Alternate History Combat Aircraft
- Thread starter S. Marlowski
- Start date
-
- Tags
- aircraft helicopter
Its an old pic, you've seen it before but the gull wings probably went unnoticed the first time.
Tried a bird's eye view too but it wasn't working out, will try again at a future date.
I have? Well, this is a good refresher then. I’mma save this design.
Yeah remember when you had your friend paint my Confederate A-44 Raptor? I liked your friends paintjob and asked if he could do the A9M as well but when you told me how much he charged I decided to wait. If I can do a bird's eye view I might reconsider.
Boeing Washington R6, Cyprus 1956
Acquired from the USA at the time of the B50 purchase a number of older b29's also found their way into RAF service' initially to be used as flying airframe instruction they were eventually converted just before Operation Musketeer as night flying electronic recon and countermeasure aircraft.
flying well into the 1960's the washingtons quietly disappeared from service with no fuss.
Acquired from the USA at the time of the B50 purchase a number of older b29's also found their way into RAF service' initially to be used as flying airframe instruction they were eventually converted just before Operation Musketeer as night flying electronic recon and countermeasure aircraft.
flying well into the 1960's the washingtons quietly disappeared from service with no fuss.
CONCORDE R2/1 ARMEE DE L AIR, Escadron de Chasse et d'Expérimentation 05.330 NATO TIGERMEET, UPPER HEYFORD 1990
Following on from the acheivements made by the RAF concorde units France, as co builder of the aircraft, could not as a matter of national pride ignore the aircraft . However the Armee de l Air did not have a bomber reqiuirment so the President and premier instructed the Air force commander to manufacture some sort of requirment for the Concorde in the next two months or..........well the threat was unsaid but understood by all.
This meeting oproduceed the French need for the Concorde recce aircraft.......based upon the RAF's aircraft the r2/1 was quickly introduced into service ( 10 aircraft purchased ) and into frontline service by 1983 when she was fully able to cash in on experiance gained from Falklands service with the UK.
Without the major weapons bay of the UK aircraft the french examples carried comprehensive recce fits in aerodynamic pods carried under the wings, including ....infa red sensors, optical cameras and airbourne radars plus other never revealed systems. Without the Uk's aircrafts bombbay the french aircraft were able to fully utilise the body of the Concorde for fuel and as such no airbourne refueling system was never fitted or needed.
Operating from 1983 right through the 91 disaster and beyond it was french Concordes that confirmed to the UK and France that the US armed forces had fractured along the lines of the country after the 91 disaster and no third strike was likely at the time, and they where the first aircraft to capture photos of the remains of Moscow and Minsk. Flying in the Strategic recce role right up to 2010 the concorde racked up an enviable record of safety and reliability.
The aircraft illustrated was flown by Escadron de Chasse et d'Expérimentation 05.330 and was a visiter to the 1990 Nato Tigermeet ( both the UK and France are NATO members but the organisation is much weaker ITTL ) at Upper Hayford, she remainde in this " Special " livery for a very short time as so much of concorde's airframe cooling was achieved via its white paint scheme and in fact in ths livey the aircraft was prohibited from going supersonic.
Following on from the acheivements made by the RAF concorde units France, as co builder of the aircraft, could not as a matter of national pride ignore the aircraft . However the Armee de l Air did not have a bomber reqiuirment so the President and premier instructed the Air force commander to manufacture some sort of requirment for the Concorde in the next two months or..........well the threat was unsaid but understood by all.
This meeting oproduceed the French need for the Concorde recce aircraft.......based upon the RAF's aircraft the r2/1 was quickly introduced into service ( 10 aircraft purchased ) and into frontline service by 1983 when she was fully able to cash in on experiance gained from Falklands service with the UK.
Without the major weapons bay of the UK aircraft the french examples carried comprehensive recce fits in aerodynamic pods carried under the wings, including ....infa red sensors, optical cameras and airbourne radars plus other never revealed systems. Without the Uk's aircrafts bombbay the french aircraft were able to fully utilise the body of the Concorde for fuel and as such no airbourne refueling system was never fitted or needed.
Operating from 1983 right through the 91 disaster and beyond it was french Concordes that confirmed to the UK and France that the US armed forces had fractured along the lines of the country after the 91 disaster and no third strike was likely at the time, and they where the first aircraft to capture photos of the remains of Moscow and Minsk. Flying in the Strategic recce role right up to 2010 the concorde racked up an enviable record of safety and reliability.
The aircraft illustrated was flown by Escadron de Chasse et d'Expérimentation 05.330 and was a visiter to the 1990 Nato Tigermeet ( both the UK and France are NATO members but the organisation is much weaker ITTL ) at Upper Hayford, she remainde in this " Special " livery for a very short time as so much of concorde's airframe cooling was achieved via its white paint scheme and in fact in ths livey the aircraft was prohibited from going supersonic.
Cool models Bro but this thread is really more for original drawings (well somewhat original mostly
) of alternate combat aircraft.The model kit thread and Alternate Air & Space thread would benefit more from your aircraft models.
I'm a fan of your kits and skills BTW.
Is there a reason known why they did put it there? I have seen a number of these single-fuselage-twin-engine designs and none of them had this kind of extreme air-intake.
Improvement in the jet-engine design allowed Avro to make an impromptu come back after the Bumblebee disaster with the Hawker Siddeley Orenda P.13 engine from its Canadian division. With the Avro Arrow becoming less and less a possibility, the British firm decided to buy it to create a cheap, fast, short-range interceptor that they could sell to the cash-stripped British military.
The plane that would become the Avro Bolt was designed to peak at over mach 2 and have a cruising speed of at least mach 1 with a combat range of 1000 km (620 miles). It was originally armed with only 6 ADEN 30mm cannons before adding attachment points under the wings for Fireflash radar-guided air-to-air missile. This led to the inclusion of a small radar cone to increase its size and capability.
Its short and stubby frame was supporting its triangular delta wings and cruciform tail plane, the cabin was a bubble canopy with a ejector seat. The test pilots that tried the prototype were mixed in their review; while over mach 1 it was incredibly maneuverable and had a good handling, at slower speed it was a difficult to handle due to the need of keeping an aggressive angle of attack to maintain lift despite the relatively big wings. Nonetheless, it was convened that it would only be an issue during take-off as its cruise speed was close to mach 1, so better training was the only thing that would be needed. One of the test pilot perfectly resumed the plane: "It's at first a mean little brute but give it time and it's a real swan."
With the Supermarine Swift being more and more a disappointment with many accidents and aerodynamic difficulties, it was decided to temporarily ground the Swift in 1955. This was the moment Avro waited and they capitalized on it, proposing the Avro Bolt as a possible replacement. While some in the government had though about phasing the Swift with Hawker Hunter, the fact that the Hunter was mainly a fighter-bomber, not optimized for interception, made them decide to accept the Bolt as a replacement for the Swift instead.
Quite cheap, their number would grow, as a light-weight, all weather interceptor, the Avro Bolt was exactly what the British government could ask. Quickly replacing the Swift, in 1957 it was the main British interceptor. In the same year it would get its first refit with the replacement of the Fireflash missiles by the Firestreak heat-seeking air-to-air missiles, they would adapt the heat detector in the missile pod to simplify the process and avoid touching too much to the plane brand new electronics.
While a success on the British isles, it would also become a success on the international scene as Avro began exporting the cheap interceptor to other countries. In 1958, after the failure of the 14 July Revolution, the Hashemite monarchy in both Iraq and Jordan strengthen their ties with the British government to modernize their state and that included the sale of modern military equipment. Avro sold 200 Bolt to Iraq in addition of trainers and 30 to Jordan. Kuweit would soon follow with a contract for 30 Bolt and 300 Firestreak missiles, Qatar right behind them for 20 Bolt and 100 Firestreak missiles. In 1959 South Africa would take command of 50 Bolt with trainers and additional spare parts, with an option to increase the number up to 150. This command would be interrupted in 1963 with the ban on the sale of military hardware as part of the British effort against Apartheid.
Most of the pilots would eventually grow to love the plane, despite the initial reactions being usually pretty negative due to the tricky take-off. One of the squadron that would be ubiquitous with the Avro Bolt would be the famed squadron 303, the still maintained Polish squadron. Threatened to disappear after WW2, the British decision to offer asylum to any Polish refugee quickly led to the repatriation of many of the families of the original pilots as well as many members of the Polish resistance and army. The RAF was quick to capitalize on this and with the cooperation of the Polish Government in Exile, still located in London, they maintained a steady stream of volunteer to man the unit. They took the task of protecting their surrogate home with the upmost serious and warmly welcomed the arrival of the Avro Bolt to replace the problematic Swift. Nicknamed "Garbus" or "Garby" by the Polish pilot, garbus meaning hunchback in Polish, probably due to the plane bulging near the canopy, the name would spread amongst the British pilot as well.
It would keep its role until 1969, due to the advancement in electronic and weaponry, the Bolt platform had reached its maximal potential and a only a total redraw would allow it to be modernized. The arrival of the American Sidewinder missiles, superior to even the newly equipped Redtop missile, notably required entirely different weapon platform. Despite this, it would stay in British service until 1973 as secondary interceptor and would keep being used by international client until 1988.
Last edited:
a Lend-lease F4U Corsair used by the USSR aboard the Project-71 Carrier Nikolai Kamanin, In a setting where the Red Navy is able to expand before the outbreak of WWII and acquire some long-range fleet assets.
With Operation Downfall in full swing following the failure of the Manhattan Project to produce a working Atom Bomb, the USSR is biting huge swaths of territory out of northern Asia as the USA and UK forces battle a bloody slog through the Japanese Home Islands. the whole of Korea has fallen to the Red Army, as has Manchuria and Sakhalin Island. Port Arthur is once more in Russian hands, as Stalin's forces advance deep into China, squeezing Nationalist forces into tighter and tighter pockets as the Red Army joins with the PLA forces under Mao Zedong.
In an effort to secure their newfound coastal possessions, the Red Navy, including their newly-completed Project 71 Carrier, sorties from Vladivostok to "aid" the Western Allies in mopping up the remainder of the IJN and even launching a few token air raids on Northern Japan, which may be a harbinger of further efforts southward on Stalin's part...
Interesting timeline. I am already thinking of what USSR airplanes could replace the lend-lease corsairs once Stalin's aircraft carrier force matures.