T2K Air Support

[kalos72]

Think of the "Airlords" module, look at how much a couple of blimps did for them?

Throw a couple of bombs on the undercarriage...or have some crude door mounts with MG's...

Lots of options...

My guys in Texas have alot of the T34 trainers on hand...gotta love air power when your the only ones with aviation fuel.

[Sanjuro]

I've said it before... in a really fuel-starved environment, consider the use of high performance gliders. Given suitable launch sites on a windy ridge, they can be bungee launched, then wave soar to higher altitudes than an unprotected human could survive. Being white, they are almost invisible in a bright sky, silent and with a small radar signature. The 2 seat trainer versions can carry an observer with a camera for hundreds of miles. Yes, hundreds- I had a student once who flew several times from France to Yugoslavia and back- all without burning a gallon of fuel.
Given small amounts of avgas, the self-launching motor gliders come into play- as the name suggests, they have a small engine for takeoff, which is switched off for gliding flight. Although they do not have the extreme glide performance of dedicated sailplanes, they can still cover long distances without using their engines, while having the versatility to land and takeoff behind enemy lines for such missions as agent extraction.

[copeab]

I have been aircraft with (turbocharged) diesel engines for improved fuel economy but it does add extra weight.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Charles Carpenter, AKA Bazooka Charlie. His loiter speed was low enough that he could really draw a bead on enemy tanks, and top-down attacks with ATRLs were enough of a threat to Panzers that he could make them withdraw. Plus the German troops were in a pickle; if they heard/saw an LH-4 and it was him, there was a good chance he'd attack their armor if they did nothing. On the other hand if they shot at the aircraft and it wasn't him, but a spotter, they'd have artillery called in on them.

[Tegyrius]

Here's a timely, somewhat-related blog post, looking at the ground equivalent of this discussion:

http://xbradtc.com/2015/01/03/world-...-of-the-1990s/

- C.

[copeab]

There were also several T-34/85's still in use in Africa and elsewhere as of 1990.

[Olefin]

I would think that a lot of those older WWII tanks would have seen service in Yugoslavia during the Twilight War, either in the V1 or V2 timeline - and that with so many Soviet mobilization divisions being raised that some of them may have gone to war in old T-34's and other WWII tanks still in storage in the Soviet Union

[headquarters]

Apache6 - nice work. I totally agree that these type of aircraft would gain increasing importance as the regular airpower dwindled due to lack of spareparts, fuel, personnel and losses.

Modern armies have used powered and unpowered aircraft, balloons, dirigibles etc. for around 150 - 200 years as far as I know. The use of such implements would not stop due to inability to field the most modern airplanes - it would mean fielding whatever you could afford.

Do I imagine ultralight aircraft in aerial combat in T2K with handheld small arms etc ?

Sure.

Not commonplace due to the relative scarcity of such craft - but should they happen to buzz by within reasonabe range and be inclined to pick a fight- why not ?