Belgian Wings
Belgian Air Force, past and present.
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Dassault Mirage 5BD
Single-engine two-seat trainer-attack 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 IIIE 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 twin-seat Mirage 5BD was essentialy developed as a two seat trainer version of the Mirage but appart from a reduced fuel capacity this subtype maintained its attack capability. After being withdrawn from use with the Belgian Air Force five Mirage 5BD's were converted into M5MD "Elkans" by Sabca and sold to the Chilean Air Force.
BD-01
History
C/N
201
Date In
Jun 1970
Date Out
Oct 1990
MD-01, BD-01, storage at Koksijde, reworked as M5MD Elkan, to Chilean AF as "716", stored at BA El Bosque (Chile)
BD-02
History
C/N
202
Date In
Aug 1970
Date Out
Jul 1975
BD-02, crashed at Lieneux on 14 Jul 1975
BD-03
History
C/N
203
Date In
Oct 1970
Date Out
Jan 1993
BD-03, storage at Koksijde, reworked as M5MD Elkan, to Chilean AF as "717", stored at BA El Bosque (Chile)
BD-04
History
C/N
204
Date In
Sep 1970
Date Out
Feb 1993
BD-04, storage at Koksijde, reworked as M5MD Elkan, to Chilean Air Force as "718", stored at BA El Bosque (Chile)
BD-05
History
C/N
205
Date In
Oct 1970
Date Out
May 1986
BD-05, crashed at Bierset on 21 May 1986
BD-06
History
C/N
206
Date In
Nov 1970
Date Out
Jul 1985
BD-06, crashed at Jamagne (Philippeville) on 3 Jul 1985
BD-07
History
C/N
207
Date In
Jan 1971
Date Out
Nov 1987
BD-07, crashed at Comblain-Fairon on 19 Nov 1987
BD-08
History
C/N
208
Date In
Feb 1971
Date Out
May 1979
BD-08, crashed at Oreye after flame out on landing on 17 May 1979
BD-09
History
C/N
209
Date In
Mar 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BD-09, storage at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.) > Feb 2018: Preserved at Limburg Regional Airport, Sint-Truiden
BD-10
History
C/N
210
Date In
Apr 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BD-10, storage at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.), 08 Feb 2023 to Sabca-Gosselies to be preserved.
BD-11
History
C/N
211
Date In
Jun 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BD-11, storage at Weelde, sold to SAGEM (F.), noted with Mr. Foets, Veldstraat, Tessenderloo (Aug 2022).
BD-12
History
C/N
212
Date In
Jun 1971
Date Out
Jan 1994
BD-12, special paint Mirage Farewell, storage at Weelde, to Chilean Air Force as "725", gate guardian at Base Aerea Cerro Moreno, Antofagasta, Chile
BD-13
History
C/N
213
Date In
Oct 1972
Date Out
1987
BD-13, fuselage stored at Florennes, transferred to Royal Army Museum depot at Vissenaken.
BD-14
History
C/N
214
Date In
Oct 1972
Date Out
May 1989
BD-14, storage at Koksijde, reworked as M5MD Elkan, to Chilean Air Force as "719", stored
BD-15
History
C/N
215
Date In
Dec 1972
Date Out
May 1989
BD-15, stored at Koksijde, reworked as M5MD "Elkan", to Chilean AF as "720", stored at BA El Bosque (Chile)
BD-16
History
C/N
216
Date In
Sep 1973
Date Out
Dec 1973
BD-16, fatal crash at Ouffet on 7 Dec 1973