Thiarian Wings - modern age

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Thiarian Wings – postwar

1. Re-establishment 1955 - 1960
Under armistice conditions, all manufacture of any kinds of aircraft had to cease in Thiaria and all manufacturing plants were to be immediately dismantled. The sole exception was the Naval Aircraft Factory MCE, which was to be retained in a much reduced fashion to provide maintenance for coast guard airplanes, which were allowed to the Thiarians in limited numbers. Of the other Thiarian aircraft producers, Aeraon, CaproniAtlantach and Nairn went defunct during 1945 and disappeared without a trace. Meara&Finn converted to non-aviation civilian products, mainly cooling, heating and ventilation gear of all kinds; the company prospered in its new form and today is one of Thiaria’s largest industrial companies. The aviation department of the CSCA – originally a shipyard – was closed down, although the yard survived and is still operating today, being one of the world’s leading producers of offshore oil platforms and heavy-duty tugs. The aviation firms Aigeanta (also operating Thiaria’s second-largest civilian airline in 1944) and Aerelar went into liquidation. By 1948, Thiaria had lost all aviation production capacity. All airlines were closed down, with US airlines providing domestic and international service. Civilian aviation was re-established as early as 1949 when two domestic airlines (TirParthasEithiliocht and the air cargo and postal service LTE) were re-established; they had to purchase US airplanes, of which a lot of cheap second-hand specimens were available. When Germany was re-armed in 1955, any moral justification for keeping Thiaria defenseless lapsed, and the USA unilaterally allowed the Thiarians to re-establish army and naval air services. The ban on possessing an Air Force as an institution remained in force, and the airplanes supplied to Thiaria by the USA in 1955/6 were quite second rate. But even the Eisenhower administration, which had little sympathy for the Thiarians, did not object against the Thiarians purchasing combat airplanes for hard currency. Thus, it came as no surprise when the Thiarians turned towards France as main supplier. By 1960, Thiaria's Army Air Corps and Naval Aviation were fully equipped again.

1. Trainers

North American T-28 Trojan / Aigeanta O6TOsalat
After the ban on Thiarian military aircraft was lifted in 1955 in an unilateral act by the USA (neither Great Britain nor the Soviet Union were consulted; both powers would have vetoed this move at that time), the initial Thiarian basic trainers were 60 North American T-28 Trojans, which were issued to two Basic Trainer squadrons, one of the Air Corps, one of the Navy. Unlike most other US airplanes delivered at that time, the Trojans were new and lasted till 1975. As Thiaria’s Air Training Command expanded, the US supplied Trojans were supplemented by license-built Fennecs, themselves a slightly improved copy of the original Trojan. 72 were built between 1962 and 1964 by Aigeantaunder the designator O6T(O = Oiliuintoir (Trainer), T = built by AiteanTa; 6 = 6thdesign by Aigeanta to be adopted by the Thiarian military) and the name Osalat (Ocelot) to equip two further Basic Trainer squadrons and provide ample material reserves. The Thiarian-built Fennecs lasted till 1981; 38 airframes were rebuilt by the National Aircraft Factory (MAN, formed in 1968 after the Nationalization of Aigeanta and its merger with the Naval Aircraft Factory MCE) to the Turbo Ocelot/Turbo Fennec configuration (see separate entry below), which replaced the original Trojan/Fennec from the late 70s. The last of these very long-living planes were taken out of service in 2001.

6th Basic Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1955
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23rdBasic Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1963
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37th Basic Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1973
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25th Basic Trainer Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1957
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Lockheed T-33
The Thiarian Air force started the Jet age with 30 T-33s, which were second hand and provided for free by the USA to equip one advanced trainer squadron. They were in rather poor shape and had to be retired in 1962.

12thAdvanced Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1956
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Lockheed TC-56F Lodestar / TC-56H Turbo Lodestar
Among the airplanes provided to the fledgling Thiarian Air Corps by the Americans, the oldest were fifty Lockheed C-56s dating back to 1943/4. They had been produced as transports, but the Thiarians converted 36 of them to navigational trainers for service with one squadron each of the Air Corps and the Navy; the balance was issued to the VIP transport squadron of the Air Corps (see separate entry below). Despite their age, the last of these planes lingered in service till 1967. In 1960 through 1962, most of the fleet was upgraded with Turbomeca Turmo II turboprops, which was a quite useless investment given the type’s old, worn-out airframes, and did do little to improve performance.

40th Navigation Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1955
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24th Navigation Trainer Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1962
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Aigeanta O7T Tearatoirn
The first domestically developed Thiarian jet of the postwar era (there was a flyable fighter in late 1944, but that project was dropped when Caproni Atlantach went defunct in 1945) was based upon an unfinished WWII fighter project. Although they were rather worse performance-wise than the Lockheed T-33s provided by the Americans in 1955, the Thiarians were eager to re-acquire proficiency in building high-performance jet combat aircraft, so the Tearatoirn (Thunderbolt) was rushed into service under the designator O7T. Their engines were Westinghouse J30s, themselves a WW2 vintage design, of very limited power and questionable reliability. The airframe on the other hand was robust (if uneccessarily heavy) and had pleasant and docile flight characteristics, so series production was launched in 1958 and the first service aircraft were accepted in 1959. In 1960, a simplified version of the GE J85 engine without afterburner was acquired for an improved version, and the last 48 series aircraft were fitted with them, considerably increasing performance, although reliability remained shaky and the type suffered from high maintenance requirements. Production terminated in 1962 after 120 machines; no export orders could be secured, but the type was later developed into a light ground attack aircraft (see Aigeanta F7T Tearatoirn). The type equipped three advanced trainer squadrons of the Air Corps and one of the Navy. The initial batches were re-engined with J85s between 1965 and 1967, and with increasing experience, reliability gradually improved. Replacement options were studied from the late sixties, but the political turmoils of that age prevented any acquisition. During Thiaria’s brief alliance with the Soviets between 1967 and 1974, a few promising designs never left the drawing board; the Aigeanta company was nationalized in 1968 and never re-emerged. The Soviets preferred to train Thiarian pilots in Russia rather than supply trainers, so they could indoctrinate them along the way, which even the most diehard Thiarian lefties refused. Thus, the Tearatoirn had to soldier on until well into the 1980s. It took till 1978 to choose the Alpha Jet as successor; deliveries commenced 1979, and the last Tearatoirn was retired in 1982.

12thAdvanced Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1960
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29th Advanced Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1970
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31st Advanced Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1980
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10thAdvanced Trainer Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1962
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2. Fighters and Strike Fighters

Dassault Mystere II
When Thiaria was allowed to operate military aircraft again, the USA provided trainers and transports for free, but no actual combat airplanes. These were expected to be bought at normal conditions. Negotiations about the purchase of 50 F-100 Super Sabres were launched late in 1955, but dragged on over maintenance service issues. France’s fledgling postwar aviation industry quickly sensed – and seized – the opportunity to enter what appeared to be a very promising market. Marcel Dassault offered 40 Mystere IIs from his ongoing production for a symbolic price if the Thiarians agreed to buy 50 of the upcoming Super Mysteres instead of the Super Sabre; he also was much more forthcoming than the Americans about licensing spare parts and enabling the Thiarians to maintain their machines domestically. The Thiarians seized the opportunity and sealed the deal in February 1956, with the first Mystere II delivered in November that year. Thiaria’s first operational jet fighter equipped the first two fighter squadrons of the Air Corps and remained in service for 10 uneventful years, before they were replaced by F-101D Voodoos and sold off to Ethiopia.

4th Fighter Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1957
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8th Fighter Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1965
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Sud-Ouest SO.4050 Vautour
Simultaneously with the acquisition of the Mystere II, the Thiarians ordered their first jet bombers in 1957 as well. They chose the Vautour over the Martin B-57 because of the latter’s British origins, which at that time was a no-go for Thiarian national pride although the Canberra’s performance was better. Vautour’s multirole versatility on the other hand was wasted on the Thiarians, because they only ever ordered the light bomber version, both for the Air Corps and the Navy. 124 machines were delivered between early 1958 and 1961, equipping four strike squadrons of the Air Corps and two maritime strike squadrons of the Navy. The latter were among the last aircraft in naval history to be cleared for aerial torpedo attacks, able to deploy an upgraded, guided version of the standard wartime short 559mm aerial torpedo from their bomb bays. They later were refitted with primitive AS.20 ASMs, which were also available to the Air Force for precision strikes; mostly the Thiarian Vautours were equipped with dumb bombs however. Despite its limitations – the lack of radar being the most obvious one – the Thiarians were very content with the Vautour due to its ruggedness and ease of maintenance. They flew the type for an average of 21 years and implemented many improvements, particularly more modern electronics including a small terrain-following radar for night missions. Vautours were employed in the brief Thiarian civil war in 1966 and in the even briefer clash with Brazil over Thiaria’s attempt to support a communist coup on New Portugal in 1969; nine were lost in combat, but two of them sunk a Brazilian Frigate with AS.20 missiles. They were replaced with supersonic Mirage G.8s from 1976 and entirely withdrawn from service in 1979.

7th Bomber Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1958
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10th Bomber Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1964
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26th Bomber Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1969
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27th Bomber Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1978
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2nd Strike Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1962
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4th Strike Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1975
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Dassault Super Mystere
The acquisition of 48 Super Mysteres was part of the deal struck with Dassault in 1956 that also covered the delivery of 40 Mystere IIs. When the Thiarians commissioned the first Super Mystere in 1959, these machines were the first supersonic warplanes in service of any South American country. They were too short-ranged to be employed in the New Portugal Incident of 1969 and were retired in 1974, when the first Soviet-supplied Su-15s appeared.

20th Fighter Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1960
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22nd Fighter Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1975
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3. Special Aircraft for maritime patrol and electronic warfare duties

Lockheed P2V-7F / P-2H Neptune
Like most of the initial inventory of Thiaria’s resurrected military aviation, their first post-war MPA was US sourced. 20 P2V-7Fs were delivered between 1957 and 1958 to equip two MPA squadrons. They were at first unarmed and restricted to recon missions, but the Thiarians soon fitted them with heavy 275mm unguided rockets of domestic manufacture; from 1962 they also carried 324mm ASW torpedoes. The airframes were second-hand when taken over and had not much fight left in them; they had already been refurbished from late 1940s vintage P2V-2s. Inept maintenance by the green Thiarian personnel in the first few years did not improve things, either. Consequently, the Thiarian Neptunes were urgently due for replacement after ten years of service. The last Neptune was decommissioned in 1973; all were replaced by Soviet sourced Il-38s.

1st Patrol Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1958
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5th Patrol Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1967
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4. Transports

Lockheed VC-56B Lodestar / VC-56G Turbo Lodestar
Among the 50 Lodestars delivered to the Thiarian Air Corps, 38 were purpose-built military transports which were used as Trainers, but 12 had originally been built as civilian passenger planes with (for their time) relatively comfortable interior. These were issued to the 1st VIP Squadron and employed for government flights till replaced with Dassault Falcon 20s in 1966. Like the trainers, the VIP transports were refitted with Turboméca Turmo turboprops in 1960.

1st VIP Transport Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1955
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1st VIP Transport Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1965
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Nord N.2501 Noratlas
Due to American reluctance to supply anything larger and more capable than the C-47, the Thiarians apporoached the French for their first standard postwar transport airplane and ordered 48 of the then relatively new Nord N.2501 Noratlas in 1956. The Thiarian version of these airplanes was fitted with 1944 vintage Trenhaile 14U engines of 2.000hp. They equipped three transport squadrons, all of them achieving FOC in 1959, and delivered stalwart service for the next twenty-five years. They were to be supplemented by Antonov An-12s from 1974, but the termination of Thiaria’s Soviets alliance in this year put an end to these plans, and it took another ten years till a successor model could be commissioned. As their engines were at the end of their useful life in the mid-60s, the 20 newest airframes were upgraded in 1968/9 with GE T64 turboprops, which had originally been purchased in 1965 to upgrade the Neptune fleet to P2J standard; twenty additional Noratlas airframes received reverse-engineered T64s in the early and mid-70s, although these were rarely airborne due to constant reliability issues. The Noratlas was retired between 1982 and 1987 in favour of the Transall.

16th Transport Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1959
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15th Transport Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1965
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3rd Transport Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1973
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5. Helicopters

Aerospatiale SA.315 Alouette II
The Alouette II was the first helicopter ever acquired by the Thiarian military. They were all unarmed and only used for training, observation and liaison duties. Although they were still in very good shape at that time, they were replaced by the more advanced Mioltog in the early and mid-1970s.

2nd Helicopter Trainer Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1957
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30th Helicopter Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1963
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35th Helicopter Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1970
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3rd Helicopter Trainer Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1966
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Sikorsky CH-34D Choctaw / HH-34F Seabat
Thiaria’s first transport helicopter was ordered in the USA in 1957; at this time, they were restricted to rescue and logistical transport missions, without armament and no provisions for an assault role. Deliveries started late in 1958 and were complete in 1960; the army received 48 CH-34Ds and the navy 20 HH-34Fs. They were replaced with much more capable Super Frelons in the late 1970s.

14th Helicopter Transport Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1959
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21st Helicopter Transport Squadron, Thiarian Air Corps, 1968
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6th SAR Flotilla, Thiarian Navy, 1962
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To come: Thiarian Airplanes 1960 - 1975

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Thiarian Wings - modern age

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