Spinners

Hawker Hunter RF-9J - 501st Hikotai, Japanese Air Self Defense Force, 1970

Japanese Photo Tourists

Good stuff! Thank you.

Helix-B

Something fishy's going on

Japanese Photo Hunter

Double Top

Hawker Hunter Mk.55 'J-Plus' - 204th Hikotai, Japanese Air Self Defence Force, 1982 With the passing of the 1954 Self-Defense Forces Law the Japanese Air Self Defense Force, or JASDF, was formed as the aviation branch of Japan's armed forces. The F-86F was initially selected to be the standard fighter of the revived JASDF with Mitsubishi building 300 F-86F's under licence in an ambitious programme scheduled to start in 1956. As an interim stop-gap the UK Government offered to supply 100 Hawker Hunter Mk.55's (essentially a simplified Hunter F.6 without air-to-ground capability) and these entered service with the 204th Hikotai in December 1954 and later equipped the "Blue Impulse" aerial display team who flew the type until 1979. The Hunter Mk.55's proved to be a popular aircraft in JASDF service and an aggressive rivalry soon developed between the ten JASDF Sabre squadrons and the four Hunter squadrons. Whilst the capabilities of the JASDF Sabres was sharply increased with the arrival of the Sidewinder missile in the early 1960's the Hunter squadrons received no upgrades until the late 1960's when the surviving Hunter Mk.55's were upgraded by a joint Hawker-Mitsubishi team to emerge as the Hunter Mk.55A gaining Sidewinder capability on new outer wing pylons and later being further upgraded by Mitsubishi during the late 1970's to Mk.55 'J-Plus' standard with new LAU-7/A Sidewinder pylons on the inner wing roots and AN/ALE-40 chaff and flare dispensers. Two squadrons continued to operate the type into the early 1980's with the 204th Hikotai being the last squadron to operate this very popular aircraft in JASDF service when they disbanded in December 1983.

Two Jocks enjoy a dirty Cougar

McDonnell F-101C Voodoo - Esk 727, Royal Danish Air Force, 1970 Thanks for the template Ant!

There's bound to be complaints at the Golf Club....

Danish Magister

Tzukit

Dassault-Avro Canada CF-105 Super Flèche IIIC - No.2 Escadron, Saar Protectorate Air Force, 1966

LSK Fresco

Dassault MD.450 Ouragan - No.1 (Saarbrücken) Squadron, Saar Protectorate Air Force, 1954 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saar_Protectorate

Nice one Wrench - much appreciated!

Spiffing! Thank you Ant!

JASDF CF-105J

50 to 1

Russ - The Latins had an answer "Toti ehors esto" but it's all Greek to me. To tie horses to

Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 - No.1 (Saarbrücken) Squadron, Saarland Air Self Defence Force, 1955 Immediately after World War 1 the League of Nations created the 'Territory of the Saar Basin' (the Saarland) whose inhabitants voted to rejoin Germany in 1935. But after World War 2 Saarland was separated from the rest of Germany to become a French-occupied territory known as the 'Saar Protectorate' later becoming a member of the Council of Europe in 1950. Despite Saarland's status as a French protectorate it was granted US Mutual Defense Assistance Act funds to form an embryonic air defence force known as the Saarland Air Self Defence Force (SASDF) and with US domestic military production committed to the Korean War it allowed the UK and French governments to supply suitable aircraft as part of the US Offshore Procurement Policy. The first SASDF squadron to form was No.1 (Saarbrücken) Squadron who were equipped with Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8's from 1951 to 1957 operating in the air defence role and only relinquishing this task when the SASDF was absorbed into the recently created West German Luftwaffe when Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany following the Saar Treaty of October 1956.

Yes, that would be cool. Thank you. No rush though.

That was exactly my thoughts but only the Ouragon fitted the timeline and I didn't have a blank skin for it. With limited time I plumped for the Meteor but might well create a second squadron. Who knows? After the 1955 referendum perhaps they became an independent nation which opens up a lot of possibilities....

Bristol Blenheim Mk.IF - 2 Smaldeel, Belgian Air Force, 1940