Here is the F-82G Twin Mustang Night Fighter for the Korean Air War version of EAW. Unfortunately due to the way the skin wraps on the 3dz, it's virtually impossible to apply any codes/markings on the rear fuselage. Have a go and let me know if you can do it! So the aircraft is a generic F-82G of the 347th Fighter (All Weather) Group based at Itazuke, Japan, June 1950.

The skin is by me, the shape is by Sir Charles Gunst, using Moggy's newly discovered method of "pasting" one 3D shape file onto another. Moggy also fixed a difficult problem with the undercarriage in the nearly-finished version of the shape.  There are some small rendering problems from some angles, but nothing too dramatic for such a radical re-working of the 3D shape.

So thanks to Sir Charles and Moggy.

To use, simply unzip all files and copy the *.TPC and *.3DZ files into your EAW directory. 

The only known glitch with this shape, using ECA Control Panel v3.7 or later, is to do with the engines and propellors. This is a twin-engined aircraft, so you have to start both engines to fly at full power (by hitting both the Shift[ and Shift] keys). The left engine controls the appearance of both propellors, though (this is a cosmetic effect only).


The Twin Mustang In Korea:

During their short lifetime, the F-82s achieved one major distinction: holding the line in Korea until reinforcements arrived. Three squadrons of F-82Gs were operating in Japan as part of the 347th Fighter (All Weather) Group, when North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. 

The F-82Gs were the only aircraft available in Japan that had sufficient endurance to fly to the battle area and operate for hours over the evacuation centers at Kimpo and Inchon. On 27 June, Lieutenant William Hudson and his radar operator, Lieutenant Carl Fraser, scored the first air-to-air kill of the Korean War, shooting down a Yak-11. Lieutenant Charles Moran shot down a Yak-9 a short time later, and Major James Little increased the day's score to three by destroying an La-7. 

The North Korean Air Force had no advanced jet aircraft at the time, and the F-82Gs and Lockheed F-80 Shooting Stars quickly cleaned the North Koreans out of the sky. The F-82Gs switched their mission from air combat to night interdiction, using bombs and HVAR rockets to destroy North Korean armor and other targets. 

Eventually, the night interdiction mission was taken over by the Douglas B-26 Invader, which was more heavily armed and better suited to the role. The last assignment of the F-82Gs in Korea was to hunt down low-flying PO-2 biplanes that the North Koreans used for night harassment raids, but this was an exercise in frustration as the nimble biplanes were almost impossible to find, much less shoot down. The F-82Gs were finally replaced by Lockheed F-94B Starfires in 1952. 

Richard "Gramps" Kaminski
31/07/02
Endeavour2000@hotmail.com
