Re: Spinners' Strike Fighters Thread

[SPINNERS]

Dassault Mystere IVA - No.4 'White Dove' Squadron, Sikh Air Force, 1957

SIKHMYSTEREIVS01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SIKHMYSTEREIVS02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SIKHMYSTEREIVS03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SIKHMYSTEREIVS04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SIKHMYSTEREIVS05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This Sikh Air Force Mystere IV uses the stock silver skin whilst the 'Dove' markings are straight out of me own head but do pick on the colours used for the roundels and pennant. The blue fin strip just helps things blend in a bit. Would the word 'independence' be used in the name of any Sikh armed forces?

[SPINNERS]

Republic P-47N Thunderbolt - Vichy Free Air Force, 1946

VICHYP-47NTHUNDERBOLT01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VICHYP-47NTHUNDERBOLT02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VICHYP-47NTHUNDERBOLT03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VICHYP-47NTHUNDERBOLT04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VICHYP-47NTHUNDERBOLT05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

It's very hard to work out a backstory for the Vichy French Air Force after 1942 and operating the P-47N but I think this looks cool! If doing it again I'd have reduced the height/width of the tail/stabs stripes to more closely match the cowling and also got the proportions for the tricolour rudder right but I'm working to a deadline and it'll just have to do. Incidentally, the P-47N 3D model is by my fellow South Walian Russouk2004 whose template has allowed me to do this.

[SPINNERS]

North American F-86F Sabre - Vichy French Air Force, 1955

VICHYF-86FSABRE01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VICHYF-86FSABRE02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VICHYF-86FSABRE03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VICHYF-86FSABRE04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VICHYF-86FSABRE05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

Potez 771 - Free French Air Force, 1954

FAFLIL-28BEAGLE01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAFLIL-28BEAGLE02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAFLIL-28BEAGLE03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAFLIL-28BEAGLE04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

A bit of a quickie this one. For my first Free French 'what if' I wanted a nod towards the old Airfix Blenheim IV (not my favourite kit tbh) whose boxtop artwork showed a Free French machine so I've used the stock Il-28 camo scheme and just added the tricolour rudder and Free French decals although I've deliberately left off the normal French roundels seen on many of their aircraft.

[SPINNERS]

North American Aviation P-51D Mustang - Free French Air Force, 1946

FAFLP-51DMUSTANG01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAFLP-51DMUSTANG02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAFLP-51DMUSTANG03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAFLP-51DMUSTANG04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAFLP-51DMUSTANG05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I've made the Cross of Lorraine a bit bolder on this Mustang which simply uses the stock silver skin. It's a lovely 3D model but, in game, no match for the Spitfire IX!

[SPINNERS]

Douglas C-47A Skytrain - Spanish Republican Air Force, 1944

SPREPC-47ADAKOTA01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SPREPC-47ADAKOTA02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SPREPC-47ADAKOTA03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

In game, the C-47A is one of the 'AI' types that can easily be made flyable by adopting a substitute or surrogate cockpit and it flies very nicely too. I can see that the Republicans used the single DC-1 and that the Nationalists used the DC-2 whilst, post-war, the Spanish Air Force used the C-47. But, there again, who didn't!

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Hunter Mk.55 - 2/30 'Normandie-Nieman', Armée de l'Air, 1975

ALAHUNTER601 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER602 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER603 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER604 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER605 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER606 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Mrs. Spinners and I got back yesterday from a nice week in France (down in the Orne, part of Lower Normandy) and thankfully we managed to get over before last week's storm and get back before last night's storms. Using Normandy as an inspiration here is a French Hunter with markings for the famous Normandy-Nieman squadron. I've had to keep these F.6's in service until 1975 to get the Matra 550's to appear.

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Hunter FGA.63 - 4/33 'Vexin', Armée de l'Air, Djibouti, 1979

ALAHUNTER6301 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER6302 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER6303 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER6304 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHUNTER6305 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This is the stock Omani Hunter FGA.73 in it's later guise with scabbed-on chaff dispensers and extra pylons with a hybrid 'cut and shut' skin made by me by combining the stock Omani skin with the stock RAF Grey undersides!

[SPINNERS]

Dassault Mirage IIIVC - 51 Stormo, Aeronautica Militare, 1972

AMIMIRAGE3V01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIMIRAGE3V02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIMIRAGE3V03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIMIRAGE3V04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIMIRAGE3V05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIMIRAGE3V06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The Mirage IIIV by the prolific 'Veltro2K' was released a few months ago and I had a little play with it at the time and knocked up a quick RAF Desert Pink skin (Page 81) but my Argentinian friend 'Torno' has done a much better NMF skin to which I've added some AMI markings.

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Harrier Mk.51 - 2/30 'Normandie-Nieman', Armée de l'Air, 1976

The unfortunate loss of the second prototype of the Mirage IIIV in November 1966 merely served to bring a quick end to that programme which was increasingly being viewed with a more critical eye by Armée de l'Air officials who considered that the range and payload penalty on the aircraft, and the associated maintenance burden imposed by the eight lift engines, made the aircraft unsuitable for operational service.

During early 1967 Armée de l'Air officials studied the reports from the joint German/UK/US tri-partite evaluation squadron (who had operated the Hawker Kestrel during 1964 and 1965) and also the RAF's Air Staff Requirement 384 for a V/STOL ground attack jet and the resultant Hawker P.1127 which had begun flight testing in late 1966. At a time when France and the UK were collaborating on the AFVG, Concorde and Jaguar programmes (and also collaborating on three military helicopters) the French Government made a tentatative approach to come on board with joint development of the P.1127 (Harrier) but the programme was so well advanced that this was not a realistic avenue for either nation to take. Behind the scenes politics were at play and when France withdrew from the AFVG programme in June 1967 the UK Government were immediately able to announce a French order for "60 aircraft of the P.1127 type" to be licence-built by Breguet Aviation (allegedly as Marcel Dassault would have nothing to do with "the stumpy British toy").

Entering service with the Armée de l'Air in August 1970 the French Harriers were supplemented by a follow-on order for an additional 36 aircraft in 1974 and the force was slowly upgraded with the Agave multi-mode radar in the late 1970's and remained in service until 1992. Immediately after the 1982 Falklands War six Agave equipped Harriers were transferred to RAF stocks to equip 1453 Flight at Stanley to provide an interim air defence capability until the new airbase at RAF Mount Pleasant was opened after which 1453 Flight was disbanded and No.23 Squadron took over the air defence of the Falkland Islands in 1985.

ALAHARRIER5101 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHARRIER5102 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHARRIER5103 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHARRIER5104 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ALAHARRIER5105 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The early RAF Harriers (1,1A and 3) are all stock aircraft in SF2:Europe and are all little gems. This is the GR.1A with my 'Normandie-Nieman' markings from my Armée de l'Air Hunter.

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Hunter Mk.61 - 105 Squadron 'The Scorpions', Israeli Air Force, 1967

IDFHUNTERFGA901 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHUNTERFGA902 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHUNTERFGA903 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHUNTERFGA904 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHUNTERFGA905 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHUNTERFGA906 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I was going to put this on the back-burner but the idea of an Israeli Hunter has captured my imagination - but please don't ask for the 'three-tone' scheme that followed this one!

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Hunter Mk.61 - No.69 Sqd 'The Hammers', Israeli Air Force, 1967

IDFHUNTERFGA907 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHUNTERFGA908 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHUNTERFGA909 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHUNTERFGA910 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The stock RAF Hunter FGA.9 includes a smashing No.112 squadron skin c/w with sharkmouth markings so I thought I'd use my IDF decals on it but with 'Hammers' markings (and I don't mean West Ham  ).

[SPINNERS]

Avia S-399 'Blesk' (Lightning) - No.119 Squadron, Israeli Air Force, 1954

IDFHENSCHELP-7501 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHENSCHELP-7502 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHENSCHELP-7503 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHENSCHELP-7504 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

IDFHENSCHELP-7505 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Whilst I have my IDF colour palette out I thought I'd have another go at the Henschel P-75 only I'm actually making it a licence-built version of my Petlyakov Pe-11 'Fastfin' (current Page 80) produced by Avia but somehow passed onto the IDF like the S-199's.

[SPINNERS]

De Havilland F2DH-1 Sea Vixen - VA-176, US Navy, 1961

USNSEAVIXEN01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USNSEAVIXEN02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USNSEAVIXEN03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USNSEAVIXEN04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USNSEAVIXEN05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USNSEAVIXEN06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Almost a night off for me tonight as this 'what if' is a straight download of a fictional 'USN Sea Vixen' recently released by fellow Brit 'Sundowner' over at Combat Ace. It's based on the FAW.2 so I've needed to bend the space-time continuum to get it into USN service in 1961 but I wanted to avoid giving it a tri-service designation number.

[SPINNERS]

De Havilland Vixen FGA.4 - No.1 Squadron, RAF Strike Command, 1971

RAFVIXENFGA401 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFVIXENFGA402 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFVIXENFGA403 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFVIXENFGA404 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The recent 'what if' Sea Vixen release was actually in two parts and this is the Vixen FGA.4 by 'Sundowner' which includes this classic RAF skin and also a late RAFG 'Lightning' type skin. The FGA.4 is a single-seater with afterburning Avon engines and is equipped with 2 x 30mm ADEN cannon and can carry a wide variety of tactical stores.