role, where it dives on unsuspecting enemies and delivers a quick death with the lethal 30 mm cannons. If forced to engage another aircraft that the Mystere is unable to escape, it performs best enacting a reversal, as the very good roll rate and poor energy retention will make it easy to make other aircraft overshoot. This is especially effective against MiG-15s and 17s, who will easily win a sustained turn-fight, but will have a hard time getting guns on target. Against more agile American aircraft, it is recommended to lure the plane as close as possible due to the poor speed. The majority of aircraft will easily be able to extend away after overshooting, so it is vital to equalize your energy states as much as possible, and be as close as possible for a firing solution once the enemy overshoots.

Radars

The M.D.454 IVa is equipped with an AN/APG-30 rangefinding radar located in the centre of the air intake in the nose of the aircraft. It will automatically detect other planes within the scanning area and display the range to the closest target. It is linked with a gyro gunsight and can help with aiming at close range in cockpit view.

AN/APG-30 - Rangefinding radar
Maximum Tracking Range	Minimum Tracking Range	Azimuth Tracking Angle	Elevation Tracking Angle
2,750 m	300 m	±9°	±9°

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 30 mm DEFA 552 cannons are fast firing
• Able to execute very high G and angle-of-attack manoeuvres
• Excellent roll rate
• Good flaps
• Superb ground attack capabilities

Cons:

• Mediocre energy retention and sustained turn
• Bad acceleration
• Compresses at high speeds
• Slow muzzle velocity for the 30 mm DEFA 552 cannons

History

The Dassault MD.454 Mystère IV was developed in the 1950s, as France's first transonic fighter in service. The aircraft had a very similar appearence to other Dassualt designs of the time, like the Ouragan, Mystere II and the Mystere III, however the Mystere IV was a newer design, much more improved over its predecessors, that solidified France as a major weapons manufacturer in the global market.

Development

The aircraft itself was based upon the Mystere II rather that in the Mystere III, however the similarities ended with the airframe and the fuselage. The new aircraft was designed to reach high speeds capable of matching the Soviet Mig-15/17s and American F-86s Sabres that started to become more and more frequent. This included improvements to the aircrafts aerodynamic design, with a more aggressive swept wing design and redesigned nose, as well as improvements to the avionics, navigation equipment and the introduction of a more powerful Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350 turbojet engine, although the first 50 units of the Mystere IVA used British Rolls-Royce Tay turbojets instead.

Service History

France: It operated at its peak, 6 squadrons of this fighter, most of the fighters were acquired by the US under an Offshore Procurement contract, when said contract ended, most of the fighters were retired to the United States, however in 1953 the US procured another contract, for France to operate a total of 227 Mystere IVs. The aircraft participated in the Suez Crisis of 1956 with the French Air Force.

Israel: Originally intending to acquire Mystere IIs, Israel changed its order to 24 Mystère IVs in 1955, which were delivered from April to June 1956, equipping 101 Squadron. A further 36 were delivered in August 1956, with a final aircraft, equipped for reconnaissance duties, delivered in September 1956. The aircraft participated in the Suez Crisis with the IDF for both air and ground attack duties, the Mysteres managed to score several kills against enemy Mig-15s, Mig-17s, Vampires with only a single aircraft lost, due to AA fire. It also participated in the Six Days War of 1967, when it was being considered retiring it in favour of the A-4 Skyhawk, in this war it was relegated to only ground attack missions due to its old age. It claimed 3 kills at the cost of 7 Mystere IVAs lost, 5 to AA fire and 2 due to enemy fighters.

India: India procured a large number of Mystere IVs during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and some were also used in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The Mystere IVs from India were vastly outmatched, facing much more modern F-104 Starfighters, thus most of their actions were in raids against enemy airbases, destroying several F-104s, F-86s and cargo aircrafts in the ground, and doing close air support missions. While it was being retired after the end of the war, some were still in service in 1971, participating but just in a minor role, at the end all fighters were retired in 1973.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Mystere IVA from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Dassault Aviation
WW2*
Fighters	M.B.152C1 · M.B.157
Bombers	M.B.162 · M.B.174A-3 · M.B.175T
Jet Aircraft
M.D 450	M.D.450B Barougan · M.D.450B Ouragan
Mystère	M.D.452 IIA · M.D.452 IIC · Mystere IVA
Super Mystère	Super Mystere B2
Étendard	Etendard IVM
Super Étendard	Super Etendard
Alpha Jet	Alpha Jet E**
Mirage
Mirage III	Mirage IIIC · Mirage IIIE · Milan
Mirage V	Mirage 5F
Mirage F1	Mirage F1C · Mirage F1C-200 · Mirage F1CT
Mirage 2000	Mirage 2000-5F · Mirage 2000C-S4 · Mirage 2000C-S5 · Mirage 2000D-R1 · Mirage 2000D-RMV
Mirage 4000	Mirage 4000
Export
M.D 450	M.D.450B Ouragan
Mystere	Mystere IVA
Super Mystère	Sambad · Sa'ar***
Mirage	Shahak · ▄Mirage 5BA · ␗Mirage 2000-5Ei
	*The company was named "Société des Avions Marcel Bloch" before being renamed in 1947
	**Jointly manufactured with Dornier Flugzeugwerke
	***Israeli Super Mystère refitted with new avionics and an American engine
See also	SABCA