AVSIM Special Feature Screenshot Tribute to FS2002 Part 6

Immediately following the end of WWII another war began, a silent war that would soon be called the "Cold War," which was fought between the Soviet Union and the United States, the two so-called "superpowers" because of their each having the bomb and the means to deliver it. As with wars of years past, this arms race would be the impetus for great advancements in military weapon and aircraft designs, helicopters, and even space travel. From the Berlin Airlift in 1947 to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1987, the Cold War lasted for 40 years. The wars in Korea and Vietnam had Cold War implications, as did the Soviet Union's incursion into Afghanistan during the late 1970s.

Because of the 3rd party designers, you can fly excellent examples of many of the aircraft from the years of the Cold War, starting with the C-54s used during the Berlin Airlift up through to the US F-15 "Strike" Eagles or Russian MiG-29 'Fulcrum' (NATO designation) advanced fighters. Among the many FS aircraft favorites are the true Cold War icons of both the USA and the Former Soviet Union, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress or the Tu-95 Bear Bomber. In addition there are fine examples of the Soviet 'Badger' or the American B-58 Hustler, or how about a Soviet MiG-21 'Fishbed' vs a US A-4 Skyhawk. Maybe you'd like to try you hand at running photo recons across Cuba with the high flying U-2 or SR-71 spyplane, as was done during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962? I don't think anyone is sorry that the threat of nuclear combat is no longer hanging over our heads now that the Cold War has ended, but in Flight Simulator you can go back and relive flying the great aircraft developed during this time.

Of the many USA aircraft developed during the Cold War, it is the Boeing B-52 that is the icon of this silent conflict that best represents United States involvement. Used in Vietnam, Gulf War I & II, and in Afghanistan, the aging B-52 will easily go beyond 50 years of service.

If the B-52 was the Cold War icon for the USA, then the Tu-95 'Bear' (NATO designation) is certainly the Cold War icon for the former Soviet Union. Powered by four massive turboprop engines and equipped with counter-rotating propellers, the Bear was capable of an altitude, speed, and a range comparable to the Boeing built B-52.

Over Korea in the early 1950s, the first all-jet air-to-air combat occurred and though the USA claimed an 8 to 1 kill ratio of their F-86 Sabre against the more maneuverable MiG-15, it was discovered in the 1990s that this claim was in fact inaccurate. It seems that Soviet pilots manned some of the MiGs during the Korean war; the Sabre vs MiG kill ratio was closer to 1 to 1 when they rather than the Soviet trained North Korean combat pilots were the adversary.

During the development of the MiG fighter, it was the MiG-21 'Fishbed' that for many years was the workhorse of the Soviet and Warsaw Pact Air Forces. Over Vietnam, the US F4 Phantoms found fairly easy pickings against the MiG-17 'Fresco' and MiG-19 'Farmers', but with the appearance of the MiG-21, the American Phantoms soon found themselves in hot water. Reverred by its Soviet pilots as a true pilot's combat aircraft, the MiG-21 is still used by several of the former Soviet Republic Air Forces.

The F4 Phantom was the mainstay air superiority fighter by the US Navy, Marines, and Air Force during the long years of the Vietnam War; despite its massive size and weight, the F4 was extermely fast and had set numerous speed records. As an anocdote, it was often noted that the Phantom was living proof that given enough power, even a 10 ton brick could fly and wind tunnel testing showed that the Phantom's drag coeficient was lower when flying backwards, rather than forward!

The F-105 Thunderchief—"Thud" and-or "Dollar-Nickel" were to become its popular names during its long stay in Vietnam—was designed as a quick interdiction aircraft, flown by a single pilot to deliver a single nuclear weapon deep behind the Iron Curtain and then have the capability to fight its way back out. Used during the entire time of the US envolvement in Vietnam, the Dollar-Nickel flew more sorties and dropped more tonnage of ordinance than any other aircraft type in the US inventory over Vietnam.

During the years of the Cold War, Middle-east wars, and the Vietnam War, the MiG-17, MiG-19, and MiG-21 (shown here in North Vietnamese and Soviet markings) served as the counter-combatant aircraft against the US F4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk, F-105 Thunderchief, and A-6 Intruder.	Other US aircraft to serve in Vietnam were the Cessna OA1 "Bird-dog", Douglas A-1J Skyraider (callsign "Sandy"), F-8 Crusader ("Last of the Gunfighters"), and the A-6 Intruder. Though most of these aircraft were taken out of service during or soon after the Vietnam War in the 1970s, the last of the A-6 Intruders saw combat during operation "Desert Storm" in 1991.	The A-4 Skyhawk was a very versatile fighter-bomber, used by US and US Allies around the world for many years (a few A-4s are still in service in several countries) and the Skyhawk was used longer by the US Navy Blue Angels than any other aircraft type to date.
The first Navy jet deployed was the F9F Panther (top), but soon other designs arrived, the T-33 and then the Century Series (F-101 and F-102 shown here).	In medium range bomber class, we have the Convair B-58 Hustler (top), the Boeing B-47 (center right), and the Soviet 'Badger' (bottom).	The USA began overflights of Soviet territory in the mid-1950s using the high flying Lockheed U-2 spyplane (top). But after having one shot down in 1959, the SR-71 (center) was developed, which flew higher and faster than the U-2. The Soviets countered the U-2 with the very fast MiG-25 'Foxbat' (bottom), but by the time it was deployed, SR-71s were in full operation.

During the '40s and '50s, Jack Northrop of Northrop Aviation dreamed of a flying wing. With SAC selecting the Convair B-36 over his wing, all thought the wing dead. In the 1980s, when Jack Northrop was elderly and confined to a wheelchair, he was taken to a secret location and shown the early models of the soon to be deployed B-2 Stealth bomber. Developed using much of the data collected by Jack and his test pilots from years before, the "wing" would fly.

During the cold war, dozens of different aircraft types were developed, by both the Soviet Union and the United States, but it was the US that would fully employ nuclear powered aircraft carriers and the surveillance aircraft to go with these.

"Screenshot Tribute to FS2002" continues here:
Part 7: FS2002 Screenshots for Modern Military aircraft