Author Topic: Austria Divided  (Read 31696 times)

Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #50 on: January 21, 2012, 07:52:37 PM »
Drawing Down:

As 1988 drew to a close, there was much less tension along the Linz Line than usual. With Klagenfurt Airlines disbanded and their base of operations now in civil hands, there was much less LOVA air traffic along the line and none of it particularly suspicious.

Just as LOVA had closed down operations from Klagenfurt, considerations were in the works to deactivate an OL base as a form of reciprocal measure. The problem was deciding which one to close.

Ebensee had just been upgraded and refitted to take the OL’s new AMX fleet, so closing it was out of the question

Braunau was also not considered due to the fact that, despite a good chunk of it had been converted to a storage facility for retired and inactive airframes, it still was the largest OL base and had the longest runway in Austria. As such, it was the only airfield in the country that could handle some of the larger transports from NATO allies.

Landeck was too far west to be considered a true reciprocal closure to Klagenfurt.

Salzburg was the smallest OL base, occupying a section of the city’s international airport. However, Salzburg was still the capital of West Austria and direct air access to it for officials was considered essential.

Hallein was serving well as the OL helicopter training base and had undergone an upgrade five years prior, so it was also not a good candidate for closure.

Ultimately, the decision would be to close either Reid or Bad Ischl and consolidate to entire OL Tornado Fleet at one or the other. Each base had two active units of IDS and one unit of ADV aircraft. Neither base was particularly better than the other from a state of repair and neither had room for the entire Tornado fleet. The decision would be made mainly on the grounds of which base had the best expansion potential.

Tornado Conundrum:

As the rather protracted and heated debate of whether to close Reid or Bad Ischl carried on, there was repeated concern that the OL had more Tornados in active service than was really required.

There was a good degree of merit in such sentiments considering that LOVA no longer had any strike aircraft to match the Tornado and the Austrian based Sukhoi Su-24s were also a thing of the past. Additionally, the CAF and British forces were still keeping station in West Austia, for the time being. Four full units of IDS Tornados did seem a bit of overkill in light of such realities and the steadily easing tensions along the Linz Line toward the end of 1988.

In the end, two full IDS squadrons were disbanded and several aircraft sold, primarily to North Sinai.

The remaining IDS fleet was reorganised into three smaller squadrons, one at Bad Ischl and two at Reid, with some aircraft being send into storage at Braunau pending possible upgrading or trading for possibly more ADV variants.

It was felt by some, including the RAF Tornado Wing at Zell and NATO in general, that the reduction of the OL Tornado force was rather premature and should be rethought. However, the enthusiasm of easing Cold War tensions in both Austrias was much stronger than any naysayer’s voice was at the time.

1988 came to an end with no concrete decision on which of the two OL bases in question would be deactivated.




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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #51 on: January 21, 2012, 08:07:43 PM »
Southern Rumblings:

As Salzburg and the rest of West Austria entered 1989, the ongoing debate of which OL base to close was put on a distant backburner amid NATO concerns of growing ethnic instability in Yugoslavia.

It had been no secret that such tensions had existed between the Balkan peoples for ages, the late 80s had seen a steady increase in visual evidence of those tensions. Yugoslavia was on the edge of an inevitable disintegration and all signs indicated that it would likely not be  a peaceful one.

Old Idea for a New Beginning:

While events in Yugoslavia had put OL base closure at a significantly lower priority, they had actually put more drive into Austrians to begin the dismantlement of the Linz Line.

Ideas to make the Austrias a singular nation again had been floating around almost since the country was split so many years ago. Many were fanciful and simplistic, others dismissed as impossible under any circumstances.

Generally, the first practical and complete concept to reunite the Austrias was presented by a group of Political Science students at Salzburg University in the late 1970s. Given Cold War tensions of the day, it remained only a concept for academic purposes and was never put forth as a formal proposal. While the students had graduated and gotten on in professional life, their concept had not been forgotten. A former professor of the university, who had moved from academia to public office during the mid 80s retained a copy of the students’ concept as she felt it carried a good deal of potential merit due to the evident thoroughness with which the students had constructed it. The concept was more akin to solid, stable architecture than the over optimistic visions of prior ideas from others.

The concept, as the students had drawn it up, relied on several contingencies to make it workable as they envisioned, the general weakening of Socialism in Europe chief among them. While nobody in the late 70s could envision Socialism weakening enough in the near future, they also could not envision the likes of Gorbachev and his ideas for change coming to power in the Soviet Union as early as the mid 80s.

Striking Hot Iron:

As the former professor turned member of parliament settled into the procedings of the new year; she found her thoughts more frequently going back to those students and their concept. Gorbachev’s ideas of Glastnost and Perestroika were, in the Soviet Union, creating that principal contingency that the students claimed was required; Socilaism in Europe was indeed being weakened.

That fact, in concert with the recent draw down of Soviet military presence in East Austria and reduction of East Austrian military activity along the Linz Line led the former professor to review her copy of the student’s concept and notes. By the end of January, she was convinced that the time was right to seriously consider moving the concept into the realm of proposal. Recent history had moved some required pieces into place, the time was now.

Eastern Concerns:

An air of tension filled the East Austrian parliament and defense ministry buildings. The growing unrest in Yugoslavia had, for the first time in decades, taken primary defensive concerns off of the Linz line and placed them along the southern frontier shared with an increasingly unstable neighbor.

The biggest worry by far in the minds of East Austrian defense officials circled around the possibility of hostilities spilling over the border. There was a significant population of Balkan people living in the southern part of the country, while police had seen nothing to indicate overt hostilities between the various Balkan groups, there was a notable increase in general tension in areas with higher Balkan populations. Both police and military presence had been significantly increased all through the south; while there was little concern that the police could handle the civilian end of things, there was greater concern of the military’s  ability to deter possible armed incursions across the border should they occur.

The East Austrian military was a very different, and smaller organisation in the late 80s than it had been prior to the Israeli conflict. Through a string of restructurings; LOVA had completely lost any heavy strike ability. Save for a dwindling number of increasingly unreliable MiG-27 aircraft and similarly declining stocks of weapons for them; the heaviest hitting aircraft in LOVA inventory were Mi-24 helicopters.

From an air defense standpoint, long range interception was still fully the domain of LOVA’s MiG-23 units and there was increasing doubt over their ability to remain reliable for much longer than the MiG-27s. While the MiG-23s were newer airframes than the MiG-27s and not subjected to the low level flight riggors of the latter, there were tremendous concerns about declining stocks of spare components for members of the “Flogger” family across the Warsaw Pact. While the Su-27 that was supplementing the MiG-23 was extremely popular as a flying machine, nobody gave up an opportunity to make issue of the LOVA Flankers being “Castrated”.

As with LOVA, the East Austrian army had seen significant restructuring after returning from Israel.

While infantry and special forces units were left largely unaffected, the armored divisions were languishing while awaiting long overdue upgrades to their T-72 and BTR-80 fleets.

Ground based air defense had been drastically reduced. The fleet of Shilka vehicles was literally on it’s last legs while the SA-6 missiles and their associated systems were going through a painfully long and drawn out upgrade that was taking much longer than anticipated.

Just as LOVA had completely lost heavy strike, the army had similarly completely lost it’s airborne component.

Looking Within:

Beyond the military concerns, the East Austrian government was facing a similar upheaval among the general population that was about to beset all of Socialist Europe in 1989.

People were speaking out more than they had before, calling for all means of change. By early February, for East Austrians,  even stronger than the call to end Socialism was the call to reunite Austria.

At the end of February, a large demonstration in Linz captured the world’s attention. In a peaceful march; people moved from the main square of the city to a point as near as they safely could get to the Linz Line itself and began to form a human chain parallel to the line. The chain was incomplete, running parallel to roughly a quarter of the line’s length, it was big enough to make headlines around the world.

While some people in the march were arrested or injured by police, it was a very small number. By all accounts, the police were very watchful but overall more concerned with helping people who had been hurt through crowd action than actually controlling the crowd itself.

Reforging and Refining:

By early February the former professor had successfully made contact with all but one of the former students that had drawn up the concept to reunite the country. Their notes were complete, they were quite flattered that anyone had recalled their idea and were more than eager to discuss it’s use as a possible base for a genuine formal proposal for reunification.

Of the original five students involved, two were still in Europe while one had found himself in Japan and another in New Zealand. However, nobody was about to let distance become an issue over having their names attached to something so potentially monumental as this.

Early March saw the four former students and professor gather in Salzburg to review the old concept and examine how it could be converted into a formal proposal that could be presented at an international level.

Through a series of all night sessions, of the sort they hadn’t participated in since their university days, the former students applied the political changes that had taken place in the late 80s along with their accumulated decade or so of professional experience to modernise the concept, and remove some of the more naively idealistic aspects of it, until they had a proposal that the former professor was convinced had a reasonable chance of serious consideration, if not outright acceptance at the national and European parliamentary levels.

On Monday morning, in the last week of March, the former professor presented the proposal to parliament for consideration. The reaction was initially mixed as proposals to reunite the country were nothing new and usually met with a degree of scepticism.

She implored all sides of parliament to read the proposal to see that it did have much more merit and was better thought out than most that had gone before it. The day ended with more uncertainly than it had begun with.

Tuesday’s session started with a completely different air in the parliamentary chambers. Clearly she had convinced enough other MPs to examine the proposal to the point that it was the main discussion topic, not only for the day but for the remainder of the next week and a half.

News of the Austrian reunification proposal was sharing front page space with news of increasing unrest in yugoslavia around the world. The world at large seemed, if not generally supportive, at least very interested at the notion of a reunified Austria.

Two weeks after she had put the proposal in front of the West Austrian parliament, it was accepted in an overwhelming vote. A jubilant mood took over Austrians on either side of the line.

Nationally, it had been accepted. Inside the month, East Austria had been presented with the proposal and swiftly agreed to it in principle.

Convincing the European parliament and other international organisations to recognize a reunited Austria would prove rather more complicated.
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #52 on: January 21, 2012, 09:24:48 PM »
To the World at Large:

In early May of 1989 the two Austrias stood unifed in principle in front of the United Nations general assembly. With the unification proposal in hand, they lobbied for international recognition of a singular Austria.

Just as in the West Austrian parliament, where it had been presented a month prior, the proposal met with mixed reactions from the UN.

Most of the western European contries either fully supported, or at least had no objection to, a unified Austria. A great deal of the support stemmed from NATO concerns over the growing instability in Yugoslavia. A unified Austria would open the possibility to NATO forces basing themselves directly above Slovenia should instabilities increase and spill outside Yugoslav territory. As West Austria was already a long standing NATO member, a unified Austria would automatically be part of the organisation and any fears about where East Austrian loyalties might lie on the matter of Yugoslavia could largely be put to rest.

However, many UN assembly members from the Middle East and Africa had vastly differing views:

Egypt, Jordan and North Sinai had benefitted greatly from working with West Austria and put their full support behind unification.

There was no support from Arab League nations for the unification. Some saw the trinational Sinai Alliance as a product of unwanted foreign influence in the region and an attempt at unwanted “Westernization”. Ultimately, Arab League members who did not stand in direct opposition to Austrian unification simply abstained from the vote to ratify the proposal.

The stance of the Arab League nations had further reaching effects on non Arab League countries in Africa. There was a good deal of pressure put on some of the smaller African countries by the Arab League ones to vote against Austrian unification despite the fact that several of those smaller countries had benefitted through humanitarian activities of the Sinai Alliance and West Austria. While none of those African countries that bordered the Arab League voted outright against unification, several were threatened into abstaining. In the end; Kenya, Chad and Senegal were the only three African countries bordering on the Arab League that voted clearly in favour of Austrian unification.

The strongest voice against unification was heard from Upper Israel, as “The Wedge” had since become internationally known. The objection was based primarily on East Austria’s participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Israel and West Austria’s part in creating North Sinai. To a lesser extent, Austria’s alliance with Germany in WWII also was part of Upper Israel’s objection.

However, Upper Israel was still a probationary member of the general assembly and their vote didn’t carry much weight overall. Many member nations of the assembly openly questioned why a proabtionary member should have voting privelages at all.

Most other countries in the assembly generally put their support behind unification.

The proposal seemed to win UN support, in principle, but there was still more waiting to be done.

Light Through the Curtain:

As the Austrias waited for the UN’s final decision, many smaller organisations were already preparing to deal with a united Austria. Optimism was running at a high indeed.

That optimism was buoyed further by the legalisation of Solidarity in Poland on April 17.

In early May, with the UN still deliberating the pros and cons of recognising a unified Austria; the Austrians took it upon themselves to put the first serious holes in the “Iron Curtain” by removing two key guard stations along the Linz Line and allowing a small flow of traffic to move freely between east and west.

The Linz/Wels gate, or Marchtrenk Station as it was properly known, in the north and the Villach Pass (Paternion Station) in the south were two of the better known guard posts to the rest of the world along the Linz line.

Through the course of the Cold War, the Villach Pass took on a dark notoriety as the “Most deadly place on the Linz Line”. For decades, the west read grim statistics of how many defectors  fell to border guard rifles between the Villach townsite and the actual guard post at Paternion.

While there is no debate that several defectors were shot, the exact number became quite debatable in the post Socialist era. Claims of unmarked mass graves of defectors near the townsites of Fresach and Gummem were investigated in the mid 90s, but no such graves were found.

There was also a tremendous differential between western published statistics and official East Austrian Border Police records for how many defectors had actually been shot. Coupled with the fact that it was border police policy to capture and imprison defectors in all possible cases; most authorities considered the dark reputation of the Villach Pass to be largely dubious by the late 1990s.

Another Gear Up:

Late May saw the world’s attention taken away from events in Poland and the Austrias by the demonstrations in Tianenmen Square in China. Europe was not the only place where people were speaking out against Socialism.

While the demonstrations in China would ultimately be quashed, the grip of Socialism was ever loosening in Europe.

The victory of Solidarity in the Polish national election on June 4 set in motion a series of revolutions across Socialist Europe. Peaceful demonstrations throughout the summer in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Austrias to end Socialism were seen daily through media outlets around the world.

August saw the formalisation of the first non-Communist government in Poland in over 42 years.

In the final week of August, after months of waiting, the UN announced it had come to a decision on the ratification of the the Austrian unification proposal and would make an official announcement at a press conference on September 10.

The Long Night:

It has been said by many that nobody in either Austria slept at all on the night of September 9, 1989.

The air was full of speculation; unbridled optimism met with stark pessimism and everything in between. Naysayers felt the UN had taken too long and that it was a sure sign of rejection; still others took the opposite stance saying that if the proposal was going to be rejected, it would have taken a much shorter time for the UN to announce it.

Into Dawn:

September 10 arrived and Austrians everywhere gathered anywhere a television could be found, be it an electronics shop, hotel lobby, sports clubs with large screen TVs……

As the hours passed by, speculation from the night before continued unabated among people.

Finally, in the early afternoon of September 10, a live broadcast from the UN general assembly informed Austrians that the world at large would, from that day forward, recognise a single Austria.

Across Austria, husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and complete strangers embraced and revelled in the news well into the next morning.

Before September 10 was finished, all gates along the Linz Line were in one state or another of dismantlement. Border guards laid down their rifles and picked up wire cutters.

September 12 witnessed the official dissolution of the East Austrian Socialist Party and the beginning of a draw down and eventual handover of national capital status from Salzburg to Vienna.

Over the course of the following two weeks, military engineering regiments from the newly unified Austrian army busied themselves removing all manner of Linz Line remnants from the landscape. Many turned a tidy profit for themselves by selling segments of barbed wire to souvenir hunters near and far.

Taking Stock:

Socialism had left Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria before 1989 was finished.

Austrian skies were filled with a mixed bag of western and eastern built military aircraft; a similar menagerie of land vehicles complemented the reformed Austrian army.

After a survey of all military equipment in Austrian hands, certain decisions about the country’s new order of battle had to be made.

Decisions regarding the army were quite straightforward. With so much armor and ground anti aircraft gear awaiting updates, that would now never come, complete re-equipment with western gear was in order.

The air element was rather a different matter:

The former LOVA Mi-17 and Mi-24 fleets were in particuarly good repair, had recently undergone extensive upgrades and were popular with their crews. As there was a significant second hand market for spare parts and the like for both helicopter types, it was decided to keep them in front line service for as long as possible and hope to make them NATO compliant as well. With the signing of a mainteneance agreement with the Czech Republic in the mid 90s, Austrian Hips and Hinds still fly on the front lines today.

The L-39 Albatros fleet was still relatively new and easy to maintain. A deal was struck between Austria and Czechoslovakia to support the Austrian Albatros fleet. The L-39 is still used as a weapons delivery trainer and test aircraft by Austria today.

The Su-27, after barely a half decade of service, was taken from front line service almost immediately after unification. Despite the fact the ex LOVA Flankers were “downgraded” they were still of emense interest to NATO as a point of study. Two airframes were kept in Austria for museum and gate guard purposes. Three others, plus spares found a new home at Boscombe Down in Great Britain. Two more, plus spares, went to the Luftwaffe testing establishment in Manching, Germany. The remaining airframes and spares were sold to America.

The LOVA MiG-23s flew on as long as spares would allow them to and Zeltweg could be refitted as a Tornado ADV base. The MiG-27s were retired immediately after unification.

Obergrafendorf was a shadow of the base it had been at the hight of the Cold War. It was the last home of the LOVA MiG-21. Most of the base was disused save for the part that was home to the MiG-21Rs of the tactical reccon wing. The Obergraffendorf ranges were now half the size they had been in the days of the Sukhoi heavy strike wings. The MiG-21s had to go; there was serious concern regarding the continued operation of the base as well.

Obergraffendorf was given a repreive and was made home to a Tornado IDS wing. The remaining unused part of the base was prepared as an aircraft storage facility, with the intent to close the base at Klosterneuburg permanently.

The OL base at Bad Ischl was closed in early 1990 and it’s Tornado wing initially sent to Obergrafendorf. Toward the end of 1990 all Austrian Tornado ADV activity was moving to Zeltweg.

Onward:

Austria finished 1989 peacfully and brought in 1990 with fireworks and revelling of the sort nobody had seen in years

Despite the looming powderkeg that the Balkans were becoming, and Austria would eventually be involved in policing, spirits were high for a bright future.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #53 on: January 21, 2012, 09:33:44 PM »
That's it for the story itself, I'm in the process of putting together an epilogue of sorts.
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Offline Geoff

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #54 on: January 22, 2012, 12:55:38 AM »
That was excellent. Thank you!

Lots of inspiration, and a guy at my local club has run off a sheet of LOVA stars. 8)

Offline apophenia

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #55 on: January 22, 2012, 11:55:41 AM »
That is an epic 'north! Well done.

I was intrigued by Embraer buying the plant at Helwan. Anything else being built there besides the Tucano? I'm interested in general but specifically interested in any local use of the EMB 121 Xingu.
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #56 on: January 22, 2012, 06:12:47 PM »
That is an epic 'north! Well done.

I was intrigued by Embraer buying the plant at Helwan. Anything else being built there besides the Tucano? I'm interested in general but specifically interested in any local use of the EMB 121 Xingu.

It started as a EMB 312 building facility. The Tucano was aggressively marketed to Africa and the Middle East from Embraer's Beersheba/Dimona division. To a slightly lesser degree, it was marketed to Europe as a direct competitor to the Pilatus trainers.

The marketing was a resounding success and a dedicated facility had to be found or built. The Helwan facility was in existance and, through the Sinai Alliance treaties, accessible. Through a friendly takeover bid, Helwan became an Embraer subsidiary.

After the African, Middle Eastern and European orders for the Tucano had been satisfied; the Helwan facility scaled back it's Tucano operations to overhaul and refurbishment and opened the AMX line. Currently, with AMX production concluded, Helwan is preparing for EMB 314 Super Tucano production. Fulfiling African orders alone for the 314 is likely to keep them busy for the next few years.

Once the Helwan facility was acquired, it became the focus of military aircraft production while the much larger facility at Beersheba/Dimona focused on civil aircraft to feed the growing interest in Embraer short haul airliners and corporate types that was growing in the African. Middle Eastern and European markets.

The Xingu was used on a limited scale by the Egyptian navy for coastal security. It was also used on a small scale by the Jordanian National Police, North Sinai National Police and North Sinai Customs Service. NSAS never used the type. That was the full extent of Xingu use in the region and all airframes were built in Brasil and assembled at Beersheba/Dimona.

In a larger epilogue, I will more fully describe the production, service and disposition of Embraer aircraft overseen by the Beersheba/Dimona division and the marketing regions it serves.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2012, 05:16:20 AM by upnorth »
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #57 on: February 05, 2012, 05:38:35 AM »
Epilogue – Austria, 1990 to present:

The newly reunified Austria spent a large portion of the 1990s reorganising it’s assets and resources at all levels of government. The military was, of course, not immuned to the reorganisation.

The first military restructuring involved the army. Relatively little of the Soviet supplied armor of the former East Austrian army was servicable and it was decided to phase out the remainder in favour of Leopard MBT/Canaan IFV combination the west was using.

Much of the soft skin vehicles, small arms and artillery in eastern hands was still acceptable for service; this was largely due to the fact that it had all been locally designed and produced. Through the course of the 1990s, these domestically produced machines would find favour in the ground forces of the Austrian military. By the end of the 90s, they would be fully NATO compliant and standard equipment.

The Austrian technology sector was stronger than ever. Through a series of joint projects with North Sinai Defense Industries in the 1990s, the Austrian military had some of the best radar, optics and sighting systems in NATO.

As the bulk of mobile radar vehicles were built on Steyr or OAF trucks, the joint projects with North Sinai paid very good dividends indeed for both manufacturers. NSAS took on Steyr and OAF trucks in large numbers through the 1990s; not only for mobile radar, but also utility purposes.

The various optics and sighting systems developed between Austria and North Sinai became standard equipment on Leopard MBTs and Canaan IFVs anywhere the vehicles served.

Many of these machines were put into use when Austrian troops entered the Balkans as part of the UN policing and peacekeeping forces and gave the Austrian land forces the reputation of being some of the most effective and capable in the region.

The Austrian air force also saw restructuring, but it was rather a more complex matter than the army had been.

Several of the LOVA aircraft, particularly Czech built trainers and transports, were still quite servicable and in good repair; good continuing relations with the Czech Republic assured this situation could remain. Good relations with the Czechs also assured that the LOVA Mi-24 and Mi-17 helicopter fleets had remained in top form while other Soviet produced machines had literally started falling apart in the air.

Equally good relations with Poland had kept the LOVA Mi-2 Hoplite and W-3 Sokol helicopters in good shape as well.

In early 1995 a small ceremony took place at Zeltweg air base to mark the very last Austrian MiG-21 and MiG-23 flights. In a triumphant show, every remaining airworthy Fishbed and Flogger left in Austrian service made it into the air that day for a large and impressive mixed formation with the Tornados that had taken over for them. With a large crowd of former MiG-21 and MiG-23 pilots and groundcrew on hand for the spectacle, it was an emotional day to say the least.

The issue of combat jets in the Austrian air force was really a non issue. Enough Tornados of both IDS and ADV variants were in storage at Branau, that they could easily be pulled back into service to form an additional unit or two if need be. The AMX fleet had just undergone a major modernisation program and, as Austria had also secured themselves a place at the table for the upcoming Eurofighter Typhoon, there really was not much to talk about on the air defence and strike fronts.

Trainers and helicopters were a much more difficult issue.

While the MB-339 and L-39 Albatros were both very capable and respected trainer aircraft, many questioned the need for two trainer types of the same class. Both types were extremely popular with those who flew them and nobody wanted to give either up.

After a good deal of debate, the decisision was made to retire the MB-339 completely. The weapons capable MB-339 had been retired shortly after the AMX entered service while the L-39ZA was still quite reliably training pilots on weapons delivery techniques and the L-39C was just as reliably providing basic fast jet training. The Albatros existed in larger numbers and had an extensive service infrastructure behind it. While, pragmatically, the decision largely made itself; many today still believe it was the wrong decision.

The Zlin 142 basic trainer fleet was particularly interesting as it’s western counterpart, the SF.260, had been retired some time before in the OL in favour of the Embraer Tucano. Many felt a piston based basic trainer still had a place in a modern military, the Zlin gave them a chance to recover that aspect. Training accidents had gone up somewhat in the OL after the SF.260 was retired, if bringing a slower basic trainer aspect back would save some Tucanos and young aspiring pilots, the Zlins were worth keeping. Eventually, the Z-142s were replaced by Z-242s.

While the Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters found a place in the unified Austrian military, the Mi-2 and W-3 Sokol Helicopters were relegated to surplus status.

Between the Former West Austrian fleet of AS.350,  EC-135 and Puma Helicopters; the Mi-2 and W-3 had no place in the unified Austrian order of battle and were swiftly sold or scrapped.

The Chinook left Austrian service in a similarly controversial style as the MB.339 had. The LOVA Mi-17 fleet was larger, and largely fresher, than the OL Chinooks were. The Mi-17 was found quite capable and Chinook crews warmed up to it eventually.

In the 2000s, Austria and the Czech Republic both purchased fleets of Mi-171 and Mi-35 helicopters. The Hip and Hind remain in front line Austrian service today.

Transport needs in both Austrias were due for restructuring at the beginning of the 1990s. The only former LOVA transport type that carried on in service after unification was the Let L-410 Turbolet; this was largely due to ties with the Czech Republic that ensured continuing support for the type.

The Hercules fleet was due for refreshment and had been completely replaced by refurbished  former USAF H models from Lockheed by the mid 1990s.

The DHC-6 Twin Otters were solidly soldiering on. However, the DHC-5 Buffalos were retired in the mid 1990s after wing spar fatigue had caused two fatal crashes and having the remaining aircraft rewinged was prohibitively expensive.

The G.222s were replaced by the C-27 Spartan in the 2000s

Reflective of the strong ties to North Sinai, the Austrian jet transport element became solidly Embraer machinery through the course of the 1990s.

By 1995, Austria was defending itself completely. The NATO obligations of Britain and Canada had finished and the forces of both countries had left Austrian soil.

The RAF base at Zell became a civilian airfield while the CAF base at Lienz was taken over and refitted by the Austrian military for use as a helicopter training base to replace Hallein.

The disposition of OL bases and their associated aircraft from unification onwards:

Bad Ischl:
The first former OL base to cease operations after unification; Bad Ischl’s runways started being ripped up almost as soon as it’s Tornado wing was transferred to Zeltweg.

The land was sold and a wind turbine farm built upon it.

Braunau:
Headquarters of Training Command, Braunau continues to today as the Austrian air force’s advanced training base with a mixed fleet of Embraer EMB-312 Tucanos and Aero L-39C Albatros. It also serves as home to the Austrian air force display team, which is comprised of 10 Tucanos.

Braunau no longer serves as a storage depot for retired aircraft types. From 1995 onwards, all storage of former OL and LOVA airframes was centralised at Obergrafendorf.

Ebensee:
Shortly after reunification, Ebensee found itself on a shortlist of bases to be closed. While Ebensee was one of the smaller bases, it was home to the AMX strike wing and the pricipal employer for people in the region. Ebensee was saved from closure when the other two bases on the short list; Bad Leonfelden and Ferlach were seen to be closer to major employment centres. Ultimately, Ferlach was closed.

Ebensee continues as the heart of Austrian AMX operations today.

Hallein:
Near Salzburg, Hallein served as OL’s helicopter training base for many years; later taking on responsibility for alpine training unter NATO’s EOTP program.

From 1995 all Austrian air force helicopter training, along with EOTP training was moved to the former CFB Lienz. Hallein was officially closed in 1996.

The Austrian Chinook was officially retired at the same time as Hallein’s closure.

Innsbruck:
The smallest OL base by far, Innsbruck is  just a corner of  the city’s airport. The single Austrian squadron of Twin Otters remains active there today.

Landeck:
Critical to operations in the Tyrolean Alps, Landeck remains a nerve centre for rescue and transport operations throughout the region.

Puma and Mi-17 helicopters have operated there since late 90s with the Mi-17s replaced by Mi-171s in the early 2000s.

Lienz:
Refurbishment of the former CFB Lienz had started before the Canadian military had fully moved out in 1993. Austria was looking for a new base for helicopter training and Lienz was seen as ideal for the purpose.

Today, Lienz is home to a large contingient of AS.350 training helicopters and five alpine optimized Mi-171 EOTP helicopters.

Reid:
Still active, Reid has seen a modest degree of expansion and serves as home to the Austrian Tornado IDS strike wing.

Salzburg:
Like Innsbruck, Salzburg air base was a section of the city’s airport. With reunification, Salzburg ceased any functions as a national capital and there was no further need to keep a military presence there once the Hercules squadron had been relocated to Graz in 1992.


The disposition of LOVA bases and their associated aircraft from unification onwards:

Bad Leonfelden:

The base remained active as home to the L-39Z equiped weapons delivery training unit until 1998 when Obergrafendorf was reopenned after lengthy renovations.

Bad Leonfelden was closed permanently in 1999 and it’s land converted to commercial purposes.

Feldbach:

LOVA’s old basic flying training base carries on that tradition today for Austria with enough Zlin 142 and 242 aircraft to prepare new trainees for more advanced training at Braunau or Lienz.

Ferlach:
Former home to LOVA’s Mi-17 and Mi-24 forces, Ferlach was closed in 1993.

Ferlach’s Hips and Hinds initially went to Obergrafendorf, but moved quickly in late 1994 when that base was closed for renovations. The Hips moved to Hallein and Landeck while the Hinds went to Graz.

Graz:
Headquarters for Transport Command, Graz is a large and busy base. Hercules and G.222 units moved to Graz from Salzburg as AN-26 action drew to a close in the early 1990s. A small base flight of L-410 Turbolets and the Mi-24 Hind squadron on the opposite side of the field stand as a reminder of the base’s LOVA past.
From 2008 to today, the Austrian C-130H and G.222s have been steadily replaced by C-130J and C-27 Spartan aircraft.

Klosterneuburg:
A virtual ghost town of a base in 1990, it served only as a storage depot for retired LOVA types and had no extra space to continue serving unified Austrian force in that capacity.

The base was quietly closed in 1994.

Obergrafendorf:

This base experienced a rebirth in the 1990s. The base and it’s range had grown quiet in the late 1980s and it’s runways and tarmacs in desperate need of repair. A decision was made to close and refurbish both the base and it’s range, this herculean task began in early 1995.

Obergrafendorf received it’s first new assignment, ironically as soon as it was closed to flying in late 1994. That assignment was to be the storage depot for retired Austian military aircraft and vehicles. Mothballed aircraft from Braunau and Klosterneuberg were relocated there by rail or road.

The base was reopened to flying operations in 1998 and the weapons delivery training wing from Bad Leonfelden with their L-39Z aircraft moved in immediately and remain there today.

Wiener-Neustadt:
The roar of LOVA’s Tupolev and Yakovlev VIP transport jets has long since been replaced with a brace of Embraer corporate and commercial types in the VIP transport role.

As with Graz, there is a small contingient of L-410 Turbolets at Wiener-Neustadt.

Wolfsberg:

While Wolfsberg is the army garrison that it has always been, in the 1990s it became home for a unit of EC-135 helicopters that are used for LOH and medevac duties.

Zeltweg:
Headquarters of Tactical Command, Zeltweg is the heart of Austria’s air defence force.

Shortly after unification, all Tornado ADV operations were tansfered to Zeltweg and the type operated alongside former LOVA MiG-23s for most of the easrly 1990s until the Latter type was retired in 1995.

Presently the Austrian air force operates a mix of Tornado ADVs and Eurofighter Typhoons from Zeltweg.





« Last Edit: February 05, 2012, 07:49:44 PM by upnorth »
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Offline apophenia

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #58 on: February 08, 2012, 05:54:09 AM »
Great stuff upnorth ... but check your PMs  ;)
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #59 on: February 12, 2012, 04:50:48 AM »
Epilogue: North Sinai and the Sinai Alliance – 1990 to Present

North Sinai, along with its Sinai Alliance partners, Egypt and Jordan, entered the 1990s on an optimistic note. The economies of all three nations were generally strong and stable and all three were attracting considerable foreign attention from investors and tourists alike. The world was paying attention to the three unlikely partners and most of the world liked what it saw.

International conferences and exhibitions of all sorts started to become commonplace in major centres throughout the three countries and many held the alliance in high regard as an example of what could be accomplished when old animosities were consigned to the past.

The Arab League, while still cold to the idea of the Sinai Alliance, remained neutral towards it and did nothing to provoke unrest within it. Indeed, the Arab League had other issues to contend with as the early 90s brought with them the Gulf War against Iraq.

While the three Sinai Alliance nations were not direct combatants in the war, they did support Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait and provided critical logistics and transport services to coalition forces directly involved in the fighting. Additionally, Jordan provided basing for a RAF strike wing within reach of western Iraq at a base near Ar-Ruwayshid. The base was also home to a wing of Jordanian Tornado ADVs specifically tasked with the air defence of the eastern portion of Jordan’s Al Mafraq region. In addition to the Tornados, Al Mafraq’s regional air defences included a sizable contingient of air defence optimised Canaan vehicles with a standard compliment of four domestically developed Akrab SAM missiles each.

The conflict in the Persian Gulf carried on for four years and culminated in the successful capture of Saddam Hussein by British SAS in late July of 1994 and the consequent collapse of the remainder of his government.

While they had not been directly involved in the combat aspect of the conflict, the Sinai Alliance nations were very much involved with the UN policing of Iraq in the aftermath of the conflict. All three countries spent the remainder of the 1990s assisting in the rebuilding of Iraq and it’s infrastructure.  That assistance was a critical element in the Arab League taking a more accepting stance toward the Sinai Alliance.

In the years following the Persian Gulf War, the three nations have seen an increase in business and investment from several Arab League nations.

Upper Israel continues to be a perpetual detractor of North Sinai and officially refuses to recognise it as an independent state. In all official documentation generated by Upper Israel, North Sinai is simply referred to as “Lower Israel”. There is little overt animosity between the two beyond such name calling; while North Sinai has prospered and grown strong, Upper Israel has progressed little since the end of the hostilities that pulled Israel apart and has inadequate resources to up the ante against it’s young southern neighbour. Generally speaking, North Sinai considers itself happily divorced from the old Israel that was run from the north and cared so little about the needs of the south and the bulk of the world is on North Sinai’s side.


Embraer continues to be a major engine to the North Sinai and Egyptian industrial bases. A second aviation manufacturer, AeroSinai, was established in 1990; while their main line of business is sports and general aviation, which do not conflict heavily with Embraer’s business, they did create a concept for an indigenous combat aircraft in 1994.

The AeroSinai ICA concept did get the aviation world’s attention, particularly when it was presented as a full scale mock up at the Sinai AeroExpo event at Elat in 1996. Most people commented that it looked like a mix of a Sepecat Jaguar and Mirage F.1 with a bit of Panavia Tornado mixed in. The ICA generated only lukewarm interest and was ultimately cancelled at the mock up stage. AeroSinai subsequently returned to their sport and GA business, but their mock up had not been forgotten.

In the mid 2000s, with Embraer fully concentrating on meeting their civil and military aircraft orders, AeroSinai was granted the license for Eurofighter Typhoon production and overhaul facilities for the NSAS, Egyptian and Jordanian fleets of the type.

AeroSinai did not disappoint with their production and maintenance of the Typhoon. Largely this was due to the fact that much of the company’s executive management were former IAI, Elbit, Rafael and Elta people who had been made redundant as Embraer took over larger chunks of the old Israel’s aviation industry. Behind the main business of sport and GA, AeroSinai did possess the talent pool to make fully combat capable aircraft.

AeroSinai has since expanded from the Typhoon and taken over deep maintenance and overhaul duties for the three nations’ Tornado fleets as well.

The Canaan IFV, which was North Sinai’s first, and still best known military export, continues to impress and win new customers in its more advanced forms. Today, beyond it’s IFV role, it exists in air defence, APC and armoured medevac variants.

Sinai Defence Systems, like AeroSinai, is a relatively young company built from the pieces of former Israeli companies. Former members of fallen Israeli companies created SDS; as a result, what the new company lacked in market presence, it more than made up for in experienced leadership. This showed clearly in SDS’ long lived flagship product, the Canaan.

Initially intended to be an IFV offshoot of the Leopard 2 MBT, the Canaan became a worldwide best selling vehicle that served as a very adaptable basis for a variety of weapons platforms.

The base vehicle was a shortened Leopard 2 with a front mounted engine. The width of the Leopard was kept, but a set of road wheels was removed. The earliest versions were not expected to see wide service or be much more than IFVs, as such, they were not particularly adaptable or flexible. However, they were well liked and sold well enough to justify some rethinking of the design.

The Canaan Mk.III incorporated a good deal more modular design to the vehicle, which allowed the top deck to be easily adapted to the turret and armament preferences of a variety of operators. It was through the Mk.III that the Canaan truly started to come of age and started attracting sales at a global level.

It was also at the time of the Mk.III that SDS began a long association with the Italian arms manufacturer, Oto Melara. The relationship continues today and is so strong that Oto Melara turrets and guns are factory standard equipment on Canaans unless otherwise is specified by the purchaser. With a few notable exceptions, such as Germany, most European users of the Canaan have ordered it as factory standard.

One of the more notable accomplishments of the Canaan is its near complete replacement of M-113 based vehicles in most places they served. The Canaan has a much better balance of size to power than the M-113 and this has been particularly appreciated in the heavily armed IFV and AA variants.

There are three main marks of Canaan in service today:

Mk.III:
Built to be the basis of IFV and APC vehicles, the Mk.III is well armoured, powerful and adaptable to be fitted with most western developed turret designs and gun combinations.

The Mk.III was built in huge numbers and is available in second hand refurbished form from SDS with an Oto Melara Hitfist 25-30 turret/gun combination as standard.

Mk.V:
A lightened version designed for medivac, communications, radar and reconnaissance duties, the Mk.V is not a commonly seen variant and was built in relatively small numbers. Most nations who took the Mk.III opted for wheeled vehicles in the roles the Mk.V was intended for as they were seen as more mobile and cost effective in those roles than an armour based vehicle would be.

Mk.VI:
The Mk.VI hull was optimised for the heavier turrets and weapons systems of the anti-aircraft role. The Mk. VI was more popular than the Mk.V and, like the Mk.III, had modular top decking to make it adaptable to a variety of systems.

The Mk.VI existed in two forms; a baseline VI with AA gun armament and a VI R with a strengthened suspension for missile based AA systems.

While the factory standard Mk.VI is equipped with an Oto Melara SIDAM 25 system, the Mk. VI R represents a rare departure from the SDS/Oto Melara partnership. The Mk. VI R takes the Akrab missile system developed by Jordanian Tactical Dynamics as its factory standard gear.

The JTD Akrab, or Scorpion, system is seen as roughly on par with the Strela 10 in range but somewhat superior in other aspects.

The Mk. IV designation was given to a failed recovery vehicle version. It was limited in both strength and weight for the role and abandoned in favour of a Leopard 2 based type.

A wide range of variations has been seen on the Canaan, some of the more notable variations are:

Mk. III D:
German army variant, which features a KUKA E4/Mauser 30mm turret and gun combination.

Mk. V P:
Specialised civil variant with lightened armour for police work.

Mk. VI FK:
Specialised civil variant for rescue and fire fighting duties.

Mk. VI CR:
Canadian army variant fitted with Oerlikon-Contraves ADATS turret and associated equipment.

Currently, the North Sinai Armed Services are considered a very well equipped and capable force on all levels.

Beyond the Leopard 2 and Canaan based armour, NSAS land element uses a wide array of Steyr and OAF wheeled vehicles for utility, transport and infantry purposes. Additionally, NSAS has recently taken on the Dingo 2 vehicle.

NSAS air elements are also well equipped.

All pilots start at Beersheba with the AeroSinai two place Hoopoe basic piston trainer and then move on to the Tucano before graduating to the MB-339. Helicopter training is done at Elat with AS.350s

The standard utility helicopter in NSAS is the EC-145. Heavier work is done with Super Pumas and second hand Chinooks. Recently, NSAS signed into a deal for a small fleet of Eurocopter Tigre gunships.

Tactical transport is a mixed fleet of C-130J and C-27 Spartan aircraft. Light transport and VIP work is carried out by a variety of Embraer aircraft.

The NSAS tactical aircraft fleet consists of the AMX, Tornado IDS and ADV and, most recently, the Eurofighter Typhoon. It has been announced that the Tornado force will be downsized over the next few years.

Coastal patrol and surveillance was carried out with a unit of second hand Italian Breguet Atlantic aircraft until they were retired in 2005 in favour of the Embraer P-99.

The NSAS maritime element was the smallest of the three service branches and was almost completely reserve in nature as the Egyptian navy carries defensive responsibilities for Sinai Alliance waters in the Mediterranean and around the Sinai Peninsula. In 1995 NSAS maritime was reorganised into the North Sinai Coast Guard and operate exclusively in the SAR role with a small fleet of surface ships and Puma helicopters.

There was brief talk of replacing the NSCG Pumas with Merlins, but the very expensive purchases of the Tigre gunships and Typhoon fighters effectively ended any further talk of Merlins for either NSCG or NSAS in general; the Pumas still had life in them and were popular.

Under Sinai Alliance arrangements, North Sinai, Egypt and Jordan share a pool of Embraer R-99 AEW aircraft.

Today North Sinai and its Sinai Alliance partners remain very active in world affairs and all three have seen the standard of living within their borders steadily rise as a result.

North Sinai has not only become the “World’s Meeting Place” as it often markets itself, but it has also, in its way, become a realisation of the “New Israel” concept from the 1970s. Judaism is still the religion of majority in North Sinai, however, Islam and Christianity exist alongside it with little to no friction; this is due largely to the state’s rather overt discouragement of hard line practice of any religion by the populace.






 





« Last Edit: February 12, 2012, 05:03:09 AM by upnorth »
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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #60 on: February 12, 2012, 05:05:53 AM »
Well I thought I was the Master of the long story...I guess I have now been usurped! :)
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #61 on: February 12, 2012, 05:12:03 AM »
Glad you enjoyed it, Greg.

I actually surprised myself with the whole Israel/North Sinai sub plot. It really just kind of hit me out of nowhere as a stand alone story but ended up getting stuck in here as a way to involve the two Austrias in world affairs. I never imagined it would take up so much of the story.

I have to admit that this whole story arc really took on a life of it's own when all I'd really intended to do was extend my Bucharest Alliance story a bit with it. ;D

I've been in contact with Apophenia by PM about all kinds of details, so I can't wait to see what sort of visuals he'll add to this. I really can't thank him enough for his generous help in bringing the vehicles in the story to life. He's also been very helpful in developing my armour ideas.

I do plan to build a few of the vehicles I've mentioned, but there's no way I could ever do all of them.

Geoff sent me a partial sheet of LOVA stars, so that will really help things on that end. Between those and an IPMS Austria sheet I have that I can use for OL stuff, I should be able to make a few styrene renditions of stuff in here.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2012, 05:17:52 AM by upnorth »
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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #62 on: February 12, 2012, 05:14:18 AM »
I know what you mean - they seem to develop a life of their own. ;)
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Offline apophenia

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #63 on: February 12, 2012, 12:38:04 PM »
Great stuff 'north! Here's my first stab at the Canaan IFV.

Left is a fairly early production Canaan Mk.III in bog-standard North Sinai camouflage and markings.

Right is a deployed Canadian Forces Cougar II based on the  Canaan III Upgrade dressed in full Barracuda thermal mats and slat armour.
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #64 on: February 12, 2012, 04:40:24 PM »
Those are great!

The NSAS low vis insignia looks quite sharp on that Canaan.
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Offline apophenia

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #65 on: February 13, 2012, 11:26:50 AM »
Cheers 'north. Yeah, I liked the NS flag effect as well. I tried a paler version but settled on that 'semi lo-viz' version.

I've mounted a pair of Air Defence Canaans (CCV ADATS and a Canaan Mk.VI SIDAM 25 in a display scheme) on my profiles page. See: http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg8566#msg8566
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #66 on: February 14, 2012, 04:56:06 AM »
I just snapped up a Revell 1/72 Leo 2 today, so a styrene Canaan Mk.VI with Akrab is in the cards.

Can you tell me which set of road wheels you pulled out to make your profiles? I can't put my finger on it just by looking.
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Offline apophenia

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #67 on: February 15, 2012, 07:39:43 AM »
Upnorth: On the profiles, I yanked the #2 set (from the front in the original Leopard 2 layout). Just to complicate you life further, IIRC, I placed the former #1 set by where the track links fit best  ;)

I've just put up another set of Canaan profiles. These are direct-fire support variants
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg8811#msg8811

[Edit: And another ... this one's the joint Korean/SDS SK-30 BiHo/Sharav SPAAG
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg8844#msg8844
« Last Edit: February 15, 2012, 12:05:10 PM by apophenia »
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Offline apophenia

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #68 on: February 17, 2012, 09:10:26 AM »
Still more Canaan derivatives ... this time, the Spanish-built Enasa-Pegaso Cortés VCI and a fire support vehicle with Thyssen-Henschel Begleitpanzer 57 turret.

http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg9058#msg9058
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #69 on: July 08, 2012, 11:13:32 PM »
I'm bringing this thread back up to the surface to add a quick sketch I've just finished of a LOVA Zlin Z-526 Trener-Master:



The drawing shows the aircraft as they appeared shortly after deliveries began in 1961.

A/C 1177 was the seventh Z-526 to be delivered to the LOVA basic flight training establishment at Feldbach. It was formally accepted in late May of 1961.

LOVA Z-526 aircraft were initially delivered in overall silver with yellow training trim.

As was common practice, each aircraft was "adopted" by a municipality somewhere in the country shortly after being taken on charge and that town or city's coat of arms would be applied to the aircraft.

A/C 1177 was adopted by Jennersdorf.

There were no hard and fast rules in LOVA about size and location of the coat of arms. On average, the shield would appear of the left side of the fuselage and tended to be a bit larger or training and transport types. A/C 1177 was in the minority of aircraft that had the shield applied to both sides of the fuselage.

OL also encouraged towns and cities to adopt aircraft but were much stricter about placement and sizing of the shields. Aircraft could only have one shield applied and it had to be on the left side of the aircraft. There was a standard sizing system for shields and the size of the shield used was governed largely by the size and role of the aircraft  in question.
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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #70 on: July 09, 2012, 02:28:07 AM »
Good work.
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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But you can make the Bastard work for it.

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Re: Austria Divided
« Reply #71 on: August 23, 2012, 02:37:54 AM »
As an aside an Austrian company did upgade some T-62s which were for the middle east in real life.