- Yes as a TT aircraft
- Yes but in another form (Event, SQV, etc)
- No
Greetings! if you will excuse the horrible pun in the title I would like to welcome you to my suggestion for the Omani version of the BAC Strikemaster, the Mk.82! I feel this has the potential to be a good British Tech Tree aircraft to fill the 6.0-7.0 CAS void in game.
History
Spoiler
The development of the Strikemaster was born out of the Export success of the Provost, with many smaller, developing nations opting for the Provost for COIN and light attack Purposes. Because of this success the British Aircraft Corporation decided to pursue a version of the Provost that was more focused towards the ground attack roles it was often used for, and out of this project came the Strikemaster.
The Strikemaster has also seen success in the export market, whilst the UK never truly entertaining the idea of light attack jets other nations certainly did, with 11 nations placing orders and operating the Jet, most notably New Zealand (may ring a bell if you have seen the 13th BattlePass season).
Now onto the Mk.82, the Mk.82 was the name for the Strikemasters Used by Oman with 24 aircraft being supplied (12 were classed as Mk.82A as they were part of a follow up order). Now I’m sure you are wondering why I am trying to suggest a Strikemaster with less connections to Britain than the Mk.88 for the Tech Tree, the answer is that I have finally lost my mind… Only joking! Its because during the Dhofar Rebellion British Pilots actually flew the Strikemasters in support of ground troops, in fact at least one of the Strikemasters shot down at the Battle of Mirbat was flown by a British Pilot and as the Soviet Tech Tree has a North Korean Mig-15 because they were flown by Soviet Pilots, I feel this is a justified request for the UK TT
Images
Spoiler
Privately owned Strikemaster MK.82A Flying Mid 2023
Privately Owned Mk.82 in RAF guise (possible Camouflage?)
Omani Strikmaster carrying a mix of 500Lb bombs and SURA Rockets
More Strikemasters in RAF markings
Specs/Armament
Spoiler
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 33 ft 8+1⁄2 in (10.274 m)
- Wingspan: 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
- Height: 10 ft 11+1⁄2 in (3.340 m)
- Wing area: 213.7 sq ft (19.85 m2)
- Airfoil: NACA 23015 (modified) at root, NACA 4412 (modified) at tip
- Empty weight: 6,195 lb (2,810 kg)
- Gross weight: 9,303 lb (4,220 kg) pilot training
- Max takeoff weight: 11,500 lb (5,216 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 366 imp gal (440 US gal; 1,660 L) total including tip tanks
- Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce ViperMk.535 turbojet, 3,140 lbf (14.0 kN) thrust
Performance
- Maximum speed: 481 mph (774 km/h, 418 kn) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
- Stall speed: 98 mph (158 km/h, 85 kn) flaps down
- Never exceed speed: 518 mph (834 km/h, 450 kn)
- Range: 3,182 mi (5,121 km, 2,765 nmi)
- Combat range: 145 mi (233 km, 126 nmi) combat radius: with 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) weapons, lo-lo-lo profile
- Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 5,250 ft/min (26.7 m/s)
Armament
- Guns: 2× 7.62 mm machine guns with 550 rounds each
- Hardpoints: 4 (2 per wing) with a capacity of 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of bombs, machine gun pods, air-to-ground rocket pods, fuel drop tanks, and napalm tanks. (Identical to what the Mk.88 carried minus the AIM-9Gs)
Strikemaster In Game
Spoiler
In game the Strikemaster would fill the gap in the UK Tech Tree for a good CAS aircraft between 6.0 and 7.0 (The only aircraft you can use here are the Tempest Mk2 and the Hornet, both of which only carry either either 2 1000lb bombs or some rockets at 6.0), I suggest it goes at Rank IV after the Hornet at the same BR as the Mk.88.
In terms of implementation it should not be a difficult aircraft to model, as the Airframe is almost directly copied from the Mk.88 it would be a case of just taking it and slapping either an Omani Skin or one of the RAF Skins onto it. I also expect that If this comes it would be after the Current BP season (Tropical Storm) as it would not make financial sense for gaijin to undermine their main prize for the BP season.
Sources
Spoiler
RAF Flying in Oman | Oman | Britain's Small Wars
Battle of Mirbat - Wikipedia
BAC Strikemaster - Wikipedia
Aircraft Photo of C-GXDK | BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk82 | UK - Air Force | AirHistory.net #612668
BAC Strikemaster Mk82A - Aviation Report
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1974-11-13/debates/0d67e8d4-7493-478f-92dc-1126a0d59a93/Oman
