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it'll be here soon, i swear. just getting some professional help right now

It's an F35, who cares, fly a proper aeroplane..........one that works and looks prettier....sorry, couldn't resist.

Fly to the Moon...

The scandal after the incident of Palmdale and the MightyMouse fiasco led to a rush to phase out these air to air rockets. In many cases, it was solved with new interceptors or replacing them with Falcon missiles in existing types, however a very sizeable fleet of F-86Ds was to remain in service for a while and then be passed on to ANG units. Many of those were refitted with new F-86F40 wings (please play along, I kept the tips out of frame) , new electronics, including capability to operate with SAGE, better engine and, most noticeably a new weapons set up, replacing the rocket tray with the cannon arrangement of the F-86Ks and adding Sidewinder missile rails. The redesignated F-86Ls would become the backbone of the ANG during much of the 1960s, with a few being deployed to Vietnam and Thailand to provide air defense against the odd raid and a good adversary to simulate MiG-17s on training.

Searching for Saddam convoy...

Drones ;) AQM-37A Jayhawk Targetdrones Just a little sideproject to keep me motivated. AQM-37-model made by me with Blender. Inspired by > this < picture.

Back in 2004 a book was released by Osprey that likely caused a few (thousand) Internet forum arguments……………...Iranian F-14 Tomcat units in combat by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop. The information in the book shattered the typical Western held views and perception of what really might have happened during the eight-year Iran Vs Iraq conflict in the 1980s. The book is probably owned by most Tomcat fans out there and even was referred to positively by both Dave Baranek and his guest Iranian former F-14 pilot (Mikey) in Episode 5 of the Tomcast on YouTube. But what was the controversy all about and how accurate was the information presented? After all information is usually the first casualty of war and it usually takes decades afterwards to even start scratching the surface. Lack of Information Osprey books are normally very well researched using the best information available that they can get released into the public domain. That information can often be cross checked especially in the US where more of this information is available. The problem with the Iran/ Iraq conflict is that most of the official Iraq war records seems to have been lost during the constant state of conflict there. Likewise getting credible information from Iran also involves contacting those who have to remain anonymous due to such things as political persecution and death threats. (Even if they live outside of Iran) Trust Today Tom Cooper is probably one of the top authorities on Middle Eastern Combat having published many books with leading Historians….. but this book was one of his first and it had listed almost no source references! You basically had to put trust that Osprey had actually had a look at where this information was coming from. What gets your backs up! The book is only written from an Iranian point of view and thus, to most of us that does not mean you can dismiss it but you need to be weary that there is always more than one side to every story. We also have to accept that the information on the conflict was still not great at this point in time and therefore unlike most Osprey books you had to accept that the information was raw and a higher percentage of it was likely wrong. For an example of the hodgepodge of data, in the chapter “The Fog of Disinformation” it states: “It remains unclear exactly how many air-to air kills were scored by IRIAF F-14s between 7 Sept 1980 and 7 July 1988” It then tells us that a Post war Iranian conference concluded that a total of 71 x AIM-54s had been fired with a further 10 lost (Due to crashes/defection etc) The conference also determined the F-14 had a total of 30 x confirmed kills with 16 of those confirmed AIM-54 kills. The author then states that they have further evidence for 130 confirmed kills total including 40 with the AIM-54. Then if we move to the Appendices, it lists another figure - around 58 “confirmed kills” with the AIM-54 and around 159 total confirmed kills. [more on that later] So then the hodgepodge of information gives a total that might be in the range of 30 to 159 for total claims, and AIM-54 claims might range from 16 to 58 [okay] Accuracy The book was the first time most found out that perhaps the F-14s were used in combat and that stories of the US sabotaging all the missiles etc were not completely true. This is one thing in the book at least that is backed up in some other interviews like here: What is the biggest myth about the Iranian F-14s? “The most tiresome is that the departing US personnel stationed in Iran managed to sabotage Iranian F-14 radar, electronics and Phoenix missiles before leaving Iran in the ensuing days after the 1979 revolution. Let me tell you that I was a young officer during those days at Esfahan Khatami air base. Our wing commanders and senior officers made sure this never happened. We lined up departing American personnel before boarding their TWA aircraft and inspected them all. From: F-14 Tomcat pilot Col. Fereydoun A. Mazandarani (rtd) The Appendices and the art of the Kill Although there is probably a lot of useful information in the book the one area that always seems a tad flaky was the Appendices which lists 159 confirmed kills in total for the Iranian F-14A. It does at least list some sources for the information. What we can do is take information released more recently (including newer text from T Cooper) from the Iraqi side and see what has changed and if it can be matched up in anyway to these confirmed kills. In particular Iraqi Mirages in Combat (2018, Miguel Garcia, Independent) Iraqi Mirages (2019, Tom Cooper & Milos Sipos, Helion) A confirmed kill is not a confirmed Kill In the history of aerial warfare, the difference between confirmed kills stated by one side only and the real actual kills has been like the difference between Jupiter and the Sun! In fact, ridiculous claims are even partly to blame for major blunders such as the USAAF sending in unescorted bombers for so long over Germany in 1943 to their inevitable slaughter. After all, why do you need escort fighters if your bomber crews claims show they have already shot down the entire Luftwaffe! A good airforce should only claim a confirmed kill based on multiple criteria – even gun camera film in the past has not been enough evidence of an actual shootdown. Pilots in the stress of combat are extremely bad eyewitnesses and here we have a conflict where pilots are firing missiles BVR. One explosion in the distance or a radar blip disappearing are not evidence of an actual shootdown. So, a “confirmed kill” by one side is usually better described as a “Claim” instead. 33 claims on Mirage F1s………. hmm That’s right, the Appendices in the book list 33 F-14A “confirmed kills” (claims) over Mirage F1s. (Garcia M) only lists a total of 32 Mirages lost over the period to all causes! Out of that, only 2 of those dates match any of those 33 events. [what!] So is that 2 actual losses only out of 33 claims listed!! [Oh dear]. But wait you say that independent book from Garcia M cannot be much use, can it? Well, the thing is the 2019 (T Cooper / Sipos) book actually matches the information in the (Garcia M) book closely and almost disowns the 2004 data like a child that doesn’t meet its ideals. The (T Cooper / Sipos) book does mention another 2 of the events out of the list of 33 but in both cases states the missiles fired by the F-14 missed the Mirages. So where does the figure of 33 comes from? - Is it coincidence that the total number of Mirage F1 losses (Garcia M) to all causes comes to about 32 for that period?? Better information? Either way both of the newer books provide information that Iranian F-14As may have shot down 7 or 8 Mirage F1s during the conflict [Yes, slightly less than 33]. Likewise, they also show that Mirage F1s may have shot down 4 x F-14As (a 5th F-14A was hit but flew back to base) Is that accurate? – only time will tell but at least the numbers are going in the right direction [down] Other things noted in the 2004 book are, the Appendices also show most of the Sidewinders and Sparrows used as the type AIM-9P and AIM-7E-4. The more recent information suggests that Iran only had the AIM-9J and AIM-7E-2 and were essentially using ones supplied for their F-4s which had degraded capability because of it. Also, on page 76 the 2004 book tells us (from the Iranian side) that Iraq received Super 530D and Magic 2 missiles. The recent information in both newer books suggest Iraq only received Magic 1 and Super 530F missiles and nearly all their claims were using the Super 530F. So, perhaps some progress has been made in the past 2 decades because instead of these authors shouting at people on internet forums (yes, some did) there is maybe a bit more calm and willingness to look at both sides and the actual data available. The final word on the book is that its real value was not only to highlight that the conflict was very different to published stories about it at the time, but also may have helped inspire those more passionate to get out there and start digging for better information. Sources · Iraqi Mirages in Combat (2018, Garcia M, Independent) · Iraqi Mirage (2019, Cooper T, Sipos M, Helion) · Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in combat (2004, Cooper T, Bishop F, Osprey) · Air Combat Memoirs of the Iranian Air Force Pilots (2015, Ryan, K, Bishop F, Independent) · Schweinfurt-Regensburg 1943 (2020, Marshall Michel III, Osprey) The Tomcast Episode 5: Iranian F-14s (2020, Baranek, Online): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q5Y_ai4s2Y Interview with Fereydoun Mazandarani (2020, Hushkit, Online): https://hushkit.net/2020/04/07/interview-with-the-greatest-living-fighter-ace-f-14-tomcat-pilot-col-rtd-fereydoun-a-mazandarani/

Anyone care to guess today's mission?

I would have, but I have other projects that I promised to have them completed too. But you will get your request may be sooner that what you expect.

Jean-Fidele Hierrot, Report #4: August 1915 On Saturday, 28 August, Sous Lieutenant Jean-Fidele Hierrot sent out two letters. This was the first letter, sent to his mother, Adélaïde: This was the second letter, sent to his godfather, Alphonse Gellée: That being said, after Jean-Fidele sent both letters, MS 12 would soon be under new management.

That was hell long two weeks. Check downloads .

Sometimes is shooting at short distance not such a good idea.

I just put my dumb a$$ in front of his lucky nose right in the moment when he took off... It must have been the shortest intercept mission of the history Instead I should have escorted the Thunderchiefs... but you can see how it ended...

Hi all, Sandbagger has posted an updated WOFF 0 BH&HII - Consolidated Custom Facilities Airfields Mod (Version 2.6). The download and the BH&HII Historically Populated Airfields Mod are available in the 'User Mods Pages' (Airfields). Airfields The page is dated 24th January 2022. If you don't see that date in the header block of those pages, clear your internet cache or refresh the page.

During the development of Operation Desert Storm: 30th Anniversary Edition, we found ourselves with so many sketchy details on the IrAF and the order of battle of Iraqi air units. Tom Cooper's data helped us quite a lot, but I personally went further to countercheck it with other sources I found with time. I still keep backups of them. It turns out I clarified few unit names in the IrAF, which aircraft they flew at the time of the Gulf War and on which airports they were based temporarily. It's a pity we do not have incontrovertible info; that 8 year long war left terrible wounds both in history of man and of aviation.

many thanks to Migbuster for your research and careful argumentation. as for Tom Cooper he sure is one of the leading public experts on the Middle East conflicts, but he often seems to take first person accounts as truth and at face value. btw, he sports a very heavy bias against Soviet equipment. as for MiG-23 vs Mirage F1 I remember having read that South-african Mirages were totally outclassed by Cuban MiGs in the "bush / Angolan war" during the 1980ies. cheers sokol

As a side note, I've always been impressed by the Mirage F1. Reading specs alone it doesn't feel like it would perform as good as it did historically against MiG-23s and F-14s

abit but not the longest out there by a long shot

So much to catch up and comment! But first, here's the latest from Auguste... The War Diary of Auguste Besson, Escadrille MS. 23, part 3. Our offensive in the Artois sector came to an end in late July. Sadly, despite a massive effort by all of our combined forces on both land and in the air, the outcome was a failure. There were some local successes, but the boche lines held and could not be broken. By then, I was getting quite familiar with everything and was actually enjoying my duties as a military pilot, despite all the dangers inherent to the job. I had managed to find my place in the escadrille and was developing a certain daily routine, which of course depended greatly on the orders we were given. In the last week of July, the Chief of Aviation of the Second Army issued a relocation order to our escadrille. We were ordered to move to a field located at a place called Matougues, near the city of Châlons-sur-Marne in the Marne Department. The Second Army front was being reorganized following the failed offensive, and our allies the British were extending their lines to the south with additional forces. The relocation of a whole escadrille from one base to another requires a major logistical effort and also great feats of improvisation. So, in the first week of August, our ground personnel began to gather up everything for transportation. They needed a lot of cars and lorries for the job, and what equipment the escadrille lacked was rapidly provided for by the army parks. The distance from Lahoussey in Flanders to Matougues in Marne is about 200 km as the Parasol flies, so it was no small task to get everything sorted out. Obviously the distance is even greater when travelling on the roads behind the front. Perhaps we will eventually have flying cars or big transport planes to fix that problem! We kept flying missions for as long as possible, in order to not waste any of our aviation resources still present in the Artois sector. But eventually, all of our machines were dismantled for transportation too. Fortunately the Parasol is a rather small and lightweight machine, and can be easily carried by a lorry. The journey to our new field was somewhat arduous. The weather turned bad in August and constant rains made the roads muddy and slippery. There were also mechanical failures in the lorries, which slowed our progress down to a crawl. I felt nothing but admiration for the men, NCO’s and officers serving as our support troops and doing their often difficult duty without complaints. Theirs is a task that does not receive any attention by the press, nor is it written about by authors interested only in stories of heroic combat. And yet, without the mechanics, drivers, and engineers, all of our efforts at fighting a modern war would soon grind to a halt! On August 7, we were finally at our new home, Matougues. It is a small community located on the southern bank of the river Marne along the road from Épernay to Châlons. Roughly to the northwest is the major city of Reims, defiantly facing the invading boche armies. The frontlines ran about 20 km from our field. We were now in the Fourth Army sector, though still formally attached to the Second Army of General Petain. Though Matougues is just a small village, the region itself is densely populated and there is no lack of proper housing for comfort-loving aviators! So we quickly set ourselves up in brick houses and the ground crew put up tent hangars for the machines. The field itself was smaller than Lahoussey but also quite easy to locate, being so close to the Marne.Terrain to the south of Reims is heavily wooded, especially compared to the open fields of Flanders. Flying in such a region presents additional challenges to the pilot, as making an emergency landing in a forest usually ends in a disaster! As soon as everything was ready on the ground, we began flying orientation missions to familiarize ourselves with our new sector. TO BE CONTINUED...

First attempts to make coast tiles. The buildings are TOD made, taken from Starys Green hell 3.5. The water and the port are new. I'm not really happy with it yet. But it is only a first step of a very long way.

F-104M Starfighter - Imperial Iranian Air Force, 1972 (Shar-fighter?)

One other factor, that I really don't know the answer to, is that the original Strike Fighters series started out in 2002. There are people out there that would probably enjoy the game that weren't even born then. Strike Fighters 2 came out in 2008, so there are probably some people that are now old enough to be interested in Strike Fighters, that have just plain never heard about it. It really would need to be re-marketed..and I'd argue that keeping the Strike Fighters 2 name does not really help. A bit of a rebranding with some new features might work wonders. I still think the key to success would be multiplayer (probably moreso than VR) but apparently that is hugely expensive. The hype that would be generated by watching half a dozen of us fly in MP on a strike against Haiphong or Port Stanley or Reykjavik would be phenomenal. I'm convinced that there is a market for SF2 type gameplay, but it has to be brought into the light by both the developer and us fans if we can get some improvements to showcase.

Good points streakeagle. Now I know how to word it better; Customers unable to venture out of the Gog/Steam realm are unlikely to put effort into learning to control + play Strike Fighters 2. They are even more unlikely to appreciate its modding possibilities. Though I may never really understand it, because I am not like that at all. On a side note. I remember ordering the 'Battle over Europe' addon for IL-2 Forgotten Battles, years ago. In the DVD case was a brochure. Besides the MS Flight Sim addons advertised, there were pages showcasing Strike Fighters Project 1 + Wings over Vietnam. Of course I took note immediately. Combat flight sims were already a rare thing. Maybe I should try to find that brochure again, and scan these SF pages. Edit; Pretty sure I threw it away. IIRC it was a https://www.justflight.com brochure. They did sell Strike Fighters for a while, as shown here: Web Archive 2003

loss of personal control of the product. nuff said

Lets turn it around in the extreme: Whatever TK invests or does is of little consequence here. The survey flight sim customers, that were a thing in the 90's, are gone or out of reach. This fundraiser being a measuring tool to make that conclusion, and the measurement is pretty clear on this. Edit; It should not discourage anyone to at least do a $1 vote, to state one personally cares for those extremely moddable survey flight sims by Third Wire. Despite what the rest of the world is currenly doing.

As Sophocles said, we need both. I will be more than happy with in flight refuelling and slewable avionics, maybe TK should release the source code and the instructions of how to use it. lol