Re: Spinners' Strike Fighters Thread

[SPINNERS]

Dassault Mirage 5J - Israeli Air Force, 1973

IDFMIRAGE5J03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFMIRAGE5J04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFMIRAGE5J05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

Dassault Mirage 5J - Israeli Air Force, 1970

IDFMIRAGE5J07 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFMIRAGE5J06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFMIRAGE5J08 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDF Mirage 5J's in Armee de l'Air camo! Perhaps some of the embargoed 5J's were painted ready for Armee de l'air service before the embargo was lifted.

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Dassault Oberon FG.2 - No.33 Squadron, RAF South East Asia Command, 1978

Powered by a licence-built Rolls-Royce Spey (based on the non-afterburning Mk.101) the Oberon was essentially a land-based version of the Super Etendard designed to be a low-cost tactical attack machine for the export market, offering much better range and payload than the Mirage III/V series and also able to operate from far shorter runways than the notoriously 'concrete hungry' delta. Despite not being adopted by the Armee de l'air the Oberon was an export success starting with a most unexpected UK order for 60 Oberon FG.1's for the Royal Navy (with wing-fold restored) and 40 Oberon FG.2's for RAF South-East Asia Command.

RAFOBERONFGA201 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFOBERONFGA202 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFOBERONFGA203 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Thanks to there being an excellent template available I've been able to create this simple 'Foliage' scheme that seems to suit the Vietnam terrain from Strike Fighters 2:Vietnam.

[SPINNERS]

Martin B-57B - No.13 Squadron, 'The Desert Bulls', Republic of Dhimar Air Force, 1959

DHIMARIB-57B01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

DHIMARIB-57B02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

DHIMARIB-57B03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

DHIMARIB-57B04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

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Douglas A-4D Skyhawk - No.5 and No.13 Squadrons, Dhimari Air Force

During the early to mid-1950's almost every US Navy aircraft programme hit some sort of propulsion trouble with either engines that were either down on thrust or simply so unreliable that they were a hazard to flight safety. Douglas were no exception and the SkyKnight and Skyray programmes were hit especially hard and the A4D Skyhawk programme initially didn't fare much better with the J65 down on thrust and the Pentagon bizarrely ordering that reconditioned Air Force J65's should be used for Skyhawk production. Ed Heinemann's wish to shoehorn the Rolls-Royce Avon into the Skyhawk fell apart when a production licence was granted to Westinghouse who then decided to only produce (with Navy funding but without telling Douglas ) a six-tenths scale version as the XJ64 giving less thrust than the J65!

However, by 1955 the Navy BuWeps had decided to fund the promising Pratt & Whitney JT8, essentially a scaled-down JT3 or J57 and by 1957 the resultant J52 was running sweetly on the bench and Ed Heinemann could plan growth versions of his brilliant 'Bantam Bomber'. At about the same time the Navy were hinting that perhaps a more flexible machine was required than the high-altitude nuclear bomber of the original A4D requirement and the increased thrust of the J52 meant that two more stores pylons could be added and higher gross weights permitted.

Douglas had planned to introduce the engine in the A4D-3 (A-4D) and A4D-5 (A-4E) variants but the US Navy cancelled the A4D-3 in 1959 and slowed the A4D-5 programme down. Douglas then looked at export opportunities resurrecting the A4D-3 designation to produce a multi-role fighter version later designated the A-4D which introduced the new J52 engine rated at 8,500lbs thrust plus a small and simple multi-mode radar. Oil-rich Dhimar became the launch customer ordering 60 A-4D's in 1961 and these were delivered in early 1963 to No.5 Squadron of the Dhimari Air Force who operated the type until 1978.

DHIMARIA-4D01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

DHIMARIA-4D05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

DHIMARIA-4D03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

DHIMARIA-4D04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

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Gloster Meteor F.8 - Esc 121, Ejército del Aire

EDAMETEORF801 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDAMETEORF802 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDAMETEORF803 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDAMETEORF804 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

Gloster Meteor F.8 - Esc121 Ejército del Aire, 1959

EDAMETEORF805 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDAMETEORF807 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDAMETEORF806 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

Gloster Meteor F.8 - Esc122 Ejército del Aire, 1961

EDAMETEORF810 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDAMETEORF808 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDAMETEORF809 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I do like the Meteor! Probably has something to do with my local library having the Putnam book 'Gloster Aircraft Since 1917' and another book on the Meteor the name of which I've forgotten. Anyhoo, slotting the Meteor into the Spanish Fighter designation system was a bit difficult as it should predate the F-86 Sabre which had the C5 designation so I've used the C4 designation actually allocated to the HA 1109/1110/1112 (the Spanish version of Messerschmitt Bf 109) as that type was also designated in the first series as well as the current second series.

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Gloster Meteor F.8 - Esc113 Ejército del Aire, 1960

EDAMETEORF812 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDAMETEORF813 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

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IAI F-19A 'Nesher' - 65th Aggressor Squadron, USAFE, RAF Alconbury 1982

USAFF-19A01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USAFF-19A02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USAFF-19A03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

A FACH Mirage 'Pantera' skin provides the basis for this 'what if' USAF aggressor. Just as the the US Navy used the J79 powered Kfir I'm imagining that the USAF adopted the earlier Atar powered Nesher.

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Avro B-28 Lincoln - 'Thumper' 468th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, England 1946

USAAFLINCOLN02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USAAFLINCOLN04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USAAFLINCOLN05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

An Avro Lincoln was recently released as an 'add-on' by the Development A-Team (DAT) and it comes with a natural metal skin and Aussie markings but I've modified it to give an impression of what an 8th Air Force Avro Lincoln might look like. All I've done is added an olive drab anti-glare patch, added red spinners and knocked-up some basic markings. It's not perfect but I quite like it.

[SPINNERS]

Handley-Page Hamilton C.1 - No.47 Squadron, RAF Air Support Command, 1968

RAFAN-1201 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFAN-1202 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFAN-1203 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

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Handley-Page Hamilton C.3 - No. 47 Squadron, RAF Strike Command, 1986

RAFAN-1204 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFAN-1205 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This is the stock Soviet Silver skin with the specular, glossiness and reflection settings screwed down to give an approximation of a tactical grey scheme, it sort of works! The white 'AIR SUPPORT COMMAND' decals are a bit out of place as that Command was very short-lived and was gone by September 1972.

[SPINNERS]

Antonov An-22 Goliath C.1 - No.36 Squadron, Royal Air Force, 2007

RAFAN-2201 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFAN-2202 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFAN-2203 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This is another 3D model by Veltro2K a very prolific modder and someone with a penchant for producing the rarer and more esoteric birds. I've made a VERY simple skin (without panel lines) just to give an impression of what this Soviet beastie would look like in a modern RAF C-17 style scheme. AFAIK this is the biggest aircraft available for Strike Fighters although the game itself contains a non-flyable B-52. Personally, I don't like flying the larger aircraft but they make great targets!!

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Reggiane Re.2005 'Sagittario' - No.1 Squadron, Republic of Paran Air Force

PARANIRE200501 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANIRE200502 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANIRE200503 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANIRE200504 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I occasionally show Dhimari ('blue') aircraft but only rarely show the opposing Parani ('red') aircraft so here is another recent Veltro2K release the Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario which comes with wartime Italian camo to which I've added some overspray and a 'blood red' fuselage band (probably symbolic). In the game, the Parani aircraft have their star repeated on the fin but I've designed an Arab style fin flash.