RAAF F-105D Thunderchief 2.0

This is a what-if mod of the stock F-105D Thunderchief, with Sundowner's new high-resolution skins, for the Royal Australian Air Force.

Backstory

During the late 1950s, Australia faced a worsening strategic situation to its north. Having helped Indonesia gain its independence in 1949, Australia now faced an increasingly hostile government, led by the nationalist dictator Sukarno. As time went on, Sukarno tempered his nationalism with communism, and considered himself South-East Asia's foremost anti-colonialist. Indonesia's communist party, the PKI, was the third largest communist party in the world, exceeded by only the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Sukarno's closer relationship with the USSR had tangible rewards for Indonesia's armed forces, the TNI. Soviet weapons poured into Indonesia. Australian defence leaders doubted that their Avon-Sabres could intercept Indonesia's Il-28 Beagle bombers, and were absolutely certain that they couldn't touch Tu-16 Badgers. Likewise, the ability of the GAF Canberra to survive against an air defence equipped with supersonic MiG fighters was questionable at best.

To be assured of their ability to attack a target in Indonesia (possibly with a "special weapon"), Australia needed a new strike aircraft. The Menzies Government ordered the F-111C off the drawing board. In the meantime, an interim aircraft was sought. The B-47 Stratojet was offered, but rejected. The B-47 was seen as too unwieldly for the RAAF. The USAF's current tactical strike aircraft, the F-105 Thunderchief, seemed to fit the bill.

Australia's Thunderchiefs were delivered quickly. Shortly after the F-111 order was placed, Thuds began to arrive in Australia. Three RAAF Squadrons were equipped with the F-105, 1 Squadron, 2 Squadron, 6 Squadron, and 12 Squadron. 2 Squadron was deployed to RAAF Butterworth for forward defence, while 1 and 6 Squadrons were based at RAAF Amberley. As with most RAAF aircraft, it served with the Aircraft Research and Development Unit.

1965 was a key year in the history of the Australian Thunderchiefs. The Abortive Coup in Indonesia in September removed Australia's primary threat, and Australia committed combat forces to support the government of South Vietnam.

2 Squadron were moved from RAAF Butterworth to RAAF Ubon in eastern Thailand. 2 Squadron's F-105 Thunderchiefs operated alongside their US equivalents in attacking North Vietnam.

The RAAF's Thuds remained in Thailand until the withdrawal of Australian forces in Vietnam in 1972. During that time, they operated on both sides of the DMZ, and were the preferred support for the Australian Task Force in Phuoc Tuy province. The Task Force especially appreciated the accuracy of the Australian F-105 pilots. Several RNZAF pilots flew Australian Thunderchiefs on exchange postings.

As the USAF replaced their Thunderchiefs with Phantoms, the American Thuds were given to the RAAF to replace their losses.

When 2 Squadron returned to Australia, it was immediately disbanded, and its crews were sent to 1 and 6 Squadrons to train for the F-111C, which was finally to arrive.

The RAAF's Wild Weasels continued in service until 1983.

Skins

• Natural metal - This is the scheme in which the aircraft were delivered. In RAAF service, it was used until 1966, when circumstances forced the RAAF to camouflage their aircraft. This skin is provided only for the F-105D, however should you wish to use it with the F-105D_66, then simply copy the RAAFSilver folder into the F-105D_66 folder, and rename the aircraft textures from F-105D_x.bmp to F-105D_66_x.bmp.
• SEA - This scheme was introduced for the RAAF's Thuds in 1966 for usage in Vietnam. All RAAF F-105D Thunderchiefs eventually wore this scheme. It persisted until the retirement of the Thud.
• Anti-Flash White - Between 1962 and 1965, ARDU (the RAAF's test flying unit) operated three F-105Ds in a special anti-flash white scheme. The aircraft were used for testing a variety of conentional and nuclear weapons. While ARDU's home base was RAAF Laverton, the White Thuds operated almost exclusively from the secretive Woomera Test Facility.
  

Installation

Copy the contents of ModFolder into your mod folder. Merge/overwrite when prompted. Please see Notes first.

Notes

This mod contains a squadronlist.ini file. If you do not wish to alter your own, then you should add the following into your squadronlist.ini:

[squadron193]
Name=2RAAF
DisplayName=No. 2 Squadron
Nation=Australia

[squadron716]
Name=1RAAF
DisplayName=No. 1 Squadron
Nation=Australia

[squadron725]
Name=ARDU
DisplayName=Aircraft Research and Development Unit
Nation=Australia

[squadron726]
Name=6RAAF
DisplayName=No. 6 Squadron
Nation=Australia

[squadron727]
Name=12RAAF
DisplayName=No. 12 Squadron
Nation=Australia

Should these numbers not correspond with those in your squadronlist.ini, then change the numbers on the file, and the filenames of the SQN decals accordingly. Note that there are two decals for ARDU. Both must be renamed.

Credits

• TK: Stock F-105D, TW series
• Sundowner: Hi-Res F-105 templates and skins
• HomeFries: Squadron insignia
• Spinners: Anti-Flash White skin
  

To make your own F-105 skins, use Sundowner's templates: http://combatace.com/files/file/14427-hi-res-tw-f-105d-templates/