NoaIzumiAnime Classroom: The Aircraft of Area 88
January 23rd 2009 01:42
Anime, educational? Sure! There are all kinds of things you can learn from watching Japanese animation. We’ll be looking at some of them in this series.
Area 88 is a TV anime, OVA, and manga series about a force of mercenary pilots, fighting for a Middle Eastern country in the middle of a civil war. It’s set sometime in the 80s, so both sides fly modern jet fighters of a wide variety. We’ll be looking at some of that variety in this series, starting with the main planes of the TV series.
The profession of mercenary pilot has a history almost as long as aviation itself. In fact, the very first dogfight, in 1913, was between two mercenary pilots flying on opposite sides of a civil war in Mexico. The most famous mercenary air group was undoubtedly the American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers, who flew for China against the Japanese before and during World War II, and like the men of Area 88, were paid a hefty bonus for each enemy plane shot down. Mercenaries have flown in modern conflicts as well, including the various wars in the Horn of Africa, the Nigerian Civil War, and other conflicts in the Third World.
F-5 Tiger II
Small and maneuverable, the plane of main character Shin Kazuma is built for dogfighting, and more than a match for the MiGs flown by the rebel air force. The F-5 was first flown by the South Vietnamese air force in the Vietnam War, and F-5s are still used by the United States military as aggressor aircraft for advanced aerial combat training. Tigers have seen action in the Iran-Iraq War, and Ethiopian F-5s scored several kills over Somali MiG-21s during the Ogaden War of the late 70s. Some reports say that the Ethiopian planes were flown by Israeli mercenaries. It’s probably most well known in the United States for being the predecessor to the famed F-20.
F-8 Crusader
Shin’s first plane in both the OVA and the TV series, the F-8 served with the US Navy during the Vietnam War. It’s known as the “Last Gunfighter,” since it was the last fighter in US service to be armed with four 20 mm cannons. It also holds the distinction of having the highest kill-loss ratio of any plane in the Vietnam War. Crusader pilots shot down 19 MiGs during the war while losing only three planes in aerial combat, and performed ground attack missions as well. As shown in the anime, the F-8 can fly even with its wings folded up, if it’s not carrying too much ordinance.
The French Navy also flew Crusaders, and these saw some action during peacekeeping missions in Lebanon in the 80s.
F-14 Tomcat
C’mon, you’ve seen Top Gun! The F-14 Tomcat is a perfect fit for the ex-Navy pilot Mickey Simon. Fast, maneuverable, and sophisticated, the F-14 is probably the most capable plane at Area 88 in the air-to-air role. The F-14 was the first of a new generation of American fighters, and represented the high-tech approach to aerial combat. As depicted in Area 88, the Tomcat tended to be a fuel guzzler, and could carry bombs (F-14s carried out several air-to-ground missions in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom). However, contrary to the flashback in the OVA, F-14s never served in the Vietnam War. The war was long over by the time Tomcats became operational.
In real life, the Tomcat is most famous for the Gulf of Sidra incidents of 1981 and 1989, in which US Navy Tomcats downed four Libyan fighter jets. Tomcats flew in the Gulf War with Iraq, but scored only one additional kill. In the Iran-Iraq War, however, Iranian-flown F-14s had an amazing record, downing over a hundred Iraqi planes for only three losses in aerial combat.
All American Tomcats have been retired, replaced by the Super Hornet.
AV-8 Harrier
The stubby Harrier has been flown by the British for decades, and became famous in the Falkland Islands War, where Sea Harriers of the Royal Navy downed 22 Argentine warplanes for no losses. The key to the Harrier’s success is its maneuverability, a quality used to great effect by Area 88 pilot Kim Aoba. Kim’s plane is an AV-8, a version made for the US Marines which was used for close air support in the Gulf War and is still in service.
Mirage F1
The plane flown by heartbreaker Kitri Palvanof has a long history in Middle Eastern wars. Americans will most likely recognize it as the plane that attacked and damaged the American frigate USS Stark in the Persian Gulf, and the plane that was initially reported as the first aerial kill of the 1991 Gulf War. The French-built Mirage was acquired by Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, and was used mainly in the ground attack role. It was no slouch when it came to air combat, however. Those three F-14 losses in the Iran-Iraq War I mentioned earlier? All of them were downed by F1 pilots.
F1s also saw aerial combat in the 1995 Cerpa War between Ecuador and Peru, and South African Mirages flew against Cuban-flown MiGs during the border wars with Angola in the late 80s.
Next post: The planes of the OVA
Area 88 is a TV anime, OVA, and manga series about a force of mercenary pilots, fighting for a Middle Eastern country in the middle of a civil war. It’s set sometime in the 80s, so both sides fly modern jet fighters of a wide variety. We’ll be looking at some of that variety in this series, starting with the main planes of the TV series.
The profession of mercenary pilot has a history almost as long as aviation itself. In fact, the very first dogfight, in 1913, was between two mercenary pilots flying on opposite sides of a civil war in Mexico. The most famous mercenary air group was undoubtedly the American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers, who flew for China against the Japanese before and during World War II, and like the men of Area 88, were paid a hefty bonus for each enemy plane shot down. Mercenaries have flown in modern conflicts as well, including the various wars in the Horn of Africa, the Nigerian Civil War, and other conflicts in the Third World.
The planes of Area 88 (clockwise from top): Mirage F1, F-14 Tomcat, F-5 Tiger II, Harrier
F-5 Tiger II
Small and maneuverable, the plane of main character Shin Kazuma is built for dogfighting, and more than a match for the MiGs flown by the rebel air force. The F-5 was first flown by the South Vietnamese air force in the Vietnam War, and F-5s are still used by the United States military as aggressor aircraft for advanced aerial combat training. Tigers have seen action in the Iran-Iraq War, and Ethiopian F-5s scored several kills over Somali MiG-21s during the Ogaden War of the late 70s. Some reports say that the Ethiopian planes were flown by Israeli mercenaries. It’s probably most well known in the United States for being the predecessor to the famed F-20.
DVD cover showing Shin and his F-8 Crusader
F-8 Crusader
Shin’s first plane in both the OVA and the TV series, the F-8 served with the US Navy during the Vietnam War. It’s known as the “Last Gunfighter,” since it was the last fighter in US service to be armed with four 20 mm cannons. It also holds the distinction of having the highest kill-loss ratio of any plane in the Vietnam War. Crusader pilots shot down 19 MiGs during the war while losing only three planes in aerial combat, and performed ground attack missions as well. As shown in the anime, the F-8 can fly even with its wings folded up, if it’s not carrying too much ordinance.
The French Navy also flew Crusaders, and these saw some action during peacekeeping missions in Lebanon in the 80s.
F-14 Tomcat
C’mon, you’ve seen Top Gun! The F-14 Tomcat is a perfect fit for the ex-Navy pilot Mickey Simon. Fast, maneuverable, and sophisticated, the F-14 is probably the most capable plane at Area 88 in the air-to-air role. The F-14 was the first of a new generation of American fighters, and represented the high-tech approach to aerial combat. As depicted in Area 88, the Tomcat tended to be a fuel guzzler, and could carry bombs (F-14s carried out several air-to-ground missions in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom). However, contrary to the flashback in the OVA, F-14s never served in the Vietnam War. The war was long over by the time Tomcats became operational.
In real life, the Tomcat is most famous for the Gulf of Sidra incidents of 1981 and 1989, in which US Navy Tomcats downed four Libyan fighter jets. Tomcats flew in the Gulf War with Iraq, but scored only one additional kill. In the Iran-Iraq War, however, Iranian-flown F-14s had an amazing record, downing over a hundred Iraqi planes for only three losses in aerial combat.
All American Tomcats have been retired, replaced by the Super Hornet.
AV-8 Harrier
The stubby Harrier has been flown by the British for decades, and became famous in the Falkland Islands War, where Sea Harriers of the Royal Navy downed 22 Argentine warplanes for no losses. The key to the Harrier’s success is its maneuverability, a quality used to great effect by Area 88 pilot Kim Aoba. Kim’s plane is an AV-8, a version made for the US Marines which was used for close air support in the Gulf War and is still in service.
Mirage F1
The plane flown by heartbreaker Kitri Palvanof has a long history in Middle Eastern wars. Americans will most likely recognize it as the plane that attacked and damaged the American frigate USS Stark in the Persian Gulf, and the plane that was initially reported as the first aerial kill of the 1991 Gulf War. The French-built Mirage was acquired by Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, and was used mainly in the ground attack role. It was no slouch when it came to air combat, however. Those three F-14 losses in the Iran-Iraq War I mentioned earlier? All of them were downed by F1 pilots.
F1s also saw aerial combat in the 1995 Cerpa War between Ecuador and Peru, and South African Mirages flew against Cuban-flown MiGs during the border wars with Angola in the late 80s.
Next post: The planes of the OVA
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