Part 36: Season 5. Rolling Thunder (F-4B & F-8C)

Season 5. Rolling Thunder - Weapons of the Future (F-4B & F-8C)
A new picture!



Our carrier calls herself " ". She's a silent protagonist, probably.
The carrier names in the intros used to work. I don't know, when this one got broken. It shows up in the bottom field of the same screen.

Remember, in Europe and Israel there were planes, tanks, and shit was happening?
Well, look at this.



Now, we're not going to completely miss all the action. The Red squadrons, no matter how rare, will still gravitate to mess with our missions first.
However the utterly silly situations, when a dozen Blue planes chase two MiGs and can't do shit, are the norm.

S05E01: 1965 (Write "Fuck" on their planes)

Since there's so little going on, and the op runs from 1965 to 1968, each update will take place in a different year, and there will be two set in 1968. I'll be skipping missions like a madman.

1965.03.02


I know, you missed a good old-fashioned strike mission. F-4B squadrons get them. The idea isn't, that the Phantoms can deliver the payload with precision. The idea is, that we carry so many bombs, that one of them is bound to hit something important.

By the way, here's the currently available gear.



Nope, I'm not showing the Minigun pod in this campaign. It will go much better as a companion to the AIM-4D.

The roster (we have a Macho on board)



The mission video


In which Red Crown is unwell



That's nowhere near the average performance.

1965.03.23



Jackpot! Escort is more fit for a fighter. In theory, anyway.
Waitaminute, weren't strikes against the NV airfields forbidden by the rules of engagement?

The mission video


In which we fully experience the new generation of air combat

Not in the videos: one CFIT, as the wings refused to generate lift (they never do, really), and one "getting vaporised by a MiG".



Now, this is the average preformance.

Let's switch to a more pleasant subject. The F-8 intro text bit.



1965.03.02



Our Crusaders are sent to escort other Crusaders. Which means, some F-8 squadron got a strike mission. I'm delighted, that the F-8C can't even carry bombs.



The other roster



I keep wondering, where and when did those pilots score their pre-generated kills in the middle of the Cold War?

The mission video


In which we enjoy flying, as opposed to arguing with the laws of physics



1 pilot KIA. To the AI's credit, at least they try to shoot something down.