Dassault's supersonic delta wing Mirage III fighter prototype was on display at the 1957 Paris Air Show and featured on the cover of Aviation Week's report from Le Bourget.

The prototype, which already had flown at Mach 1.6 and was designed to achieve Mach 2 capability, "exhibited the degree to which the French are keeping pace with modern aircraft design," the magazine wrote.

An accompanying editorial was full of praise for the show, but had a markedly different opinion of its counterpart across the English Channel.

"The French show is the only one left in the world today that retains its strong international flavor," wrote Editor-in-Chief Robert Hotz. "This is a pleasant contrast to the narrow chauvinism of the Farnborough display that still refuses to allow anything to fly that contains equipment of foreign manufacture." 

Hotz also singled out the new Sud Aviation Caravelle jetliner as further proof that "French aviation is driving hard along technically sound lines."

See the cover image of the Mirage III

Have a look at the contents page to see how the magazine covered the Paris Air Show in 1957. 

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