Flights of Fancy - What if RAAF and RAN.

by Mark Powley

Many of you would probably have noticed the various model manufacturers and presumably modellers increasing fascination with those bizarre and often impractical Luftwaffe 1946 project aircraft . Whatever your personal thoughts on the worth of kits of aircraft that never existed they do allow modellers to stretch their imagination . In this vein I have come up with a list of some RAAF/RAN what-if aircraft .

When the RAAF were looking for a replacement for the Sabre , several types came up for consideration . These included the Lockheed  F-104G Starfighter ,Northrop F-5 , Dassault Mirage, English Electric Lightning and the McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom . Most were eliminated for various reasons , leaving the running between the Starfighter and Mirage with the Mirage becoming the eventual winner. If we suppose the Starfighter had entered service then what would it have looked like ? Presumably it would have followed the same path as the Mirage - initially in a bare-metal scheme , then Aluminium Lacquer , then on to the Olive Drab / Extra Dark Sea Grey scheme and perhaps the experimental grey schemes used to determine the best scheme for the F-18 .I personally suspect that the squadron markings and fin flashes would have been raked as they were for the Mirage . How`s this for an idea - a Starfighter in International Orange and White ARDU finish ?

The list of aircraft considered before the North American F-86 Sabre was selected included the Grumman F9F Panther , Hawker P.1081 and the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-23 . The  P.1081 was a pre-Hunter prototype that never achieved production but got as far as being given the RAAF prefix of A86 before the project died from lack of British govt . interest . The CA-23 was a local design the looked a bit like a delta winged Crusader and promised Mach 1.5 performance - not bad for 1949/50 .

Lets step back even further in time and imagine that the locally designed CAC CA-15 Kangaroo (its unofficial nickname) had entered production and service instead of the Mustang . It would either have gone into service in a bare-metal/ aluminium lacquer finish or alternatively have been camouflaged as per the Spitfire . Either way the range of markings would have been fascinating - a CA-15 with a sharkmouth for example .

The F-111 was selected from the following list  of aircraft : the Mirage IV , North American A-5 Vigilante , McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and the BAC TSR-2 . Interestingly it was the A-5 Vigilante that was recommended by the RAAF evaluation team . If selected it would probably have worn the SE Asia scheme similar to the F-111 / Phantom . More interesting though is the TSR-2 . No white anti-radiation finish here but more likely a three colour cam scheme of who knows what colours . Rather ironic is the fact that the RAAF would end up leasing Phantoms from the USAF due to delays in the F-111 programme . When it came time to return the Phantoms many pilots wanted to keep them .

 What about some training aircraft contenders ? As well as the Macchi MB-326 these aircraft were also considered : the Canadair CL-41 , Saab 105 , Cessna T-37 , Potez 94 , BAC Jet Provost and Fuji T-1 . A local product was also considered , the GAF ( Government Aircraft Factory )  F.2 which looked vaguely like a BAE Hawk . There is lots of scope for imagination here : overall aluminium lacquer , standard orange and white trainer scheme , RAN dark blue and white , grey and green cam  and overall grey were all applied to the Macchi and so would be equally valid for any of the others .

 The recent Macchi replacement list included the Aero L-39 Albatros , Macchi MB-339 and BAE Hawk among others with the Hawk being the eventual selection . As a point of interest BAE had a mock up of a Hawk on display at the last airshow  in Victoria , which featured an overall dark blue finish . The next RAAF trainer scheme perhaps ? ( RAF trainers are now gloss black ) .

The process that would eventually select the F/A -18 Hornet was incredibly lengthy . Just about every fighter that flew or was designed between 1972 and 1979 was included for consideration . By Nov 1979 however two aircraft were short listed - the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-16 Falcon . One book I have has an artists impression of an F-16 in a Mirage style grey/green cam scheme and markings . Then again the F-16 could have been delivered in the standard USAF two tone grey scheme instead .

Now for my personal favourite what-if . Back in the early 80`s there was a great deal of speculation concerning the replacement of the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne . Consideration was being given to purchasing HMS Invincible , which the British govt. had decided was unnecessary . The sale almost went through , however the Argentinians invaded the Falkland Islands and that very quickly put paid to the idea of any sale . Let`s pretend however that the Falklands invasion did not occur and HMS Invincible became HMAS Australia . The RAN Skyhawks were unsuitable for use on the new Australia as it was a Light /Helicopter Carrier . In addition to the Sea Kings and the later Sikorsky Sea Hawks let`s presume the RAN also purchased Sea Harriers as well . These would almost certainly have worn the two tone grey wrap around scheme and lo-viz markings the Skyhawk had at the end of its operational career . How`s that for a cool looking plane ?

As you can see there is plenty of room for imagination . So , who is going to be the first to build and display a what-if RAAF aircraft ?

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