Re: Spinners' Strike Fighters Thread

[SPINNERS]

MiG I-104bis - The Soviet Super Starfighter

SOVIETSUPERSTARFIGHTER01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIETSUPERSTARFIGHTER02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIETSUPERSTARFIGHTER03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIETSUPERSTARFIGHTER04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I've been lucky enough to have been given the above to try out by the two Italian modders (take a bow paulopanz and Spillone104) who've created it by cleverly adding parts to the 3D model. Apart from the added canards and LERXs there are the typically Soviet IRTS and belly gun plus the RD-33 engine from the MiG-29. Final touches are that exact shade of green for the fin and radome and I especially like those shapely MiG-21 fuel tanks that just add to the Sovietisation.

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MiG I-104bis - Egyptian Air Force

EGYPTSUPERSTARFIGHTER01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EGYPTSUPERSTARFIGHTER02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EGYPTSUPERSTARFIGHTER03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EGYPTSUPERSTARFIGHTER04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EGYPTSUPERSTARFIGHTER05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I didn't think that the bigger Anab missiles would fit but they do and look pretty darn good slung below the small wings of this aircraft and I really do like those tip-tanks!

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Hawker Hunter FGA.9 - No.14 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force (attached to RAF SEAC)

RNZAFHUNTERFGA901-1 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFHUNTERFGA902-1 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFHUNTERFGA903-1 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFHUNTERFGA904-1 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Inspired by jeremak's SEAC Kiwi roundel! I've got No.75 squadron decals all made up but not had enough time to take the piccies tonight.

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Hunter FGA.9 - No.75 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force (attached to RAF SEAC)

RNZAFHUNTERFGA905 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFHUNTERFGA906 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFHUNTERFGA907 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Yes! That last piccie is OTT but Jeremak's idea of a 'Kiwi' SEAC roundel was inspired and will be re-visited by me sometime in the future, probably starting with an iconic product from St. Louis. I'm saying no more!

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McDonnell Douglas Phantom F-4M - No.2 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force (attached to RAF SEAC)

RNZAFPHANTOMFGR201 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFPHANTOMFGR202 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFPHANTOMFGR203 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFPHANTOMFGR204 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The older 'Wings Over Europe' game came with a nice 'Euro One' scheme for USAF F-4D's but, sadly, this scheme didn't make the cut for the new 'Series 2' games - a real shame. The new F-4's are mapped slightly differently so the old F-4D bitmaps were re-sized from 512x512 to 1024x1024 and married to the newer F-4M skin bitmaps - a bit of a 'cut and shut' but it seems to have worked out OK! I think I'll redo these Kiwi F-4M's with the red/blue tactical markings seen on the A-4's with a backstory of having been passed on when retired from the RAF in the late 1980's.

[SPINNERS]

McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2's - No.2 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force. 1992

During the build up to Operation Corporate (the UK's military operation to retake the Falkland Islands) the UK Government were overwhelmed at the support given by the countries of the Commonwealth and, in particular, the response of the Australian and New Zealand Governments who provided ships to maintain the UK's NATO commitments and allow the Royal Navy to maximise the number of ships it could send to the South Atlantic.

In the following years there were many reciprocal deals made and favours given to the Commonwealth nations (and even Chile!) and one such 'favour' was the transfer of 18 ex-RAF Phantom FGR.2's in 1988. The 18 FGR.2's, only recently withdrawn from RAF service, were ferried out to New Zealand (most still in their dirty grey camo scheme) during Operation Saddleback before arriving at Ohakea for refurbishment by a joint McDonnell Douglas/RNZAF team that saw the aircraft eventually emerge in a new 'Euro One' style camo scheme and with digital INAS, upgraded RWR and new outer wing panels. Entering service with No.2 squadron in late 1989 (supposedly as the Kārearea but they were always simply called Phantoms) the aircraft gave good service to the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the 1990's until finally being retired in December 2001 when, indeed, all 'Air Combat Force' aircraft were sadly withdrawn from service.

RNZAFPHANTOMFGR206 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFPHANTOMFGR207 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFPHANTOMFGR208 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFPHANTOMFGR205 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

HESA Saeqeh 'Thunderbolt' - Parani Air Force, 2002

PARANISAEQEHTRAINER01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANISAEQEHTRAINER02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANISAEQEHTRAINER03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANISAEQEHTRAINER04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANISAEQEHTRAINER05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANISAEQEHTRAINER06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

PARANISAEQEHTRAINER07 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

McDonnell Douglas Phantom F.7 - No.23 Squadron, Royal Air Force, 1982

RAFPHANTOMF7B06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFPHANTOMF7B08 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFPHANTOMF7B09 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFPHANTOMF7B07 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I couldn't find the No.23 squadron skin so I've converted my Phantom F.7 skin by darkening the upper wing panels as far as the wing-fold and adding my No.23 squadron markings with smaller national markings but still not as small as those stupidly small ones seen on some RAF aircraft (and don't get me started on having roundels on one wing only). Anyway, whilst not a true 'Barley Grey' it does give a good impression of what a Phantom F.7 would look like so let's call it a 'Barely Grey' scheme!

[SPINNERS]

McDonnell Douglas Phantom F-4M - Jagdgeschwader 71 'Richthofen' West German Air Force, 1973

LUFTWAFFEF-4M01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEF-4M02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEF-4M03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEF-4M04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEF-4M05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Good call trekaddict!

[SPINNERS]

McDonnell Douglas Phantom F-4M - JG 74 Mölders, German Air Force, 1975

LUFTWAFFEF-4M06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEF-4M07 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEF-4M08 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEF-4M09 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I thought I'd bang the Luftwaffe decals onto my adapted USAF F-4M camo. Different, but I prefer the standard Luftwaffe scheme.

[SPINNERS]

McDonnell Douglas F-4M Phantom - 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, USAFE, 1976

During late 1966 with the USA getting more and more embroiled in the Vietnam war it was decided to re-equip several USAFE units with the licence-built British Rolls-Royce Spey powered F-4M so as to release older tactical aircraft such as the F-100D and F-105D for Vietnam where attrition was now a very serious issue.

McDonnell Douglas had already brought together a UK sub-contracting team consisting of BAC, Hawker Siddeley, Rolls-Royce (engines) and Shorts with final assembly and flight testing being carried out at St. Louis but, with one eye on the European market, McDonnell Douglas moved final assembly to Brough (North Humberside) with flight testing at Holme on Spalding Moor. This decision came a bit late for the Royal Navy whose F-4K aircraft continued to be assembled and flight tested in the USA but all F-4M's were produced in the UK with all odd production numbers being allocated to the RAF and all even numbers to the USAFE with Lakenheath and Bitburg becoming the first USAFE wings to re-equip with the type.

Entering service with the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in England in 1970 the F-4M's received a modest upgrade during 1973-1974 to emerge with the Marconi ARI18228 RWR mounted on the fintip and also gained 'slimer' formation-keeping strip lights. The USAF F-4M's had a relatively long career with USAFE and were eventually replaced by F-15E's during 1990 and just missed out on participation in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

USAFF-4M08 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USAFF-4M09 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

After helping out on a 'real world' F-4D project I've enjoyed looking at the history of the famous 48th TFW (Statue of Liberty Wing) and thought I'd do a 'what if' USAF F-4M upload so I've revised things and added new serial numbers to match my backstory and 'slimer' decals (I don't like them myself but must admit that they make things look a bit more authentic).

[SPINNERS]

McDonnell Douglas Phantom F-4L - VMFA-333 'Shamrocks', United States Marine Corps, 1972

With all the considerable design effort being put into the marriage of the Phantom airframe and the Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engine McDonnell Douglas thought it might be a good idea to propose a version to the US Navy to allow the Phantom to operate from the smaller carriers that were limited to F-8E Crusaders. In June 1966 the designation F-4L was given to the proposed Spey-powered Phantom and in October 1966 an initial order for 130 F-4L's (USN/USMC) was made, followed by an unexpected export order of 30 F-4L's for the Royal Australian Navy.

Deliveries to the US Navy commenced in February 1969 with VF-24 becoming the first operational squadron followed by VMFA-333. By this time the wisdom of operating such a relatively large aircraft on the older, smaller carriers was being questioned and most F-4L's served aboard the larger carriers or with land-based units.

When the decision was made not to re-equip the USMS 'fighter-attack' Phantom squadrons with the hugely expensive Grumman F-14A Tomcat, McDonnell Douglas pushed hard for low-rate production of the F-4L to continue specifically for USMC use and they were eventually successful meaning that production continued until 1976 with an eventual  total of 306 F-4L's being built. Apart from Australia, F-4L's also served with the Royal Air Force where 15 ex-USN F-4L's were sold to the UK Government to allow the formation of an additional home-based Phantom squadron to release a squadron for the defence of the Falkand Isles.

USMCF-4L01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USMCF-4L02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USMCF-4L03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USMCF-4L04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USMCF-4L05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USMCF-4L06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

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McDonnell Douglas Phantom F-4L - VF-111 'Sundowners', United States Navy, 1972

USMCF-4L08 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USMCF-4L07 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USMCF-4L09 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The VF-111 F-4L's use stock skins and decals (except for my Star & Bar) but one skin bitmap is tweaked to show the RWR and Spey engine nozzles.

[SPINNERS]

McDonnell Douglas Phantom F-4L - VF-805 Royal Australian Navy, 1971

RANF-4L02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RANF-4L03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RANF-4L04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

Dassault Mirage 2000C - Soviet Fighter Weapons School, 1993

SOVIETMIRAGESKI200001 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIETMIRAGESKI200002 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIETMIRAGESKI200003 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIETMIRAGESKI200004 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This superb skin was released by 'Gepard' recently and I've quickly Sovietised it. I guess that by the time they acquired one the Soviet Union had already dissolved.