Red V Green...

FINALLY! After so many Green and Blue posts, we now have the very first "full-scale" Red Team aircraft, and I say it looks beautiful!

Now I'm worried what a "full-scale" B-984 looks like.

The P-30 "Slicer," one of many aircraft leaked in my teasers.

So, what does it do?

Basics

The P-30A is pretty close to your average WWII aircraft. Albeit much faster and more agile than anything conventional of the said era, it's still pretty close by Red V Green standards. The cockpit is pretty functional, but nothing too special.

Info

The P-30A C2 is a true beast. Built to fly fast and maneuver well, it's easy to see why it was one of the most powerful aircraft in the sky at its time. However, it's full of pros, cons, nuances and such. Let's begin.

Pros
-Faster than most planes of the era
-Good climb
-Very agile in the air
-Decent cockpit armor (I've never hit the cockpit on this thing)
-Inline engine makes for better all-around performance
-Small target

Cons
-Basically no armor
-Landing gear will almost always be destroyed if damaged even a little bit
-Volatile comms that can be eliminated easier
-Propeller susceptible to ground-strikes
-Exposed rear gear

Tips
-Try pulling up as soon as you can, the P-30A has a tendency to propeller-slam on takeoff otherwise.
-There are many different kinds of P-30, but the main ones you'll need to know about are the P-30A A1 (the original P-30) and the P-30A C2 (this P-30). The A1 features a weaker engine and only the top two nose guns, whilst this one features four guns above and under the nose along with a much more powerful inline engine. Use the advantages of the C2 wisely.

A good shot showing off the four guns and under-wing inlets distinguishing this as a P-30A C2. The C1 had under-wing vents, but only two nose guns, while the B3 (final version of the P-30A Bx) was the opposite, having four guns but no intakes.

Story

During the early Red V Green War, Green Team effectively had air superiority, boasting the most and best aircraft out of any military of the time. Of course, famous planes like the P-2 Stormer, B-4 Asteroid, and P-05 Combatant were no exceptions to this lineup. However, Red knew that their SPAA wasn't going to repel the fighters or CAS, and their base AAA would be no match for the high-flying B-4As. So they had only one choice: build an aircraft and join the arms race. Several prototypes were made, many of which were based on pre-existent aircraft (none of which fought, as they were obsolete). After months of work though, Red's first fighter finally entered the scene: the P-28 Chopper.

It wasn't very good. Although the aircraft itself was solid, its engine was weak in terms of both power and durability, and as such it had a hard time fighting even without its armor and weapon load, with the additions in question making the P-28 basically impossible to dogfight in. And again, its engine was w e a k, so no repurposing it to be an interceptor. Red Air Force officials decided they needed something not to just replace to P-28, but to counter the P-2A. And then it hit them.

After seeing the success of planes like the Bf-109 and Bf-110 in Germany (RvG and WWII take place at the same time in an alternate universe stay with me here), Red Team decided they needed their own aircraft like these. So going off of research from the P-28, engineers were given the task to make a high-performance light fighter and a heavy-duty all-around aircraft. The latter of these would bring the P-31 into the world, which would eventually evolve into the famous "Blizzard Killer," the P-32 Razor. However, the light fighter assignment of course sprouted up none other than yours truly, the P-30A.

The P-30A wasn't perfect either, but Red Engineers had already been extensively researching the inline engine, so engine problems weren't an issue. The P-30A could counter the P-2A much more effectively than the preceding P-28. But there was one issue; the P-30A used small-caliber weapons, to ensure it was as light and agile as possible. This often resulted in P-2As being damaged, but rarely destroyed. Eventually, the P-30A C2 rolled around, featuring four machine guns which finally had the power to tear into enemy fighters.

The Slicer quickly became a fearsome opponent, with one pilot even naming it "a force to be reckoned with"- and the pilot in question said this after shooting down five, to give you an idea of how fearsome a good P-30 was. It would see extensive service in the early years of RvG, as well as surviving during the Blue era and frequently contending with jets. The P-30's service life only ended in 1969 when the Red P-34 Knife-Edge was built, but the Slicer's "brother," the P-32 Razor, continued to serve until the late 1980s.

Other Stuff

Happy Hunting!

And go Red!