"Mystère IV" T-shirt

On 2 August 1951, Dassault received a contract for the development and production of an MD 452 Mystère IV capable of reaching Mach 1 in a dive, although no serial production was initially planned.

The first flight of the Mystère IV 01, piloted by Constantin Rozanoff, took place at Melun-Villaroche on 28 September 1952. With the same engine as the Mystère II, it reached a maximum level-flight speed of Mach 0.92 (instead of 0.87) and, on 17 January 1953, during its 34th flight, it broke the sound barrier in a dive. The qualities of the new aircraft led the authorities to place an order, as early as October 1952, for 22 pre-series aircraft.

In December 1952, a U.S. Air Force delegation led by General Richard Boyd and Charles “Chuck” Yeager came to test French fighter aircraft to select the one that would receive American funding under NATO programs. On 7 December, they expressed strong satisfaction with the Mystère IV 01. On 25 April, only six months after the aircraft’s first flight, the French Air Secretariat ordered 225 units and their spare parts, with deliveries scheduled to begin in June 1954. These aircraft were provided to the French Air Force under the U.S. Off-Shore Procurement Program.

A total of 411 aircraft were built and delivered, for the French Air Force and for export, between 1954 and 1958. Of these, 114 were equipped with the Rolls-Royce Tay engine; all others (notably export models) used the Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350, a more powerful version of the Tay. The last of the 242 French Mystère IV A was delivered to the French Air Force on 27 November 1958. It ended its career with the 8th Fighter Wing at Cazaux, where it contributed to advanced training for future fighter pilots.

The Patrouille de France operated the type from 1957 to 1963. In 1957, at the Paris Air Show (Le Bourget), the team—flying Mystère IVs—became the first in the world to use blue, white, and red smoke trails.

Like the Ouragan, the Mystère IV A attracted foreign customers. India acquired 110 aircraft. On 28 December 1955, Israel ordered 59. All would see combat: the 1956 and 1967 wars for Israel, and the 1965 and 1971 wars for India against Pakistan.

The Mystère IV enjoyed an excellent reputation. Robust, reliable, a good weapons platform, agile, and capable of excellent performance, it was—upon entering service—at least the equal of the best foreign fighters, such as the American Sabre and the British Hunter. In combat, it clearly outperformed the MiG-15, its main adversary during the Arab-Israeli conflicts. Gradually reassigned to ground-attack missions as more modern fighters appeared, both allied and adversary, it performed extremely well in that role.