The Aircraft

The C.12R was an experimental plane built in 1938 by Estio to test if aircraft could safely use rocket boosters, so they modified one C.12, a highly successful fighter with a rocket booster and a closed canopy. The prototype flew well, but a mechanical failure made the landing gear not deploy, so the pilot decided to do a belly landing even though he was told to bail out and managed to land, but the rocket fuel ignited and set the aircraft on fire. The pilot managed to escape with only minor injuries, but the the C.12R was burned to a crisp, so Norden modified another C.12, this time with a more safe and reliable booster.

The second prototype flew without problems and exceeded expectations, which then prompted Norden to add three 7,62mm machine guns to see if it could be used in combat and the aircraft still had an amazing performance. When war broke out the EAF (Estian Air Force) ordered twenty C.12R to test them on combat and formed the Firebird squadron.

The Squadron

The Firebird squadron had moderate success and was quickly disbanded due to the loss of all C.12R. From twenty pilots only four survived due to the rocket booster having a tendency to explode when shot and only one stood out, Frederick “Blaze” Hamilton, the test pilot of both prototypes. Frederick had a cool demeanor and rarely fraternized with the other pilots from his squadron, achieving 31 kills from March 1st 1939 to November 29th 1939. He modified his C.12R, removing his nose MG and adding a 20mm cannon, an anti-aircraft cannon modified to be mounted on a plane, which coupled with his knowledge of the airplane and skills made him a very deadly pilot.

In November 29 Frederick was sent out with the rest of his squadron to intercept Felkan attacker aircraft that were attacking Estian ground troops. After claiming three kills, a lone Felkan plane appeared to help his allies, it was Arthur “Bell” Foulke, a Felkan pilot which only recently got his first 10 kills, turning him into an ace. He was close to the area when he heard in the radio calls for help and went for the rescue without waiting for the rest of his squadron, and when he arrived there he managed to shoot down two C.12R before confronting Frederick. Even though Blaze had the armament and the speed, Bell had a more agile plane and quickly got a few shots into the rocket booster, which exploded the whole tail section of the C.12R. Frederick was lucky the rest of the fuel didn’t explode, so he bailed out of the tail-less plane and was rescued by the ground troops which he had saved, he then managed to return to his base and was assigned to a different squadron which flew conventional aircraft, fighting throughout the whole war and scoring 62 more kills, making it a total of 93 kills.

In June 3rd 1945, he was shot down again by the same pilot who shot him down five years ago, Bell, which this time was flying a jet while Frederick was still flying a propeller aircraft. Frederick was hit with several 20mm rounds and died immediately.

Misc

Max Speed: 633 km/h at 1,500 meters?
Takeoff Speed: 220 km/h
Stall Speed: 180 km/h?
Manufacturer: Norden Industries?
Produced: 1938-1939?
Numbers Built: 22?
Powerplant: 12 cylinder inline engine with 810 hp and a rocket booster
(To takeoff with the rocket on, set flaps to maximum!)

Controls

AG-1: Rocket Booster
AG-2: Bail Out
AG-8: Canopy
VTOL: Flaps