Shipbucket

This thread is a gem.

_________________
My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
-Koko's carrier-based aircrafts of WWII
-Koko Kaiun Yuso Kaisha - KoKaYu Line (Koko AU spinoff)
-Koko - Civil Aviation

+1000

Its almost bit irritating that this type of threads exists, since they place the line so high for the rest of us
Anyways, in all seriousnes, this is what AU's should be... best what the bucket can offer, delivered with passion for imagination and with great back stories. And not kitbashed from other drawers work, thats something not done on everyday lately. Good work.

_________________
Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

Hello again!

People, you make me blush I just let loose the child in me.

Now for a final round of Thiarian airplanes:

2.8. Army Co-operation and Observation Aircraft

2.8.1. MCE 3M Frigead (Frigatebird) - 1936

The Frigead was Thiaria’s first domestic shipborne observer floatplane. 172 were built and equipped all battleships and cruisers as well as some small aviation tenders when Thiaria entered the war; they were superseded by the Caracara in 1942 and relegated to training duties. A few (36) were fitted with wheels and sent to the Air Force to serve as Army co-operation aircraft and partly equipped two squadrons till 1942. They were undistinguished, but reliable planes which would certainly have remained in production and service much longer if not a world-beating successor design had been available in shape of the Caracara.

2.8.2. Caproni Atlantach 8C Ulchabhan (Owl) – 1940

The Thiarian version of the Italian Ca.310 series, the Ulchabhan was an ubiquitous aircraft employed in virtually any supporting role. Unlike their Italian pendants, the Thiarian planes were fitted with Thiarian-developed 500 or 600 hp Boldisaire 8S V8 engines. Of the total production of 1.230, only 191 were used in that type’s originally designed role as army co-operation, ground attack and observer aircraft. They equipped a single observer wing between 1940 and early 1943 and served reliably and successfully, then were phased out in favour of the Preachan and the Spiorog.

2.8.3. Aerelar 2L Caracara (Caracara) – 1940

The ‘Thiarian Lysander’ was Thiaria’s most well known and most prolific army co-operation aircraft as well as her most numerous naval observation floatplane (299 of the total production of 1.233 were floatplanes). They were in widespread use with two full wings (10 squadrons) of the Thiarian Air force flying only that type throughout most of the war, and at least a dozen other observer squadrons used it at least part-time. In addition, many more were employed as squadron hacks for various other combat units or directly assigned to observer, medevac and liaison units of higher echelon army formations. The Navy not only employed them as her standard shipborne observer between 1941 and 1944 (there being supplemented by the much more powerful CSCA 6S and no longer in shipborne service in 1945), but also with shore-based observer, light ASW, CSAR and liaison units as well as with the utility sections of practically every flying-boat or floatplane flotilla. Named for a south American jungle bird also native to Thiaria, the Caracara was an utterly robust, reliable and maneuverable plane with an 800hp Hispano-Suiza 14AB engine and excellent STOL capabilities, especially considering its size and weight; after the war and the temporary disbanding of Thiarian military aviation, many were sold off to civilian buyers all across the Americas, Africa and Europe, and some continued to fly reliably until well into the 1980s.

2.8.4. Caproni Atlantach 12C Preachan (Crow) – 1942

The Preachan – Thiarian version of the Ca.313/314 series equipped with 690hp Hispano-Suiza 14AB engines – supplemented the Ulchabhan as the Air Force’s standard heavy observer aircraft from early 1942 and replaced it completely by mid-1943; at times, two full wings flew the type. The 333 delivered units remained in service throughout the war, although they were partly replaced by the Spiorog from late 1944 onwards.

2.8.5. CSCA 6S Fulmaire (Fulmar) - 1943

Thiaria’s first and only true high-performance shipborne observer aircraft was a remarkably sturdy and heavy design with a 1.400 hp Gnome-Rhone/Trenhaile 14R-1 engine that provided excellent flying performance. Unfortunately the Fulmaire was a little too heavy for the rather short standard catapults of the Thiarian capital ships and cruisers the plane was embarked upon; initially, there were many takeoff accidents that gave the plane a poor reputation that it never really recovered from throughout the war. The problems could be solved by modifications to the catapults by mid-1944, and the Fulmaire then served reliably till the bitter end. Like its immediate predecessor, the Caracara, which the Fulmaire never fully replaced, this type was also used by many shore-based units in much the same functions except SAR, for which the Fulmaire lacked cabin size. 164 were produced.

2.8.6. Caproni Atlantach 13C Spiorog (Sparrowhawk) - 1944

Originally conceived as a lightweight multirole aircraft not only for observation and ground attack purposes, but also as a destroyer, night fighter, strike and photo recon airplane with Hispano-Suiza 12X engines of 740 hp each, the Spiorog was the Thiarian equivalent of the Italian Ca.330 series. The plane eventually was only produced in limited numbers and mostly used as a target tug due to the prolonged development and testing phase which rendered her obsolescent by the time all teething problems had been ironed out, and her lack of growth potential that prevented the design from being brought up to date again. Less than half the total production was issued to a single observer wing from mid-1944 onwards and remained in service throughout the war. The type was never as popular as the Preachan because – despite better overall performance – her low-level flight characteristics were rather unpleasant. 145 of the observer/light ground attack version were built.

Next: Transports

Hello for a last time!

3.Transports

3.1. Light Transports

3.1.1. Aeraon 1A Droimneach (Gull) – 1933

Apart from being the very first domestically designed aircraft to be commissioned by the Thiarian Air Force, there is nothing significant about these small utility transport airplanes. About a third of total production of 65 were used by the Air Force as liaison and medevac planes between 1934 and 1940; they were already in the process of being phased out when the war began. It maybe says all that none of the about 20 still existing civilian planes of that type were requisitioned.

3.1.2. Caproni Atlantach 5C Fainleog (Swallow) – 1936

The Thiarian version of the Ca.306, the 5C served in much the same capacities as the Droimneach, most being assigned as squadron hacks to various bomber formations; unlike the Droimneach, the Fainleog never served with dedicated transport units. 73 were built, of which the air force bought 40. They were phased out in 1942.

3.1.3. Caproni Atlantach 8C Ulchabhan (Owl) – 1940

Like the Italian original Ca.310, the Ulchabhan was also employed as a light transport and medevac plane, and one or two served with the staff squadrons of most active wings of the Air Force. 154 of the utility version were delivered.

3.1.4. Caproni Atlantach 12C Preachan (Crow) – 1943

As in all other functions, the Preachan replaced the Ulchabhan as a light transport as well. 166 of the utility version were built.

3.1.5. Aigeanta 4T Ollpheist (Wyvern) – 1943

Thiaria’s most disappointing aircraft design of the war, the Ollpheist, was designed to Mosquito-like excel in virtually any mission, but failed everywhere it was tried mostly due to incurable structural deficiencies and its tendency to come apart in mid-air when maneuvering. Due to its limited usefulness as a combat aircraft, 117 late production Ollpheists were completed as fast dispatch airplanes, a role they were actually well suited to because they could employ their very high speed of 670 kph to avoid getting into situations where they had to maneuver. They equipped one special operations support squadron and were employed by several staff units till the end of the war.

3.2.Medium and heavy Transports

3.2.1. Caproni Atlantach 2C Capall (Destrier) – 1934

Thiaria’s version of the Caproni Ca.101 was built in 80 copies for civilian aviation in the mid-30s; only a handful (about 25) were however requisitioned in 1939 and pressed into military service for domestic short-range haulage with two transport squadrons. They were replaced by the ubiquitous Tradghaoth in 1941.

3.2.2. Caproni Atlantach 3C Stail (Stallion) – 1936

The Thiarian version of the Ca.148 served mainly on domestic routes prior to the war, like the Capall, but in considerably larger numbers. 44 of the total production of 210 were exported to seven different countries. A batch of 64 was delivered directly to the military in 1937-38 and equipped the first operational transport wing. Since they were more easily convertible to cargo transport than later airliners, practically all of them were requisitioned in 1939 and 1940, and 70 were issued to two more transport wings, making the type Thiaria’s most prolific transport aircraft in the first year of the war. Production ceased in late 1939, but the type remained in service till late 1942.

3.2.3. Aeraon 3A Tradghaoth (Tradewind) - 1938

This ungainly transport plane was Thiaria’s workhorse throughout the war. With 1.389 units produced, the Tradghaoth is second only to the Ju52 among axis transports in terms of numbers and importance. Being a larger and more modern design, each one was worth two Ju52s due to their bigger cargo bay, higher payload and much longer range of 2.000 kilometers (twice the Ju-52's figure). The initially fitted Hispano-Suiza 14AA engines however were quite unreliable, and it was not until the introduction of the 1.400hp Trenhaile (Gnome-Rhone) 14R-1/2 early in 1942 that the Tradghaoth really became the immensely useful plane she was. At times in 1943, all six of Thiaria’s transport wings flew the Tradghaoth, four of them exclusively, with over 300 planes operational; the Tradghaoth remained in production and in service throughout the war. A total of 180 were delivered to the Navy and served with two heavy transport flotillas and – in smaller numbers – supporting several flotillas using other types. Over 400 were still available when the war ended, but they were quickly scrapped after the war because the postwar market for transport airplanes was hopelessly saturated, and US manufactured planes were generally preferred due to the better availability of spare parts.

3.2.4. Caproni Atlantach 7C Cloiteoir (Conqueror) - 1939

The civilian variant of Thiaria’s version of the Caproni Ca.135 was considered as bad a lemon as the bomber and MPA versions, and for the same reasons; range was pathetically short, flight performance was dangerously poor at full load and maintenance was a neverending story. It probably says all about this type that none of the 38 civilian transports was ever pressed into military service; they were used to maintain regular air traffic between the mainland and the southern Islands till 1943, when this task was taken over by the military and the 15 machines still in flying condition were scrapped.

3.2.5. CSCA 4S Albatras (Albatros) - 1939

Thiaria’s first long-range four-engined airliner was in fact a shameless unlicensed copy of the Sikorsky VS-44 Excalibur, of which one was purchased in 1938 and then quickly reverse-engineered. It was placed in series production for Thiaria’s flag carrier A.N.A.D. in 1939, but only slightly more than half of the total output of 68 machines was delivered to the A.N.A.D. The rest was commandeered by the Thiarian Navy to serve as long-range transports both for supplies and for personnel. The civilian machines were retained by the A.N.A.D., but employed by the government during the war. Over 20 were left when the war was over, but had to be handed over to the allies under armistice conditions. A dozen were sold off to civilian interests, mostly in Brazil, where this type was operated till 1957.

3.2.6. Nairn 2N Solathrai (Provider) – 1940

The ultra-long-range bomber Nairn 2N Scriostoir was considered a perfect basis for a small intercontinental airliner capable of serving routes to South America or – stretching its range to the limit – to South Africa. Unfortunately, Thiaria joined the war less than two months after the Solathrai’s first flight, so the entire production run of the airliner version (183 machines) went to the armed forces. They were mostly used for personnel and medical transport missions, but could also be equipped to deploy paratroopers, in which role they were however rarely used. They remained in service throughout the war with two transport wings; they however never equipped one completely.

3.2.7. Nairn 4N Tirghratheoir (Patriot) – 1941

Thiaria’s first land-based intercontinental airliner was commissioned late in 1941 after a protracted development phase; by that time there was no international air traffic any more except to Argentina, and that was usually covered by Albatras flying boats. Consequently, all 102 Tirghratheoir airliners were delivered to the Air Force, where they equipped two squadrons and two flights with an average of 40 machines in service throughout the war. They acquired some reputation as the Governments standard VIP transport and for their role in several long-range special operations, inserting operatives in remote enemy controlled areas; they were considered very robust, reliable and surprisingly easy to fly, with the single shortcoming that the main elements of their tail-dragging landing gear were too far aft, resulting in loading problems due to the relatively steep angle the planes assumed on land and an increased probability of landing accidents.

3.2.8. Aeraon 9A Eilifint (Elephant) – 1944

Strong and reliable as the Tradghaoth was, by 1943 the basic design had reached the limit of its growth potential and a replacement was sought. Aeraon presented a prototype for a new freight plane with twice the Tradghaoth’s range and payload by mid-1943, but since that aircraft relied on two of the new 2.150 hp Trenhaile 18T engineswhich were in limited supply and needed for a half dozen new aircraft designs, all of which were considered crucial to the war effort, only 65 of these exceptionally capable transports could be built. Their operation was further complicated by the rather dumb decision to scatter them among three different transport wings, resulting in high down-times due to a lack of spares and trained maintenance personnel.

This post wraps the thread; it now contains every Thiarian aircraft in service during the second world war.

Greetings
GD

That's just awesome!

Wondeful work, well done.

Simply amazing!

_________________
Currently working on:

• Fiat G.50
  Breda Ba.64/65/75
  Dornier Do.17/Do.215
  Heinkel He.79
  Junkers Ju.52
  Junkers J.I

Repainting:

• Grumman F4F Wildcat/Grumman G-36
  Caproni Ca.135bis

Very nice!

Awesome work, I love the weird layout of the Tradghaoth and the mini-Ju-290 looks of the Eilifint.

_________________
Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

I had not previously seen this thread, do not know why, It is an awesome group of aircraft and styles.

Being an AU and something I have tried for my AU carrier aircraft is to use one powerplant over the range of aircraft. I.e. radials of 900-1000 hp for fighter, dive-bomber, torpedo-bomber to try and keep the number of spares as few as possible on the carriers to maximise the use of space on the carriers for their prime occupation, having as many aircraft as they can to launch and retrieve.