Dassault Étendard IV

The Dassault Étendard IV was a transonic carrier-borne strike fighter built by Dassault Aviation for the French Navy, which was its sole operator. It grew out of the Étendard II and VI designs of the early 1950s, which found little interest, when Dassault privately developed a larger and more powerful navalised version first called the Mystère XXIV, with folding wings, deck landing hooks and a reinforced fuselage. The prototype flew on 24 July 1956, and after trials with five pre-production aircraft the Navy ordered 69 Étendard IVM fighters and 21 Étendard IVP reconnaissance aircraft. A single SNECMA Atar 08B turbojet powered the production version. The type formed the basis of the Super Étendard, which was ordered after a navalised Jaguar was abandoned. The fighters left service in 1991 and the reconnaissance version in 2000.