The SAAF Forum

I need to finish the Mig-21, but thought I'd just do the 76mm gun & get the strikecraft out of my system ... for now ..



Cheers

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Brent Best

Hi,

Hope I see the rest of the Strike Craft!

Pavel

I agree, the gun really needs a ship under it. Just hovering in mid-space all by itself like that is wierd.

I need some more reference pics, which I will take during the Navy Festival first week in March..

Then I will be able to put the ship under the gun.

Cheers

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Brent Best

A couple of hours into the weekend & we have a hull



Cheers

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Brent Best

From left to right, P1567, P1568, P1566 & P1562 in May 1995, taken at the V&A Waterfront .... or what was to become the Waterfront. The Table Bay hotel is yet to be built.

Photo taken by Mrs Kremlin, from the bridge of ARA Parker (P44), with ARA Espora (P41), alongside.



Strikecraft fleet
P1561 SAS Jan Smuts - scrapped & cut up. - 2004
P1562 SAS Shaka (ex-PW Botha) - sunk as target - 22nd April 2005, with the first firing of an Exocet missile by the SA Navy. The missile was fired from SAS Amatola during excercise "ADIEU SHAKA"
P1563 SAS Adam Kok (ex-Frederic Creswell) - Stored
P1564 SAS Sekhukhuni (ex-Jim Fouché) - sunk on 20 Sep 2004 during a 76mm firing exercise. ??
P1565 SAS Isaac Dyobha (ex-Frans Erasmus) - Active
P1566 SAS Rene Sethren (ex-Oswald Pirow) - sunk as target - 10 March 2010 EX-GOOD HOPE IV - struck by SAM from FGS Niedersachsen, then sunk by gunfire from SAS Amatola & FGS Brandenburg.
P1567 SAS Galeshewe (ex-Hendrik Mentz) - Active
P1568 SAS Job Maseko (ex-Kobie Coetsee) - Sold for scrap 2008
P1569 SAS Makhanda (ex-Magnus Malan) - Stored

Cheers

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Brent Best

Nice one for variation Nice to see a bit of navy action in profile form.

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Gerard Griessel

The Astra front view is cursing me .. so I'm doodling with something different for a while

Some progress on the Strikecraft & it's now starting to look menacing.



Thanks to Eugene for pumping me full of Strikecraft inspiration

Cheers

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Brent Best

I have to ask this... and please forgive me if my Oranjeboom addled brain doesn't make any sense but:

Can one rework the ship's hull back to zero hours like SA did with the Mir III et al airframe? I'm guessing that if it is possible, it would be a very expensive exercise given that ships are the most expensive capital equipment that a military can operate...

Would it be possible, let alone economically feasible, to say... rework all remaining strikecraft that can be salvaged to zero hours, fit up to date C3I, "navalised" G7 / 105mm foreward / aft gun, Umkhonto launchers in the place of the Gabriel / Skerpioen system...

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A plan is simply a basis for change.

I doubt it. Hulls have suffered from fatigue over the years. Also I think the hulls are too light to be able to ship extensive weaponary as has been suggested. Probably more cost effective to manufacture OPV's instead.

I'm in a bit of a nautical mood .. so I've taken the Strikecraft out of the box again ...

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Brent Best

Some safety gear added.

Looking lekker there Krem! DKB next perhaps...

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www.monzlyons.co.uk

Thanks Monique .. but at the rate the Strikecarft is progressing ... DKB will take years to complete

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Brent Best