Although not the first of its kind, Mirage series is the first that comes to mind when referring to delta-wing aircraft. Being the first fighter of this series, Mirage III served the most in the battlefield as compared to other jets commissioned at the time. This triangular-winged aircraft had its name inscribed in history in golden letters owing to its accomplishments in many conflicts in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and the South Atlantic.
On the eve of the Second World War, France dedicated all its efforts to the development of land and naval weapon systems. For this reason, the decision to supply many hunters from the United States led the French aviation industry to lag behind its competitors. When the German occupation began in 1940, the vulnerability of French Air Forces vis-à-vis the Luftwaffe revealed itself immediately. Undoubtedly, one of the major reasons behind this was the obsoleteness of battle tactics. Another indispensable factor was that France, being a world power with its colonies spread across the world, had nevertheless failed to develop a competitive air vehicle to meet their requirements. On the contrary, the Royal Air Force, which joined the battle in France also with wrong tactics, would shortly manage to counter German fire in the Battle of Britain thanks to its spectacular air vehicle, Spitfire.
This deadly mistake, which caused the fall of a country, would never be repeated in the period following the Second World War. During the time of recovery, although the requirements of the Air Forces were met in the second half of 1940s by US aircraft, the French aviation industry quickly rose from its ashes at the jet era, thanks to German engineers and various documents taken as war bounty.
