It has its origins in a private venture by Dassault to produce an all-French aircraft which would make use of jet propulsion, which subsequently would receive orders from the French Air Force.

The Ouragan holds the distinction of being the first jet-powered French-designed combat aircraft to enter production, and thus played a key role in the resurgence of the French aviation industry following the Second World War.

As a consequence of the nation being occupied by Germany during the majority of the Second World War, France had not been able to contribute significantly to the great strides that had been made in aircraft design during the conflict.

[1] In 1947, following the bare-bones preparation of a factory and equipment, Dassault formally embarked on the development of this all-French fighter, which was solely at his own initiative at the start.

The aircraft was powered by a single Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engine, which was already being licence-produced in France by Hispano-Suiza for the SNCASE SE-535, which was in turn a licence-built version of the British de Havilland Vampire.

[1] The French government's response to the proposal was positive;[2] however no firm order for the aircraft was placed at this time, necessitating the project to proceed as a private venture.

[1] In November 1948, the second prototype was dispatched to Centre d'Essais en Vol de Marignane to participate in manoeuvrability trials, during which it was recorded as having climbed to an altitude of 15,000 m (49,213 ft).

[6] These pre-production aircraft saw extensive use in various flying trials and evaluations, including various engines, armament schemes, and equipment payloads, as well as to support other development programs.

[8] On 31 August 1950, Dassault received an initial fixed order contract for 150 production Ouragans to equip the Armée de l'Air.

There was little difference between the pre-production and production aircraft, the most significant being alterations to the design of the doors enclosing the retractable nosewheel landing leg in response to accidents that occurred on the first two prototypes.

[1] The design was inspired by the Republic F-84 Thunderjet, with its fuselage highly cylindrical and tapered at either end, an intake on the nose (although this was the convention among early jet-age fighters), its bubble canopy, and its tricycle landing gear.

It, however, also had a tendency to flat spin while holding tight turns, as a result of the length to diameter ratio of its fuselage being relatively low compared to other fighters at the time.

[12] Export variants, such as those intended for war in Algeria nicknamed Barougans, were fitted with brake parachutes as well as their single-wheel main gear being replaced with a two-wheel configuration.

[8] In 1952, the Ouragan formally entered squadron service with the French Air Force in 1952, where it started to replace aircraft such as the British De Havilland Vampire.

[8] Due to the rapid entry to service of the type, Ouragan's full test programme had not been completed, and this led to multiple instances of pilots inadvertently executing involuntary manoeuvres.

[8] Overall, the Ouragan reportedly proved pleasant to fly; according to Mason, French pilots were pleased with the stability of the aircraft, lending itself well to firing both guns and rockets.

Its favourable handling qualities led to the Ouragan performing for two years as the display aircraft of the la Patrouille de France aerobatic team.

[10] In 1961, the last Ouragans were displaced from operational units; a number of aircraft were retained beyond this date in secondary capacities such as advanced tactical and gunnery trainers throughout the mid-1960s.

[10] On 25 June 1953, India placed an order for 71 Ouragans, these being broadly similar to standard production models, except for being powered by the slightly uprated Nene 105 engine.

On 24 April 1965, a single Toofani strayed over the border with Pakistan, and was forced to land by PAF fighters; while the pilot was returned to India, the aircraft was retained and ended up being displayed as a war trophy at a museum in Peshawar.

[19][11] Seeking to augment its jet aircraft fleet of British Gloster Meteors, the IAF initially evaluated both French Dassault Mystère IIC and Canadian-built Canadair Sabre Mk.6 fighters.

[19][11] By 1955, the IAF had received at least 75 aircraft, comprising a mix of newly built and retired French Air Force examples, with deliveries being completed that year.

In the early hours of 30 October 1956, a pair of Ouragans shot down four hostile de Havilland Vampires in the Mitla Pass area.

[22] The poor training of the Egyptian pilots who were consistently unable to realize their advantage in numbers as well as the MiG-15's speed and climb characteristics, helped Ouragans to survive despite their inferior performance.

[20] On 31 October 1956, a pair of Ouragans armed with rockets strafed the Egyptian destroyer Ibrahim el Awal (ex-HMS Mendip), contributing to the capture of the ship.

Salvadoran Ouragans flew strike missions against communist FMLN forces, operating from Ilopango Air Base located near the capital city of San Salvador.