Lockheed Starfighter F.2A for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2:Europe
This is a simple mod of the stock Third Wire F-104G to give a 'what if' Starfighter F.2A interceptor-fighter with markings for No.19 and No.92 squadrons of RAF Germany as they might have appeared during the 1970's. 
This mod requires you to have SF2E for the F-104G LODs which are, of course, NOT included here.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the StarfighterF2A folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the StarfighterF2A folder into your Decals folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
Special thanks to bobrock for the excellent F-104G template used here for the skin and the specular maps.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - February 22nd, 2024.

Lockheed Starfighter F.1 for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2:Europe
This is a simple mod of the stock Third Wire F-104G to give a 'what if' Starfighter F.1 interceptor-fighter with markings for No.56 and No.74 squadrons of RAF Fighter Command as they might have appeared during the mid-1960's through to the mid-1970's.
This mod requires you to have SF2E for the F-104G LODs which are, of course, NOT included here.

BACKSTORY
With no Hunter replacement on the horizon and with the Lightning programme progressing slowly (and being clearly of no use in the tactical fighter role) the RAF suddenly became interested in the F-104-7 (later renamed F-104G) Starfighter programme during 1958 and in April 1959 followed West Germany in ordering the type as the Starfighter F.1 for air defence and the Starfighter FGA.2 as a tactical fighter for both RAF Germany and also for No.38 Group. 
The F.1 for RAF Fighter Command was the initial production version and these were manufactured by Canadair and were powered by the Orenda-built J79 OEL-9 engine developing 10,500lbs of thrust dry and 16,000lbs of thrust with reheat. Entering service with No.56 Squadron in early 1962 the Starfighter F.1 introduced the Firestreak infra-red homing air-to-air missile and also the Skylance radar-guided air-to-air missile (based on the American Sparrow) carried on underwing pylons. 

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the StarfighterF1 folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the StarfighterF1 folder into your Decals folder.
3. From the WEAPONS folder drag and drop the two folders into your Weapons folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
Special thanks to bobrock for the excellent F-104G template used here for the skin and the specular maps.
Thanks to Russo for the Firestreak air-to-air missile from his superb Lightning F.6 (check it out) included here in case you haven't got access to the Third Wire one.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - February 20th, 2024.

McDonnell Douglas Phantom F-4M_89 for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2
This is a simple mod of the stock Third Wire Phantom FGR.2 (F-4M_75) to give a fictional 'Kiwi' Phantom with markings for No.2 squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force as they might have appeared during the 1990's. It goes without saying that you will need to have the F-4M_75 from SF2:Europe.

BACKSTORY
 
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 thus 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 'Forest' style camo scheme and with digital INAS, upgraded RWR and new outer wing panels. Entering service with No.2 squadron in early 1989 (supposedly as the Karearea 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.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the F-4M_89 folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the F-4M_89 folder into your Decals folder.
3. From the WEAPONS folder drag and drop the SUU-23G folder into your Weapons folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - February 18th, 2024.
 

McDonnell Douglas F-4L (USMC/USN) Phantom for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2
This is a simple mod of the stock Third Wire F-4M_75 to give a fictional USMC Phantom F-4L with markings for VMFA-333 'Shamrocks'. Also included is a USN VF-111 scheme that generally uses stock decals but is included here to give a blank F-4L tail for you to do other squadrons by using stock decals. It goes without saying that you will need to have the F-4M_75 from SF2:Europe.

BACKSTORY
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 USMC '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. 

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the F-4L_75 folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the F-4L_75 folder into your Decals folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - February 17th, 2024.
 

SF2 P-51D/K Mustang by Crisis Remod Pack       1/28/2024
-For SF2, Any and All-
Another 1stGen Salvage Project...
This is an SF2 Remod of P-51D Mustang by crisis. Historically this was one of the first aircraft mods released for SF1 in approx 2008. While the model still has some issues (see "Notes"), it's fully functional, and has been upgraded for the SF2 environment. I believe this will be a complimentary aircraft for the stock 3W Mustang (and others).
This mod is supplied with just about all the original skin sets I could find from the 1stGen SF mods section and from Marcfighters archive. Unfortunately, several were not up to snuff, with inaccurate coloration, or had painted-on markings that make it impossible to allow the use of the superb 3W decal system. Therefore several, while replicating the originals, are new builds. These were made from a new template, and it is included. These skin sets cover US Army Air Force (WW2 ETO), USAF (post-war), Korean War units for the USAF, RoKAF, SAAF, and Israeli Air Force directly post-WW2 and during the 1956 Suez Crisis.. Several of the included skins make use of decal sets I created for other mods, as you all know how I hate to waste good decals!!! :)
You will find herein ...
USAAF/USAF:
362nd FS,357th FG (ETO) -1944 start date (NMF)
375th FS, 361st FG (ETO) -Sept, 1944 start date (Camo/NMF/Invasion Stripes under wing/fues)
"USAFSilver", Generic NMF -10/1947 start date
12th FBS, 18th FBG (Korea) -1950 start date
SAAF:
2 Sqdn, SAAF "Flying Cheetahs" -1950 start date
IDFAF:
No.101 Sqdn (NMF) -1948 start date
No.116 Sqdn Blue/Brown Camo (1956<) -Suez Crisis camo scheme
RoKAF:
51st PFS* (ROKAF) -Korean War. #18 is Col. Dean Hess' aircraft, with nose art
*=Provisional Fighter Squadron
98.6% of the markings are decals, with some small exceptions (see notes). Decal randomization is TRUE.
While many skins had to be remade, some are still 'as issued' (un-retouched). All remain in bmp format. As is usual, serial numbers & 'plane in squadron letters' (WW2 & Korea) are as historically accurate as possible. Those fully 100% matched are marked with the star (*), those correct, but unable to match to a individual code letter are marked with the plus/cross (+), those with no mark are generic.
For those units listed in the game's SquadronList ini, my (patent pending) 'fake SqTail' decal is used to activate their name displayed on the Loadout screen. The SF2 'date switch' is used for all services on their respective skin sets.
Sounds and drop tanks are included. All weapons used are also included. If you End Users (tm) have the SF2I expansion that adds the Mustang and WW2 era weapon, feel free to edit the loadout ini to use those stock in-game 3rd Wire items. The data ini has been brought up, as much as possible, to current standards. The FM test drives as fully compatable with SF2.
When in-game, you'll see
P-51D/K Mustang (cr)
on the Aircraft Selection dropdown. This "(cr)" will differenize this one from the 3rd Wire or Wolf357's (and variations thereof). This mod DOES (sorta) cover both the D & K variants, as there's very little (actual) difference between them (one built in Inglewood, CA -D; the other in Dallas, TX -K; albeit with a different prop). Canopy acutation uses the Standard Animation Keystroke (tm), Shift/0.
As is always reccomended, unzip to a temp folder or your desktop to give easy access to the rest of this readme for it's install instructions. Also, give the "Notes" a browse, as it explains certain issues this model has, and the change logs.
Good Hunting and Happy Landings!
Wrench
Kevin Stein
 

McDonnell Douglas F-4M (USAF) Phantom for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2:Europe
This is a simple mod of the stock F-4M_75 to give a fictional USAFE Phantom F-4M with markings for all three squadrons of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath during the mid 1970's.

BACKSTORY
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 British licence-built 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 (for the Spey turbofan 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.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the F-4M_74 folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the F-4M_74 folder into your Decals folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - February 16th, 2024.

Vought F-8EJ Crusader for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2:VIETNAM
This is a simple mod of the stock Crusader F-8E to give a fictional F-8EJ in service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) during the 1964 - 1985 timeline with markings for;
 
203rd Hikotai (overall grey).
302nd Hikotai (overall blue with sharkmouth).

BACKSTORY
After a long selection process the Vought F-8EJ was finally selected by the JASDF in 1962 as its standard interceptor-fighter. With it's impressive unrefuelled range, reliable Pratt & Whitney J-57-P-20J engine and powerful Magnavox APQ-94J radar the F-8EJ served with a total of eight JASDF squadrons with initial deliveries commencing in late 1964. 
Compared to the superb multi-role F-8E, and because of Japan's own 'self-defense' status and imposed peace treaty terms, the F-8EJ was stripped of much of it's surface-attack capability but gained a modified APQ-94 radar, wing-mounted AIM-7E Sparrow missiles and also had a very useful anti-ship capability (deemed acceptable as being an 'anti-invasion' capability) and all eight 'Hikotai' had maritime attack and reconnaissance as a secondary role. The F-8EJ's served until the mid-1980's with the 302nd Hikotai being the last to surrender this very popular aircraft in JASDF service in 1985.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the F-8EJ folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the F-8EJ folder into your Decals folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - February 13th, 2024.
 

Northrop/McDonnell Douglas F-23J for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2
This is a simple mod of Dels' excellent F-23A 'Black Widow' to give a fictional F-23J 'Tora' (Tiger) of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force with markings for the 302nd Hikotai in a retro 'Zero' scheme (suggested by Canadair).

BACKSTORY
(This backstory was for my Israeli F-23 but explains why the Black Widow ended up in the land of the Rising Sun).
With the success of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and F-15 Eagle in Heyl HaAvir service the Israeli's were hoping that the Northrop/McDonnell Douglas F-23A 'Black Widow' would win the USAF's ATF competition to continue their relationship with the McDonnell team at St. Louis but unfortunately Lockheed Martin's victory in the ATF competition looked like bringing an end to a long and enduring partnership.
However in a brave move, in May 1991 the Northrop/McDonnell Douglas team secured permission from Congress to actively market the F-23 to (State Department) 'approved' nations and offered a single-seat multi-role 
version called the F-23I (International) to Germany, Japan, Israel and the UK. With Germany looking for any excuse to get out of the Eurofighter consortium and facing high reunification costs they persuaded the UK to team up in a combined purchase of 200 F-23I's. In return, this led to the German and UK Governments persuading Northrop/McDonnell Douglas to make BAe and MBB prime sub-contractors for any further export sales. 
However, with only 200 F-23I's on order Northrop/McDonnell Douglas were not convinced that it was enough to start a viable programme but the breakthrough came in January 1994 when, due to increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the USAF agreed to purchase 100 F-23A's for PACAF (the air component of United States Pacific Command) and this move finally saw Japan and Israel also join the programme with 100 F-23I's each.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the F-23J folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the F-23J folder into your Decals folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
Massive thanks to Dels for this superb add-on aircraft - one of the very best.
Special thanks to Canadair for suggesting the retro Zero style F-23J.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - February 12th, 2024.