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The Setting: 1950 - The Kingdom of Asran, a small desert country you've never heard of in the Middle East.In late 1949, when the Old King of Asran died, his final wish was that the royal succession would by-pass his elder, progressive-minded son, Abdel in favour of his more moderate/conservative second son, Zak. This sparked an all-out civil war, with the loyalists - those respecting the dead king's wishes and the need to retain conservative values in a tumultuous changing post-WWII world - on one side, and the Anti-Government Forces - those seeking the progressive development of Asran's oil-field reserves with the backing of nameless Soviet-block outside interests - on the other. As a small but wealthy nation, the rightful government of Asran recruits a mercenary airforce - made up of ne'er-do-wells with sketchy pasts but superior aerial combat skills - to supplement their regular forces.The Man: Greg BakerOne member of the mercenary air force was the Canadian by the name of Greg Baker (who? me?). Originally a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Baker had seen significant action during WWII, fighting alongside Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Far-East and North Africa. Dissatisfied with a return to quiet civilian life in the urban wilds of Alberta, Canada, Baker went abroad seeking his fame and fortune. After a series of adventures too lengthy to describe here, Baker ended up drunkenly signing a 3-year contract in a bar in Paris (a major Asran recruiting station it turns out!) and inadvertently enlisting in the Asran mercenary air force - known as "Area 44".The Plane: Caudron Renault C.714 "Cyclone"Based on the Caudron racers of the late ‘30’s, the Caudron C.714 was an attempt to make a lightweight fighter out of non-strategic materials. However, as with most attempts to re-tool racers for combat, the end result was basically a disaster.The French Air Force had ordered 20 C.714s in late 1938, with options for a further 180, and production started at a Renault factory in the Paris suburbs in the summer of 1939. However, the first production models didn't appear until early 1940 and after a series of tests, it became apparent that the design was seriously flawed. Although light and fast, its wooden construction limited it to a modest engine size and four .30 caliber machines guns, the Caudron was an ineffective weapon when matched up against modern German combat aircraft. As such it was withdrawn from active service almost immediately and the remaining order was to be diverted to Finland (to be flown by French pilots) and/or free Polish fighter squadrons.Unfortunately, events in France resulted in only six aircraft being delivered, and an additional ten were waiting in the harbour when deliveries were stopped. The six aircraft that arrived were assembled, tested and given registrations CA-551 to CA-556. The aircraft were found to be too unreliable and dangerous to use, and were not committed to combat. Two of the aircraft were damaged during a transport flight to Pori, however the rest of the aircraft were maintained on the roster until they were retired and scrapped in late December 1949...In "reality" though, in early 1950 they were sold on the black market to an arms dealer known as McCoy. McCoy had a nose for conflict and, after the death of the King in Asran he could smell war on the wind and began amassing product to be sold to mercenaries and government forces alike. Having purchased the four remaining planes, McCoy cobbled together a single, flight-worthy specimen (and a stockpile of spare parts to be sold at a later date) and unscrupulously sold it to the latest recruit to Area 44, Greg Baker - who's limited funds prevented him from buying anything else (although he had his eyes on a F4U-1 Corsair!)....p.s. If the storyline above sounds familiar, it basically because I've transposed the storyline from the Area 88 manga, originally based in the late 70s/early 80s, to the late 1940s/early 1950s. I already had plans to include the C.714 into my overall Area 88 mega-project, but there's no reason it can't serve a dual role here in the OKGB as well.
