Belgian Wings
Belgian Air Force, past and present.
The Aeronautical Reference Site - De Luchtvaart Referentie Site - Le site référence de l'Aéronautique
Dassault Mirage 5BR
Single-engine single seat reconnaissance aircraft
In order to replace the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak and the RF-84F Thunderflash, the Belgian Government decided on 16 February 1968 to acquire 88 Mirages (54BA, 22BR and 12 BD) with an option for 18 more aircraft the sub-type of which was to be decided later. On 25 August 1968, after a lot of political discussions and a failed possible cooperation with The Netherlands a final order was placed with Dassault for 106 aircraft (63 BA, 16BD end 27 BR). The Mirage 5BA was optimized for ground attacks and was in fact a version of the Mirage IIIC as used by the French Armée de l'Air but equipped with less sophisticated avionics. After an extended series of studies, the Mirage was preferred over the a.o. the Northrop F-5A, LTV A-7A Corsair, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, A6A Intruder, new versions of the Starfighter F-104H and F-104S and the Swedish Draken. The Mirage 5BR was specifically developped for the aerial reconnaissance and for that purpose received a speial nose which could incorporate different types of cameras. N° 42 Squadron was the dedicated reconnaissance unit within the Belgian Air Force and as such the main users of the 27 BR versions. Four aircraft (BR-13, BR-25, BR-26 and BR-27) were completely overhauled and sold to the Chilean Air Force as 721, 722, 723 and 724 respectively.
BR-01
History
C/N
301
Date In
May 1971
Date Out
Aug 1973
MR-01 (?), BR-01, Crashed at Lessen on 2 Aug 1973 due to engine fire.
BR-02
History
C/N
302
Date In
Jun 1971
Date Out
Jun 1972
BR-02, crashed at Bislich (D.) on 02 Jun 1972 after near miss with Luftwaffe RF-4E Phantom II followed by loss of control.
BR-03
History
C/N
303
Date In
Jun 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-03, stored Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.), used as instructional object at l'eco domaine de L'Etrillet at Bruz (F.)
BR-04
History
C/N
304
Date In
Aug 1971
Date Out
Jun 1994
BR-04, "42 Squadron 30 Years" special paint, stored at Weelde, "Lallemant Memorial" Museum Florennes.
BR-05
History
C/N
305
Date In
Aug 1971
Date Out
Apr 1974
BR-05, Crashed at Bois de la Fayette/Florennes on 1 Apr 1974.
BR-06
History
C/N
306
Date In
Sep 1971
Date Out
Jun 1973
BR-06, 15 Jun 1973 Crashed at Borkenberge/Haltern (D.) after mid-air collision with glider D-0717
BR-07
History
C/N
307
Date In
Sep 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-07, stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM, preserved Bordeaux (F.), preserved Valence (F.)
BR-08
History
C/N
308
Date In
Sep 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-08, stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.), on display at the D-Day Wings Museum, Caen Capriquet (F.) Aug 2023.
BR-09
History
C/N
309
Date In
Oct 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-09, stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.)
BR-10
History
C/N
310
Date In
Oct 1971
Date Out
Jun 1994
BR-10, stored at Weelde, on display at 1st Wing Museum Beauvechain
BR-11
History
C/N
311
Date In
Oct 1971
Date Out
Jun 1975
BR-11, crashed at Dattenhausen (D.) on 5 Jun 1975
BR-12
History
C/N
312
Date In
Oct 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR12, stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.)
BR-13
History
C/N
313
Date In
Nov 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-13, stored at Weelde, to Chili AF as 721, preserved at El Bosque (Ch.)
BR-14
History
C/N
314
Date In
Nov 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR14, stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.)
BR-15
History
C/N
315
Date In
Dec 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-15, "42 Squadron 70 Years Mephisto" special paint, stored Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.)
BR-16
History
C/N
316
Date In
Dec 1971
Date Out
Jul 1981
BR-16, in flight collision with 300 m high RTL transmitting tower at Dudelange (L.) on 31 Jul 1981.
BR-17
History
C/N
317
Date In
Dec 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-17, stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.)
BR-18
History
C/N
318
Date In
Dec 1971
Date Out
Aug 1984
BR-18, fatal crash at Revogne (Beauraing) on 20 Aug 1984
BR-19
History
C/N
319
Date In
Dec 1971
Date Out
Dec 1989
BR-19, fatal crash at Awirs on 20 Dec 1989 due to engine problems. Tail section preserved at Savigny-les Beaune (F.)
BR-20
History
C/N
320
Date In
Feb 1972
Date Out
Mar 1987
BR-20, crashed at Boninne on 6 Mar 1987 due to a flameout on approach.
BR-21
History
C/N
321
Date In
Jan 1972
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-21,stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.), preserved at Tournai
BR-22
History
C/N
322
Date In
Mar 1972
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-22, "42 Squadron 30 Years" special paint, stored at Weelde, sold te SAGEM (F.)
BR-23
History
C/N
323
Date In
Oct 1972
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-23, stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.), preserved on roundabout at Saint Brice Courcelles (Reims) (F.), as AdA 112-SR
BR-24
History
C/N
324
Date In
Oct 1972
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-24, stored at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.)
BR-25
History
C/N
325
Date In
Feb 1973
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-25, stored at Weelde, to Chili AF as 722, preserved at Chilean National air & Space Museum, Santiago (Ch.)
BR-26
History
C/N
326
Date In
Mar 1973
Date Out
Jan 1994
BR-26, "end of N° 42 Squadron" special paint, stored at Weelde, to Chili AF as 723, preserved as '712' at War Academy Antofagasta (?) see also BR-27
BR-27
History
C/N
327
Date In
Jun 1973
Date Out
Jan 1994
94 BR-27, stored at Weelde, to Chili AF as 724, preserved as '712' at War Academy Antofagasta (?) see also BR-26