TSR2: Hell-For-Leather (or: Drive By Shooting Cold War Style!)

[Skyraider3D]

Hopefully you all had a good Christmas!

Here's one of my latest works.



Hell-For-Leather

After their nuclear attack against a Soviet industrial target, the crew of this TSR2 dive back to the relative safety of supersonic low-level flight. With the bomber’s cover now broken, a “Shilka” self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is the first enemy unit to respond. As they speed away from the target, hopes are high for a safe return to their forward air base in West Germany... if it is still there. This is the doomsday scenario that could have unfolded, had the Cold War turned hot and had the TSR2 not been cancelled in 1965.


Around the height of the Cold War, the British government released a specification for a nuclear-capable strike and reconnaissance aircraft. The result was the British Aircraft Corporation TSR2. Sadly Britain was in a poor financial position at that time and simply couldn't afford this state-of-the-art machine. The cancellation that followed in 1965 nearly wiped out military aircraft production in the UK.

This image was created for Damien Burke's superlative book TSR2, Britain's Lost Bomber, published by Crowood. If you have any interest in the TSR2 at all, this is the one book to get. Freshly researched, it debunks all the misinformation and myths that surrounds it and adds lots of new insight, information and fantastic technical detail that has been hidden in archives for over four decades. An absolute must for anyone interested in Cold War aviation. More information about this book can be found on TSR2 - Britain's Lost Bomber by Damien Burke

Prints of the cover art are available through my web store at http://www.digitalaviationart.com

Cheers,

Ronnie


PS. Below a few close-ups:

[Skyraider3D]

PS. Just for you guys, one of the profile illustrations from the book:

[Otterkins2]

Typically brilliant work again Ron. It was about this time that the Avro Arrow project got cancelled. It would have put Canada on the leading edge of aerospace technology. Instead, our limp wristed hand washing goat screwing politicians blew it. Just for good measure, they decided to totally screw up our ship building industry at the same time. No half measures for those morons. Whole hog and a piggie in the pocket for those jerks. In the process, Canada went from the second largest producing nation in the world to a pile of crap. Aren't politicians wonderful? Oh, by the way these same short sighted dim witted thinkers chose to mothball England's Harrier fleet. The only aircraft they had capable of carrier and jump operations and they cancell it??? Such appalling stupidity!

[Aircraftprofiles]

just awesome Ronnie ! i´m extremly impressed with how you manage to do well composed shots AND include very accurate aircraft models in your scenes. Very cool.
One thing that bothers me abit, is how clean the aircraft is. I would like a bit of dirt, oilstains and such. But i´m suspecting there could be a reason for that.

How do you make your landscapes ? and how did you come up with the nuke musroom ?

The profile, is perfect in my eyes

Great work

[Jesters-Ink]

Extremely attractive work mate, no less than we have come to love and expect from you.

[JMSmith]

don't make is head any bigger

[d4m1an]

Oh man it's hard cleaning drool off of a keyboard...

[Kakukk]

Awesome!

[inkworm]

hmm sure I've something similar elsewhere on the net, what small web it is

Seems ages ago I first saw the cover artwork but nice to share some of the detail shots with us as even in print not all the attention to detail shows up.

[Maciej N]

Hello Ronnie. As always really very nice! I hope it was not Poland