JonathanRL

I did not get the skin right - I am not very good at such things - but it is a nice little bird despite that. Do you know her name, so far away from the fame?

If he means that he works on SF2 Expansions, then I am not displeased. However, I am probably kidding myself.

Are there any plans to put her into traffic again?

And here I was going to paint a Mitchell blue for other reasons. Thanks!

Actually, it was intended to happen. Finland always purchased evenly from NATO and the Warsaw Pact. They intended to purchase both F-18 Hornets and MiG 29 Fulcrums in order to keep the balance. It is however unclear if they had been allowed to purchase Hornets if the Soviet Union had still been a major power. Both Viggens and Gripens was an alternative to the Hornets had the deal been denied.

The 38 Designation is actually already taken. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_38

Sadly no, since all these are fictional. The Finns used the Blenheim until 1956 for the Bomber Role. I`ve been wanting one of those as well as the Saab 18 for the mod for quite some time.

In 1946, Finlands military forces was in shambles after the war, and with the Soviet Union on a close watch on purchases and spending, it did not seem likely that a military buildup in order to protect from Soviet Aggression would be likely anytime soon. As diplomats sat and debated exactly how large the Finns Air Force was to be, a young Finn had a brilliant idea that might just fool the Soviets and get Finlands way at the same time. The roof would not be limited in number of aircraft, but in their cost. The proposal was sent to Stalins desk for approval and despite the words of his advisors, he signed a treaty declaring that Helsinki Lennosto could be established with his approval as long as the Aircraft involved did not cost more then 40 000 dollars per Aircraft. Content that they had limited the treat to their nation and sea lanes, the Soviets did not think more on the matter. The Finns however did, and they asked the Allies to aid them in this matter and Churchill, mostly to annoy Stalin decided to sell the Finns thirty Beaufighters alongside torpedoes and ammuniton for the net cost of 10 000 per Aircraft. Deliveries started at once from the large number of spare aircraft avalible after the war and Helsinki Lennosto was operational in 1948. The Aircraft was well liked by the Finnish Air Crews and was used as a Gunfighter for Air Support as well as a Torpedo Bomber. Stalins mistake would have deadly consequences in the 1956 War when these thirty aircraft succesfully prevented any Soviet traffic in the Gulf of Finland. In 1948, as the last of the Beaufighters was delivered, the Finns decided to stir the pot once more with the Soviet Union. They asked the French and the United States Army Air Force if there where any medium bombers that could be bought - officially for maritime patrol and target tug duties. The United States decided to sell Finland - against the wishes of some on the Staff that tough Finland lost to Communism - sixteen B-26 Marauders. In an effort to test the Soviets intelligence network in Finland, no markings was ever painted upon the aircraft and the number of aircraft was a closely kept secret, while at the same time, rumours of up to forty aircraft was released to run wild across the Baltic. The Soviets took the bait and in their official breakdown of the Finnish Air Force in 1954, Finland was indeed listed to have "at least" thirty B-26s, operational and capable for bombing missions. In the 1956 war, they where responsible for the bombing of the Soviet Headquarters at Leningrad but took heavy losses and was retired from duty alongside the Beaufighters in 1958. As Finland looked for a replacement, the Soviet Union - who at last had quite enough - offered Finland the purchase of MiG 21s and Il-28s in the hope that military hardware alongside a softer touch after Stalins death would get the finns into the fold. Deciding to play both sides, the Finns turned to the French who offered Finland their newest bomber, the Vatour for a reduced price compatible with the Helsinki Lennosto treaty. In order to not upset the Soviet Union too much, Finland decided to purchase MiGs and a few recon variants of the Il-28, while also equipping Helsinki Lennosto with fourteen specially equipped Vatours. These aircraft could be equipped with the Swedish RB-04 and was a considerable hazard to any Soviet fleet movements in the Baltic, something they proved beyond doubt during Operation Mannerheims Sköld. They where retired in 1991, at the same time as the order for F-18s was completed.

Recce mission as part of Operation Unified Protector.

In 1958, Finland purchased the Folland Gnat in order to improve their Fighter Capacity. The purchase was not a disaster, but it was not a very good Aircraft and would not survive for long against the numbers of the Soviet Union. As an interim solution, the Swedes who where on the way to dismantle their A 29 and J 29 A-E Aircraft had a lot of aircraft to spare. The Finns signed a deal for the purchase of sixteen aircraft, upgraded to a special H 29 standard in 1959 and delivery begun at once. In what could be interpreted as a violation of the international sanction Finland was under, they trained four times the pilots they would need for while Sweden upgraded Tunnans to H 29 "Ilves" and then kept them in "storage", giving Finland a viable reserve of attack aircraft should war come. The Aircraft was wired in 1965 to carry the Bullpup Missile and once again in 1974 in order to accommodate the Maverick. Another brilliant solution was the conversation of the rocket rails to IRM Rails, allowing the aircraft to carry up to six IRM missiles. The Aircraft saw action twice during its long life span; In 1963 a pair of Ilves used their missiles to shoot down a MiG that strafed a Finnish Fishing Boat (The Soviets would afterwards claim that the Fishing Boat had Baltic Refugees on board) and in 1977, A Ilves fired a RB 75 Maverick at a KGB Patrol vessel entering Finnish Waters and refusing to leave, after firing upon a Finnish Patrol Boat. The Aircraft was retired in 1983.

A reminder. You can upload all three parts in the same "entry" - so no need to post 3 different posts with the parts. I know this may come a tad late :P http://combatace.com/files/download/14567-the-scandinavian-front-2/

The Gripens in OD carried two IRIS-T and a Recon pod and was only avalible for Recce Sorties. Just a heads up! The first squadron was sent from F 17 Kallinge and the second deployment was from F 21 Luleå.

Looks great!

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-disastrous-movie-career-of-americas-new-stealth-fighter-98aaaa1eed4a Well, it is certainly a new and interesting angle

There is no "Best Gun". You have to factor in what the shooter is comfortable with, conditions, settings, target and all such things. The best weapon is the one that is reliable to work and hit the target and is easy to use by the shooter - and there is quite a few rifles that can do that.

Apologies, I could not resist.

...but they do not think about Freespace II. I wonder how the Sathanas Class would rate against those.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-27979108

You most likely lack RoyalNavy in the Nations.ini

Yes, it does. Any unit (including player) that spots the fleet or part of it - Naval Search or not - counts.

If you have Intelligence zero, then yes - Naval Search will be launched until the other group is found. If the Naval Search is successful or if other units find the task force, then Intelligence will go up. About 60-80 is needed to launch an attack. Starting with zero for both sides makes a longer and more tense campaign with less action in the beginning, and is the way I recommend. Is your mainstay using an Off-Map Soviet Base? An AWACs aircraft used to provide AEW to a task force needs to be deployed from the Carrier in question. This can be done safely with the mainstay as you will never see it on the deck of the Kiev, nor will you ever see it take off or land. It will just be in the air at all times.

I dance with pure joy!

Oh dear. A MiG 31 Firefox?