Really, really dumb decisions

[Archibald]

Mirage III replacement for the AdA is not bad, too...

First atempt : Mirage IIIV (VTOL) with its 9 engines (!!!!). Well, that's doesn't work...
In paralel, lets go for the attack plane Mirage F-2. Well, we don't need an attack plane, so an interceptor variant would be great, the F-3.
Sadly, De Gaulle doesn't want TF-306 engine in french fighters.

At the same time, why not VG wings? We have the AFVG in cooperation with the british...nevertheless, we kill it by making the Mirage G... powered by a TF-306, which means cancellation (the Aeronavale wanted the plane to replace the Crusaders...  it was exellent, but was nevertheless cancelled ).

So a twin-jet similar to the AFVG is launched, the Mirage G-8. Too expensive, lets try a fixed wing version, the ACF. Too expensive, once again!
... Well the Mirage III is now replaced by a plane no one wanted at the begining (private venture!) the Mirage F-1.

Concerning the trainers, a  program in cooperation with GB has become an (unuseful, redundant, underpowered and expensive) attack plane, the Jaguar!
Well the Fouga Magister and T-33 are now replaced by Alpha Jet and Epsilon. The piston engined Epsilon has not enough power to replace the Magister, so the AdA ask SOCATA a turboprop variant (on its own funds!!!)  to buy Tucano in the 80's!
An improved Fouga Magister, the 90 was available in 1978 but rejected!!

Let's go back to the fighters...
the Mirage F-1 is a minor program... when the ACF is cancelled, the AdA still want its twin-engine fighter. But the president decide for a single-engine (M-53) new fighter... the Mirage F-1E is flying, but it is rejected in favor of a new aircraft, the Mirage 2000!
The Mirage 2000 finally scrap the F-1 in the late 80's... but the F-1 had still growth potential at the time (remember the Iraqis F-1s?)
Worst, the 2000 (and private venture 4000)  conflict with the future Typhoon, so France go out of the negociations.
Instead of chosing the 4000, a new fighter is launch, the Rafale!
And this plane conflict with the upgraded Mirage 2000, the 2000-5...

The aeronavale itself is not bad, which chose the Super Etendard pure attack plane instead of the multirole F-1M, leaving its rusty Crusader until 1999 (!!)

[MartG]

Two British classics from the early years - declaring tricycle undercarriage to be 'not good' ( and how many aircraft were subsequently lost due to ground handling problems with tailtraggers   )

Then the Ministry mandated that all new aircraft use an engine they had selected - an engine which had a major crankshaft torsional vibration problem ( can't remember the engine type, but it caused all sorts of problems in the early WW1 fighters ) and which hadn't actually been run at the time it was selected in the face of competition from established engine designs  

[nev]

Concerning the trainers, a program in cooperation with GB has become an (unuseful, redundant, underpowered and expensive) attack plane, the Jaguar!

It doesn't help that France never spent any money upgrading their Jags.  The RAF had continuously updated & upgraded theirs, resulting in a much more potent attack aircraft.  But you are right about it being underpowered.

[AirJim]

And howzabout that Mulroney, eh? He splurges on a load of A-300s to fly himself around in, and gets around to ordering spiffy new helicopters just as he was about to be booted out of office.

And then Chretien refuses to spend any money on the CAF except for two overpriced Challenger 604s for VIP birds that were paid for out of DND funds and purchased with some shady non-bid contract to help out Canadair.

And then there was the EH-101.  Buy it...pay big money to cancel it.  Then buy it again only this time as the Cormorant.  And then to just to save face by the S-92 when the CAF really just wanted the EH-101 again.

Arg...

Jim

[waynos]

Here's a goody that I don't think has been mentioned; make a fighter plane in the same class as the Hurricane and Spitfire, fit it with a big, heavy and draggy mid upper turret from a bomber and then to finish it off (literally) DON'T give the pilot any forward firing guns to use! That was a pearler, don't you think?

[jcf]

Here's a goody that I don't think has been mentioned; make a fighter plane in the same class as the Hurricane and Spitfire, fit it with a big, heavy and draggy mid upper turret from a bomber and then to finish it off (literally) DON'T give the pilot any forward firing guns to use! That was a pearler, don't you think?

Mmm..yes but then it was not intended to be a "fighter" plane in the context of fighter versus fighter.  The Defiant was rather more along the lines of a bomber destroyer...and probably would have worked fine in that role had the German's still been using Gothas and Zeppelins.  :dum:


   

[GeorgeC]

Nah - better take a mediocre performance fighter/spotter/dive bomber hybrid
and do the same thing!

Regards

GeorgeC



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