Retro Livery for RAAF Hornet

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 09/20/2016 at 12:29 • Filed to: planelopnik

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To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Royal Australian Air Force No. 3 Squadron, this F/A-18A Hornet was painted in a desert livery from WWII.

From the site !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! :

This exclusive image by photographer Jaryd Stock shows Hornet A21-27 wearing a hybrid scheme featuring the tan and brown camouflage and the ‘CV-V’ squadron code as worn by P-40 Kittyhawks flown by Squadron Leader Bobby Gibbes – the unit’s longest serving commanding officer during WW2 – plus the blue painted rudders featuring the southern cross that was a feature of 3 Squadron’s wartime P-51 Mustangs. The jet also features the contemporary 3 Squadron bomb-carrying eagle emblem on the tail, WW2-style roundels but featuring the red kangaroo (as introduced in 1956) rather than the red inner circle, and contemporary low vis roundels.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was formed in 1916, one of three squadrons to fight in France during WWI. The unit was disbanded after the war, but reestablished in 1925 and fought in the Mediterranean Theater during WWII. Following WWII, the unit was again disbanded and reformed twice before being raised again in 1986, flying the F/A-18. As of 2016, No. 3 Squadron has been deployed in the fight agains ISIS.

Photo by Jaryd Stock via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 09/20/2016 at 13:06

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I’m such a sucker for retro/alternate liveries. The Hornet wears them particularly well.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 09/20/2016 at 13:16

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Canada did something similar to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 09/20/2016 at 14:22

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Bring back WWII paint jobs. They look so good on jets.

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 09/20/2016 at 14:35

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We may have been at the same air show. I looked for my pictures of that F/A-18 and EA-6B but I couldn’t find them. The Navy painted those liveries to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Naval aviation. They looked fantastic. Found these, too.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 09/20/2016 at 18:07

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I can’t take credit for that. Snagged it from the Internet by searching for photos that were labeled for noncommercial reuse. I can’t remember for sure the last time I was at an air show. I’m pretty sure the last one I was at had a flyby from an F-14.

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 09/20/2016 at 18:34

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Finally found the pic I was looking for. It’s actually the same EA-6B in the photo I found on the web.