Re: Spinners' Strike Fighters Thread

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Douglas A-1E Skyraider - 26th Attack Wing, Republic of China Air Force, 1970













Well, I've had a week off to focus on another hobby and among the new releases upon my return was this A-1E Skyraider released by the DAT (Development A-Team) who have thoughtfully included some 'blank' camo schemes making it easy to decal up for service with other nations so I've chosen Taiwan for this first A-1E by me. The single seat A-1H and A-1J are (non-flyable) stock aircraft in Strike Fighters 2:Vietnam and are very nice 3D models easily made flyable by giving them a stand-in cockpit or, even easier, setting up a simple statement parameter giving all non-flyable aircraft the A-4B cockpit - it might not be accurate but it opens up a lot of non-flyables.

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Boulton Paul Valiant PR.IV - No.541 Squadron, Royal Air Force, May 1944













A couple of exciting releases this week including a combined Saab 21 and 21R pack (by a very talented Chinese 3D artist called 'YEYEYE') containing piston and jet versions of Saab's fighter/attack aircraft. Also included are templates for both versions so you can expect frequent revisits of this aircraft as I'm already imagining USAAC, Soviet WW2 and Luftwaffe '46 versions. I did toy with making it a De Havilland product and it really should be unarmed I guess or, perhaps, designated FR.IV and given a camo scheme. I need to sort out the engine exhausts and undercarriage as they have PRU Blue paint on them and I can't quite see where I'm going wrong despite having a template to work with.

On a more serious note, you may have noticed no weekday updates this past week. Unfortunately, Mum had a nasty fall after having a stroke on Monday and work and evening visiting is understandably taking up all our spare time so updates will be restricted to weekends only until further notice.

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Northrop Tiger FGA.1 - No.1 Squadron, RAF Strike Command, 1972









I'd almost finished this one over the weekend and I've just grabbed some time today to finish it. A revamped F-5E was released recently and I'm imagining that the RAF's search for a Hunter replacement might have initially rejected the F-5A but that as more dazzling alternatives fell away they settled on the more promising F-5E. I wanted to use three-colour national insignia so the 1972 date is just a bit optimistic but perhaps an RAF order placed in 1968 would have pushed things on. They did things quicker in those days! Check out the A-7 Corsair II - an amazing timescale!

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Northrop Tiger F.2 - No.74 Squadron, RAF Strike Command, 1977

RAF F-5ETIGERFGA101 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF F-5ETIGERFGA104 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF F-5ETIGERFGA106 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFF-5ETIGERFGA108 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Rehearsing for the Queens Silver Jubilee Review at RAF Finningley?

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McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 - No.74 Squadron, RAF Far East Air Force, 1971

In January 1968, the UK's Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson announced that British troops would be withdrawn in 1971 from major military bases in South East Asia and for the RAF this would mean the end of the Far East Air Force. However, the incoming Conservative government of 1970 quickly reversed this decision to demonstrate it's political and military commitment to South East Asia as part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements. However, to balance the books they not only cancelled the proposed refit of HMS Eagle (necessary to effectively operate the F-4K Phantom) but confirmed their plans to withdraw this fine warship.

Following this announcement, a total of 20 F-4K airframes that had originally been ordered for the Fleet Air Arm were diverted to the Royal Air Force. Initially, these aircraft were to be used to bolster the UK air defences but with the renewed commitment to South East Asia they were diverted to the Far East Air Force to replace the Lightning F.6's of No.74 Squadron based at RAF Tengah where they served until 1976.











With a little tweak, the USAF F-4D camo can be made to fit the F-4K. I prefer the RAF camo but just wanted to have a look-see.

Extra piccie added showing camo'd wing tanks and (barely visible) 'tiger' bonedomes.

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Hawker Siddeley Hawk T.1B - No.6 Squadron, RAF Middle East Command, 1976











A nice Hawk Mk.61 was released recently and I've simply overpainted the UAE markings and added some RAF markings although they probably should have been 'B' type. Why 1976? I just wanted to use the Hawker name!! BTW it's hard to believe the Hawk prototype flew over 40 years ago!

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Lockheed P-38Q 'Molniya' - 437th Fighter Regiment, Soviet Air Force, 1944













As previously explained, weekday updates are simply not possible at the moment and my normal Saturday routine has been disrupted today by a stocktake at work so, with very limited time, I thought I'd do a P-38G in the markings of Lydia Litvyak - the white rose of Leningrad. This P-38 model is really nice and the only reason I've called it a 'Q' is because of the Airfix P-39Q which normally had Soviet markings on the box.

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Bristol Type 125 Bullfrog - No.72 Squadron, RAF Fighter Command, 1937

Bristol's most successful aircraft during the inter-war period was the Bristol Bulldog fighter which formed the mainstay of the RAF's fighter-interceptor force from 1930 onwards. In 1932 the RAF were seeking a replacement for entry into service during the 1935-1936 period and the Air Ministry specification F.7/30 demanded a fighter aircraft capable of at least 250 mph and armed with four machine guns. The Bristol Aircraft Company concurrently worked on no less than three designs to meet this challenging specification;

The Bristol Type 123 biplane fighter powered by the Rolls-Royce Goshawk III V-12 evaporatively cooled engine rated at 695 hp.

The Bristol Type 125 high-winged monoplane powered by the Bristol Perseus 9-cylinder single-row supercharged radial engine rated at a projected 810 hp.

The Bristol Type 133 monoplane fighter with retractable undercarriage powered by the Bristol Mercury 9-cylinder single-row radial rated at 640 hp.

By late 1933 Bristol's Chief Designer, Frank Barnwell, had begun to favour the middle-ground of the Type 125 but acknowledged that the Perseus engine needed more development as the first production versions of the Perseus were rated at a disappointing 580 hp (lower than the same-size Mercury) although future improvements would see the Perseus not only eventually deliver the planned 810 hp by about 1936 but an impressive 930 hp was forecast further down the line.

The Type 125 'Bullfrog' first flew on June 2nd, 1934 piloted by Cyril Uwins and testing over the next eight months proved very successful, especially when an improved and more powerful Perseus engine was installed. In the long-awaited F.7/30 competitive trials held at RAF Martlesham Heath during the Spring of 1935 the Bristol Type 125 and the rival Gloster Gladiator were hard to seperate and the Air Ministry eventually awarded production contracts to both Bristol and Gloster for 160 aircraft each.

Entering service with the recently formed RAF Fighter Command in March 1937 the Bristol Bullfrog's introduction into RAF service was initially difficult with many pilots being caught out by the aircraft's increased wing loading but it soon became as popular as the earlier Bristol Bulldog had. By the outbreak of the Second World War, the Bullfrog had largely been replaced in front line RAF service by the Hurricane and Spitfire but two squadrons were used in the unsuccessful Norwegian campaign in 1940 and the aircraft served with distinction in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatres before being phased out of service during 1941.













A really sweet Loire 46 (an inter-war French fighter that still equipped one squadron when the balloon went up in May 1940) was released recently and I've knocked up a simple template to create the fictional Bristol Bullfrog. The silver scheme and No.72 squadron fuselage markings chosen by me is an affectionate nod to the Gloster Gladiator.

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Saab J21RA - Flygflottilj 10, Flygvapnet, 1952









I've worked my 'splinter on a roll' into the J21 template to produce this experimental J21RA scheme. The last shot has an 'A-10' look about it don't you think?

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Gloster Javelin FAW Mk.56 - 341 Squadron, Hellenic Air Force, 1962













The Gloster Javelin FAW9 by Veltro2K was given a revamp recently and expanded to cover the Marks 8, 9 and 9R (covering all RAF squadrons) with further plans to model the earlier marks. Sweet! This is the Mark 8 with Greek national insignia, the 341 squadron shield and some generic 3-digit codes.

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Gloster Javelin FAW Mk.51 - No.2 (Province of Leinster) Squadron, Irish Air Corps, 1960











As a schoolboy, I can remember reading about the sale of Gloster Meteors to Argentina where, to help alleviate Britain's desperate post-war balance of payments problems, the UK Government paid Gloster direct whilst the Argentinian Government paid the UK Government for the aircraft using cotton and corned beef! 'What If' Ireland, with everything else too expensive or not for export, wanted the Javelin and paid for it with ? 

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Hawker Sea Hunter FGA.13 - 806 Naval Air Squadron, Royal Navy, 1960















I knocked up this FAA skin and wanted to use the 'Ace of Diamonds' insignia as a nod to the Sea Hawks of 806 NAS. You'll have to excuse me for having a poorly populated Ark - there is a way of getting more aircraft on there but I don't know how. I think the Hunter's generally good handling characteristics would have been made it reasonably suitable for carrier operations but it's poor range would have been a problem. You'll also have to excuse me for there being no hook on the 3D model (I have photoshopped one on the underside view) but the game does allow you to add a (non-visible) fake hook so that you can get yourself back down on a carrier. Perhaps the FAA could have standardised on the bigger 200 series Avon for the Buccaneer S.1 and the Hunter?

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How can Santa be so fast?



Because there's two of him!

Merry Christmas everyone!

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Vought Cutlass FRS.1 - 806 Naval Air Squadron, Royal Navy, 1958













Confession Time. I don't actually like the Cutlass - well, the later versions anyway. The earlier versions look pretty cool though!

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McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 - 806 Naval Air Squadron, Royal Navy, 1980

By 1961 it was inescapable that McDonnell's F4H-1 Phantom was fast becoming the standard against which all other fighters would be judged a fact quickly realised by the Royal Navy who were seeking a replacement for the De Havilland Sea Vixen in the fleet defence role. Lord Mountbatten pushed hard for a minimum change version of the F-4B and stone-walled any attempts to force the P.1154 upon the senior service. In March 1962 the UK Government cancelled the P.1154 and announced that 100 McDonnell F-4B's would be purchased for the Royal Navy for delivery during 1965 and 1966 and also announcing extensive refit plans for both HMS Ark Royal and HMS Eagle to keep them in service until 1975.

Despite the desire for a minimum change version some changes were necessary. The short 54 foot decklift length of the Royal Navy's carriers meant that the radar and radome had to be designed to swing round 180o and an extra-extensible nose wheel leg had to be incorporated to increase the nose-up angle to compensate for the less powerful catapults on the British carriers. However, Mountbatten and the Admiralty resisted all calls to adopt the promising Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engine and this undoubtedly helped in McDonnell getting the first F-4B(UK) into the air on June 26th, 1964 with deliveries to the specially formed 700P Naval Air Squadron commencing early in 1965 and eventually equipping four front-line squadrons as the Phantom FG.1. During 1972 and 1973 all surviving Phantom FG.1's were retro-fitted with the Westinghouse AWG-10 pulse-doppler radar and the type remained in service until 1984 seeing service in the 1982 Falklands conflict.





The backstory is a repeat but I wanted to see how a J79 engined Phantom would look like with 806 NAS markings. The 'L' on the fin indicates that this Phantom is normally based on HMS Elizabeth a Nimitz sized British aircraft carrier! North Sea oil revenues were good in those days!