AMD Super Étendard; '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek AB, 1984

Dizzyfugu · June 17, 2013, 01:58:00 AM

A hardware tribute to one of PantherG's profiles! Enjoy

Some background:
The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (trans. "battle flag") is a French carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft designed by Dassault-Breguet for service with the French Navy. The aircraft was an advanced development of the Étendard IVM, the first of three prototypes, an IVM modified with the new engine and some of the new avionics, made its maiden flight on 28 October 1974. Original intentions were for 100 Super Étendard aircraft to be ordered for the French Navy, however the order placed was for 60 of the new model with options for a further 20; further budget cuts lead to only 71 Super Étendards being purchased in the end for the Aéronavele, with deliveries starting in June 1978.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In the first year of production, 15 Super Étendards were produced for the French Navy, allowing the formation of the first operational squadron in 1979. Dassault produced the aircraft at a rough rate of two per month, which was kept up until 1983.

Foreign customers were few: The Argentinian Navy would place an order for 14 aircraft to meet their requirements for a capable new fighter that could operate from their sole aircraft carrier. Furthermore a total of five Super Étendards were loaned to Iraq in 1983 while the country was waiting for deliveries of Agave-equipped Dassault Mirage F1s, capable of launching Exocet missiles that had been ordered. A third user of the Super Étendard with a similar background to the Iraq solution was the German Navy, with its land-based air arm, called the Marineflieger.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In the late 70ies, the German air force was about to replace its Starfighters, which had never been the Marinefliegers' first choice. Actually, in 1958 Germany chose the Starfighter to replace the already outdated F-84 and F-86 versions in use by then. For political reasons the Marineflieger had to join this decision, though their demands were quite different. The German Navy was looking for a two-seat, twin-engined aircraft to replace the old Seahawks, with the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer being their favourized aircraft.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Neverthless, a rather political decision to buy the Starfighter for both German air arms was made, and consequently total of 132 Starfighters were acquired for naval service, including F-104G as maritime attack aircraft (equipped with Kormoran anti-ship missiles), RF-104G for maritime reconaissance and TF-104G as trainers. In addition to this, a small number of two-seat F-104F saw operational use with the Navy's Jet Air Wings. Introduction of the F-104 into naval air arm service began in september 1963, with MFG 1 being the first unit to be equipped with Germany's new standard weapon system. Sister Wing MFG 2 joined the Starfighter club in march of the following year.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Anyway, almost 20 years later and with the advent of the Panavia Tornado, the Marineflieger would finally receive the aircraft they had originally been calling, and the F-104Gs were starting to be phased out from 1980 on. Production of the Tornado and its delivery to both Luftwaffe (which had priority) and Marineflieger wings was lagging behind schedule, though, and in order to bridge that gap Germany decided in Febraury 1981 to lease the relatively new French Super Étendard. The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and LTV A-7 Corsair II had been considered, too, but the French type eventually turned out to be the most economical and modern solution.

A total of 16 aircraft were ordered, and these were diverted from the running production lines. Delivery started in early 1982, when the scheduled Starfighter retirement and replacement was about to begin. All machines are allocated to MFG 2. In parallel, MFG 1 had the honours to be the first Bundeswehr unit to be equipped with the Tornado IDS multirole aircraft, as they started conversion in 1982. Before that, the multi-national conversion units in the UK had already received the initial Tornado trainer aircraft since 1980.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The German Super Étendards were given the tactical codes of 42+01 to 42+16 and were originally delivered in the standard Marineflieger camouflage of uniform grey upper surfaces (RAL 7012, Basaltgrau) and light grey lower sides (RAL 7035, Lichtgrau), in a pattern that was identical to the French aircraft.

Outwardly the German Super Étendards did not differ from its French cousins, since the aircraft were to be given back after only a few years of use - it was planned to keep the French fighters until 1986, when all Starfighters would have been replaced by Tornados. The Marineflieger "Sue" (nicknamed "Susi" or "Suse" by German crews, an abbreviation of the German female first name "Susanne") had no special features, as these were more or less French stock aircraft, but some components and avionics were changed.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

For instance, the German aircraft were modfied to carry and launch up to two AS.34 Kormoran missiles, and they were already prepared to carry the updated Kormoran 2 with a digital data bus, a bigger warhead and longer range. They were also able to carry indigenous equipment like the 'Cerberus' ECM pod or the Swedish BOZ-101 chaff/flare pod - both of these as well as the Kromoran 2 were also to carried by the Tornados, and the Super Étendards would already be used fotr practice and evaluation.
The new AGM-88 HARM missile was reserved for the Tornado, though, so that the Super Étendard was primarily tasked with anti-ship and CAS tasks. For self-defense, the German Super Étendards were able to carry the AIM-9 Sidewinder instead of the French Matra Magic AAM. An Orpheus IV reconnaissance pod could be carried on thone of the inner wing pylons, with a drop tank for balance on the other side.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In the course of their short German service (which actually lasted until 1987, when the last Starfighter was retired from Marineflieger service), the Super Étendards were also used to test experimental camouflage schemes. 42+10, 42+12 and 42+15 started to carry very different liveries from 1983, and the results eventually lead to the Marineflieger Tornados' 'Norm 87' wrap-around paint scheme, consisting of RAL 7009 (Grüngrau), 7012 (Basaltgrau) and 5008 (Graublau).

No aircraft was lost during the leasing service. All aircraft were, after a major overhaul, integrated into the Aéronavale from 1988 on.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 14.31 m (45 ft 11½ in)
Wingspan: 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Height: 3.86 m (12 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 28.4 m² (306.7 ft²)
Empty weight: 6,500 kg (14,330 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 12,000 kg (26,455 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × SNECMA Atar 8K-50 turbojet, 49.0 kN (11,025 lbf)

Performance
Maximum speed: 1,000 km/h (637 knots, 733 mph) at low level
Range: 1,820 km (983 nmi, 1,130 mi)
Service ceiling: 13,700 m (44,900 ft)
Rate of climb: 100 m/s[62] (19,700 ft/min)
Wing loading: 423 kg/m² (86.3 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.42

Armament
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannons with 125 RPG
4× underwing and 2× under-fuselage hardpoints with a capacity of 2,100 kg (4,600 lb) maximum

The kit and its assembly
The idea for this model was inspired by a profile designed by fellow user PantherG at whatifmodelers.com, showing a German Super Étendard in a fictional Marineflieger style paint scheme. I've been fascinated by the Tornado's Norm '87 scheme - but rather not by the Tornado itself. So I was happy to have an "excuse" to build a respective what-if model, taking a virtual idea to hardware.

The model is the standard Academy Super Étendard in 1:72, which is well-detailed - only the cockpit can take some attention, esp. the ejection seat, which I replaced completely, and I also added a Matchbox pilot which had to have its legs cut off, since the cockpit seems to be designed for Asian body measures... pretty tight in there!

Basically the kit was kept OOB. Only changes were made to the ordnance, which was taken from a German Tornado (Italeri). I also drilled open the air brakes' holes under the fuselage, and lowered the flaps for a more lively look. Overall, the Sue is rather clean and not really interesting - so any additional detail helps, I guess.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Painting and markings
This took some legwork, since I wanted to stay true to reality, despite creating a whif. As a benchmark, here's (among others), what PantherG came up with:

A plausible idea, but I did not copy it 1:1, rather did an interpretation on what I know about German Luftwaffe activities during the 80ies, and also with some personal taste

.

The tactical code 42+XX I chose has so far never been allocated to a German aircraft type, but it would perfectly fit in time before the Tornado (which has 43+XX and higher numbers).

The paint scheme on ym kit is supposed to be experimental - and actually both Luftwaffe and Marineflieger had been testing tactical camouflage schemes for air superiority as well as ground attack purposes on a wide range of aircraft in the 70ies and 80ies, including F-4F, RF-4E, Alpha Jets and later also Tornados. Anyway, I decided to stay close to the "real" Norm 87 scheme, which is a bit different from what PantherG suggested in his drawings.

The colors I used are authentic: RAL 7009 "Grüngrau" is Revell 67, RAL 7012 "Basaltgrau" is Revell 77 and RAL 5008 "Graublau" is available as Xtracolor X264. Consulting real RAL color samples as benchmarks, I muist say that the Revell tones are very good, but the Xtracolor paint is pretty far off. X264 is rather a dark petrol blue, reminiscent of FS35042. Graublau is much more dull and grey-ish, rather a bluish FS36081 - and on real aircraft it almost looks like tar, no blue hue at all to detect.
Anyway, I still used X264, since my 42+15 would sport an experimental paint scheme, so it would not matter much - and X264 would still be the darkest tone of the paint scheme, with good contrast to RAL 7009 and 7012, which are very similar and have almost no contrast. Interesting scheme, though, esp. due to its large color bandages all around the hull instead of smaller patches or stripes.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Best alternative I could find is Humbrol 77, which is still too greenish, though - mixing it 1:1 with Humbrol 32 might yield something that comes close to RAL 5008.

With a little shading with lighter tones (including RLM 71 from Testors, Humbrol 79 and 77, as well as some acryllic dark grey as an overall filter), a black ink wash and some dry-brushing the contrast was enhanced and the surface slightly weathered. German aircraft were kept in good shape, but at times the weather and sunlight would take their toll and bleach the colors, esp. on the upper sides - RAL 7012 would quickly deteriorate into a relatively light grey with a slight, purple hue!

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Both Cerberus and BOZ-101 pods were painted in different shades of grey, though, as if they'd belong to a differently camouflaged Marineflieger aircraft. The Kormoran missiles were painted according to pics of the real thing, in a dark olive drab color.

National markings and some German stencils were taken from an Xtradecal sheet for German Tornados, as well as from a sheet of an Italeri Tornado with Luftwaffe markings. The tactical codes were created from single digits from a respective TL Modellbau decal sheet.

Cockpit interior was painted in a very dark grey, according to pictures from the real Sue. The air intake interior and the landing gear wells were kept in aluminum (Humbrol 56), while the landing gear struts received a mix of aluminum and white.

1:72 AMD Super Étendard; aircraft '42+15' of Marinefliegergeschwader (MFG) 2, Eggebek (Germany); mid 1984 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In the end, a simple project: only a fantasy paint scheme and some minor changed details to the OOB kit. But the German wraparound scheme suits the Sue well, and its service introduction in France as well as the retirement of the German Starfighters in the early 80ies makes this a potentially convincing and plausible whif. And, honestly, it was actually a relief from some recent major kit conversions and kitbashings - and a tribute to the creative spirit of PantherG at whatifmodelers.com.

James · June 17, 2013, 02:22:57 AM

I like that. I like that a lot.

Dizzyfugu · June 17, 2013, 02:25:19 AM

Thank you!

Spey_Phantom · June 17, 2013, 02:35:53 AM

looks very convincing, could have sworn it was real

excellent work!

PantherG · June 17, 2013, 03:24:04 AM

WOOONDERFUL work and excellent story.....

Many thanks Dizzyfugu... its very pleausible to see my foolish ideas and sketches "hardwared"....

Dizzyfugu · June 17, 2013, 04:30:45 AM

You're welcome! Actually, I find the Sue to be a very dull aircraft, but thanks to your idea and imagination I finally built one - and it looks pretty cool, too...!

NARSES2 · June 17, 2013, 07:55:16 AM

That looks so right

lancer · June 17, 2013, 12:17:52 PM

That is a thing of absolute beauty....

Hotte · June 17, 2013, 12:36:32 PM

Super

Hotte

Dizzyfugu · June 17, 2013, 11:26:59 PM

Thanks a lot to everyone!

Jay-Jay · June 18, 2013, 01:07:29 AM

"Un pur délice du début à la fin !"
JJ

Dizzyfugu · June 18, 2013, 07:38:51 AM

Oh, merci bien! Enchanté!

Hobbes · June 18, 2013, 10:12:41 AM

Very nice, and those photos are amazing!

Dizzyfugu · June 18, 2013, 11:48:34 PM

Quote from: Hobbes on June 18, 2013, 10:12:41 AM
Very nice, and those photos are amazing!

Thank you. Actually, I think that this picture series is very good too. Some motivs were hard to edit (see the oil rig pics, esp. the one with the Starfighter), but overall they show how well a rather simple model "gains" attractiveness through a matching setting. Almost all in-flight pics were taken in front of real North Sea backgrounds (no composing, just some editing to hide landing gear and holder), and the ground pics were also taken in front of German AB settings, including Eggebek. I think that a whif becomes much more convincing through such scenes - and it is also a good way to present a model.

upnorth · June 25, 2013, 10:35:02 AM

Very convincing! It looks so natural in those colours.