Fictional 50s Navy skins

After losing my hard drive with all the work I had done, I've decided to re-approach the 50's Navy style skins as a series of "what if" Centennial of Naval Aviation skins, to represent what might have been had the Tomcat served at least to 2008 and the years to follow when the Navy authorized and promoted various heritage schemes across fleet aircraft.

The first group will be skins for F-14B squadrons, I will then follow with F-14D equipped squadrons, and lastly F-14A squadrons who in an alternate universe would transition to the A+/B/D over time to include squadrons that were disbanded or transitioned well before the Tomcat's final years.

[RELEASED]

VF-32 : ENS Jesse Brown, F4U-4 of USS Leyte, October 1950 in action at Chosin

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3307191/

Planned:

F-14B

VF-11: VF-5 F4B 1920s/30s, F4F-3 Early WW2 silver/yellow markings and/or WW2 Operation Torch

VF-24: Vietnam F8 Crusader scheme representing 5 kills during 1967 in squadron

VF-74: Corsair or F4D Skyraider scheme

VF-101: VF-10 Tricolor CDR Flatley scheme

VF-102: F2H Banshee or F-4B Phantom scheme

VF-103: VF-29 Jolly Rogers WW2 Tricolor & VF-103 Sluggers (still deciding on which era)

VF-142: F2H Banshee VF-193 or F-4J scheme

VF-143: VF-871 or VF-123 lineage schemes or VF-53 F-3 Demon scheme

F-14D

VF-2: Fighting Two Curtiss F6C Hawk ca. 1926 or Vought VE-7s ca. 1921

VF-31: VF-3/VF-6 Butch O'Hare Wildcat scheme, VF-31 Korea USS Leyte 1950

VF-213: 1958 F4D Skyray scheme

F-14A (Ficticiously transitioning to F-14A+/B)

VF-14: Curtiss TS-1 USS Langley, F4Bs, so many options from the longest serving Navy squadron

TBD etc.

Look great to me

Beautiful!!!!

Wow... that's stunning really!

Kinda makes me wish that became a real livery for the Tomcat in real world! Maybe a Superbug will get that paint?

Nice skin, I love the old navy Blue !

Wow... that's stunning really!

 

Kinda makes me wish that became a real livery for the Tomcat in real world! Maybe a Superbug will get that paint?

Google “Centennial Of Naval Aviation” and you’ll find a River Rattlers Legacy Hornet in very similar paint.

Google “Centennial Of Naval Aviation” and you’ll find a River Rattlers Legacy Hornet in very similar paint.

I have that skin pack as well, VFA-204 400 or 401 (2009) CoNA I think is the name of that skin maybe?

I felt like the deck would be a bit empty if only the Tomcatters were set up Korea style, so I also started working on a Hornet skin that would mimic other wings that were on the Leyte while VF-31 was from 50-51 off Korea:

Once that one is refined I may go ahead and post it up as well.

I did finish up the LOD 3-in-1 files for each. I'm kinda tempted to just fill in the last of the blanks and do 104, 109, 110, and 111. That would give enough for 3 full flights worth of Tomcats for one to swap out in existing missions/campaigns. I'll just dig for some more pilot names and BuNos. It's all semi-historic anyways.

“CoNA” is the abbreviation for “Centennial Of Naval Aviation” so Yup, Those are the proper skins.

FYI, for any waiting for these I had a complete HD failure and the skins and templates in any form that I'd feel happy releasing are gone for now.

I will re-do them with what I learned in the process, however I think I'd rather do Century of Naval Aviation ones for squadrons that flew F-14B. I will eventually do the squadrons that had D models, and A-equipped squadrons who if around by the Century of Naval Aviation might have upgraded to B/D in an alternate universe.

Lastly, I do want to re-do the full set of "throwback" ones in case you'd like a whole squadron's worth of plane numbers to use in missions. So far here's what I am thinking:

F-14B Operators:

VF-11: Aircraft 100 or 101, flew F2H Banshees in Korea in 1952-1953, with tail code "T". Lineage goes back to 1927 and through WW2 with various designations to include VF-4 & VF-41 to pull from as well in action during Operation Torch, and later in the Pacific in the Philippines and beyond:

VF-24 Renegades flew F8s in Vietnam and were one of the first "Ace" Squadrons of the war with 5 MiG kills in the squadron during their 1967 tour.

VF-32: USS Leyte 1950, Aircraft 203. Ens Jesse Brown flew Corsairs off the Leyte with Fighting 32 as the first Black US Naval Aviator, and was killed in action after crash-landing his Corsair due to engine failure. His wingman, LTJG Hudner in 205 crash-landed his aircraft alongside Brown's aircraft to try and extract him for rescue after he was not seen leaving the aircraft. Sadly ENS Brown would perish in his aircaft due to wounds incurred in the landing and was pinned in the cockpit. LTJG Hudner would be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his selfless actions.

VF-74: Flew Corsairs in 1952 and later transitioned to F4D Skyrays. Korea scheme and maybe a later F4D style one.

VF-101: Throwback to VF-10, the original Grim Reapers, with either a Wildcat or Hellcat style scheme. Could do one of CDR James Flatley, whose family lineage would include no less than 3 other Grim Reaper pilots.

VF-102 flew F2H Banshees on their establishment. I may do an F2H scheme or their later Phantom style scheme somehow grafted onto a Tomcat:

VF-103 Sluggers: Established flying FG-1 Corsairs, later F9F Cougars and eventually Crusaders.

VF-142: Originally VF-193 in Korea, flew Corsairs and later transitioned to F2H Banshees, then F3 Demons before eventually being redesignated VF-142 after transitioning to F-4Bs in 1963. Korea skin is simpler, F3 Demon type scheme is dificult as fuselage flash doesn't transfer itself well to the F-14's shape. Vietnam scheme is similar to their high-vis F-14A scheme which has already been done (but would have also been a realistic option for a CoNA scheme) but an F-4J style might be neat to see.

VF-143 - Flew Corsairs as VF-871, a reserve squadron. Later designated VF-123 with Panthers and returned to Korea. VF-53 with F-3 Demons, and finally as VF-143 in '62 when they went to Phantoms. As with VF-142 their F-4 scheme doesn't transfer well to the Tomcat and wouldn't look too dissimilar to their later Tomcat schemes.

VF-32 skin is released and I've revamped the 1st post.