Procurement photos on Flickr

A speedboat sunset over the Mekong River as we approach Luang Prabang. Too bad the amazing speedboat voyage downstream and overnight in Houay Xai was tarnished when we were dropped off at a pier 10 KM north of the city proper, with tuk-tuks drivers waiting for us. We knew that even though speedboats are not allowed into the city proper, there is a dock closer to the city. This is a scam where you get dropped off and overcharged for the tuk ride. Thankfully there were two boats (8 foreignors) and our combination of non-violent sit in and cajoling allowed us to procure cheaper accomodations a little while later.

Ss. Gregory and Martin, Wye, Kent by Jelltex

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I am currently trying to revisit all the churches photographed in the first few years of the Kent Churches Project, which means seeing some great and humble buildings, and sometimes surprise that some did not make more of an impact on me first time time round.

Why sits in the shadow of the downs, Wye down being nearest, of course, and also beside the Stour. The chuch sits beside the old main road and beside the old college, with the village spread to its south side.

All I remembered from my first time was the glass outer porch door, but my overwhelming feeling this time was of space and light in the mighty high nave.

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A very strange church, the result of the collapse of a tall central tower in 1686. The nave of the medieval church survives almost intact, while the chancel has been constructed from the remains of the central crossing of the thirteenth-century church, and a new tower built. The nave is tall and light, and contrasts well with the short narrow apsed chancel that now contains mural tablets to the Sawbridge and Drax families who lived at Olantigh. The reredos is plain early eighteenth-century work and ties in nicely with the dark oak panelling. The choir stalls which stand in the nave were a thanksgiving memorial for the life of President Kennedy. The west window, which represents Christ in Majesty, is set into plain glass and was designed by Gerald Smith in the 1950s. It is an object lesson in how good glass of this period could be.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Wye

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WYE

LIES the next parish eastward from Challock. It is spelt in Domesday, and other antient records, Wy.

¶THE PARISH lies in a healthy country, great part of it being in the fertile Ashford vale; the fine pasture down hills of Wye and Braborne bound the eastern side of it, as does another range of hills on the opposite side, the tops of which are skirted by the large extent of woodland, called King's and Challock woods, over which, for near two miles, this parish reaches westward almost to the church and village of Molash. It contains about two hundred and thirteen houses, and fourteen hundred inhabitants; the rents of it are about 4500l. per annum. The soil of it is various, the hills above mentioned, as well as the vale between in the northern part of it, are mostly chalk; the rest of it a red cludgy earth, much intermixed with slints, a wet unpleasant soil; the meadows near the river are very sertile and rich. The town of Wye, in which the fine tower of the church is a conspicuous object, stands in the vale on the river Stour, which directs its course throught the parish in its way to Canterbury; over it here is a stone bridge of five arches, built in 1630, in the room of the former wooden one, at the charge of the county; the river is plentifully stowed hereabouts with pikes. The town, which stands low and damp, and from that and its soil an unpleasant situation, is a neat well-built town, consisting of two parallel and two cross streets, the whole unpaved. There is a large green in it, built round, on one side of which is the church and college close to it, and on the other a house, which was once the gaol to the manor-court, but long since disused.

There is a tradition, that the town once stood in the valley, which lies between Wye-down and Crundal, where the hamlet of Pett-street now is, about which there are still remaining several deep disused wells, and this place is still called Town borough, where as that in which Wye town stands is called Bewbridge-borough. About half a mile westward from the town is a pleasant seat, called Spring-grove, built by Thomas Brett, esq. of this parish, in 1674, who afterwards resided in it.

The south part of the parish below the town, is full of small inclosures, and the soil deeper. In it is a hamlet, called Withersden, formerly accounted a manor, in which there is a well, which was once famous, being called St. Eustace's well, taking its name from Eustachius, abbot of Flai, who is mentioned by Matt. Paris, p. 169, an. 1200, to have been a man of learning and sanctity, and to have come and preached at Wye, and to have blessed a fountain there, so that afterwards its waters were endowed, by such miraculous power, that by it all diseases were cured. Hence the parish extends itself further southward by a narrow slip, between Brook and Braborne, to Nacolt-wood, once reputed likewise a manor, and the tile-kiln of that name.

Almost one half of the parish now belongs to Mr. Sawbridge, his estate here being greatly increased by his father's late purchase of the estates of Bond Hopkins, esq. which consist of Wye-court, Harvile, Coldharbour, Wye-downs, and Nacolt, in this parish; they formerly, I conjecture, belonged to Wye college, and afterwards to the Kempes; they were bought in chancery by John Hopkins. esq. commonly called from his rapacity, Vulture Hopkins, who died immensely rich in 1732, and devised his estates so as not to be inherited till after the second generation, then unborn; but the court of chancery set the will aside, and gave his estates to his heir-at-law, from whom they descended to the above-mentioned Bond Hopkins, esq. In the northern part of it stands the stately mansion of Ollantigh, close to the river, which is here beautifully formed by art to ornament it. Adjoining are the park-grounds, containing near six hundred acres, which extend almost as far as Wye town; and the eastern part of the ridge of hills called Wye-downs, the chain of which reaches to the sea-shore at Folkestone. On the summit of the hill, at the eastern extremity of this parish, is Fanscomb-beech, a tree visible to all the country round, to a great distance; near it was formerly a cottage, of the same name, now pulled down, and the lands laid into Mr. Sawbridge's park grounds. Also near it is Fannes wood, now a cottage, and belonging to him likewise. Both these were formerly esteemed manors of good account. The manor of Fannes, alias Fanscombe, formerly belonged to the master of the Savoy, now to St. Thomas's hospital, in Southwark, and that of Fannes wood, formerly the property of the Kempes, to Mr. Sawbridge.

The high road from Canterbury to Ashford leads along this parish, about half a mile distance westward from Ollantigh, on higher ground from whence there is a fine view over the vale beneath and the opposite downs, including the mansion and grounds of Ollantigh, and the town and church of Wye, which it leaves in its course at the same distance.

It is by some supposed that the Romans had a highway through this parish, which went on towards Lenham, and so to Aylesford; and the several remains of that nation dug up on Tremworth-down, in the adjoining parish of Crundal, on the side of it next to this parish, will serve to strengthen this conjecture. Wye had formerly a market on a Thursday, granted to the abbot of Battell, which was held in the time of king Henry VIII. It was held in Leland's time, who calls it a pratie market townelet; but it has been for some time disused. The two fairs formerly held here on St. Gregories day, March 23, and on All Souls day, Nov. 2, are now held on May 29 and Sept. 3, yearly, for Welch cattle, stock, &c.

There were formerly several families of good account resident in this town and parish, the Finch's, lived at Wye-court, descended from those of Sewards, in Linsted, a younger branch of the Finch's, of Eastwell; the Swans, removed hither from Lyd. Francis Swan, esq. resided here, his house being in the town of Wye, at the latter end of Henry VIII.'s reign. They bore for their arms, Azure, a chevron, ermine, between three swans, proper; the Twisdens, one of whom, Roger Twisden, gent. was of Wye, had a lease of the scite of the manor of Wye, and other premises here, from the abbot of Battel, anno 25 Henry VIII. and the Haules, who were antiently written De Aula five Haule, in Latin deeds, likewise resided here for several generations, till they removed to Maidstone in king James the 1st.'s reign, where George Haule, esq. of Maidstone, died in 1652. Elizabeth his daughter, and at length sole heir, married Sir Thomas Taylor, bart. of that parish. They bore for their arms, Or, on a saltier, five mulets of the field.

In this parish Major George Somner, brother to the antiquary, was killed in an engagement with the rebels, in 1648.

ON THE PLACE where the famous and decisive battle between king Harold and William, duke of Normandy, was fought in 1066, the Conqueror in the next year began to build a noble abbey, named from that event, Battell abbev; in Latin records, Abbatia de Bello; the royal founder endowing it with exemptions and privileges of a very extraordinary nature, and with many manors and good estates; among which was this Royal manor of Wye, with all its appendages, being of the demesnes of his crown, as the grant expresses it, with all liberties and royal customs, as well here as in Dengemarsh, which belonged to the court of Wye, (fn. 1) as freely as he himself held it, or as a king could grant it. Accordingly it is thus entered in the record of Domesday, under the title of land of the church of Battell, or De Labatailge, as there spelt.

¶The abbot of St. Martin, of the place of Battle, holds the manor which is called Wi, which in the time of king Edward the Confessor, and now, was and is taxed at seven sulings. The arable land is fifty-two carucates. In demesne there are nine carucates, and one hundred and fourteen villeins, with twenty-two borderers, having seventeen carucates. There is a church, and seven servants, and four mills of twenty-three shillings and eight pence, and one hundred and thirty three acres of meadow, and wood for the pannage of three hundred bogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth no more than twenty pounds and one hundred shillings, and six shillings and eight pence; when be received it, one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and ten shilling of the twenty in ore; (fn. 2) now one hundred pounds by tale; and if the abbot bad had sac and soc, it would have been worth twenty pounds more.

Ralf de Curbespina holds one denne and one yoke of the land, of the sockmen of this manor, and pays by custom six pence. Adelulf two parts of one suling, and pays twelve pence; and Hugo de Montfort has two yoke, and pays three hundred eels and two shillings; and in the time of king Edward the Confessor, they paid both sac and soc.

Of the twenty-two hundreds, there belonged to this manor, sac and soc, and all forfeitures, which of right belonged to the king.

For such was the dignity of this manor, which then consisted of seven sulings, or hides of land, that, as the antient book of this abbey expressed it, with its own hundred, it had jurisdiction over twenty-two hundreds and an half, which belonged to its court.

WYE is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Gregory and St. Martin, stands at the north-west corner of the town of Wye, and was built by cardinal Kempe, when he founded the college of Wye in the reign of king Henry VI. being a handsome, large building, with three isles and as many chancels, and a high spire steeple in the middle, which stood on four lofty arches, supported by a like number of large pillars. The great chancel was made choir fashion, wainscotted, and seated round for the members of the new col lege. The north chancel was appointed for the burying-place of the Kempes, owners of Ollantigh; and in the south chancel the parishioners of the better sort were interred. According to tradition, it stood antiently on a little hill just at the entrance into the town from the river, and which is now called Boltshill, but was removed to this place, where it now stands, by the cardinal. In 1572, the steeple was burnt by lightning, and though it was soon afterwards rebuilt, under the care of Gregory Brett, then churchwarden, who was a great contributor to the expence of it; for which the parishioners granted to him and his heirs, a vault, in the middle isle, for their burial; yet in 1685 it fell, and beat down the greatest part of the middle chancel, almost all the two side ones, and the east end of the body of the church, by which all the monuments in the north chancel, of the Kempes, and Thornhills, of Ollantigh, were wholly destroyed, and the tombstone which lay over the cardinal's father and mother, broken to pieces, whose epitaph is preserved by Weever, p. 274. The fragments of several of the old tombstones lay for several years afterwards seattered about the church-yard, and some statues and parts of monuments lay at the lower end of the church; but they have since been removed and there are now none remaining. After this, the remaining part was inclosed with boards, at the east end, to make it fit for divine service, and the rest lay in ruins till the year 1701, when a brief was procured for the rebuilding of it, and within a year or two afterwards it was begun, the remainder of the old chancels was taken down, and only the present small chancel built up at the east end, in the room of that where the choir was, and a tower steeple on the south side, between the chancel and the body of the church, with battlements, and four pinnacles with gilt vanes on them. The present building is small, but neat. It consists, of three isles, the middle one having an upper story and range of windows. There is only one small chancel, new built, circular at the east end, which does not reach near so far as the old one, which extended several feet further, Mr. Chamberlain Godfrey's monument, in the church yard standing, as is said, where the altar formerly did. Towards building the steeple and chancel, the lady Joanna Thornhill, the prebendaries of Canterbury, and others, were contributors, and Richard Thornhill, esq. gave the pavement of the chancel. In the steeple are eight bells and a clock, which were completed in 1774. The only memorials of any time remaining, are three in the body of the church, viz. two for the Bretts, and one having the figures, in brass, of a woman between her two husbands, and underneath of several children, and at bottom an inscription, beginning John Andrew Justus, Thomas Palmer q; venustus, &c. In the chancel is a memorial for Mrs. Catherine Matchem, daughter of George Finch, gent. of this parish, obt. 1713; a monument over a vault, in which lie Agnes and Mary Johnton; the former died in 1763, the latter in 1767, they were descended from Sir Robert Moyle, of Buckwell; and a monument for lady Joanna Thornhill, daughter of Sir Bevill Granville, second wife of Richard Thornhill, esq. of Ollantigh, commander of a regiment of horse raised at his own charge, obt. 1708.

This church, appurtenant to the manor of Wye, was given, with it, to the abbey of Battel at its foundation by the Conqueror, and was appropriated to it before the year 1384, being the 8th year of king Richard II. In which state it continued till the reign of king Henry VI. when cardinal Kempe obtained the king's licence to purchase the advowson of the vicarage of the abbot of Battel, and settled it on his newfounded college here, as will be further mentioned hereafter; but the rectory appropriate of Wye remained part of the possessions of the abbey till its dissolution in the 30th year of king Henry VIII. when it came into the king's hands, where this rectory staid till king Edward VI. in his 5th year, granted it and the manor of the vicarage, together with the two tithebarns and the tithes themselves, all parcel of the late monastery of Battel, to Edward, lord Clinton and Saye, who reconveyed them back again to the king, within a month afterwards.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol7/pp340-368

Original nursery windows in a renovated wall at Grange the home of Captain Charles Sturt explorer and surveyor, and a founder of South Australia. Now the Charles Sturt Memorial Museum by Contemplari

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“Captain Charles Sturt 39th Regt.

Explorer and a Founder of South Australia built this house and lived here 1840 –1853.

This plaque was unveiled by His Excellency the Governor of South Australia Lieut Gen Sir Edric Bastyan KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, October 2nd1967.

President Sir Henry Simpson Newland CBE DSO

Vice President & Hon Architect F Kenneth Milne FRAIA

Charles Sturt Memorial Museum Trust Inc.”

*Sturt’s home was built on his property ‘Grange’ in the area known as the Reedbeds, and is now the Charles Sturt Memorial Museum. The buildings house some of Sturt’s original possessions.

Captain Charles Napier Sturt was born 1795 in Bengal, India where his father was a judge under the East India Co.

In 1799, having narrowly survived a bout of smallpox, Charles aged four and his sister Susan aged five were sent to England to live with their mother’s widowed sister, Anna Wood. Their voyage by sailing ship was a perilous journey of six months. Charles and Susan were not to see their parents again for nearly ten years.

While living with his aunt Charles formed a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Isaac Wood.

His father’s economic difficulties prevented Charles’ entry to Cambridge: in 1813 he procured, through the intercession of his aunt with the Prince Regent, a commission as ensign in the 39th Regiment. He served in the Peninsula War and against the Americans in Canada, as well as three years with the army of occupation in France – in 1818 he went with his regiment to Ireland on garrison duties.

In December 1826 he embarked with his regiment in charge of convicts for New South Wales and arrived at Sydney 23 May 1827.

In Sydney Sturt was appointed military secretary to the governor and major of brigade to the garrison. He wrote to his cousin, Isaac Woods, that the governor agreed to his leading an expedition into the interior.

Sturt selected as his assistant, Hamilton Hume. On 2 February they came suddenly to a river: Sturt named it the ‘Darling’.

Under instruction from Governor Darling to “follow the course of the Murrumbidgee River, wherever it led” Sturt led the second expedition from Sydney on 2 November 1929, with several officers in the party from the first expedition, as well as soldiers and convicts. On 14 January the rapid current of the ‘Murrumbidgee’ carried them to a ‘broad and noble river’ which Sturt named for Sir George Murray. After finding a stream flowing in from the north, Sturt decided it was the ‘Darling’ and returned to the ‘Murray’ where they continued until finding Lake Alexandrina on 9 February. After exploring the sandhills and finding the channel there was unsatisfactory for shipping, it was decided to return to Sydney. The return journey was started 12 February and finally arrived safely on 25 May.

Although an interim dispatch carried by Macleay in advance of the returning main party had been published in the Sydney Gazette Governor Darling did not report to England about the expedition until February 1831. Meanwhile Sturt, after an illness, was sent to Norfolk Island as commandant of the garrison. There he earned the respect even of the mutineers for his humane outlook. He was relieved and returned to Sydney, albeit after another illness. With his health failing he was granted leave to visit England. On the voyage his failing eyesight broke down, leaving him blind.

After some successful treatment for his condition he published an account of his two explorations: many petitions later, to the Colonial Office, he was promised a grant of 5,000 acres in New South Wales on condition that he sold his commission and renounced all other rights arising from his military service.

On 20 September 1834 he married Charlotte Greene in St James Chapel in Dover and within a fortnight they had set sail for Australia.

The couple arrived at Sydney mid 1835. He located his grant near Canberra and bought 1950 acres at Mittagong. While there his first son Napier George was born. In 1837 he bought 1,000 acres at Varroville where he established another home. The next year financial difficulties forced him to sell the Mittagong property and caused him to join a venture for overlanding cattle to South Australia. News had been received that the Province of South Australia was in crisis and was short of food supplies. The overlanding was delayed en route: trouble with cows and running short of supplies contributed to the venture’s financial failure.

Sturt was received well in Adelaide. On 30 October he returned to Sydney and news of the birth of his second son, Charles.

In Adelaide he had been invited to join the South Australian public service and on 8 November 1838 was formally offered the position of surveyor-general. He sold his property in New South Wales and sailed with his family on 27 February 1839. In spite of illness and financial worries all seemed well. A shattering blow came in September when Lieutenant Edward Frome arrived from London with a commission as survey general. Gawler attempted to help Sturt and appointed him assistant commissioner of lands, though at reduced salary.

In 1841 Sturt was offered the resident management of the South Australian Company but refused. Soon afterwards Sturt made a mistake when he wrote to the Colonial Office objecting to Captain George Grey’s appointment as governor, and offered himself as candidate for the office. That offer failed, and made him unpopular with Grey.

Sturt’s affairs continued to decline. Governor Grey confirmed his provisional appointment as assistant commissioner, but later refused him the office of colonial secretary on the grounds of his poor eyesight. The Colonial Office then decided to abolish the assistant commissioner’s office, leaving Sturt with the inferior post of registrar general at a much lower salary.

Deeply in debt and poorly paid Sturt sought financial compensation from the Colonial Office. He was refused.

Sturt came up with a plan for exploring and surveying, within two years, the entire unknown interior of the continent. In 1843 he forwarded the plan to the Colonial Office through his old friend Sir Ralph Darling. While waiting for reply he and Grey continued sparring.

This was the same year that Charlotte, Sturt’s only daughter, was born at the Grange on 19 January.

In May 1844 the secretary of state rejected Sturt’s original plan but approved a more limited proposal to penetrate the centre of the continent in an attempt to establish the existence of a mountain range near latitude 28 degrees south.

On 10 August 1844 Sturt left Adelaide with 15 men including John McDouall Stuart, 6 drays, a boat and 200 sheep. In eight days the party reached Moorundie and followed the ‘Murray’ to its junction with the ‘Darling’, up the ‘Darling’ to the vicinity of Lake Cawndilla and camped there for two months, making scouting expeditions into and beyond the Barrier Range. In December the party was short of water and some men showed signs of scurvy, but they moved further north into the Grey Range. There they made camp on permanent water at Depot Glen on Preservation Creek. Summer heat had dried all other water within reach and from 27 January 1845 to 16 July they were trapped in inhospitable country: all men suffered and Sturt’s second in command, James Poole, died of scurvy.

In July heavy rain fell. Sturt moved his party towards Fort Grey, from where he made a series of reconnoitring expeditions culminating in a 450 mile journey towards the centre of the continent. Sturt abandoned the idea of an inland sea.

Sturt and the party returned to Fort Grey: after a trip to the Cooper’s Creek area from 9 October to 17 November they found the waterhole was rapidly drying.

Return to the ‘Murray’ became imperative but Sturt proposed that the main party should go home, while he and John McDouall Stuart made a trip to the centre. The surgeon, J H Browne, resisted the idea and the whole party went off together. Sturt succumbed to a serious attack of scurvy and Browne took command through the most difficult part of the journey. By using Aboriginal foods Sturt had almost recovered when the expedition reached Moorundie on 15 January 1846. He arrived at Adelaide on 19 January 1846 ahead of the party which followed a few days later.

While Sturt was away Charlotte had managed the mixed farm, kitchen garden and dairy while caring for their four young children. The children later recalled how they loved life at the Grange where they were able to roam the sand hills, swim in the ocean and catch yabbies in the creek.

In 1847 the Royal Geographical Society of London awarded Sturt the Founder’s Medal and the family sailed to England in order for him to prepare his journals for publication.

He left for England on 8 May and arrived in London just too late to receive personally the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society, but was able to complete a published account of the expedition.

In 1849 the family returned to South Australia and Sturt was appointed Colonial Secretary.

Sturt was known to have expressed a love for Australia and a determination to never return to England. However, the need to secure the future of his children forced him to change his mind and he left Australia 19 March 1853.

He lived at Cheltenham in England, being widely respected and continually consulted about Australian affairs, in particular the preparations for the North Australian expedition of 1854.

In England he applied for governorships of Victoria and Queensland and was unsuccessful. He sought a knighthood, at the instigation of friends, but died before the formalities were completed. Later the Queen permitted his widow use the title Lady Sturt.

*It was not until 1877 that Lady Sturt sold the Grange which was then subdivided and later became the ‘Township of Grange’, now the suburb of Grange.

A bronze statue of Captain Charles Napier Sturt (1795–1869) was unveiled in Adelaide in 1916: a stark contrast to staid monuments in the city.

Other memorials include:

“City of Charles Sturt”, a local government district in South Australia

South Australia’s floral emblem the Sturt’s Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa), discovered during the 1844 expedition

Sturt Street in the city of Adelaide, South Australia

Sturt River, South Australia

Suburb of Sturt, South Australia

Northern Territory’s floral emblem Sturt’s Desert Rose (Gossypium sturtianum)

University of Charles Sturt, New South Wales

[Refs: Charles Sturt Memorial Museum Trust publications, Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 2, (MUP) 1967 H J Gibbney]

Sustainable Development Impact Meetings by World Economic Forum

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Advancing Net-Zero across Healthcare and Manufacturing Industries

Brian Eden, Vice-President, Global Life Sciences Technical Operations Practice, Capgemini, France; Lisa Wee, Global Head, Sustainability, AVEVA Group, United Kingdom; Gunter Beitinger, Senior Vice-President, Manufacturing; Head, Factory Digitalization, Siemens, Germany; Paulette Frank, Chief Sustainability Officer, Johnson & Johnson, USA

Sharon Vidal, Senior Director, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Illumina, USA; Francisco Betti, Head, Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing & Value Chains; Member, ExCom, World Economic Forum; Shyam Bishen, Head, Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare, Member of Executive Committee, World Economic Forum. Copyright: World Economic Forum/Jeffery Jones

Small Business Administration Scorecard Press Conference (NHQ202307180031) by NASA HQ PHOTO

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Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), left, views the Earth Information Center with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson after unveiling the 2022 Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard, at an event hosted by NASA, Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. For the sixth year in a row NASA has received an “A” rating from SBA for its work with small businesses. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

37056-013: Chhattisgarh Irrigation Development Project in India by Asian Development Bank

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The paddy procurement center in Mahasamund District, Chhattisgarh, India.

Project Result:

India Agriculture: Better Irrigation Boosts Rice Yields

In India, Communities Manage Water Resources, Empower Women

Facilitating Irrigation Sector Reform in Chhattisgarh

Latest News

Delivery man by Daniel Foster

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Delivery man loading a truck.

As a reminder, keep in mind that this picture is available only for non-commercial use and that visible attribution is required. If you'd like to use this photo outside these terms, please contact me ahead of time to arrange for a paid license.

1980's Land Rover 110 Defender 'Tithonus' Hard Top, New Costessey, Norwich. by Stuart Banham

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When the UK MoD procured the current military Land Rover fleet in 1996, the coil-sprung turbo-diesel inter-cooled engine Defender HS/XD or ‘Wolf’ version which primarily replaced the last of the leaf-sprung and petrol engined Series III fleet mostly built between 1971 and 1984, they also had on strength several thousand naturally aspirated diesel engine pre-Defender (mostly) long and short wheelbase Land Rovers mainly built around 1985-87. As these mid-80's vehicles had a planned service life of 15 years plus an expectation of a few more years in reserve stocks, only 8,000 of the Wolf model (plus 800 similarly engined stretched wheelbase Pulse Ambulances) were procured. However by 2006/7 the roughly 4,000-strong pre-Wolf fleet was both overdue for replacement and also assessed as being no longer compliant with the latest road safety regulations. Tithonus was a means of temporarily solving these issues without buying a fleet of new vehicles.

There is no doubt that UK MoD got its money’s worth with the pre-Wolf Land Rover fleet, which saw active service in quantity in the 1991 Gulf War and on following operations in the Former Yugoslavia, though it was mostly the Wolf which stepped up to the plate for the later conflicts in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq, but by 2007 the now 20-year old fleet was getting a little jaded and most of the short wheelbase models had been replaced by their younger Tdi-powered siblings. However the option of buying more Wolf Land Rovers was no longer on the table, as not only had this model only ever been produced for the UK Forces and that part of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps designated to work alongside the Royal Marines, but once the original contract was fulfilled UK MoD expressed no willingness to support Land Rover in keeping the specialist Wolf jigs and pressings in store for future contracts. In 2007 there was no budget available to allow competitive trials, as required under EU rules, for a new vehicle fleet. The option of a mid-life upgrade for the best of the ageing fleet was, however, deemed viable.

It was therefore decided that around £10 million would be spent on cosmetically sprucing up the best 3,700 or so of the remaining pre-Wolf Land Rover fleet to theoretically extend in-service life to over thirty years. That figure, which works out at around £2,700 per vehicle, had to include fitting a new Wolf-style roll-over cage and bodywork strengthening fitments to the rear compartment plus fitting either a new Wolf-style hard top or canopy, and external protection bars also had to be added to the cab as well as a new paint job applied to make the vehicles look a bit smarter. It was suspected that the £10 million figure did not include ABRO staff wages and when the project team were questioned at DVD 2007 they admitted there was no money in the budget for major mechanical upgrades. The brief was simply: To repair the vehicles to field standard, refurbish bulkheads and chassis, renew all brake components, wheel bearings, hub seals and shock absorbers, wax inject chassis and bulkhead, repaint the vehicle and underseal the chassis.

The external inverted safety hoop over the windscreen was bolted to the the door and windscreen hinges and through the wing top and the two welded tubes which ran above and parallel to the door tops were connected through the new hard top to the front internal roll cage hoop by a single bolt. This bolted construction allowed for the top to be removed and the vehicle to be stripped down to waist height for reduced silhouette in combat environments, where safety from enemy attack naturally takes precedence over peacetime road safety considerations. Turning to the rear roll cage cum canopy support, looked quite similar to that of the 1997/8 Wolf model, but it was actually re-engineered by Ricardo to make it stronger. Marketed by the company as ROPS (Roll Over Protection System) the most noticeable internal difference of strengthening was the cross-bracing behind the cab.

Each Tithonus Land Rover was individually selected and fully refurbished by the MoD in 2007-2008 as part of the British Army LEP (Life Extension Programme) The project was to extend the overall service life of the Land Rover's by 10 years, from 20 to 30 years.

Defender 110 91 KE 17 -

▪︎Year into service: 1986

▪︎Defender 110 Tithonus Hardtop RHD

▪︎Features include

▪︎2.5 litre NAD diesel reconditioning engine

▪︎5 speed LT 77 gearbox

▪︎Hi / Low transfer box

▪︎Centre diff lock

▪︎Front disc brakes

▪︎Fully integrated Wolf roll cage including front external and rear internal hoop system

▪︎16in rims

▪︎7.50R16 Michelin XZL tyres

▪︎Updated Exmore front seats with head rest

▪︎Rear bench seats x2 with lap belts

▪︎Front and rear, sound proof rubber matting

▪︎Chequer plating to siils and bonnet.

Informed credited to - www.joint-forces.com/land-rovers/37091-mlr44-tithonus-a-s...

Office of Procurement Services (00110032) by IAEA Imagebank

IAEA Staff at the Office of Procurement Services under the Department of Management. IAEA, Vienna, Austria. 30 March 2023

Daniela Leinen, Director (MTPS)

Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA

1:72 Panavia “Tornado F.6”; aircraft “ZF205/CG” of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, summer 2018 (Whif/modified Italeri kit) by Dizzyfugu

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+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Tornado ADV had its origins in an RAF Air Staff Requirement 395 (or ASR.395), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace the Lightning F6 and Phantom FGR2. The requirement for a modern interceptor was driven by the threat posed by the large Soviet long-range bomber fleet, in particular the supersonic Tupolev Tu-22M. From the beginning of the Tornado IDS's development in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defence had been quietly considered; several American aircraft had been evaluated, but found to be unsuitable. However, the concept proved unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, thus the UK elected to proceed in its development alone. On 4 March 1976, the development of the Tornado ADV was formally approved.

In 1976, British Aerospace was contracted to provide three prototype aircraft. The first prototype was rolled out at Warton on 9 August 1979, before making its maiden flight on 27 October 1979. During the flight testing, the ADV demonstrated noticeably superior supersonic acceleration to the IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout.

The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the IDS include a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, and the deletion of their kruger flaps, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes and a fuselage stretch of 1.36 m to allow the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles. The stretch was applied to the Tornado front fuselage being built by the UK, with a plug being added immediately behind the cockpit, which had the unexpected benefit of reducing drag and making space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying 200 imperial gallons (909 l; 240 U.S. gal) of fuel. The artificial feel of the flight controls was lighter on the ADV than on the IDS. Various internal avionics, pilot displays, guidance systems and software also differed; including an automatic wing sweep selector not fitted to the strike aircraft.

Production of the Tornado ADV was performed between 1980 and 1993, the last such aircraft being delivered that same year. A total of 165 Tornado ADVs were ordered by Britain, the majority being the Tornado F3. However, the Tornado ADV’s replacement, the aircraft that is known today as the Eurofighter Typhoon, met several delays – primarily of political nature. Even though the first production contract was already signed on 30 January 1998 between Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet and NETMA for the procurement of a total of 232 for the UK, the development and eventually the delivery of the new aircraft was a protracted affair. It actually took until 9 August 2007, when the UK's Ministry of Defence reported that No. 11 Squadron RAF, which stood up as a Typhoon squadron on 29 March 2007, had received its first two multi-role Typhoons. Until then, the Tornado F.3 had become more and more obsolete, since the type was only suited to a limited kind of missions, and it became obvious that the Tornado ADV would have to be kept in service for several years in order to keep Great Britain’s aerial defence up.

In order to bridge the Typhoon service gap, two update programs had already been launched by the MoD in 2004, which led to the Tornado F.5 and F.6 versions. These were both modified F.3 airframes, catering to different, more specialized roles. The F.5 had a further extended fuselage and modified wings, so that it could operate more effectively in the long range fighter patrol role over the North Sea and the Northern Atlantic. On the other side, the F.6 was tailored to the mainland interceptor role at low and medium altitudes and featured new engines for a better performance in QRA duties. Both fighter variants shared improved avionics and weapons that had already been developed for the Eurofighter Typhoon, or were still under development.

The Tornado F.6’s new engines were a pair of Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofans, which offered 30% more dry and 20% more afterburner thrust than the F.3’s original Turbo-Union RB199-34R turbofans. These more modern and fuel-efficient engines allowed prolonged supercruise, and range as well as top speed were improved, too. Furthermore, there was the (theoretical) option to combine the new engine with vectored thrust nozzles, even though this would most probably not take place since the Tornado ADV had never been designed as a true dogfighter, even though it was, for an aircraft of its size, quite an agile aircraft.

However, the integration of the EJ200 into the existing airframe called for major modifications that affected the aircraft’s structure. The tail section had to be modified in order to carry the EJ200’s different afterburner section. Its bigger diameter and longer nozzle precluded the use of the original thrust reverser. This unique feature was retained, though, so that the mechanism had to be modified: the standard deflectors, which used to extend backwards behind the nozzles, now opened inwards into the airflow before the exhaust.
Since the new engines had a considerably higher airflow rate, the air intakes with the respective ducts had to be enlarged and adapted, too. Several layouts were tested, including two dorsal auxiliary air intakes to the original, wedge-shaped orifices, but eventually the whole intake arrangement with horizontal ramps was changed into tall side intakes with vertical splitter plates, reminiscent of the F-4 Phantom. Even though this meant a thorough redesign of the fuselage section under the wing sweep mechanism and a reduction of tank “0”’s volume, the new arrangement improved the aircraft’s aerodynamics further and slightly enlarged the wing area, which resulted in a minor net increase of range.

The F.3’s GEC-Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter radar was retained, but an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, the Passive Infra-Red Airborne Track Equipment (PIRATE), was mounted in a semispherical housing on the port side of the fuselage in front of the windscreen and linked to the pilot’s helmet-mounted display. By supercooling the sensor, the system was able to detect even small variations in temperature at a long range, and it allowed the detection of both hot exhaust plumes of jet engines and surface heating caused by friction.
PIRATE operated in two IR bands and could be used together with the radar in an air-to-air role, adding visual input to the radar’s readings. Beyond that, PIRATE could also function as an independent infrared search and track system, providing passive target detection and tracking, and the system was also able to provide navigation and landing aid.
In an optional air-to-surface role, PIRATE can also perform target identification and acquisition, up to 200 targets could be simultaneously tracked. Although no definitive ranges had been released, an upper limit of 80 nm has been hinted at; a more typical figure would be 30 to 50 nm.

The Tornado F.3’s Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon was retained and the F.6 was from the start outfitted with the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, with the outlook to switch as soon as possible to the new, ram jet-driven Meteor AAM with higher speed and range. Meteor had been under development since 1994 and was to be carried by the Eurofighter Typhoon as its primary mid-range weapon. With a range of 100+ km (63 mi, 60 km no-escape zone) and a top speed of more than Mach 4, Meteor, with its throttleable ducted rocket engine, offered a considerably improvement above AMRAAM. However, it took until 2016 that Meteor became fully operational and was rolled out to operational RAF fighter units.

A total of 36 Tornado F.3 airframes with relatively low flying hours were brought to F.6 standard in the course of 2006-8 and gradually replaced older F.3s in RAF fighter units until 2009. The Tornado F.3 itself was retired in March 2011 when No. 111 Squadron RAF, located at RAF Leuchars, was disbanded. Both the F.5 and F.6 will at least keep on serving until the Eurofighter Typhoon is in full service, probably until 2020.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 18.68 m (61 ft 3½ in)

Wingspan: 13.91 m (45 ft 7½ in) at 25° wing position

8.60 m (28 ft 2½ in) at 67° wing position

Height: 5.95 m (19 ft 6½ in)

Wing area: 27.55 m² (295.5 sq ft)

Empty weight: 14,750 kg (32,490 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 28,450 kg (62,655 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofans with 60 kN (13,500 lbf) dry thrust and

90 kN (20,230 lbf) thrust with afterburner each

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2.3 (2,500 km/h, 1,550 mph) at 9,000 m (30,000 ft)

921 mph (800 knots, 1,482 km/h) indicated airspeed limit near sea level

Combat radius: more than 1,990 km (1.100 nmi, 1,236 mi) subsonic,

more than 556 km (300 nmi, 345 mi) supersonic

Ferry range: 4,265 km (2,300 nmi, 2,650 mi) with four external tanks

Endurance: 2 hr combat air patrol at 560-740 km (300-400 nmi, 345-460 mi) from base

Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)

Armament:

1× 27 mm (1.063 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 180 RPG under starboard fuselage side

A total of 10 hardpoints (4× semi-recessed under-fuselage, 2× under-fuselage, 4× swivelling

under-wing) holding up to 9000 kg (19,800 lb) of payload; the two inner wing pylons have shoulder

launch rails for 2× Short-Range AAM (SRAAM) each (AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM)

4× MBDO Meteor or AIM-120 AMRAAM, mounted under the fuselage

The kit and its assembly:

The eight entry for the RAF Centenary Group Build at whatifmodelers.com, and after 100 years of RAF what-if models we have now arrived at the present. This modified Tornado ADV was spawned through the discussions surrounding another modeler’s build of a modified F.3 (and examples of other Tornado conversions, e. g. with fixed wings or twin fins), and I spontaneously wondered what a change of the air intakes would do to the aircraft’s overall impression? Most conversions I have seen so far retain this original detail. An idea was born, and a pair of leftover Academy MiG-23 air intakes, complete with splitter plates, were the suitable conversion basis.

The basic kit is the Italeri Tornado ADV, even though in a later Revell re-boxing. It’s IMHO the kit with the best price-performance ration, and it goes together well. The kit was mostly built OOB, with some cosmetic additions. The biggest changes came through the integration of the completely different air intakes. These were finished at first and, using them as templates, openings were cut into the lower fuselage flanks in front of the landing gear well. Since the MiG-23 intakes have a relatively short upper side, styrene sheet fillers had to be added and blended with the rest of the fuselage via PSR. The gap between the wing root gloves and the intakes had to be bridged, too, with 2C putty. Messier affair than it sounds, but it went well.

In order to make the engine change plausible I modified the Tornado exhaust and added a pair of orifices from an F-18 – they look very similar to those on the Eurofighter Typhoon, and their diameter is perfect for this change. This and the different air intakes stretch the Tonka visually, it looks IMHO even more slender than the F.3.

Another issue was the canopy: the 2nd hand kit came without clear parts, but I was lucky to still have a Tornado F.3 canopy in the spares box – but only the windscreen from a Tornado IDS, which does not fit well onto the ADV variant. A 2mm gap at the front end had to be bridged, and the angles on the side as well as the internal space to the HUD does not match too well. But, somehow, I got it into place, even though it looks a bit shaggy.

The IRST in front of the windscreen is a piece of clear styrene sprue (instead of an opaque piece, painted glossy black), placed on a black background. The depth effect is very good!

More changes pertained to the ordnance: the complete weaponry was exchanged. The OOB Sidewinders were replaced with specimen from a Hasegawa F-4 Phantom (these look just better than the AIM-9 that come with the kit), and I originally planned to mount four AIM-120 from the same source under the fuselage – until I found a Revell Eurofighter kit in my stash that came with four Meteor AAMs, a suitable and more modern as well as British alternative!

All in all, just subtle modifications.

Painting and markings:

Well, the RAF was the creative direction, so I stuck to a classic/conservative livery. However, I did not want a 100% copy of the typical “real world” RAF Tornado F.3, so I sought inspiration in earlier low-visibility schemes. Esp. the Phantom and the Lightning carried in their late days a wide variety of grey-in-grey schemes, and one of the most interesting of them (IMHO) was carried by XS 933: like some other Lightnings, the upper surfaces were painted in Dark Sea Grey (instead of the standard Medium Sea Grey), a considerably murkier tone, but XS933 had a mid-height waterline. I found that scheme to be quite plausible for an aircraft that would mostly operate above open water and in heavier weather, so I adapted it to the Tonka. The fact that XS 933 was operated by RAF 5 Squadron, the same unit as my build depicts with its markings, is just a weird coincidence!

An alternative would have been the same colors, but with a low waterline (e.g. like Lightning XR728) – but I rejected this, because the result would have looked IMHO much too similar to the late Tornado GR.4 fighter bombers, or like a Royal Navy aircraft.

Since the upper color would be wrapped around the wings’ leading edges, I used the lower wing leading edge level as reference for the high waterline on the forward fuselage, Behind the wings’ trailing edge I lowered the waterline down to the stabilizers’ level.

All upper surfaces, including the tall fin, were painted with Tamiya XF-54, a relatively light interpretation of RAF Dark Sea Grey (because I did not want a harsh contrast with the lower colors), while the fuselage undersides and flanks were painted in Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165). The same tone was also used for the underwing pylons and the “Hindenburger” drop tanks. The undersides of the wings and the stabilizers were painted in Camouflage Grey (formerly known as Barley Grey, Humbrol 167).

Disaster struck when I applied the Tamiya paint, though. I am not certain why (age of the paint, I guess), but the finish developed a kind of “pigment pelt” which turned out to be VERY sensitive to touch. Even the slightest handling would leave dark, shiny spots!

My initial attempt was to hide most of this problem under post-shading (with Humbrol 126, FS 36270), but that turned the Tonka visually into a Tiger Meet participant – the whole thing looked as if it wore low-viz stripes! Aaargh!

In a desperate move (since more and more paint piled up on the upper surfaces, and I did not want to strip the kit off of all paint right now) I applied another thin coat of highly diluted XF-54 on top of the tiger stripe mess, and that toned everything done enough to call it a day. While the finish is not perfect and still quite shaggy (even streaky here and there…), it looks O.K., just like a worn and bleached Dark Sea Grey.

A little more rescue came with the decals. The markings are naturally low-viz variants and the RAF 5 Sq. markings come from an Xtradecal BAC Lightning sheet (so they differ from the markings applied to the real world Tornado F.3s of this unit). The zillion of stencils come from the OOB sheet, but the walking area warnings came from a Model Decal Tornado F.3 sheet (OOB, Revell only provides you a bunch of generic, thin white lines, printed on a single carrier film, and tells you “Good luck”! WTF?). Took a whole afternoon to apply them, but I used as many of them as possible in order to hide the paint finish problems… Some things, like the tactical letter code or the red bar under the fuselage roundel, had to be improvised.

With many troubles involved (the paint job, but furthermore the wing pylons as well as one stabilizer broke off during the building and painting process…), I must say that the modified Tonka turned out better than expected while I was still working on it. In the end, I am happy with it – it’s very subtle, I wonder how many people actually notice the change of air intakes and jet exhausts, and the Meteor AAMs are, while not overtly visible, a nice update, too.

The paint scheme looks basically also good (if you overlook the not-so-good finish due to the problems with the Tamiya paint), and the darker tones suit the Tonka well, as well as the fake RAF 5 Squadron markings.

St Nicholas, St Nicholas at Wade, Kent by Jelltex

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St Nicholas now stands near the A299 "Thanet Way, a roundabout marks the main way into the village, and the almost cathedral-like church stands on a hill overlooking the former Wantsum Channel.

I have visited here two previous times, but once found it locked, and 18 months ago, there was a schools' service in progress, so I went to the pub.

On the way back from Pegwell Bay, I call in, just on the offchance it would be open: it was.

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An altogether impressive church with tall SW tower. Above the porch is a room reached by a lovely wooden ladder, whilst over the door is a large Royal Arms. The nave has some most unusual Norman carving, and has obviously been much altered. There are some nice little green-men type carvings on the capitals. The seventeenth century pulpit is unusual in that it is attached to the wall and prominently dated. The north – Bridges – chapel contains many monuments to that family including a chest tomb that appears to be a 20th century rebuild. It is separated from the north aisle by a 14th century screen. Two hatchments hang high on the chapel west wall.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=St+Nicholas+at+Wade

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ST. NICHOLAS.

THE parish of St. Nicholas, formerly called St. Nicholas at Wade, from its situation ad vadum, that is, near the wading place, or ford, across the water called the Wantsume, at, or at least near where the bridge at Sarre now is, lies at the north west corner of this island.

THIS PARISH is most part of it situated upon high ground, excepting towards the west, where it consists of a level of marsh land, bounded by the water called the Nethergong. The sea bounds it northward. The church and village stand on an hill, nearly in the centre of the parish. In it there are two near new built houses, the property of the Bridges's, one being the residence of Mrs. Mary Bridges, the widow of Mr. Edward Bridges, late of St. Nicholas court; and the other the property and late the residence of Thomas Bridges, esq. now of Glamorganshire, the elder branch of this family, who have been long settled in this parish, who bear for their arms, Argent, on a cross, sable, a leopard's head caboshed, or; and there is another which belonged to the late Thomas Gillow, esq. About a mile northward from the church, near Shoart, is the borough of All Saints, in which there was once a church or chapel, long since ruinated, the parish of which is now united to this of St. Nicholas. The soil and face of the country within the bounds of this parish, have been already taken notice of in the general description of this island. It is about four miles across from east to west, and somewhat less than three, excluding Sarre, from north to south.

By the return made to the council's letter, by archbishop Parker's order, in 1563, there were then computed to be in this parish, thirty-three households; of late there have not been near so many, owing to the laying farms together, and pulling down the houses of the smaller ones.

About half a mile to the right of the road from St. Nicholas to Birchington, and adjoining to the summer road from Sarre to Margate, is a large obelisk, about ten feet diameter and twenty-nine high, built with brick and capped with stone; it stands on the spot, where formerly stood a windmill, which was a peculiar sea-mark. On the north side is an inscription, shewing that it was erected by the corporation of the Trinityhouse in 1791, for the safety of navigation.

The MANOR OF MONKTON claims paramount over this parish, subordinate to which is

The MANOR OF DOWNE BARTON, situated about half a mile south-west from the church, on the road from thence to Sarre. It seems to have been part of the antient possessions of the see of Canterbury; and in the 10th year of king Edward III.'s reign, archbishop Stratford obtained the grant of a market weekly, on a Monday, and a fair on the nativity of the B. V. Mary, yearly, within this parish; after which this manor continued in the see of Canterbury, till it was exchanged with the crown, in the beginning of queen Elizabeth's reign, whence the scite of it was granted in the 10th year of it to Windebank, but it should seem only for a term, for king Charles I. by his letters patent, in his 7th year, granted this manor, to William Collins and Edward Fenn, to hold in fee. They afterwards conveyed it by sale to Thomas Paramore, gent. of this parish, who bore for his arms, Azure, a fess embattled, between three estoiles of six points, or. By whose heirs it was sold to Daniel Harvey, esq. of Combe, in Surry, who possessed it in the middle of king Charles I'.s reign, from one of whose descendants it was carried by sale to Eliab Breton, of Enfield, in Middlesex, who died in 1785, leaving his widow Elizabeth in the possession of it, since whose decease their two sons, William and Eliab Breton, esqrs. as coheirs in gavelkind, are become entitled to it.

SHOART is an estate about a mile north-east from the church, in the road leading to the sea, which was held of the manor of Downe Barton in socage, by fealty and rent. It was formerly the property of John Wigmore, from whom it came to William Bredhall, and thence again to John Cleymond, clerk, president of Corpus Christi college, in Oxford, who anno 25 Henry VIII. passed away and assured his right in it to Robt. Kempe, to hold in fee; which release was again warranted by him as president, and the scholars of that college jointly afterwards.

Robert Kemp, by his will in 1548, gave it to William and Thomas, his two younger sons, who joined in the sale of it, anno 9 Elizabeth, to John Fynch, who two years afterwards passed it away by sale to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron of the exchequer; one of whose descendants alienated it to Daniel Harvey, esq. of Combe, from whose descendants, with Downe Barton, and other estates in this parish and neighbourhood, it was sold within memory to Eliab Breton, whose two sons, William and Eliab Breton, esqrs. are at this time possessed of it.

BARTLETTS, alias THONETON, is a farm about half a mile westward from Shoart, which was likewise held of the manor of Downe Barton in socage, by fealty and rent. It was antiently the patrimony of the Chiches, and then of the Garlands, from which name it passed by sale to Robert Sea, whose son Henry dying without male issue, his three daughters, Millicent, Elizabeth and Mary, became his coheirs. Jerom Brett and Milicent above-mentioned, his wife, anno 5 Elizabeth, sold their third part to William Norwood, of Nash, as did Arthur Chute, and Elizabeth above-mentioned, his wife, their third part, two years afterwards. From the Norwoods their property in it was passed by sale to Thomas Paramor, in the 20th year of queen Elizabeth; and from him again to Sir John Levison and Thomas Willowes; the former of whom, on the death of the latter, by survivorship, became solely possessed of this estate, and afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron of the exchequer; the residue, which had come by Mary, the third daughter and coheir of Henry Sea above-mentioned, in marriage to Edward Crayford, of Mongeham, continued in his descendants, till it was sold to Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. (son of Sir Roger). From the Manwoods the whole of this estate passed to the Bridges's, of this parish, and John Bridges died possessed of it in 1667, and by his will gave it to his youngest son John; after which it was alienated to Daniel Harvey, esq. of Combe, in whose descendants it continued, till at length it passed, with Downe Barton and other estates in this parish and neighbourhood, in marriage with a daughter and heir of that name to Breton, whose son Eliab Breton, esq. of Enfield, left by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Westenholme, two sons, William and Eliab, who on his death became as his coheirs, in gavelkind, entitled to it, and they are now jointly possessed of it.

UPPER AND NETHER HALE, formerly known by the name of Uphall, are two estates in this parish, the former of which is situated about a mile distant from the church eastward, near Birchington. They were in queen Elizabeth's reign, in the possession of John, son and heir of Henry Crispe, who afterwards passed them away to James Hales, who in the 22d year of that reign conveyed them to William Rowe, citizen and ironmonger, of London. The estate of Upper Hale now belongs to the widow of Mr. Broadley, late of Dover, surgeon.

But Nether Hale, which lies nearer to the church of St. Nicholas, became afterwards part of the possessions of Corpus Christi college, in Oxford, and remains so at this time. The present lessee is the Rev. Herbert Randolph, clerk.

St. NICHOLAS COURT, situated at the eastern boundary of this parish, about two miles distant from the church, near adjoining to Birchington, consists of two separate estates, one of which was formerly accounted a manor, as appears by an inquisition taken in the 12th year of king Edward IV. by which the president and fellows of Queen s college, in Cambridge, were found to be at that time possessed of the manor of St. Nicholas court, in this parish, (fn. 1) part of whose possessions it remains at this time. The OTHER ESTATE, called St. Nicholas court farm, being an estate in fee, has for many years belonged to the Finch family, who are at this time entitled to it, Mrs. Finch, widow of Saville Finch, of Thriburg, in Yorkshire, being the present possessor.

The lands of this latter estate are so blended with those of the former, having for a long succession of time been used by the same occupier, that they cannot at this time be distinguished one from the other. The present occupier is Mr. John Bridges, whose family have been residents and occupiers of it for many generations.

The lands of St. Nicholas court are a distinct titbery, as to the great tithes, but they pay small tithes to the vicar of Monkton. This portion of tithes arises from certain glebe belonging to the vicar, intermixed with St. Nicholas court lands, for which the occupiers of them pay at this time a yearly composition to the vicar, of five shillings, but what it is, or where these lands lie, no one knows.

FROSTS is a farm in this parish, which was the early residence of the family of Paramore, in the descendants of which it continued, till it was, soon after the restoration, alienated by Mr. Henry Paramore to John Bridges, yeoman, of this parish, the latter of whom died possessed of it in 1667, and by his will directed to be buried in the middle chancel of this church. He devised this estate to his son Ezekiel, with other tene ments and lands in this parish, purchased of Tho. Paramor, esq. and he died possessed of this estate in 1669, leaving it to his son John Bridges, who died s. p. in 1681; upon which it came to Edward Bridges, eldest son of his kinsman Thomas Bridges, in whose descendants it has continued down to Mr. John Bridges, of St. Nicholas court, in this parish, the present owner of it.

Charities

EDWARD OKENFOLD, by will in 1683, gave 5l. to be put out to interest, the money to be given to such poor persons as receive no alms or relief. As this charity was unpaid for 34 years, it is supposed that the heirs of the donor, upon fettling the account, made up the sum to 10l. which sum the churchwardens and overseers have now in their hands.

THOMAS PARAMOR, esq. of Monkton, (fn. 2) by will in 1637, gave 61. per annum, to be paid out of certain lands and tenements in this parish; and a house with about an acre of land, near St. Nicholas street, for a schoolmaster to reside in, who is to teach such poor children as come to him, of this parish and of Monkton, to read and write; the children of such poor as receive alms to have the preference. This is now vested in the minister, churchwardens and overseers, who appoint the master, and is together of the annual produce of 10l. (fn. 3)

JOHN BRIDGES, of this parish, by will in 1667, gave 10l. to the poor of St. Nicholas, to be put out to interest; which sum is now vested in the vicar, churchwardens and overseers, and is put out accordingly. (fn. 4)

JOHN FINCH, gent. of Lymne, by will in 1705, gave one moiety of a farm, called Chamber's Wall, consisting of a house, barn, &c. and 105 acres of arable and marsh land, to the minister, churchwardens and overseers, in trust, to distribute the profits half yearly to eight of the eldest, poorest, and most honest, industrious and diligent labouring men of this parish, who never have received any alms or relief; which charity is now vested in the minister, churchwardens and overseers, and is of the annual produce of 37l. 10s. (fn. 5)

The SCHOOL endowed by Mr. Paramor, as above-mentioned, still exists for the teaching of reading, writing, and arithmetic, the master teaching, besides the above ten scholars, several others from the neighbouring parishes.

The poor constantly relieved are about twenty, casually thirty-five.

THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Westbere.

The church, which is exempted from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and consists of three isles and three chancels, having a square tower at the west end, in which hang five bells. The church is a handsome building of slint, with windows, doors and quoins of ashlar stone. There are three most beautiful Saxon arches between the have and the south isle. It has a good altar-piece. In the middle isle is a handsome brass sconce; the rod by which it hangs, is richly ornamented with large crowns and mitres; it was given by Mrs. Elizabeth Hannis, in 1757. The church is pretty well paved, and is kept remarkably clean; the south chancel is made use of as a school room; the north chancel belongs to the estate of Frosts, in this parish, by the owners of which it is held and maintained; under the greatest part of it, is a large vault, in which lie many of the Paramors, formerly owners of that estate, and of the Bridges's likewise, the present owners of it. In this chancel are two monuments for the Paramors, and two gravestones, with brasses for the Everards, and gravestones and monument for the Bridges's, of this parish likewise. In the middle chancel are memorials for Katharine, wife of Nicholas Chewney, vicar; she died in 1650; for Mr. Stephen Hussam, late minister, obt. 1629; and for Thomas Smelton, A. M. vicar near thirty years, obt. 1700 Several memorials for the family of Napleton, of this parish, and one for Henry Blaxland, the elder, of this parish, obt. 1631. In the nave of the church a memorial for Anne, wife of Edward Emptage, of this parish, obt. 1662. A monument for several of the same family of Napleton, Elizabeth, daughter of Tho. Napleton, the last of her name, died at her house in Canterbury, in 1755; arms, Or, per cross and fess, four squirrels seiant, proper. In the north chancel a hand some tomb for the Bridges's. In the south isle a monument for Edward Hannis, gent of this parish, son of Charles Hannis, gent. of St. Andrew's, Holborn, ob. 1750; arms, Barry of seven, azure and or, a unicorn, sable, impaling Terry, viz. Ermine, on a pile, gules, a leopard's face, pierced by a fleur de lis, or. Memorials for Sackett, Emptage, Knowler, Cowell, Neame, Pett, and White. In the nave, a memorial for Tho. Busby, secretary to the earl of Thanet thirty-four years, obt. 1759; for William Henneker, obt. 1609; for Blaxland, Everden, Greadier, and the Cullins, of St. Al phage, in Canterbury. Memorials of the Napletons, whose monuments have been mentioned before. Several memorials for the Gillows; arms, Gillow, argent, a lion rampant, gules, on a chief, azure, three fleurs de lis, or. Several memorials for the Bridges's. On the back of the pulpit, which is very richly carved, is 1615, I. S. E. E. There was a chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr on the south side of the church, in which was his image. Many of the Bridges's, of this parish, lie buried in this church-yard as well as the church.

The church of St. Nicholas was formerly esteemed as a chapel to that of Reculver, which was part of the antient possessions of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the time of archbishop Winchelsea, who principally on account of the inconveniences arising from the distance of this and other chapels (for those of Herne and Hothe were chapels likewise to Reculver) from the mother church, about the year 1296, made them all three parochial, and united to this church of St. Nicholas the adjoining parish of All Saints, the church of which had been before esteemed as a chapel of ease to this church, and soon afterwards became desecrated and fell to ruin.

This small parish of All Saints, the church or chapel of which may be seen in an antient map of this island, in Trinity college library, in Cambridge, had formerly within its bounds a vill or town, called All Saints, belonging to it. This is now called the borough of All Saints, in St. Nicholas parish. This church has been long since so entirely demolished, that there are no marks of it left. It appears by Leland that it was so in his time, but how long is not known. It appears to have stood not far from Shoart house. (fn. 6)

The archbishop, when he made these chapels parochial, as above-mentioned, instituted three distinct and perpetual vicarages in them, which he afterwards by his instrument in 1310 separately endowed; and in token of their perpetual subjection to the church of Reculver, that the vicars should pay each of them, certain annual pensions to the vicar of it; that to be paid by the vicar of St. Nicholas being yearly four marcs and ten shillings; and that in reverence to the mother church, the vicars with their priests, ministers, and parishioners, should come thither in procession, once in every year, in manner as therein mentioned. This was continued in Leland's time, temp. Henry VIII. who says. "There cum at certen tymes sum paroches out of Thanet to Reculver a myle of as to ther mother chyrche."

Notwithstanding this decree, the parishioners of these chapelries continued as liable to the repair of the mother church of Reculver, as the peculiar inhabitants of the place; a matter much controverted between them in the time of archbishop Stratford, who made a decree in 1335, in favor of Reculver. After which there continued much contest and dispute still on this account, until by a decree of archbishop Warham in king Henry VIII.'s time, it was settled by the consent of all parties, that the people of the chapels of Herne and St. Nicholas should redeem the burthen of repairs with a moderate annual stipend, in money, payable on a certain set day in the year; but with this proviso, that if they kept not their day of payment, they should then be open to the law and fall under as full an obligation to the repairs of the mother church, as if the decree had never been made; in which state it remains at this time, the churchwardens of St. Nicholas paying annually 3s. 4d. on this account to those of Reculver. (fn. 7)

Although the vicarages of Reculver and its chapels were thus separated and made distinct, yet the rectories or parsonages of them, remained in the same state as before; that is, one parsonage of Reculver, extending over that parish and those of Hothe and Herne; and another of St. Nicholas, with All Saints in Thanet, both remaining parcel of the possessions of the see of Canterbury to the present time. Mr. Tho. Gillow, jun. is the present lessee of this parsonage.

The archbishop continues the patron of this vicarage, which is valued in the king's books at 15l. 19s. 7d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 11s. 11½d. In 1588 it was valued at fifty pounds, and here were two hundred and fifty communicants. In 1640 it was valued at eighty pounds, communicants three hundred. Archbishop Juxon in 1661, in conformity to the king's letters mandatory, augmented this vicarage thirty pounds per annum, to be paid by the lessee of the great tithes. It is now of the yearly certified valued of 66l. 6s. 3½d. which income arises from the above augmentation, the glebe, and a payment of four-pence an acre for all the marsh lands and pasture in the parish.

In 1630, the minister and churchwardens returned, that there was here a glebe of ten acres and upwards, including a close, called Alhallows close, in part of which antiently stood the chapel of All Saints, or Alhallows, containing one acre and an half, which is bounded out, the sences being all down; they added, that a report then went, that there was other land belonging to the vicar, which was concealed. Formerly there was a vicarage house in the street near the church; but some time before the year 1620 a fire happening in the street, these buildings shared in the common calamity, and have never been rebuilt since, nor is it now known where it stood.

Richard Marshall, of this parish, by his will in 1482, devised the yearly rents of twenty-nine acres of arable, and fifteen acres of marsh land in this parish and St. Giles's, to the yearly reparations of the church works of St. Nicholas church, or else the land to be sold and the money coming therefrom to remain to the reparations, at the discretion of the churchwardens for the time being.

The VILLE OF SARRE, now united to the parish of St. Nicholas, was once a separate parish of itself; it was antiently spelt Serre, and was sometimes written in antient records, St. Giles, alias Serre, and St. Giles at Serre, from the church of it being dedicated to that saint. It is a small village adjoining to the parish of St. Nicholas south-westward, being situated at the entrance into this island from the county eastward, and at the western extremity of it. It seems antiently to have been much larger, and more populous than at present, on account of its being the most frequented passage into this island, and a place where the shipping often lay at anchor, in their passage to and from the Northmouth or Yenlade, there being a most commodious haven for them here; and Twine, in his treatise, De Rebus Albionicis, says, "Erat olim in boc fluvio statio firmissima navibus & gratissima nautis Sarra nominata." The distance between the upland and the county, and this place, across the marshes over Sarre wall, is about a mile.

This space was antiently covered with water, the sea flowing over it between Northmouth and Richborough, being the usual passage for the shipping to and from London, and here the two tides met, which flowed in at the north and east mouths of it. This water was so much decreased (and on that account named the Wantsum) in Bede's time, that it then was no more than three furlongs broad; so that there were kept here two ferry boats to carry men and cattle over it, to and from the island; the tribute or toll of these, which used to be paid to the king, was granted by king Egbert to the abbey of Minster, in Thanet. (fn. 8)

In the antient rude map of this island, formerly belonging to the abbey of St. Augustine, a pretty large boat is placed here, a man rowing it, and another nearly up to his knees in the water, with a staff in his hand, carrying a monk on his back to the boat; which seems to intimate, that then the water was so much fallen away that the boat could not come up quite to the shore.

This water still decreasing, ceased to be a continued stream, and the flood gates erected across it dispersed it among the adjoining lands, insomuch that it became too narrow, even for the use of a ferry, and the inhabitants applying to parliament for licence to build a bridge at Sarre ferry, an act passed in the first year of king Henry VII for that purpose; and a bridge was soon after erected here over this water, which is not more than ten or twelve feet wide. This bridge has always belonged to the commissioners of sewers, by whose orders it is constantly repaired. The antient ferry-house, situated at a small distance westward from the bridge, on the south side of the high road, belongs likewise to them.

Leland, who wrote in king Henry VIII.'s time, says, in his Itinerary, "At Northmuth, where the estery of the se was, the salt water swellith yet up at a creeke a myle and more toward a place cawled Sarre, which was the commune fery when Thanet was fulle iled."

The VILLAGE OF SARRE is situated at a small distance from the bridge above-mentioned eastward, the road from thence across the island leading through it. It consists of only a few straggling houses, one of which, on the south side, is the manor house. There is a fair held here on Oct. 14, for toys, &c.

Whilst the sea flowed up hither and the ships reforted to this haven, it was accounted a pleasant, healthy situation; but afterward the continued fogs and damp vapours, occasioned by the vast quantity of marshes inned from the decreasing waters, soon made this place exceedingly unhealthy, and at the same time unpleasant, and of course decreased the populousness of it, so that it has been for a long time but very thinly inhabited, and that by those only whose occupations among these sickly marshes oblige them to reside in it.

This ville, or parish of Sarre, has ever been accounted one of the antient members of the cinque port of Sandwich, and as such, within the liberty and jurisdiction of those ports; notwithstanding which, a dispute arose in king Henry VI.'s time, touching the assessing of it, as lying within the county; to take away all disputes of which, the king, by his letters patent, united it again to Sandwich.

The MANOR OF SARRE was in antient time part of the inheritance of the eminent family of Crevequer, from which it came, partly by sale and partly by marriage, to that of Criol; one of whom, Bertram de Criol, in the 10th year of king Henry III, had a grant of a weekly market, to be held on a Thursday at his manor of Serres, until the king should be of full age. This manor afterwards continued in the same family down to Sir Thomas Keriel, for so their name was then spelt, who was a knight of the garter, a man of great worth and eminence, and of great courage, whose valiant actions in the French wars are noticed in all the histories of those times; but he was at length slain in the second battle of St. Albans, in the 38th year of king Henry VI. asserting the cause of the house of York. About which time, and probably before his death, this manor was alienated to John White, merchant, of Canterbury, afterwards knighted, who held it at his death in the 9th year of king Edward IV. as did his descendant Robert White, in the 12th year of Henry VIII. then holding it of the archbishop, by knight's service; from one of his descendants this manor passed by sale to Roger Bere, or Byer, as the name was sometimes spelt, whose grandson John Byer, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, alienated it to Ruish, ancestor to Sir Francis Ruish, of Ireland, whose two daughters and coheirs in king Charles the 1st.'s reign, became entitled to it, one of whom marrying Sir George Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse, in Yorkshire, (third brother of Sir Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford) he became in her right entitled to it; after which it descended to Ruish Wentworth, esq. who left an only daughter and heir Mary, and she carried it in marriage to Thomas, lord Howard, of Effingham; and he about the year 1723, alienated this manor, with other estates in this island, to Mr. James Colebrooke, citizen and mercer, of London, (afterwards of Chilham castle, in this county, esq.) and Mr. James Rucke, banker, of London; who made a partition of these estates, by which this manor was allotted to the former, on whose death it descended to his eldest son Robert Colebrooke, esq. who vested his interest in it to his younger and only surviving brother Sir George Colebrooke, bart. he being the next in the remainder in tail by the will of their father, for the purpose of procuring an act for the sale of it, which act passed accordingly in 1774, by which it was vested in trustees for that purpose, and they in 1775, conveyed it to Thomas Heron, esq. of Newark upon Trent, afterwards of Chilham castle, who alienated it to Henry Collard, gent. of Monkton, who is the present owner of it.

The PARISH CHURCH OF SARRE stood upon the hill to the eastward of the town, about thirty rods on the left hand of the great road leading from Sarre to Monkton. It was dedicated to St. Giles, and was a vicarage, which in the 8th year of king Richard II. on account of its smallness was not taxed to the tenth.

The alteration made in this place by the failing of the Wantsume, and consequently the decrease of the inhabitants, occasioned very probably the dissolution of this little vicarage, and the uniting it, together with this parish, to that of St. Nicholas; soon after which, the church decaying, was suffered to fall down, and there are at this time no remains of it left.

The vicar of St. Nicholas receives the small tithes, offerings, &c. of this little parish, or ville of Sarre, the inhabitants of which are assessed to the repairs of the church of St. Nicholas, but they still keep up the distinction of maintaining their own poor.

¶The church of St. Giles's at Sarre was part of the possessions of the eminent family of Crevequer, lords of the manor of Sarre, to which it was appurtenant, and continued so till Robert de Crevequer, founder of Ledes priory, in king Henry I.'s reign, gave this church to that priory, and this gift was confirmed by his son Elias de Crevequer, who procured the consent of archbishop Theobald, to appropriate it to the canons of that church; which was afterwards confirmed by several of his descendants, archbishop Hubert, and by king Edward III. in his 41st year, by his charter of inspeximus. (fn. 9) In which state the appropriation of this church continued till the dissolution of the priory in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. for the vicarage was dissolved long before, when it came with the rest of the possessions of the priory into the king's hands, who by his dotation charter in his 33d year, settled it on his new-founded dean and chapter of Rochester, with whom the inheritance of it now remains. But the great tithes of this ville or parish are very inconsiderable, there being very little corn or sowing land in it. Mrs. Gillow is the present lessee of the parsonage.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol10/pp237-253

Open Procurement Event, 2017 by gdsteam

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Hosted by GDS at the Digital Catapult Centre, London on Monday 11 September 2017.

1:72 Grumman OV-1G Phase II “Mohawk”; aircraft “18+03” of the German Bundesluftwaffe, Aufklärungsgeschwader (AG) 51/3rd Squadron “Immelmann”; Lechfeld (Bavaria/Germany), 1996 (Whif/Hasegawa kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu

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+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Grumman Mohawk began as a joint Army-Marine program through the then-Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), for an observation/attack plane that would outperform the light and vulnerable Cessna L-19 Bird Dog. In June 1956, the Army issued Type Specification TS145, which called for the development and procurement of a two-seat, twin turboprop aircraft designed to operate from small, unimproved fields under all weather conditions. It would be faster, with greater firepower, and heavier armor than the Bird Dog, which had proved very vulnerable during the Korean War.

The Mohawk's mission would include observation, artillery spotting, air control, emergency resupply, naval target spotting, liaison, and radiological monitoring. The Navy specified that the aircraft had to be capable of operating from small "jeep" escort class carriers (CVEs). The DoD selected Grumman Aircraft Corporation's G-134 design as the winner of the competition in 1957. Marine requirements contributed an unusual feature to the design: since the Marines were authorized to operate fixed-wing aircraft in the close air support (CAS) role, the mockup featured underwing pylons for rockets, bombs, and other stores, and this caused a lot of discord. The Air Force did not like the armament capability of the Mohawk and tried to get it removed. On the other side, the Marines did not want the sophisticated sensors the Army wanted, so when their Navy sponsors opted to buy a fleet oil tanker, they eventually dropped from the program altogether. The Army continued with armed Mohawks (and the resulting competence controversy with the Air Force) and also developed cargo pods that could be dropped from underwing hard points to resupply troops in emergencies.

In mid-1961, the first Mohawks to serve with U.S. forces overseas were delivered to the 7th Army at Sandhofen Airfield near Mannheim, Germany. Before its formal acceptance, the camera-carrying AO-1AF was flown on a tour of 29 European airfields to display it to the U.S. Army field commanders and potential European customers. In addition to their Vietnam and European service, SLAR-equipped Mohawks began operational missions in 1963 patrolling the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Germany and France showed early interest in the Mohawk, and two OV-1s were field-tested by both nations over the course of several months. No direct orders resulted, though, but the German Bundesheer (Army) was impressed by the type’s performance and its capability as an observation and reconnaissance platform. Grumman even signed a license production agreement with the French manufacturer Breguet Aviation in exchange for American rights to the Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft, but no production orders followed.

This could have been the end of the OV-1 in Europe, but in 1977 the German government, primarily the interior ministry and its intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), showed interest in a light and agile SIGINT/ELINT platform that could fly surveillance missions along the inner-German border to the GDR and also to Czechoslovakia. Beyond visual reconnaissance with cameras and IR sensors, the aircraft was to be specifically able to identify and locate secret radio stations that were frequently operated by Eastern Block agents (esp. by the GDR) all across Western Germany, but primarily close to the inner-German border due to the clandestine stations’ low power. The Bundeswehr already operated a small ELINT/ECM fleet, consisting of converted HFB 320 ‘Hansa’ business jets, but these were not suited for stealthy and inconspicuous low flight level missions that were envisioned, and they also lacked the ability to fly slowly enough to locate potential “radio nests”.

The pan and the objective were clear, but the ELINT project caused a long and severe political debate concerning the operator of such an aerial platform. Initially, the Bundesheer, who had already tested the OV-1, claimed responsibility, but the interior ministry in the form of the German customs department as well as the German police’s Federal Border Guard, the Bundesgrenzschutz and the Luftwaffe (the proper operator for fixed-wing aircraft within the German armed forces), wrestled for this competence. Internally, the debate and the project ran under the handle “Schimmelreiter” (literally “The Rider on the White Horse”), after a northern German legendary figure, which eventually became the ELINT system’s semi-official name after it had been revealed to the public. After much tossing, in 1979 the decision was made to procure five refurbished U.S. Army OV-1As, tailored to the German needs and – after long internal debates – operate them by the Luftwaffe.

The former American aircraft were hybrids: they still had the OV-1A’s original short wings, but already the OV-1D’s stronger engines and its internal pallet system for interchangeable electronics. The machines received the designation OV-1G (for Germany) and were delivered in early 1980 via ship without any sensors or cameras. These were of Western German origin, developed and fitted locally, tailored to the special border surveillance needs.

The installation and testing of the “Schimmelreiter” ELINT suite lasted until 1982. It was based on a Raytheon TI Systems emitter locator system, but it was locally adapted by AEG-Telefunken to the airframe and the Bundeswehr’s special tasks and needs. The system’s hardware was stowed in the fuselage, its sensor arrays were mounted into a pair of underwing nacelles, which occupied the OV-1’s standard hardpoints, allowing a full 360° coverage. In order to cool the electronics suite and regulate the climate in the internal equipment bays, the OV-1G received a powerful heat exchanger, mounted under a wedge-shaped fairing on the spine in front of the tail – the most obvious difference of this type from its American brethren. The exact specifications of the “Schimmelreiter” ELINT suite remained classified, but special emphasis was placed upon COMINT (Communications Intelligence), a sub-category of signals intelligence that engages in dealing with messages or voice information derived from the interception of foreign communications. Even though the “Schimmelreiter” suite was the OV-1Gs’ primary reconnaissance tool, the whole system could be quickly de-installed for other sensor packs and reconnaissance tasks (even though this never happened), or augmented by single modules, what made upgrades and mission specialization easy. Beyond the ELINT suite, the OV-1G could be outfitted with cameras and other sensors on exchangeable pallets in the fuselage, too. This typically included a panoramic camera in a wedge-shaped ventral fairing, which would visually document the emitter sensors’ recordings.

A special feature of the German OV-1s was the integration of a brand new, NATO-compatible “Link-16” data link system via a MIDS-LVT (Multifunctional Information Distribution System). Even though this later became a standard for military systems, the OV-1G broke the ground for this innovative technology. The MIDS was an advanced command, control, communications, computing and intelligence (C4I) system incorporating high-capacity, jam-resistant, digital communication links for exchange of near real-time tactical information, including both data and voice, among air, ground, and sea elements. Outwardly, the MIDS was only recognizable through a shallow antenna blister behind the cockpit.

Even though the OV-1Gs initially retained their former American uniform olive drab livery upon delivery and outfitting in German service, they soon received a new wraparound camouflage for their dedicated low-level role in green and black (Luftwaffe Norm 83 standard), which was better suited for the European theatre of operations. In Luftwaffe service, the OV-1Gs received the tactical codes 18+01-05 and the small fleet was allocated to the Aufklärungsgeschwader (AG) 51 “Immelmann”, where the machines formed, beyond two squadrons with RF-4E Phantom IIs, an independent 3rd squadron. This small unit was from the start based as a detachment at Lechfeld, located in Bavaria/Southern Germany, instead of AG 51’s home airbase Bremgarten in South-Western Germany, because Lechfeld was closer to the type’s typical theatre of operations along Western Germany’s Eastern borders. Another factor in favor of this different airbase was the fact that Lechfeld was, beyond Tornado IDS fighter bombers, also the home of the Luftwaffe’s seven HFB 320M ECM aircraft, operated by the JaBoG32’s 3rd squadron, so that the local maintenance crews were familiar with complex electronics and aircraft systems, and the base’s security level was appropriate, too.

With the end of the Cold War in 1990, the OV-1Gs role and field of operation gradually shifted further eastwards. With the inner-German Iron Curtain gone, the machines were now frequently operated along the Polish and Czech Republic border, as well as in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, monitoring the radar activities along the coastlines and esp. the activities of Russian Navy ships that operated from Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg. For these missions, the machines were frequently deployed to the “new” air bases Laage and Holzdorf in Eastern Germany.

In American service, the OV-1s were retired from Europe in 1992 and from operational U.S. Army service in 1996. In Germany, the OV-1 was kept in service for a considerably longer time – with little problems, since the OV-1 airframes had relatively few flying hours on their clocks. The Luftwaffe’s service level for the aircraft was high and spare parts remained easy to obtain from the USA, and there were still OV-1 parts in USAF storage in Western German bases.

The German HFB 320M fleet was retired between 1993 and 1994 and, in part, replaced by the Tornado ECR. At the same time AG 51 was dissolved and the OV-1Gs were nominally re-allocated to JaboG 32/3. With this unit the OV-1Gs remained operational until 2010, undergoing constant updates and equipment changes. For instance, the machines received in 1995 a powerful FLIR sensor in a small turret in the aircraft’s nose, which improved the aircraft’s all-weather reconnaissance capabilities and was intended to spot hidden radio posts even under all-weather/night conditions, once their signal was recognized and located. The aircrafts’ radio emitter locator system was updated several times, too, and, as a passive defensive measure against heat-guided air-to-air missiles/MANPADS, an IR jammer was added, extending the fuselage beyond the tail. These machines received the suffix “Phase II”, even though all five aircraft were updated the same way.
Reports that the OV-1Gs were furthermore retrofitted with the avionics to mount and launch AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs under the wing tips for self-defense remained unconfirmed, even more so because no aircraft was ever seen carrying arms – neither the AIM-9 nor anything else. Plans to make the OV-1Gs capable of carrying the Luftwaffe’s AGM-65 Maverick never went beyond the drawing board, either. However, BOZ chaff/flare dispenser pods and Cerberus ECM pods were occasionally seen on the ventral pylons from 1998 onwards.

No OV-1G was lost during the type’s career in Luftwaffe service, and after the end of the airframes’ service life, all five German OV-1Gs were scrapped in 2011. There was, due to worsening budget restraints, no direct successor, even though the maritime surveillance duties were taken over by Dornier Do 228/NGs operated by the German Marineflieger (naval air arm).

General characteristics:

Crew: Two: pilot, observer/systems operator

Length: 44 ft 4 in (13.53 m) overall with FLIR sensor and IR jammer

Wingspan: 42 ft 0 in (12.8 m)

Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)

Wing area: 330 sq. ft (30.65 m²)

Empty weight: 12,054 lb (5,467 kg)

Loaded weight: 15,544 lb (7,051 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 18,109 lb (8,214 kg)

Powerplant:

2× Lycoming T53-L-701 turboprops, 1,400 shp (1,044 kW) each

Performance:

Never exceed speed: 450 mph (390 knots, 724 km/h)

Maximum speed: 305 mph (265 knots, 491 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)

Cruise speed: 207 mph (180 knots, 334 km/h) (econ cruise)

Stall speed: 84 mph (73 knots, 135 km/h)

Range: 944 mi (820 nmi, 1,520 km) (SLAR mission)

Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)

Rate of climb: 3,450 ft/min (17.5 m/s)

Armament:

A total of eight external hardpoints (two ventral, three under each outer wing)

for external loads; the wing hardpoints were typically occupied with ELINT sensor pods, while the

ventral hardpoints frequently carried 300 l drop tanks to extend loiter time and range;

Typically, no offensive armament was carried, even though bombs or gun/missile pods were possible.

The kit and its assembly:

This build became a submission to the “Reconnaissance” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and it spins further real-world events. Germany actually tested two OV-1s in the Sixties (by the German Army/Bundesheer, not by the air force), but the type was not procured or operated. The test aircraft carried a glossy, olive drab livery (US standard, I think) with German national markings.

However, having a vintage Hasegawa OV-1A in the stash, I wondered what an operational German OV-1 might have looked like, especially if it had been operated into the Eighties and beyond, in the contemporary Norm 83 paint scheme? This led to this purely fictional OV-1G.

The kit was mostly built OOB, and the building experience was rather so-so – after all, it’s a pretty old mold/boxing (in my case the Hasegawa/Hales kit is from 1978, the mold is from 1968!). Just a few things were modified/added in order to tweak the standard, short-winged OV-1A into something more modern and sophisticated.

When searching for a solution to mount some ELINT sensor arrays, I did not want to copy the OV-1B’s characteristic offset, ventral SLAR fairing. I rather settled for the late RV-1D’s solution with sensor pods under the outer wings. Unfortunately, the OV-1A kit came with the type’s original short wings, so that the pods had to occupy the inner underwing pair of hardpoints. The pods were scratched from square styrene profiles and putty, so that they received a unique look. The Mohawk’s pair of ventral hardpoints were mounted, but – after considering some drop tanks or an ECM pod there - left empty, so that the field of view for the ventral panoramic camera would not be obscured.

Other small additions are some radar warning sensor bumps on the nose, some extra antennae, a shallow bulge for the MIDS antenna on the spine, the FLIR turret on the nose (with parts from an Italeri AH-1 and a Kangnam Yak-38!), and I added a tail stinger for a retrofitted (scratched) IR decoy device, inspired by the American AN/ALG-147. This once was a Matchbox SNEB unguided missile pod.

Painting and markings:

For the intended era, the German Norm 83 paint scheme, which is still in use today on several Luftwaffe types like the Transall, PAH-2 or CH-53, appeared like a natural choice. It’s a tri-color wraparound scheme, consisting of RAL 6003 (Olivgrün), FS 34097 (Forest Green) and RAL 7021 (Teerschwarz). The paints I used are Humbrol 86 (which is supposed to be a WWI version of RAL 6003, it lacks IMHO yellow but has good contrast to the other tones), Humbrol 116 and Revell 9. The pattern itself was adapted from the German Luftwaffe’s Dornier Do 28D “Skyservants” with Norm 83 camouflage, because of the type’s similar outlines.

A black ink washing was applied for light weathering, plus some post-shading of panels with lighter shades of the basic camouflage tones for a more plastic look. The cockpit interior was painted in light grey (Humbrol 167), while the landing gear and the interior of the air brakes became white. The scratched SLAR pods became light grey, with flat di-electric panels in medium grey (created with decal material).

The cockpit interior was painted in a rather light grey (Humbrol 167), the pilots received typical olive drab Luftwaffe overalls, one with a white “bone dome” and the other with a more modern light grey helmet.

The decals were improvised. National markings and tactical codes came from TL Modellbau sheets, the AG 51 emblems were taken from a Hasegawa RF-4E sheet. The black walkways were taken from the Mohak’s OOB sheet, the black de-icer leading edges on wings and tail were created with generic black decal material. Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

An interesting result, and the hybrid paint scheme with the additional desert camouflage really makes the aircraft an unusual sight, adding to its credibility.

1:72 Grumman OV-1G Phase II “Mohawk”; aircraft “18+03” of the German Bundesluftwaffe, Aufklärungsgeschwader (AG) 51/3rd Squadron “Immelmann”; Lechfeld (Bavaria/Germany), 1996 (Whif/Hasegawa kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu

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+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Grumman Mohawk began as a joint Army-Marine program through the then-Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), for an observation/attack plane that would outperform the light and vulnerable Cessna L-19 Bird Dog. In June 1956, the Army issued Type Specification TS145, which called for the development and procurement of a two-seat, twin turboprop aircraft designed to operate from small, unimproved fields under all weather conditions. It would be faster, with greater firepower, and heavier armor than the Bird Dog, which had proved very vulnerable during the Korean War.

The Mohawk's mission would include observation, artillery spotting, air control, emergency resupply, naval target spotting, liaison, and radiological monitoring. The Navy specified that the aircraft had to be capable of operating from small "jeep" escort class carriers (CVEs). The DoD selected Grumman Aircraft Corporation's G-134 design as the winner of the competition in 1957. Marine requirements contributed an unusual feature to the design: since the Marines were authorized to operate fixed-wing aircraft in the close air support (CAS) role, the mockup featured underwing pylons for rockets, bombs, and other stores, and this caused a lot of discord. The Air Force did not like the armament capability of the Mohawk and tried to get it removed. On the other side, the Marines did not want the sophisticated sensors the Army wanted, so when their Navy sponsors opted to buy a fleet oil tanker, they eventually dropped from the program altogether. The Army continued with armed Mohawks (and the resulting competence controversy with the Air Force) and also developed cargo pods that could be dropped from underwing hard points to resupply troops in emergencies.

In mid-1961, the first Mohawks to serve with U.S. forces overseas were delivered to the 7th Army at Sandhofen Airfield near Mannheim, Germany. Before its formal acceptance, the camera-carrying AO-1AF was flown on a tour of 29 European airfields to display it to the U.S. Army field commanders and potential European customers. In addition to their Vietnam and European service, SLAR-equipped Mohawks began operational missions in 1963 patrolling the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Germany and France showed early interest in the Mohawk, and two OV-1s were field-tested by both nations over the course of several months. No direct orders resulted, though, but the German Bundesheer (Army) was impressed by the type’s performance and its capability as an observation and reconnaissance platform. Grumman even signed a license production agreement with the French manufacturer Breguet Aviation in exchange for American rights to the Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft, but no production orders followed.

This could have been the end of the OV-1 in Europe, but in 1977 the German government, primarily the interior ministry and its intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), showed interest in a light and agile SIGINT/ELINT platform that could fly surveillance missions along the inner-German border to the GDR and also to Czechoslovakia. Beyond visual reconnaissance with cameras and IR sensors, the aircraft was to be specifically able to identify and locate secret radio stations that were frequently operated by Eastern Block agents (esp. by the GDR) all across Western Germany, but primarily close to the inner-German border due to the clandestine stations’ low power. The Bundeswehr already operated a small ELINT/ECM fleet, consisting of converted HFB 320 ‘Hansa’ business jets, but these were not suited for stealthy and inconspicuous low flight level missions that were envisioned, and they also lacked the ability to fly slowly enough to locate potential “radio nests”.

The pan and the objective were clear, but the ELINT project caused a long and severe political debate concerning the operator of such an aerial platform. Initially, the Bundesheer, who had already tested the OV-1, claimed responsibility, but the interior ministry in the form of the German customs department as well as the German police’s Federal Border Guard, the Bundesgrenzschutz and the Luftwaffe (the proper operator for fixed-wing aircraft within the German armed forces), wrestled for this competence. Internally, the debate and the project ran under the handle “Schimmelreiter” (literally “The Rider on the White Horse”), after a northern German legendary figure, which eventually became the ELINT system’s semi-official name after it had been revealed to the public. After much tossing, in 1979 the decision was made to procure five refurbished U.S. Army OV-1As, tailored to the German needs and – after long internal debates – operate them by the Luftwaffe.

The former American aircraft were hybrids: they still had the OV-1A’s original short wings, but already the OV-1D’s stronger engines and its internal pallet system for interchangeable electronics. The machines received the designation OV-1G (for Germany) and were delivered in early 1980 via ship without any sensors or cameras. These were of Western German origin, developed and fitted locally, tailored to the special border surveillance needs.

The installation and testing of the “Schimmelreiter” ELINT suite lasted until 1982. It was based on a Raytheon TI Systems emitter locator system, but it was locally adapted by AEG-Telefunken to the airframe and the Bundeswehr’s special tasks and needs. The system’s hardware was stowed in the fuselage, its sensor arrays were mounted into a pair of underwing nacelles, which occupied the OV-1’s standard hardpoints, allowing a full 360° coverage. In order to cool the electronics suite and regulate the climate in the internal equipment bays, the OV-1G received a powerful heat exchanger, mounted under a wedge-shaped fairing on the spine in front of the tail – the most obvious difference of this type from its American brethren. The exact specifications of the “Schimmelreiter” ELINT suite remained classified, but special emphasis was placed upon COMINT (Communications Intelligence), a sub-category of signals intelligence that engages in dealing with messages or voice information derived from the interception of foreign communications. Even though the “Schimmelreiter” suite was the OV-1Gs’ primary reconnaissance tool, the whole system could be quickly de-installed for other sensor packs and reconnaissance tasks (even though this never happened), or augmented by single modules, what made upgrades and mission specialization easy. Beyond the ELINT suite, the OV-1G could be outfitted with cameras and other sensors on exchangeable pallets in the fuselage, too. This typically included a panoramic camera in a wedge-shaped ventral fairing, which would visually document the emitter sensors’ recordings.

A special feature of the German OV-1s was the integration of a brand new, NATO-compatible “Link-16” data link system via a MIDS-LVT (Multifunctional Information Distribution System). Even though this later became a standard for military systems, the OV-1G broke the ground for this innovative technology. The MIDS was an advanced command, control, communications, computing and intelligence (C4I) system incorporating high-capacity, jam-resistant, digital communication links for exchange of near real-time tactical information, including both data and voice, among air, ground, and sea elements. Outwardly, the MIDS was only recognizable through a shallow antenna blister behind the cockpit.

Even though the OV-1Gs initially retained their former American uniform olive drab livery upon delivery and outfitting in German service, they soon received a new wraparound camouflage for their dedicated low-level role in green and black (Luftwaffe Norm 83 standard), which was better suited for the European theatre of operations. In Luftwaffe service, the OV-1Gs received the tactical codes 18+01-05 and the small fleet was allocated to the Aufklärungsgeschwader (AG) 51 “Immelmann”, where the machines formed, beyond two squadrons with RF-4E Phantom IIs, an independent 3rd squadron. This small unit was from the start based as a detachment at Lechfeld, located in Bavaria/Southern Germany, instead of AG 51’s home airbase Bremgarten in South-Western Germany, because Lechfeld was closer to the type’s typical theatre of operations along Western Germany’s Eastern borders. Another factor in favor of this different airbase was the fact that Lechfeld was, beyond Tornado IDS fighter bombers, also the home of the Luftwaffe’s seven HFB 320M ECM aircraft, operated by the JaBoG32’s 3rd squadron, so that the local maintenance crews were familiar with complex electronics and aircraft systems, and the base’s security level was appropriate, too.

With the end of the Cold War in 1990, the OV-1Gs role and field of operation gradually shifted further eastwards. With the inner-German Iron Curtain gone, the machines were now frequently operated along the Polish and Czech Republic border, as well as in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, monitoring the radar activities along the coastlines and esp. the activities of Russian Navy ships that operated from Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg. For these missions, the machines were frequently deployed to the “new” air bases Laage and Holzdorf in Eastern Germany.

In American service, the OV-1s were retired from Europe in 1992 and from operational U.S. Army service in 1996. In Germany, the OV-1 was kept in service for a considerably longer time – with little problems, since the OV-1 airframes had relatively few flying hours on their clocks. The Luftwaffe’s service level for the aircraft was high and spare parts remained easy to obtain from the USA, and there were still OV-1 parts in USAF storage in Western German bases.

The German HFB 320M fleet was retired between 1993 and 1994 and, in part, replaced by the Tornado ECR. At the same time AG 51 was dissolved and the OV-1Gs were nominally re-allocated to JaboG 32/3. With this unit the OV-1Gs remained operational until 2010, undergoing constant updates and equipment changes. For instance, the machines received in 1995 a powerful FLIR sensor in a small turret in the aircraft’s nose, which improved the aircraft’s all-weather reconnaissance capabilities and was intended to spot hidden radio posts even under all-weather/night conditions, once their signal was recognized and located. The aircrafts’ radio emitter locator system was updated several times, too, and, as a passive defensive measure against heat-guided air-to-air missiles/MANPADS, an IR jammer was added, extending the fuselage beyond the tail. These machines received the suffix “Phase II”, even though all five aircraft were updated the same way.
Reports that the OV-1Gs were furthermore retrofitted with the avionics to mount and launch AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs under the wing tips for self-defense remained unconfirmed, even more so because no aircraft was ever seen carrying arms – neither the AIM-9 nor anything else. Plans to make the OV-1Gs capable of carrying the Luftwaffe’s AGM-65 Maverick never went beyond the drawing board, either. However, BOZ chaff/flare dispenser pods and Cerberus ECM pods were occasionally seen on the ventral pylons from 1998 onwards.

No OV-1G was lost during the type’s career in Luftwaffe service, and after the end of the airframes’ service life, all five German OV-1Gs were scrapped in 2011. There was, due to worsening budget restraints, no direct successor, even though the maritime surveillance duties were taken over by Dornier Do 228/NGs operated by the German Marineflieger (naval air arm).

General characteristics:

Crew: Two: pilot, observer/systems operator

Length: 44 ft 4 in (13.53 m) overall with FLIR sensor and IR jammer

Wingspan: 42 ft 0 in (12.8 m)

Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)

Wing area: 330 sq. ft (30.65 m²)

Empty weight: 12,054 lb (5,467 kg)

Loaded weight: 15,544 lb (7,051 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 18,109 lb (8,214 kg)

Powerplant:

2× Lycoming T53-L-701 turboprops, 1,400 shp (1,044 kW) each

Performance:

Never exceed speed: 450 mph (390 knots, 724 km/h)

Maximum speed: 305 mph (265 knots, 491 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)

Cruise speed: 207 mph (180 knots, 334 km/h) (econ cruise)

Stall speed: 84 mph (73 knots, 135 km/h)

Range: 944 mi (820 nmi, 1,520 km) (SLAR mission)

Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)

Rate of climb: 3,450 ft/min (17.5 m/s)

Armament:

A total of eight external hardpoints (two ventral, three under each outer wing)

for external loads; the wing hardpoints were typically occupied with ELINT sensor pods, while the

ventral hardpoints frequently carried 300 l drop tanks to extend loiter time and range;

Typically, no offensive armament was carried, even though bombs or gun/missile pods were possible.

The kit and its assembly:

This build became a submission to the “Reconnaissance” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and it spins further real-world events. Germany actually tested two OV-1s in the Sixties (by the German Army/Bundesheer, not by the air force), but the type was not procured or operated. The test aircraft carried a glossy, olive drab livery (US standard, I think) with German national markings.

However, having a vintage Hasegawa OV-1A in the stash, I wondered what an operational German OV-1 might have looked like, especially if it had been operated into the Eighties and beyond, in the contemporary Norm 83 paint scheme? This led to this purely fictional OV-1G.

The kit was mostly built OOB, and the building experience was rather so-so – after all, it’s a pretty old mold/boxing (in my case the Hasegawa/Hales kit is from 1978, the mold is from 1968!). Just a few things were modified/added in order to tweak the standard, short-winged OV-1A into something more modern and sophisticated.

When searching for a solution to mount some ELINT sensor arrays, I did not want to copy the OV-1B’s characteristic offset, ventral SLAR fairing. I rather settled for the late RV-1D’s solution with sensor pods under the outer wings. Unfortunately, the OV-1A kit came with the type’s original short wings, so that the pods had to occupy the inner underwing pair of hardpoints. The pods were scratched from square styrene profiles and putty, so that they received a unique look. The Mohawk’s pair of ventral hardpoints were mounted, but – after considering some drop tanks or an ECM pod there - left empty, so that the field of view for the ventral panoramic camera would not be obscured.

Other small additions are some radar warning sensor bumps on the nose, some extra antennae, a shallow bulge for the MIDS antenna on the spine, the FLIR turret on the nose (with parts from an Italeri AH-1 and a Kangnam Yak-38!), and I added a tail stinger for a retrofitted (scratched) IR decoy device, inspired by the American AN/ALG-147. This once was a Matchbox SNEB unguided missile pod.

Painting and markings:

For the intended era, the German Norm 83 paint scheme, which is still in use today on several Luftwaffe types like the Transall, PAH-2 or CH-53, appeared like a natural choice. It’s a tri-color wraparound scheme, consisting of RAL 6003 (Olivgrün), FS 34097 (Forest Green) and RAL 7021 (Teerschwarz). The paints I used are Humbrol 86 (which is supposed to be a WWI version of RAL 6003, it lacks IMHO yellow but has good contrast to the other tones), Humbrol 116 and Revell 9. The pattern itself was adapted from the German Luftwaffe’s Dornier Do 28D “Skyservants” with Norm 83 camouflage, because of the type’s similar outlines.

A black ink washing was applied for light weathering, plus some post-shading of panels with lighter shades of the basic camouflage tones for a more plastic look. The cockpit interior was painted in light grey (Humbrol 167), while the landing gear and the interior of the air brakes became white. The scratched SLAR pods became light grey, with flat di-electric panels in medium grey (created with decal material).

The cockpit interior was painted in a rather light grey (Humbrol 167), the pilots received typical olive drab Luftwaffe overalls, one with a white “bone dome” and the other with a more modern light grey helmet.

The decals were improvised. National markings and tactical codes came from TL Modellbau sheets, the AG 51 emblems were taken from a Hasegawa RF-4E sheet. The black walkways were taken from the Mohak’s OOB sheet, the black de-icer leading edges on wings and tail were created with generic black decal material. Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

An interesting result, and the hybrid paint scheme with the additional desert camouflage really makes the aircraft an unusual sight, adding to its credibility.

Coconut procurement by Claudia Loughran

Isla Mamey

India - Delhi - Qutb Complex - Tomb Of Iltutmish - 10 by Manfred Sommer

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Shams-ud-din Iltutmish (reigned: 1211–36) was the founder of the Delhi Sultanate (actually the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate was done by Qutub-uddin-Aibak, but the Sultanate consolidated its position in India during the reign of Iltutmish).

Shams-ud-din Iltutmish was the third ruler of the Slave dynasty. He founded the Delhi Sultanate in 1211 and received the Caliph's investiture in his rule. He conquered Multan and Bengal from contesting rulers, and Ranathambhore and Siwalik from their rulers.

He expanded his domain by defeating the Muslim rulers of Ghazni, Multan and Bengal, which had previously annexed some of his territories and threatened his domain. He conquered the latter two territories and made further conquests in the Hindu lands, conquering the fort of Ranathambhore and the lands of Gawalior and the fort of Mandur.

He instituted many changes to the Sultanate, re-organising the monetary system and the nobility as well as the distribution of grounds and fiefs, and erected many buildings, including Mosques, Khanqas (Monasteries), Dargahs (Graves) and a Hauz (reservoir) for pilgrims.

Shams ud-din Iltutmish founded the Delhi Sultanate and much strengthened the power of the slave dynasty and of Islam in the India, although his kindred and heirs were not as politically gifted, with no ruler comparable to him in the area until the time of Ghiyas ud din Balban.

NAME AND TUTELAGE

The name Iltutmish is a Turkic name, meaning "he has held/owned land" (İltutmuş, in modern Turkish). Another theory concerning the meaning of the name suggests a connection with an eclipse that supposedly occurred at his birth (an event of some importance in the view of the people of the time). The other etymologies for his name include Altamash, which donates the number sixty, or the guard of the army, which is the ancient Turkic Khanates numbered at sixty; but this theory falsely draws its source from that he is often referred to as "Al-Tamash", which is most likely an Arabic variation of his Turkic name.

The title "Shams ad-Dunya Wa'd-Din" is a royal Laqab (regal title) of the time, translated as "Sun of the world and [of the] Faith" which he used once he was established Sultan at Delhi. Subsequent to the investiture by the Caliph, he was also addressed by the title "Yamin Amir al-Mu'minin" - The righthand man of the commander of the Faithful, or as "Naib" (lieutenant) of the Commander of the Faithful, which is the Caliph.

EARLY LIFE AND CAREER

Shams-ud-din belonged to the tribe of Ilbari in the Eurasian Steppe of Turkestan. While his association (by his biographers) with the Turkic nobility of that tribe confederation can be seen as dubious and anachronistic, it is possible that he was indeed high-born.

He was sold into slavery at an early age, reportedly after being sold by his kinsmen to slave merchants. the motif was for being handsome and particularly intelligent that Iltutmish caused jealousy among his brothers (a motif admittedly taken from the Biblical and Quranic tale of Joseph) that were all around the Steppe, supplying Turkic slaves as soldiers (Ghilman) to the military Elite of the Muslim world of the time.

He was taken to the great slave market of Bukhara, and later to Ghazni, which was the Western capital of the Ghurid dynasty, where he was purchased to the court of the Sultan, Muhammad Ghuri Sam, a notable Muslim ruler of the time. Earning some reputation in his court, he was quickly appointed personal attendant of the Sultan.

Muhammad's deputy and former slave, Qutub-ud-din-Aybak, then Viceroy of Lahore, sought to procure the slave. Due to the Sultan's refusal to sell his slave to his nobles, it was decided that Iltutmish be taken to Delhi, and there bought by Aibak, so that the Sultan's orders may not be violated in his own capital. Aibak bought Iltutmish and another slave (who would later perish) for the high price of 100,000 Tankas, the silver coin used in Muslim India.

He rose quickly in Aibak's service, earned the title Amir Tamghach, married Aibak's daughter, and served in succession as the Governor of Tabarind, Gwalior and Baran. In recognition of his services during the campaign of Muhammad of Ghur against the Khokhars in 1205-06, he was, by the Sultan's order, manumitted. Iltutmish was appointed Governor of Badaun in 1206 and was serving in this post when Aibak died in a polo accident and succeeded by a rumoredly incompetent man called Aram Shah. Subsequently, a group of noblemen invited Iltutmish to stake his claim on the Indian dominions of the Ghurids.

SULTAN OF DELHI

RISE TO POWER

In 1210, Qutb-ud-din Aibak died in a seemingly naive Polo accident in his capital of Lahore. Muizzi amirs, who had been appointed by Muhammad of Ghor, supported one Aram Shah, whose relation to Aibak is clad in mystery. Sources and estimations vary, considering him Aibak's son, brother or one of his nobles.

Qutbi amirs, owing allegiance to Aibak, invited Iltutmish, then Governor of Badaun, to seize power in Delhi. Aram Shah acceded to the throne in Lahore. In 1211, Iltutmish claimed the throne in Delhi. Aram Shah marched towards Delhi but was slain in battle at Bagh-i-Jud (the plains of Jud) leaving Iltutmish unopposed in Delhi.

The clash between Iltutmish, now Sultan Shams-ud-din, and Aram Shah, also led to the shift of capital from Lahore to Delhi. Thereby, Shams-ud-din can be viewed as the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, albeit being the third ruler in the Slave Dynasty, a fact leading to some confusion as to the periodization of the Delhi Sultanate. The shift of capital was probably supposed to shift power from the seat of Aram Shah's supporters and nobles, as well as to establish a more central and secured position of his newly founded Sultanate.

EARLY CHALLENGES

On his accession, Iltutmish faced a number of challenges to his rule. In the aftermath of Aibak's death, the Ghurid dominions in India had divided into four. Iltutmish controlled Delhi. Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha, the Governor of Uch and Multan asserted his independence. Ali Mardan Khilji, who had been appointed Governor of Lakhnauti in Bengal by Aibak in 1206, had thrown off his allegiance to Delhi after his death and styled himself Sultan Ala-ud-din. His successor, Ghiyasuddin, conquered Bihar. Lahore was contested by Iltutmish, Qabacha and [Tajuddin Yildoz], Muhammad of Ghor's adopted son and successor in Ghazni. Yildoz attempted to bring Delhi under his control. Initially, Iltutmish acknowledged Yildoz's suzerainty by accepting the symbolic presents of the chatr and durbash. The Hindu princes and chiefs were discontented at their loss of independence and had recovered Kannauj, Benaras, Gwalior, and Kalinjar had been lost during Qutub-ud-din's reign while Ranthambore had been reconquered by the Chauhans during Aram Shah's rule. To add to Iltutmish's troubles, some of the Amirs of Delhi expressed resentment against his rule.

The first order of business was to bring under control dependencies of Delhi that were under the control of Muizzi nobles and Hindu chieftains. Iltutmish launched military campaigns to assert his rule over Awadh, Badaun, Benaras and Siwalik. Iltutmish's son Nasir-ud-din Mahmud captured the Gangetic valley territories of Budaun, Kanauj, and the Hindus' holy city of Benaras. Rohilkhand was taken with heavy losses.

In 1215-1216, Yildoz, who had been defeated and expelled from Ghazni by the forces of the Shah of Khwarezm, moved towards Punjab and captured Lahore from Qabacha. Yildoz laid claim to the throne of Delhi as the heir to Muhammad of Ghor. Iltutmish refused, stating:

[T]he dominion of the world is enjoyed by the one who possesses the greatest strength. The principle of hereditary succession is not extinct but long ago destiny abolished this custom Iltutmish defeated Yildoz at Tarain. Yildoz was imprisoned in Badaun and was later executed. This ended Ghazni's aspirations to dominate northern India

After the death of Yildoz, Qabacha had retaken Lahore. In 1217, Iltutmish led his army towards Qabacha. Qabacha attempted to retreat from Lahore towards Multan but was defeated at Mansura. Iltutmish refrained from attacking Sindh due to the presence of Mongols on his north-west frontier. Iltutmish was preoccupied with the Mongol threat and did not threaten Qabacha until year 1227. Lahore was under Iltutmish's rule but not for long.

MONGOL THREAT

In 1221, the Mongols, under Genghis Khan appeared for the first time on the banks of the Indus. They had overrun the countries of Central and Western Asia with lightning rapidity. The Mongols sacked the Khwarazmian kingdom (Khwarazm-Shah), captured Khiva and forced its ruler, Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu al-Khwarazmi to flee to the Punjab.

Mingburnu, a staunt opposer of the Mongols, entered into an alliance with the Khokhars and captured Lahore and much of the Punjab. He requested an alliance with Shams-ud-din against the Mongols . The Sultan of Delhi refused, not wishing to get into a conflict with Genghis Khan and marched towards Lahore at the head of a large army. Mingburnu retreated from Lahore and moved towards Uchch inflicting a heavy defeat on Qabacha, and plundered Sindh and northern Gujarat and returned to Persia in 1224. The Mongols invested Multan before leaving as well.

CONSOLDATION OF POWER

Loath to get into a conflict with the Mongols, Iltutmish turned his attention towards the Hindu east. Iltutmish marched against Ghiyasuddin in 1225 and was successful. Ghiyasuddin accepted Iltutmish's suzerainty, ceded Bihar, and paid a large tribute. However, soon after Iltutmish left, Ghiyasuddin revoked the agreement and retook control of Bihar. Iltutmish's son Nasiruddin Mahmud, Governor of Awadh was tasked with dealing with Bengal. In 1227, when Ghiyasuddin was campaigning in Assam, Mahmud launched a sudden attack, capturing Lakhnauti. Ghiyasuddin was imprisoned and then executed. Mahmud died suddenly in 1229, to the dismay of his father. This led to further revolts by the Khalji Maliks of Bengal until Iltutmish captured Lakhnauti again in 1230. Ala-ud-din Jani was appointed Governor of Lakhnauti.

Iltutmish then turned his attention to Qabacha. Capture of Bengal and Rajput territories had significantly enhanced the state of Iltutmish's treasury whereas Qabacha had been weakened by Mingburnu's sack of Uchch and the Mongol siege of Multan. The upheaval caused by the Mongol invasion had led to a large number of military adventurers and officers from Turkic lands to move to India. Iltutmish's replenished treasury allowed him to recruit a large army. A number of officials also defected from Qabacha's camp. In 1228, Iltutmish attacked Qabacha. Ucch was captured after a siege of three months.[10] Qabacha fled and was surrounded on all sides in the fort of Bhakkar, on the banks of Indus. He drowned while attempting to escape. Sindh and Multan were incorporated into the Delhi Sultanate and placed under separate governors.

In 1228-29, Iltutmish received emissaries from the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir and was presented with the Caliphal robe (khilat) and investiture (manshur) signifying the Caliphate's recognition of Iltutmish's rule over India. Such recognition was highly sought after by the Sunni Muslim rulers of India as it leant religious and political legitimacy and prestige. In Iltutmish's case, in particular, this was a symbolic declaration of the Delhi Sultanate's status as an independent kingdom rather than a client of the Ghurids. and earned Iltutmish the title of "Lieutanat" (Naib) or "righthand man" (Yamin) of the Caliph, or Commander of the Faithfull (Amir al-Mu'minin). Iltutmish also went to Egypt, the seat of the Caliph under the Ayyubid Cairo Sultanate, as part of the mutual delegations between his domain and the Caliphate. Due to his problems first with Turkic nobles and then with the Mongols, Iltutmish had also ignored the Rajputs, who had regained territory lost earlier to the Turks, for the first fifteen years of his reign. Starting in 1226, however, Iltutmish began a series of campaigns against the Rajputs. Ranthambore, considered impregnable, was taken in 1226; Mandsaur in 1227. Bayana, Ajmer and Sambhar were also captured. Ranthambore was returned to its Chauhan rulers, who served as feudatories, while Ajmer remained part of the Delhi Sultanate. Nagaur was captured in 1230 and Gwalior was captured in 1231 after a one-year siege. In 1235, Iltutmish sacked Ujjain.

CIVIL ADMINISTRATION

ARCHITECTURE

During his dominion in Badaun, Iltutmish built the city's fort (Kotla) and the Jama Masjid (great Friday Mosque) of the city, which remained the biggest and most famous Mosque in Mediveal India until the expansion of Delhi's Jama Masjid in Alauddin's time and is still second largest with the largest Mosque Dome.

Shams ud-din built several Khanqas (monasteries) and Dargahs (graves) for Sufi saints, as Sufism was dominant in the Deccan. He commenced the structure of Hamid ud-din's Khanaqa, and build the Gandhak-ki-Baoli, a stepwell for the Sufi saint, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, who moved to Delhi during his reign.

Near the Gandhaki Baoli, Shams ud-din also built the Hauz-i-Shamsi, a watertank (a popular means for the welfare of pilgrims), which he erected in 1230 after the Prophet Muhammad was claimed to appeared in his dream and led him there. Iltutmish claimed to have found the footprint of the Buraq, the prophet's mount, at the site. The site also encompasses the Jahaz Mahal standing on its edge, used by later Mughal Emperors.

In 1231, following the demise of his oldest son and heir apparent, Nasir ud-Din Mahmud, he built Sultan Ghari the mausoleum for him, which was the first Islamic Mausoleum in Delhi. The tomb lies within fortified grounds, which also include the graves of several others of Iltutmish's kindred.

He is said to have completed the construction of the Qutb Minar, erected by Qutb ud-din, and expanded the Qutb complex and the Quwwat al-Islam Mosque therein

COINAGE

The early Ghurid rulers had maintained the Rajput coinage system based on the Hindushahi bull-and horseman coins in place at the Delhi mint. Dehliwala, the standard coin, was a silver-copper alloy with a uniform weight of 3.38 grams, of which 0.59 grams was Silver. The major source of silver for the Delhi mint were coin hoards from Central Asia. Another source was European silver which made its way to Delhi via the Red Sea, Persian Gulf through the ports of Gujarat. By the 1220s, supply from Central Asia had dried up and Gujarat was under control of hostile forces.

In response to the lack of silver, Iltutmish introduced a new bimetallic coinage system to Northern India consisting of an 11 grams silver Tanka and the billon Jital, with 0.25 grams of silver. The Dehliwala was devalued to be on par with the Jital. This meant that a Dehliwala with 0.59 grams of silver was now equivalent to a coin with 0.25 grams of silver. Each Dehliwala paid as tax, therefore produced an excess 0.34 grams of silver which could be used to produce Tankas. The new system served as the basis for coinage for much of the Sultanate period and even beyond, though periodic shortages of silver caused further debasement. The Tanka is a forerunner to the Rupee.

IQTADAR

Iltutmish introduced the Iqta-dar system, which had been the common practice of the majority of the Islamic world since the time of the Buyids. The system shares some similarities with the contemporary European custom of Feudalism, and involved dedicating the profits of a certain land of fief (Quta') to warlords in payment of their martial service and political loyalty.

ISLAMIC CULTURE

Shams ud-din's court was abundant with poets in the Arabic and Persian languages. He is said to have rewarded a poet called Nasiri for writing him a fifty-three couplets long Qasida, by giving him fifty-three thousands Tankas; Iltutmish is also said to have learned the opening (Fatiha) of the Qasida by heart. His victories against the Hindu Rajputs of Ranathambhor was celebrated by the poet Ruhani al-Samarqandi to devote these verses to the Sultan:

- The faithful Gabriel carried the tidings to the dwellers in heaven,

- From the record of victories of the Sulṭán of the age Shams ud-Dín,

- Saying — Oh ye holy angels raise upon the heavens,

- Hearing this good tidings, the canopy of adornment.

- That from the land of the heretics the Sháhansháh of Islám

- Has conquered a second time the fort resembling the sky;

- The Sháh, holy warrior and Ghází, whose hand and sword

- The soul of the lion of repeated attacks praises.

The verses compare the Sultan to 'Ali, who is often called Asad-Illah (or Shir-i Khuda), and adornes him with the Persian title of Shanshah (King of Kings) and clearly refer to Ranathambor as "the fort resembling the sky", due to its high position in the mountains. The famous poet, Amir Khusraw, was a poet in the service of his court, as well, and has mentioned the Sultan in verses often

NOBILITY

Shams ud-din installed a new nobility, which was based on a confederation of Turkic and a few Mawali (new Muslims of Hindu origin) that were acquitants of him or of Qutb ud-din. They formed a council of forty (Chilanghan) which was very powerful and became the de facto rulers behind the majority of his heirs.

DEATH AND SUCCESSION

In 1236 Iltutmish died, and was buried in the Qutb complex in Mehrauli.

The death of Iltutmish was followed by years of political instability at Delhi. During this period, four descendants of Iltutmish were put on the throne and murdered. Iltutmish's eldest son, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, had died in 1229 while governing Bengal as his father's deputy. The surviving sons of the Sultan were incapable of the task of administration. In 1236, Iltutmish, on his death-bed, nominated his daughter Razia as his heiress. But, Razia did not have support of the nobles of the court, who did not want a woman ruler.

Iltutmish's eldest surviving son, Rukn-ud-din Firuz was raised to the throne. Firuz left governance in the hands of his mother, Shah Turken. Firuz was deposed within six months, and Razia became the ruler. Razia's growing assertiveness brought her in conflict with the nobles. In 1240, a rebellion led to the replacement of Razia by her brother, Muiz ud din Bahram. Bahram ruled for two years before he was overthrown in favour of Firuz's son, Ala ud din Masud in 1242.

Order was re-established only after Iltutmish's grandson Nasir-ud-din-Mahmud became Sultan with Iltutmish's prominent slave, Ghias-ud-din-Balban as his Deputy Sultan (Naib) in 1246. Balban held all the power at the time and became Sultan in 1266. There was internal stability from 1246 until 1290 when Jalal-ud-din Khilji overthrew Balban's great-grandson Kayumarath, thus ending the Mamluk Dynasty and founded the Khilji Dynasty.

IN ART

Poet-diplomat Abhay K's poem 'Iltutmish' is a reflection of the Sultan from his grave.

WIKIPEDIA

Contract exceptions Clause 19.2 [TOP SECRET] by Paul Clarke

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Meretricious

This little whimsy inspired by the agonies documented in paulclarke.com/honestlyreal/2010/12/oh-christmas-tree/

Procurement_Discounts_0105 by Yeshiva University

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Boeing VC-137C "Air Force One"--Kennedy Visit 1963 by Benjamin Donnelly

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Though the USAF had procured hundreds of KC-135 Stratotankers and C-135 variants, these were based on the Boeing 367-80 “Dash 80” technology demonstrator—the Boeing 707 airliner came along after the tanker versions, which Boeing briefly designated 717. As a result, the USAF did not really need to buy the 707 airliner. The USAF settled for buying only three 707-150s, designating them VC-137As and using them as Presidential support aircraft. Though President Dwight Eisenhower was the first President to enter the jet age when he flew VC-137As during a trip to Asia in 1959, he had flown in the piston-engined C-121 Constellation during most of his Presidency.

After being elected in 1960, President John F. Kennedy wanted to project an image of a youthful Presidency and nation, and therefore piston-engined Presidential transports were obsolete—Kennedy intended to enter the jet age from day one. The USAF duly ordered a special-build VC-137C, based on the long-range 707-320, which would allow Kennedy to fly nonstop to Europe. Designated Special Air Mission 26000 (SAM 26000), Kennedy, with the help of his wife Jacqueline and designer Raymond Loewy, designed the unique scheme the aircraft would carry, feeling that the bare-metal used by Eisenhower’s VC-137As was too plain.

SAM 26000 entered service in 1962, with an interior naturally different than the standard 707-320, with a more plush interior, an enclosed office for the President, and seating for the press corps and the Secret Service; a more robust communications suite was added to keep the President in contact with Washington DC at all times, though it was not considered per se an airborne command post. Kennedy first used SAM 26000 on his historic visit to Berlin in 1962. Tragically, it would later bear Kennedy’s body back to Washington following his assassination in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963; Lyndon Johnson would take the oath of office aboard the aircraft. Johnson had the interior redesigned to provide better access to the press; when Richard Nixon became President in 1968, he also redesigned the interior.

To supplement SAM 26000, a second VC-137C was procured in 1972, SAM 27000. Both aircraft were still used by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, but SAM 27000 flew the bulk of the missions; Reagan flew the most and the longest distance of any President aboard the latter aircraft. Because the VC-137s were aging and the 707 itself considered an obsolete aircraft, Reagan authorized the acquisition of two 747-200s (designated VC-25s) to replace them in 1990. Nonetheless, both VC-137s remained in service as backup aircraft for Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush; SAM 26000 was retired in 1998 and put on display at the National Museum of the USAF, whereas SAM 27000 remained in service until 2001 and was placed on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Considering this picture was taken on 26 September 1963, the slide quality is remarkably good. Bary Poletto took this picture of SAM 26000 during Kennedy's visit to Great Falls, Montana. Kennedy himself was on the way back to the airport from giving his speech when the picture was taken, so he's not in the picture. The aircraft behind 26000 is a backup aircraft, another VC-137; though it carries the same titles as SAM 26000, the red cockpit top gives it away as a VC-137B.

It's a remarkable snapshot of history, and both a unique and tragic one--less than two months after this picture was taken, Kennedy was assassinated.

1:72 Douglas A-4LT “Skyhawk”, aircraft “193 (former BuNo. 145013)” of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN / กองทัพเรือไทย / Kong thap ruea thai) 104 Sqn, 2 Wing; Songkhla Airfield (Southern Thailand), 1990 (Whif/modified Airfix kit) by Dizzyfugu

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+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D under the U.S. Navy's pre-1962 designation system.

Skyhawks played key roles in the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, and the Falklands War. Sixty years after the aircraft's first flight in 1954, some of the 2,960 produced (through February 1979). The Skyhawk found many users all around the world, and some still remain in service with the Argentine Air Force and the Brazilian Naval Aviation. Operators in Asia included Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Thailand procured the Skyhawk in 1984, for the Royal Thai Navy air arm to be used for naval and air space surveillance, against sea surface targets and for close air support for the Royal Thai Marine Corps. A total of thirty aircraft were purchased from the USA, twenty-four single seaters and six two-seat TA-4J trainers.

The single seaters were refurbished A-4Cs from USN overstock, modernized to a standard that came close to the USN’s A-4L, but with some specific differences and unique features that made them suitable for all-weather strike operations. This modified version was re-designated as A-4LT and featured the late Skyhawk versions’ distinct “Camelback” fairing that house the additional avionics as well as a heat exchanger. The most distinctive external difference to any other Skyhawk version was a unique, pointed radome.

The update for Thailand included an AN/APQ-126 terrain following radar in the nose, which was integrated into an ILAAS digital navigation system – a very modern system of its era. The radar also fed a navigation and weapons delivery computer which made possible accurate delivery of bombs from a greater stand-off distance, greatly improving survivability.
Further special equipment for the Thai Skyhawks included, among others, a Hughes AN/ASB-19 Angle Rate Bombing System, a Bendix AN/APN-141 Low altitude radar altimeter, an AN/AVQ-7(V) Head Up display (HUD), air refueling capability (with a fixed but detachable refueling probe), a brake parachute housing below the jet pipe, two additional underwing hardpoints (for a total for five, like the A-4E) and an increased payload. Avionics were modernized and expanded, giving the Thai Skyhawks ability to carry modern AIM-9L Sidewinder AAMs and AGM-65 Maverick AGMs. The latter became, beyond standard iron bombs and pods with unguided missiles, the aircrafts’ main armament against naval targets.
However, despite the modernization of the avionics, the A-4LTs retained the A-4Cs’ Wright J65-W-20 engine with 8,200 lbf (36 kN) of takeoff thrust.

The first aircraft were delivered in December 1985 to the Royal Thai Navy (RTN / กองทัพเรือไทย / Kong thap ruea thai), carrying a USN grey/white livery. They served in the No.104 RTN Squadron, distributed among two wings based at U-Tapao near Bangkok and at Songkhla in the south of Thailand, close to the Malaysian border. During regular overhauls (executed at Singapore Aircraft Industries, now ST Aerospace), the RTN Skyhawks soon received a new wraparound camouflage with reduced insignia and markings.

While in service, the Thai Skyhawks soon suffered from frequent maintenance issues and a low availability rate, since replacement parts for the reliable yet old J65 engine became more and more difficult to obtain. At times, half of the A-4LT fleet had to remain grounded because of engine problems. In consequence, the Thai Skyhawks were in the mid-Nineties supplemented by fourteen Vought A-7E Corsairs (plus four two-seaters) in the coastal defense, sea patrol and anti-shipping role. In 1999, they were retired and replaced by Royal Thai Air Force F-16s.

General characteristics:

Crew: one

Length: 40 ft 3 in (12.29 m)

Wingspan: 26 ft 6 in (8.38 m)

Height: 15 ft (4.57 m)

Wing area: 259 ft² (24.15 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 0008-1.1-25 root, NACA 0005-0.825-50 tip

Empty weight: 9,146 lb (4,152 kg)

Loaded weight: 18,300 lb (8,318 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 24,500 lb (11,136 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Curtiss-Wright J65-W-20 turbojet with 8,200 lbf (36 kN)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 575 kn (661 mph, 1,064 km/h)

Range: 1,700 nmi (2,000 mi, 3,220 km)

Combat radius: 625 nmi, 1,158 km

Service ceiling: 42,250 ft (12,880 m)

Rate of climb: 8,440 ft/min (43 m/s)

Wing loading: 70.7 lb/ft² (344.4 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.51

g-limit: +8/-3 g

Armament:

2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Colt Mk. 12 cannons in the wing roots, 100 RPG

Total effective payload of up to 7,700 lb (3,500 kg) on five hardpoints

- 1× Centerline: 3,500 lb capability

- 2× Inboard wing: 2,200 lb capability each

- 2× Outboard wing: 1,000 lb capability each

The kit and its assembly:

I originally had this project stashed away for the upcoming "1 Week Group Build" at whatifmodelers.com in June 2020, but since the current "In the Navy" GB had some days to go (and even received a two week extension) I decided to tackle this build on short notice.

The original idea was simply to build an A-4L, a modernized A-4C for the USN Reserve units, but similar machines had also been exported to Malaysia. For the naval theme I came across the Royal Thai Navy and its A-7E Corsairs - and from that the idea of a Skyhawk predecessor from the Eighties was born.

Instead of an A-4C (Fujimi does one in 1:72, but it's a rare kit) I based my build upon the nice Airfix A-4B/Q kit. Its biggest difference is the shorter nose, so that I decided to modify this "flaw" first and added a pointed radome instead of the usual blunt Skyhawk nose; not certain where it came from – it looks very Sea-Harrier-ish, but it’s actually the tip of a large drop tank (Italeri Tornado?). Nevertheless, this small change created a weird look, even more so with the black paint added to it later.

Further additions and mods are a dorsal avionics bulge from an Italeri A-4M, a scratched kinked refueling probe (made from wire and white glue, the early Skyhawks had straight probes but this would certainly interfere with the new radar in the nose), a brake parachute fairing under the tail (scratched, too, from sprue material) and additional antennae under the nose and behind the cockpit. Nothing fancy, rather details from more modern Skyhawk versions.

The AGM-65 Maverick missiles and their respective launch rails came from an Italeri Saab 39 Gripen, the drop tank on the ventral pylon is OOB.

Painting and markings:

This was a tough decision. The Thai Corsairs as primary (and historically later) benchmark carried a standard USN grey/white high-viz livery, even though with small roundels. There were also VTOL Harriers (former Spanish Matadors) operated for a short period by the Thai navy on board of the multi-purpose carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet, which wore a darker two-tone grey livery, pretty boring, too. I rather wanted something more exciting (if not exotic), a more modern wraparound scheme, suited for both overwater and high-altitude duties. That brought me to the Thai F-5Ts (a.k.a. Tigris), which carried - among others - a quite unique US export/aggressor scheme in three shades of light grey, including FS 35414, which looked like a pale turquoise on these machines. I furthermore took inspiration by early Indonesian A-4s, which also carried an US export scheme, nicknamed "Grape", which included darker shades of blue, blue-gray and the bright FS 35414, too.

I eventually settled upon a compromise between these two liveries and tried to adapt the standard F-5 aggressor camouflage pattern for the A-4, made up from FS 36440 (Light Gull Grey), 35164 (Intermediate Blue) and 35414 (Light Blue). Current Thai L-39 Albatros trainers seem to carry a similar livery, even though I am not certain about the tones that are actually used.

The basic enamel paints I used are Humbrol 129 and 144, and for the greenish Light Blue I used "Fulcrum Grey Green" from Modelmaster (#2134), a tone that is quite greenish but markedly darker and more dull than e.g. Humbrol 65, so that the color would not stand out brightly from the other greys and better fit between them. Worked quite well.

The inside of the slats as well as of the air brakes on the flanks were painted in bright red (Humbrol 19), while the landing gear and the interior of the air intake were painted in white (Humbrol 130). The cockpit was painted in a bluish mid grey (Revell 57).

After basic overall painting, the model received the usual light black ink washing and some post-panel-shading, for a lightly used/weathered look.

Most decals/markings come from a Thai Harrier (from an Italeri AV-8A kit), some other markings and stencils were puzzled together from the scrap box, e.g. from a USN F-5E aggressor and from a Peruvian Mirage 2000. Some additional details like the black gun soot areas on the wing roots or the fine white lines on the radome were created with generic decal sheet material.

Finally, the kit received an overall coat of matt acrylic varnish, except for the radome, which became semi-gloss.

As intended, this build was realized in just a couple of days - and I am positively surprised how good the Skyhawk looks in its unusual, if not exotic colors! This fictional livery certainly looks different from a potential standard USN grey/white outfit, and more exciting than a dull grey-in-grey livery. And it’s so weird that it even adds some credibility to this whiffy aircraft model. 😉

Ss. Peter and Paul, Brockdish, Norfolk by Jelltex

Brockdish is one of three parish churches within about a mile that can be seen from the A143, but only the top of the tower is visible when heading north, and only fleetingly. THe only other clue is the truncated Church Lane which cuts across the main road, the name of which indicates the nearby church.

I came here at about eleven in the morning, having visited Oulton in Suffolk earlier, and wasn't expecting to find it open to be honest. But I heard the bells being rung, or at least pealing in intermittent intervals, the reason being some people were being given lessons.

Three cars were parked in the lane beside the church, which you reach by traveling up a green lane north out of the village before taking the track to the church.

The door to the tower, where the bellringers were being taught was ajar, and I could have gone up, but instead I go to the porch to try the door, and finding it open, I go inside lest someone comes and closes it.

Soon I am joined inside by the warden who is surprised, but pleased, to find a visitor: she is there to make teas for the ringers, and would I like one?

My breath had already been taken away by the tiles in the chancel, which are of exceptional quality. Tiles are something easily overlooked, and indeed many were clearly bought from catalogues, and so many are similar, but when more attention to detail was given, when extra quality was installed, it shines through.

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When I first visited this church in 2005, it was with something of a sinking heart to arrive at the third church in a row that was locked without a keyholder notice. Today, nothing could be further from the truth. In the south porch there is a large notice now which reads Come in and enjoy your church! Fabulous stuff.

The trim graveyard includes some substantial memorials to the Kay family, including one massive structure with an angel under a spire which would not look out of place opposite the Royal Albert Hall. No expense was spared by the Victorians here at Brockdish. The rebuilding was paid for by the Rector, George France, who also advised architect Frederick Marable on exactly what form this vision of the medieval should take. The tower above is curiously un-East Anglian, looking rather unusual surrounded by Norfolk fields. All around the building headstops are splendid, and fine details like faux-consecration crosses on the porch show that France was generally a man who knew what a medieval church should look like.

It will not surprise you to learn that St Peter and St Paul is similarly grand on the inside, if a touch severe. France actually devised a church much more Anglo-catholic than we find it today; it was toned down by the militantly low church Kay family later in the century. They took down the rood and replaced it with a simple cross, painting out the figures on the rood screen as well. When I first visited, the very helpful churchwarden who'd opened up for me observed that Brockdish is the only church in Norfolk that has stained glass in every window, which isn't strictly true (Harleston, three miles away, has as well) but we can be thankful that, thanks to the Reverend France's fortunes, it is of a very good quality. The glass seems to have been an ongoing project, because some of it dates from the 1920s. In keeping with low church tradition, the glass depicts mainly Biblical scenes and sayings of Christ rather than Saints, apart from the church's two patron Saints in the east window of the chancel. There are also some roundels in the east window of the south aisle, which appear to be of continental glass. They depict the Adoration of the Magi, the deposition of Christ, what appears to be Paharoah's daughter with the infant Moses, and the heads of St Matthias, St John the Evangelist, and Christ with a Crown of Thorns. However, I suspect that at least some of them are the work of the King workshop of Norwich, and that only the Deposition and the Old Testament scene are genuinely old.

If this is rather a gloomy church on a dark day, it is because of the glass in the south clerestory, a surprisingly un-medieval detail - the whole point of a clerestory was to let light reach the rood. The glass here is partly heraldic, partly symbolic. The stalls in the chancel are another faux-medieval detail - there was never a college of Priests here - but they looked suspiciously as if they might contain old bench ends within the woodwork. Not all is false, because the chancel also contains an unusual survival from the earlier church, a tombchest which may have been intended as an Easter Sepulchre.

Above all, the atmosphere is at once homely and devotional, not least because of the exceptional quality of the tiled sanctuary, an increasingly rare beast because they were so often removed in the 1960s and 1970s, when Victorian interiors were unfashionable. Brockdish's is spectacular, a splendid example that has caught the attention of 19th century tile enthusiasts and experts nationally.

Also tiled is the area beneath the tower, which France had reordered as a baptistery. The font has recently been moved back into the body of the church; presumably, whoever supplies the church's liability insurance had doubts about godparents standing with their backs to the steps down into the nave.

I liked Brockdish church a lot; I don't suppose it gets a lot of visitors, but it is a fine example of what the Victorians did right.

Simon Knott, June 2005, revisited and updated July 2010

www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/brockdish/brockdish.htm

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Is the next adjoining town eastward, through which the great road passes to Yarmouth; on the left hand of which, stands the church, on a hill by itself, there being no house near it but the parsonage, which joins to the east side of the churchyard. The advowson always belonged to the Earl's manor here, with which it now continues.

In Norwich Domesday we read, that the rector had a house and 30 acres of land, that it was then valued at 15 marks, and paid as it now doth for synodals 1s. 9d. procurations 6s. 8d. and 12d. Peter-pence. It stands in the King's Books thus:

10l. Brokedish rectory. 1l. yearly tenths.

And consequently pays first-fruits, and is incapable of augmentation. The church stands included in the glebe, which is much the same in quantity as it was when the aforesaid survey was taken. It is in Norfolk archdeaconry, Redenhall deanery, and Duke of Norfolk's liberty, though he hath no lete, warren, paramountship, or superiour jurisdiction at all in this town, the whole being sold by the family along with the manors of the town.

In 1603, there were 103 communicants here, and now there are 50 families, and about 300 inhabitants; it was laid to the ancient tenths at 4l. but had a constant deduction of 14s. on account of lands belonging to the religious, so that the certain payment to each tenth, was 3l. 6s.

The Prior of St. Faith at Horsham owned lands here, which were taxed at 2s. 6d. in 1428.

The Prior of Thetford monks had lands here of the gift of Richard de Cadomo or Caam, (fn. 1) who gave them his land in Brokedis, and a wood sufficient to maintain 20 swine, in the time of King Henry I. when William Bigot, sewer to that King, gave to this priory all the land of Sileham, which from those monks is now called Monks-hall manor, and the water-mill there; all which Herbert Bishop of Norwich conveyed to his father, in exchange for other lands, he being to hold it in as ample a manner as ever Herbert the chaplain did; and in Ric. the Second's time, the monks bought a piece of marsh ground in Brokedis, to make a way to their mill, which being not contained in the grant of Monks-hall manor from Hen. VIII. to the Duke of Norfolk, William Grice, Esq. and Charles Newcomen, who had a grant of such lands as they could find concealed from the Crown, seized on this as such; and upon their so doing, the owner of the mill was obliged to purchase it of them, by the name of Thetford-Mill-Way, and it hath ever since belonged to, and is constantly repaired by the owner thereof.

Rectors of Brockidish.

12 - - Robert

12 - - Sir Ralf de Creping, rector.

1313, Sir Stephen Bygod. The King, for this turn.

1324, Nic. le Mareschal. Tho. Earl of Norfolk and Marshal.

1326, Mathew Paumer, or Palmer. Ditto. He changed for Canefield-Parva in London diocese with

Master Robert de Hales. Ditto.

1333, John de Melburn. Ditto.

1355, Roger de Wombwell. Lady Eleanor and Thomas de Wingfield, attorneys to Sir John Wingfield, Knt.

1356, John Knyght of Exeter. Mary Countess-Marshal, widow of Tho. de Brotherton, who recovered the advowson by the King's writ, against Sir J. Wingfield, Knt. and Thomas his brother, William de Lampet and Alice his wife, and Catherine her sister, and so Wombwell was ejected.

1357, John de Esterford. Mary Countess-Marshal. He resigned in

1367, to John son of Catherine de Frenge, and he in

1368, to John Syward. Sir Walter Lord Manney.

1382, John de Balsham, who changed for Stowe St. Michael in Exeter diocese, with

Bartholomew Porter. Margaret Marshal, Countess of Norfolk.

1405, Sir John Dalyngho of Redcnhall. Eliz. Dutchess of Norf. in right of her dower.

1417, he exchanged with Thomes Barry, priest, for the vicarage of Berkyng church in London. John Lancaster, Ric. Sterisacre, and Rob. Southwell, attorneys to John Duke of Norfolk, EarlMarshal and Notyngham, who was beyond the seas. Barry resigned in

1422, to Sir Thomas Briggs, priest, who died rector. Ditto.

1454, Sir Hen. White, priest. John Duke of Norf. Earl-Marshal and Notingham, Marshal of England, Lord Mowbray, Segrave, and Gower. He resigned in

1455, to Sir Thomas Holm, priest. Ditto. And he in

1478, to John Nun. The King, as guardian to Richard Duke of York and Norfolk, and Lady Ann his wife, daughter and heir of John late Duke of Norfolk.

1491, John Mene; he had a union to hold another benefice.

1497, John Rogers, A. M. Eliz. Dutchess of Norfolk. He resigned in

1498, to Sir John Fisk, priest, chaplain to the Dutchess. Ditto. At whose death in

1511, Sir Robert Gyrlyng, chaplain to Thomas Earl of Surrey, had it of that Earl's gift: he was succeeded by

Sir William Flatberry, chaplain to Thomas Duke of Norfolk, who presented him; he resigned in

1540, to Sir Nic. Stanton, chaplain to his patron, Tho. Duke of Norf. Lord Treasurer and Earl-Marshal, and was succeeded by

William Hide, priest. Ditto. He resigned, and the Duke presented it in

1561, to Sir John Inman, priest, who was buried here Aug. 1, 1586.

1586, Aug. 4, Master Richard Gibson was instituted, who was buried Oct. 1, 1625; he was presented by Robert Nichols of Cambridge, by purchase of the turn from William le Grice, Gent. and Hester le Grice, wife of Charles le Grice, Gent. true patrons.

1625, William Owles, who held it united to Billingford. John Knapp of Brockdish, by grant of this turn. He was succeeded in

1645, by Brian Witherel, and he by

Mr. James Aldrich, who died rector Nov. 10, 1657, from which time somebody held it without institution, till the Restoration, and then receded, for in

1663, May 14, Sir Augustine Palgrave, patron of this turn, in right of Catherine his wife, presented George Fish, on the cession of the last incumbent; he was buried here Oct. 29, 1686.

1686, Thomas Palgrave, A.M. buried here March 24, 1724. Fran. Laurence, Gent.

1724, Abel Hodges, A.B. he held it united to Tharston, and died in 1729. Richard Meen, apothecary, for this turn.

1729, Richard Clark, LL. B. was instituted Dec. 3, and died about six weeks after. Mrs. Ellen Laurence of Castleacre, widow.

1730, Alan Fisher. Ditto. He resigned in

1738, and was succeeded by Robert Laurence, A. B. of Caius college, who lies buried at the south-east corner of the chancel, and was succeeded in

1739, by Francis Blomefield, clerk, the present rector, who holds it united to Fresfield rectory, being presented by Mrs. Ellen Laurence aforesaid.

The church is dedicated to the honour of the apostles St. Peter and Paul, and hath a square tower about 16 yards high, part of which was rebuilt with brick in 1714; there are five bells; the third, which is said to have been brought from Pulham in exchange, hath this on it;

Sancta Maria ora pro nobis.

and on the fourth is this,

Uirgo Coronata duc nos ad Regna beata.

The nave, chancel, and south isle are leaded, the south porch tiled, and the north porch is ruinated. The roof of this chancel is remarkable for its principals, which are whole trees without any joint, from side to side, and bent in such a rising manner, as to be agreeable to the roof. The chancel is 30 feet long and 20 broad, the nave is 54 feet long and 32 broad, and the south isle is of the same length, and 10 feet broad.

At the west end of the nave is a black marble thus inscribed,

Here lyeth buried the Body of Richard Wythe Gent. who departed this Life the 6 of Sept. 1671, who lived 64 Years and 4 Months and 9 Days.

This family have resided here till lately, ever since Edw. the Third's time, and had a considerable estate here, and the adjacent villages. See their arms, vol. iv. p. 135.

Another marble near the desk hath this,

Near this Place lays Elizabeth Wife of John Moulton Gent. who died Oct. 31, 1716, aged 32 Years. And here lieth Mary the late Wife of John Moulton, who died March 20, 1717, aged 27 Years. And also here lyeth the Body of John Moulton Gent. who died June 12, 1718, aged 38 Years.

Moulton's arms and crest as at vol. iv. p. 501.

In a north window are the arms of De la Pole quartering Wingfield.

In 1465, Jeffry Wurliche of Brockdish was buried here, and in 1469 John Wurliche was interred in the nave, and left a legacy to pave the bottom of the steeple. In 1518, Henry Bokenham of Brockdish was buried in the church, as were many of the Spaldings, (fn. 2) Withes, Howards, Grices, Tendrings, and Laurences; who were all considerable owners and families of distinction in this town.

The chapel at the east end of the south isle was made by Sir Ralf Tendring of Brockdish, Knt. whose arms remain in its east window at this day, once with, and once without, a crescent az. on the fess, viz. az. a fess between two chevrons arg.

His altar monument stands against the east wall, north and south, and hath a sort of cupola over it, with a holy-water stope by it, and a pedestal for the image of the saint to which it was dedicated, to stand on, so that it served both for a tomb and an altar; the brass plates of arms and circumscription are lost.

On the north side, between the chapel and nave, stands another altar tomb, covered with a most curious marble disrobed of many brass plates of arms and its circumscription, as are several other stones in the nave, isle, and chancel. This is the tomb of John Tendring of Brockdish-hall, Esq. who lived there in 1403, and died in 1436, leaving five daughters his heirs, so that he was the last male of this branch of the Tendrings. Cecily his wife is buried by him.

On the east chancel wall, on the south side of the altar, is a white marble monument with this,

Obdormit hìc in Domino, lætam in Christo expectans Resurrectionem, Robertus, Roberti Laurence, ac Annæ Uxoris ejus, Filius, hujusce Ecclesiæ de Brockdish in Comitatû Norfolciensi Rector, ejusdem Villæ Dominus, ac Ecclesiæ Patronus, jure hereditario (si vixîsset) Futurus; Sed ah! Fato nimium immaturo abreptus; Cœlestia per Salvatoris merita sperans, Terrestria omnia, Juvenis reliquit. Dec. 31°. Anno æræ Christianæ mdccxxxixo. Ætatis xxvo. Maria, unica Soror et Hæres, Roberti Frankling Generosi Uxor, Fraterni Amoris hoc Testimonium animo grato, Memoriæ Sacrum posuit.

1. Laurence, arg. a cross raguled gul. on a chief gul. a lion passant guardant or.

2. Aslack, sab. a chevron erm. between three catherine-wheels arg.

3. Lany, arg. on a bend between two de-lises gul. a mullet of the field for difference.

4. Cooke, or, on a chevron ingrailed gul. a crescent of the field for difference, between three cinquefoils az. on a chief of the second, a lion passant guardant of the first.

5. Bohun, gul. a crescent erm. in an orle of martlets or.

6. Bardolf, az. three cinquefoils or.

7. Ramsey, gul. a chevron between three rams heads caboshed arg.

8. as 1.

Crest, a griffin seiant proper.

Motto, Floreat ut Laurus.

On a flat stone under this monument, is a brass plate thus inscribed,

Sacrum hoc Memoriæ Roberti Laurence Armigeri, qui obijt xxviijo die Julij 1637, Elizabeth Uxor ejus, Filia Aslak Lany Armigeri posuit.

Arms on a brass plate are,

Lawrence impaling Lany and his quarterings, viz. 1, Lany. 2, Aslack. 3, Cooke. 4, Bohun. 5, nine de-lises, 3, 3, and 3. 6, Bardolf. 7, Charles. 8, on a chevron three de-lises. 9, Ramsey. 10, Tendring. 11, on a fess two coronets. 12, Wachesam, arg. a fess, in chief two crescents gul. 13, a lion rampant. 14, Lany.

There is a picture of this Robert drawn in 1629, æt. 36. He built the hall in 1634; it stands near half a mile north-east of the church, and was placed near the old site of Brockdishe's-hall; the seat of the Tendrings, whose arms, taken out of the old hall when this was built, were fixed in the windows. The arms of this man and his wife, and several of their quarterings, are carved on the wainscot in the rooms.

On the south side of the churchyard is an altar tomb covered with a black marble, with the crest and arms of

Sayer, or Sawyer, gul. a chief erm. and a chevron between three seamews proper.

Crest, a hand holding a dragon's head erased proper.

To the Memory of Frances late the wife of Richard Tubby Esq. who departed this Life Dec. 22, 1728, in the 60th Year of her Age.

And adjoining is another altar tomb,

In Memory of Richard Tubby Esq. (fn. 3) who died Dec. 10th. 1741, in the 80th Year of his Age.

There are two other altar tombs in the churchyard, one for Mr. Rich. Chatton, and another for Eliz. daughter of Robert and Eliz. Harper, who died in 1719, aged 8 years.

The town takes its name from its situation on the Waveney or Wagheneye, which divides this county from that of Suffolk; the channel of which is now deep and broad, though nothing to what it was at that time, as is evident from the names of places upon this river, as the opposite vill, now called Sileham, (oftentimes wrote Sayl-holm, even to Edw. the Third's time) shows; for I make no doubt, but it was then navigable for large boats and barges to sail up hither, and continued so, till the sea by retiring at Yarmouth, and its course being stopt near Lowestoft, had not that influence on the river so far up, as it had before; which occasioned the water to retire, and leave much land dry on either side of the channel; though it is so good a stream, that it might with ease, even now, be made navigable hither; and it would be a good work, and very advantageous to all the adjacent country. That [Brod-dic] signifies no more than the broad-ditch, is very plain, and that the termination of ò, eau, or water, added to it, makes it the broad ditch of water, is as evident.

Before the Confessor's time, this town was in two parts; Bishop Stigand owned one, and the Abbot of Bury the other; the former afterwards was called the Earl's Manor, from the Earls of Norfolk; and the other Brockdishe's-hall, from its ancient lords, who were sirnamed from the town.

The superiour jurisdiction, lete, and all royalties, belonged to the Earl's manor, which was always held of the hundred of Earsham, except that part of it which belonged to Bury abbey, and that belonged to the lords of Brockdishe's-hall; but when the Earl's manor was sold by the Duke of Norfolk, with all royalties of gaming, fishing, &c. together with the letes, view of frankpledge, &c. free and exempt from his hundred of Earsham, and the two manors became joined as they now are, the whole centered in the lord of the town, who hath now the sole jurisdiction with the lete, belonging to it; and the whole parish being freehold, on every death or alienation, the new tenant pays a relief of a year's freehold rent, added to the current year: The annual free-rent, without such reliefs, amounting to above 3l. per annum. At the Conqueror's survey the town was seven furlongs long, and five furlongs and four perches broad, and paid 6d. to the geld or tax. At the Confessor's survey, there were 28 freemen here, six of which held half a carucate of land of Bishop Stigand, and the others held 143 acres under the Abbot of Bury, and the Abbot held the whole of Stigand, without whose consent the freemen could neither give away, nor sell their land, but were obliged to pay him 40s. a year free-rent; (fn. 4) and if they omitted paying at the year's end, they forfeited their lands, or paid their rent double; but in the Conqueror's time they paid 16l. per annum by tale. There were two socmen with a carucate of land, two villeins and two bordars here, which were given to Bury abbey along with the adjacent manor of Thorp-Abbots, but were after severed from that manor, and infeoffed by the Abbot of Bury in the lord of Brockdishe's-hall manor, with which it passed ever after. (fn. 5)

Brockdish-Earl's Manor, or Brockdish Comitis.

This manor always attended the manor of Forncet after it was granted from the Crown to the Bygods, along with the half hundred of Earsham, for which reason I shall refer you to my account of that manor at p. 223, 4. It was mostly part of the dower of the ladies of the several noble families that it passed through, and the living was generally given to their domestick chaplains. In 3 Edward I. the Abbot of Bury tried an action with Roger Bigod, then lord and patron, for the patronage; (fn. 6) pleading that a part of the town belonged to his house, and though they had infeoffed their manor here in the family of the Brockdishes, yet the right in the advowson remained in him; but it appearing that the advowson never belonged to the Abbot's manor, before the feofment was made, but that it wholly was appendant ever since the Confessor's time, to the Earl's manor, the Abbot was cast: notwithstanding which in 1335, Sir John Wingfield, Knt. and Thomas his brother, William de Lampet and Alice his wife, and Catherine her sister, owners of Brockdishe's manor, revived the claim to the advowson; and Thomas de Wingfield, and lady Eleanor wife of Sir John Wingfield, presented here, and put up their arms in the church windows, as patrons, which still remain; but Mary Countess Marshal, who then held this manor in dower, brought her quare impedit, and ejected their clerk; since which time, it constantly attended this manor, being always appendant thereto. In 15 Edw. I. Roger Bigot, then lord, had free-warren in all this town, as belonging to this manor, having not only all the royalties of the town, but also the assise of bread and ale, and amerciaments of all the tenants of his own manor, and of the tenants of Reginald de Brockdish, who were all obliged to do suit once a year at the Earl's view of frankpledge and lete in Brockdish; and it continued in the Norfolk family till 1570, and then Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk, obtained license from Queen Elizabeth to sell it; it being held in capite or in chief of the Crown, as part of the barony and honour of the said Duke, who accordingly sold the manor, advowson, free-fishery, and all the place or manor-house, and demean lands; together with the lete, view of frankpledge, liberty of free warren, and all other royalties whatsoever, free and exempt from any jurisdiction or payment to his half hundred of Earsham, to

Charles le Grice, Esq. of Brockdish, and his heirs, who was descended from Sir Rorert le Grys of Langley in Norfolk, Knt. equerry to Ric. I. and Oliva his wife, whose son, Sir Simon le Grys, Knt. of Thurveton, was alive in 1238, and married Agnes daughter and coheir to Augustine son of Richard de Waxtenesham or Waxham, of Waxham in Norfolk, by whom he had Roger le Grys of Thurton, Esq. who lived in the time of Edward I. whose son Thomas le Grice of Thurton, had Roger le Grice of Brockdish, who lived here in 1392; whose son Thomas left John le Grice his eldest son and heir, who married a Bateman, and lies buried in St. John Baptist's church in Norwich; (see vol. iv. p. 127;) but having no male issue, William le Grice of Brockdish, Esq. son of Robert le Grice of Brockdish, his uncle, inherited; he married Sibill, daughter and sole heir of Edmund Singleton of Wingfield in Suffolk, and had

Anthony le Grice of Brockdish, Esq. (fn. 7) who married Margaret, daughter of John Wingfield, Esq. of Dunham, who lived in the place, and died there in 1553, and lies buried in the church, by whom his wife also was interred in 1562. His brother Gilbert Grice of Yarmouth, Gent. (fn. 8) first agreed with the Duke for Brockdish, but died before it was completed; so that Anthony, who was bound with him for performance of the covenants, went on with the purchase for his son,

Charles le Grice aforesaid, (fn. 9) to whom it was conveyed: he married two wives; the first was Susan, daughter and heir of Andrew Manfield, Gent. and Jane his wife, who was buried here in 1564; the second was Hester, daughter of Sir George Blagge, Knt. who held the manor for life; and from these two wives descended the numerous branches of the Grices of Brockdish, Norwich, Wakefield in Yorkshire, &c. He was buried in this church April 12, 1575, and was found to hold his manor of the hundred of Earsham, in free soccage, without any rent or service, and not in capite; and Brockdishe's-hall manor of the King, as of his barony of Bury St. Edmund in Suffolk, which lately belonged to the abbey there, in free soccage, without any rent or service, and not in capite, and

William le Grice, Esq. was his eldest son and heir, who at the death of his mother-in-law, was possessed of the whole estate; for in 1585, William Howard, then lord of Brockdishe's-hall manor, agreed and sold it to this William, and Henry le Grice his brother, and their heirs; but Howard dying the next year, the purchase was not completed till 1598, when Edw. Coppledick, Gent. and other trustees, brought a writ of entry against John son of the said William Howard, Gent. and had it settled absolutely in the Grices, from which time the two manors have continued joined as they are at this day; by Alice, daughter and heiress of Mr. Eyre of Yarmouth; he left

Francis le Grice, Esq. his son and heir, who sold the whole estate, manors, and advowson, to

Robert Laurence of Brockdish, Esq. (fn. 10) who married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard, son of Edmund Anguish of Great-Melton, by whom he had

Robert Laurence, Esq. his son and heir, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Aslack Lany, who survived him, and remarried in 1640, to Richard Smith, Gent. by whom she had one child, Eliz. buried here in 1641: he died July 24, 1637, and lies buried by the altar as aforesaid: he built the present hall, and had divers children, as Aslak Laurence, Robert, born in 1633, buried in 1635, Samuel Laurence, born in 1635, Ellen, born in 1635, Elizabeth, who married William Reynolds of Great-Massingham, Gent. and

Francis Laurence of Brockdish, Esq. his eldest son and heir, who married Ellen, daughter of Thomas Patrick of Castle-acre, Gent. widow of Mathew Halcote of Litcham, Gent. who survived him, and held Brockdish in jointure to her death, which happened Jan. 6, 1741, when she was buried in the nave of Litcham church: they had Frances, and Elizabeth, who died infants; Mary, who died single about 1736, and was buried in the vestry belonging to Castleacre church; Jane, married to Mr. Thomas Shin of Great Dunham, by whom a Thomas, a son, &c. she being dead; Ellen, now widow of Thomas Young of Oxboro, Gent. who died Oct. 1743, leaving issue, the Rev. Mr. Thomas-Patrick Young of Caius college in Cambridge, Benjamin and Mary, and

Samuel Lawrence, Gent. their second son, is now alive and single; and

Robert Lawrence, Esq. their eldest son and heir, is long since dead, but by Anne daughter of John Meriton, late rector of Oxburgh, his wife, he left one son,

Robert Laurence, late rector of Brockdish, who died single, and

Mrs. Mary Laurence, his only sister, who is now living, and married to Robert Frankling, Gent. of Lynn in Norfolk, is the present lord in her right, but they have no issue.

Brockdishe's-Hall Manor,

Belonged to Bury abbey as aforesaid, till the time of Henry I. and then the Abbot infeoffed

Sir Stephen de Brockdish in it, from whom it took its present name; he was to hold it at the 4th part of a knight's fee of that abbey: it contained a capital messuage or manor-house, called now Brockdishe's-hall; 105 acres of land in demean, 12 acres of wood, 8 of meadow, and 4l. 13s. 10d. rents of assise; he left it to

Jeffery de Brockdish his son, and he to

William, his son and heir, who in 1267, by the name of William de Hallehe de Brokedis, or Will. of Brockdish-hall, was found to owe suit and service once in a year with all his tenants, to the lete of the Earl of Norfolk, held here. He left this manor, and the greatest part of his estate in Norwich-Carleton (which he had with Alice Curson his wife) to

Thomas, his son and heir, and the rest of it to Nigel de Brockdish, his younger son; (see p. 102;) Thomas left it to

Reginald, his eldest son and heir, and he to

Sir Stephen de Brockdish, Knt. his son and heir, who was capital bailiff of all the Earl of Norfolk's manors in this county; he was lord about 1329, being succeeded by his son,

Stephen, who by Mary Wingfield his wife, had

Reginald de Brockdish, his son and heir, (fn. 11) to whom he gave Brockdish-hall manor in Burston, (see vol. i. p. 127, vol. ii. p. 506,) but he dying before his father, was never lord here; his two daughters and heiresses inheriting at his father's death, viz.

Alice, married to William de Lampet about 1355, and Catherine some time after, to William son of John de Herdeshull, lord of North Kellesey and Saleby in Lincolnshire, who inherited each a moiety, according to the settlement made by their grandfather, who infeoffed Sir John de Wingfield, Knt. and Eleanor his wife, and Thomas his brother, in trust for them; (fn. 12) soon after, one moiety was settled on Robert Mortimer and Catherine his wife, by John Hemenhale, clerk, and John de Lantony, their trustees; and not long after the whole was united, and belonged to

Sir William Tendring of Stokeneyland, Knt. and Margaret his wife, daughter and coheir of Sir Will. Kerdeston of Claxton in Norfolk, Knt. who were succeeded by their son and heir

Sir John Tendring of Stokeneyland, Knt. who jointly with Agnes his wife, settled it on

Sir Ralf Tendring of Brockdish, Knt. one of their younger sons, who built the old hall (which was pulled down by Robert Lawrence, Esq. when he erected the present house) and the south isle chapel, in which he and Alice his wife are interred; his son,

John Tendring of Brockdish, Esq. who was lord here and of Westhall in Colney, (see p. 5,) and was buried in the said chapel, with Cecily his wife, died in 1436, and left five daughrers, coheiresses, viz.

Cecily, married to Robert Ashfield of Stowlangetot in Suffolk, Esq.

Elizabeth, to Simeon Fincham of Fincham in Norfolk, Esq.

Alice, to Robert Morton.

Joan, to Henry Hall of Helwinton.

Anne, to John Braham of Colney.

Who joined and levied a fine and sold it to

Thomas Fastolff, Esq. and his heirs; and the year following, they conveyed all their lands, &c. in Wigenhall, Tilney, and Islington, to

Sir John Howard, Knt. and his heirs; and vested them in his trustees, who, the year following, purchased the manor of Fastolff to himself and heirs; this Sir John left Brockdish to a younger son,

Robert Howard, Esq. who settled here, and by Isabel his wife had

William Howard of Brockdish, Esq. who was lord in 1469; he had two wives, Alice and Margaret, from whom came a very numerous issue, but

Robert, his son and heir, had this manor, who by Joan his wife had

William Howard, his eldest son and heir, who died in 1566, seized of many lands in Cratfield, Huntingfield, Ubbeston, and Bradfield in Suffolk; and of many lands and tenements here, and in Sileham, &c. having sold this manor the year before his death, to the Grices as aforesaid; but upon the sale, he reserved, all other his estate in Brockdish, in which he dwelt, called Howard's Place, situate on the south side of the entrance of Brockdish-street; which house and farm went to

John Howard, his son and heir, the issue of whose three daughters, Grace, Margaret, and Elizabeth, failing, it reverted to

Mathew, son of William Howard, second brother to the said John Howard their father, whose second son,

Mathew Howard, afterwards owned it; and in 1711, it was owned by a Mathew Howard, and now by

Mr. Bucknall Howard of London, his kinsman (as I am informed.)

The site and demeans of the Earl's manor, now called the place, was sold from the manor by the Grices some time since, and after belonged to Sir Isaac Pennington, alderman of London, (see vol. i. p. 159,) and one of those who sat in judgment on the royal martyr, for which his estate was forfeited at the Restoration, and was given by Car. II. to the Duke of Grafton; and his Grace the present Duke of Grafton, now owns it.

the benefactions to this parish are,

One close called Algorshegge, containing three acres, (fn. 13) and a grove and dove-house formerly built thereon containing about one acre, at the east end thereof; the whole abutting on the King's highway north, and the glebe of Brockdish rectory west: and one tenement abutting on Brockdish-street south, called Seriches, (fn. 14) with a yard on the north side thereof, were given by John Bakon the younger, of Brockdish, son of John Bakon the elder, of Thorp-Abbots; the clear profits to go yearly to pay the tenths and fifteenths for the parish of Brockdish when laid, and when they are not laid, to repair and adorn the parish church there for ever: his will is proved in 1433. There are always to be 12 feoffees, of such as dwell, or are owners in the parish, and when the majority of them are dead, the survivors are to fill up the vacancies.

In 1590, 1 Jan. John Howard, Gent. John Wythe, Gent. William Crickmere and Daniel Spalding, yeomen, officers of Brockdish, with a legacy left to their parish in 1572, by John Sherwood, late of Brokdish, deceased, purchased of John Thruston of Hoxne, Gent. John Thruston his nephew, Thomas Barker, and the inhabitants of Hoxne in Suffolk, one annuity or clear yearly rent-charge of 6s. 8d. issuing out of six acres of land and pasture in Hoxne, in a close called Calston's-close, one head abutting on a way leading from Heckfield-Green to Moles-Cross, towards the east; to the only use and behoof of the poor of Brockdish, to be paid on the first of November in Hoxne church-porch, between 12 and 4 in the afternoon of the same day, with power to distrain and enter immediately for non-payment; the said six acres are warranted to be freehold, and clear of all incumbrances, except another rentcharge of 13s. 4d. granted to Hoxne poor, to be paid at the same day and place

In 1592, John Howard of Brockdish sold to the inhabitants there, a cottage called Laune's, lying between the glebes on all parts; this hath been dilapidated many years, but the site still belongs to the parish.

From the old Town Book.

1553, 1st Queen Mary, paid for a book called a manuel 2s. 6d.; for two days making the altar and the holy-water stope, and for a lock for the font. 1554, paid for the rood 9d. 1555, paid for painting the rood-loft 14d. At the visitation of my Lord Legate 16d. To the organs maker 4d. and for the chalice 26s. 1557, paid for carriage of the Bible to Bocnam 12d. for deliverance of the small books at Harlstone 15d.; the English Bibles and all religious Protestant tracts usually at this time left in the churches for the information and instruction of the common people, being now called in by the Papist Queen. Paid for two images making 5s.; for painting them 16d. for irons for them 8d. But in 1558, as soon as Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne, all these Popish, images, &c. were removed out of the church. Paid for sinking the altar 4d.; carrying out the altar 5d.; mending the communion table 3d.; 1561, paid for the X. Commandments 18d.; for pulling down the rood-loft 14d.; paid Roger Colby repairing the crosse in the street 26s. 8d.; for a lock to the crosse-house, &c.; 1565, for digging the ground and levelling the low altar, (viz. in the south chapel,) and mending the pavement. For makyng the communion cup at Harlston 5s. 4d. besides 6s. 2d. worth of silver more than the old chalice weyed. 1569, paid to Belward the Dean for certifying there is no cover to the cup, 8d. 1657, layd out 19s. 4d. for the relief of Attleburgh, visited with the plague. Laid out 17s. for the repair of the Brockdish part of Sileham bridge, leading over the river to Sileham church. This bridge is now down, through the negligence of both the parishes, though it was of equal service to both, and half of it repaired by each of them. In 1618, the church was wholly new paved and repaired; and in 1619, the pulpit and desk new made, new books, pulpit-cloth, altar-cloth, &c. bought.

From the Register:

1593, Daniel son of Robert Pennington, Gent. bapt. 13 July. 1626, John Brame, Gent. and Anne Shardelowe, widow, married Sept. 2. 1631, John Blomefield and Elizabeth Briges married May 30. 1666, Roger Rosier, Gent. buried. 1735, Henry Blomefield of Fersfield, Gent. single man, and Elizabeth Bateman of Mendham, single woman, married Feb. 27.

www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol5...

1:72 T-34/105Ö; vehicle "203", Österreichisches Bundesheer (Austrian Armed Forces‘ Federal Army), 2. Kompanie, Panzerbataillon 4; Graz/Austria, 1969 (Whif/kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The T-34, a Soviet medium tank, had a profound and lasting effect on the field of tank design. At its introduction in 1940, the T-34 possessed an unprecedented combination of firepower, mobility, protection and ruggedness. Its 76.2 mm high-velocity tank gun provided a substantial increase in firepower over any of its contemporaries while its well-sloped armour was difficult to penetrate by most contemporary anti-tank weapons. Although its armour and armament were surpassed later in the war, it has often been credited as the most effective, efficient and influential tank design of the Second World War.

The T-34 was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout the Second World War. Its design allowed it to be continuously refined to meet the constantly evolving needs of the Eastern Front: as the war went on it became more capable, but also quicker and cheaper to produce. Soviet industry would eventually produce over 80,000 T-34s of all variants, allowing steadily greater numbers to be fielded as the war progressed despite the loss of tens of thousands in combat against the German Wehrmacht. Replacing many light and medium tanks in Red Army service, it was the most-produced tank of the war, as well as the second most produced tank of all time (after its successor, the T-54/55 series). T-34 variants were widely exported after World War II, and even as recently as 2010, the tank has seen limited front-line service with several developing countries

One of the unusual and rather unknown operators of the T-34 was Austria. 25 tanks (some sources claim 27 or even 37) of the late T-34/85 variant came as a gift from (well, they were actually left behind by) the Soviet Union in 1955 when the Red Army left the country, meaning that the Austrian Bundesheer was re-established. These vehicles became the young army's initial backbone, until more modern equipment (e. g. M41 and M47 tanks procured from the USA and AMX-13/75 tanks from France) replaced them in frontline service. Due to their ruggedness and simplicity, they were kept in service, though - primarily for training, and some vehicles were in the 1970s integrated into hidden bunkers, defending strategically vital "security space zones".

A revival of the Austrian T-34/85 fleet came in the late Sixties, though, when the Austrian Army recognized a lack in long range attack capabilities (at 1.000 m range and more) against hardened targets like enemy tanks, paired with high mobility and low costs, similar to the German Jagdpanzer profile from WWII. At that time, Austria operated roundabout 50 Charioteer tanks with 83.4 mm guns in this role, but these British vehicles were outdated and needed a timely replacement.

Another limiting factor were severe budget restrictions. The eventual solution came from the Austrian company Saurer: a relatively simple conversion of the indigenous Saurer APC, armed with a version of the French AMX-13's FL-12 oscillating turret, armed with a powerful 105mm cannon, which had just become available in an export version. However, in order to bridge the new tank hunter's development time and quickly fill the defense gap, the Austrian T-34/85s were checked whether it was possible to modernize them with the new turret, too.

The first conversion was carried out by Saurer in 1963 and proved to be successful. Since the light FL-12 turret had a smaller bearing diameter than the old T-34/85 turret, the integration into the hull went straightforward with the help of a simple adapter ring. What made the conversion even simpler was the fact that the FL-12, with its integrated cannon and an automated loading system, was a complete, self-sufficient unit.

The French turret was only lightly armoured, since the tank was not supposed to engage heavily-armed enemies at close range. The turret's front armour protected the crew from 20mm armour-piercing rounds over its frontal arc, while all-round protection was against small arms bullets only. The commander was seated on the left of the turret and the gunner on the right. The commander was provided with seven periscopes and a periscopic sight. The commander's infrared night sight had a magnification of x6. The gunner had two observation periscopes, a telescopic sight and a one-piece lifting and swiveling hatch cover. Due to the design of the oscillating turret, all sights were always linked to the main and secondary armament (a standard NATO machine gun). For engaging targets at night, an infrared periscopic sight was provided for the commander. In order to simplify and lighten the tank, the T-34’s bow machine gun in the hull was deleted and its opening faired over and the crew was reduced to three.

The 105 mm gun could penetrate 360 mm of armour, and the internal magazines of 2x 6 shots allowed a very high rate of fire (up to 12 shots per minute), even though a crew member had to leave the tank in order to fill the magazines up again from the outside. Once the gun had been fired the empty cartridge cases were ejected out of the rear of the turret through a trapdoor hinged on the left. Beyond the 12 rounds in the turret, a further 42 rounds were stored in the tank's hull, primarily in a stowage rack for 30 shots where the former second crew member in the front hull had been placed, and a further twelve rounds in magazines at the turret’s base.

The T-34/85’s engine and transmission were not changed, since an update was beyond the conversion budget limit, but lighter “skeleton” wheels from Czech T-34 post-war production were introduced, so that the modified tank weighed roundabout 30 tons, 2 less than the standard T-35/85.

After highly successful field tests with the prototype in the course of 1963 and 1964, a further conversion program for 16 tanks was approved and carried out until early 1965. The modified tanks received the official designation T-34/105Ö and allocated to two tank battalions. Most of the time these tanks were only used for training purposes, though, in preparation of the arrival of the "real" tank hunter, the SK-105 "Kürassier" (Cuirassier) with almost identical weapon systems. The SK-105’s first prototype was eventually ready in 1967 and delivery of pre-production vehicles commenced in 1971, but teething troubles and many detail problems delayed the type's quick and widespread introduction. Lighter and much more agile than the vintage T-34s, it became a big success and was produced in more than 700 specimen, almost 300 of them for the Austrian Army and the rest for export (Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Morocco and Tunisia). In consequence, the small T-34/105Ö fleet was soon retired and by 1976, when the Kürassier was in service and other, heavy tanks had become available, none of the converted tanks was still active anymore. Nevertheless, a few Austrian T-34s that had become part of the hidden bunker installations soldiered secretly on, the last ones were dug out of their positions and scrapped in 2007(!).

Specifications:

Crew: Three (commander, gunner, driver)

Weight: 29.7 t combat load

Length: 8.21 m (26 ft 10 ½ in) with turret forward

6.10 m (19 ft 11 ¾ in) hull only

Width: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)

Height: 2,74 m (8 ft 11 ½ in)

Suspension: Christie

Ground clearance: 0.4 m (16 in)

Fuel capacity: eight internal tanks, total capacity of 545 l (145 U.S. gal; 118 imp gal),

plus up to four external fuel drums à 90 l each (24 U.S. gal; 19.5 imp gal)

Engine:

Model V-2-34M 38.8 l V12 Diesel engine with 520 hp (370 kW) at 1.800 rpm

Transmission:

5 forward and 1 reverse gears

Armor:

16 - 45 mm steel (plus composite armour in the turret)

Performance:

Speed:

- Maximum, road: 58 km/h (36 mph)

- Cross country: up to 40 km/h (28 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (155) on streets with internal fuel only,

up to 330 km (250 mi) with four additional fuel drums

Power/weight: 17.5 hp/t

Armament:

1× 105 mm CN 105-57 rifled gun with a total 54 rounds, 12 of them ready in the turret's magazines

1× 7.62mm (0.3") co-axial NATO machine gun with 2.000 rounds

2× 2 smoke grenade dischargers

The kit and its assembly:

This weird, fictional combo was originally spawned by an Israeli idea: some vintage M4 Sherman tanks had been outfitted with the AMX-13's swiveling turrets and armed with French CN-75-50 75mm a cannon, creating the so-called "Isherman". I kept this concept in the back of my mind for a long time, with the plan to build one some day.

Then I came a couple of weeks ago across a picture on FlickR that showed a T-34/85 with Austrian markings. At first I thought that it had been a fictional museum piece in fake markings, but upon some legwork I found out that Austria had actually operated the T-34!

So, why not combine both ideas into a new and fictional one...? The rest was straightforward kitbashing: the FL-12 turret with a 105 mm cannon came from a Heller AMX-13 (a shaggy thing with dubious fit, but it was cheap) and for the chassis I tried the relatively new Zvezda T-35/85. The latter is actually a very crisp snap-fit kit, just some light flash here and there. Detail and proportions are very good, though, as well as fit. I was only surprised by the construction of the tracks, because it is a different approach from both of the traditional vinyl tracks or IP track segments. Instead, you get complete, rather thin and delicate IP tracks, and Zvezda expects the builder to bend them around the wheels and stick them between the wheels' halves during the construction process. You actually have to mount the “inner” half of the wheels first, then the track is attached to a locator pin on one of the main wheels, bent into shape, and finally the wheels' “outer” halves are added. Sounds complicated, and it actually is, and it also makes painting the whole running gear quite difficult, but it works – even though the result is IMHO not better than the traditional solutions.

The AMX-13 turret’s integration was easier than expected. Building the turret was a little complicated, because all side walls are separate and there are no locator pins or other aides for orientation. Some PSR became necessary to fill some minor gaps, but nothing dramatic. Mounting the AMX-13 turret to the T-34 hull was made easy through a very convenient design detail of the Zvezda kit: the T-34 comes with a separate turret ring that could be used as an adapter for the Heller turret. Three ejection/sprue residues inside of the ring could be used as a foundation for the AMX-13 turret, and the turret’s lower half/ring was, after some sanding to reduce the gap between the turret and the hull, was also glued onto the adapter. Worked like a charm, and the resulting combo looks very natural!

In order to improve the turret’s look I added a cloth seal between the lower and the upper, oscillating turret section, simulated with paper tissue drenched in thinned white glue (OOB the turret cannot be moved vertically at all). A similar seal was added at the barrel’s base.

Other changes were only minimal: the machine gun port in the front hull was sanded away and faired over, and I omitted the spare track links attached to the front hull. For a modernized look I gave the tank an additional pair of front lights as well as stoplights at the rear, scratched from styrene bits.

Painting and markings:

Basically a very simple affair, because there is ONLY one possible livery and color that suits an Austrian Bundesheer vehicle or item from the Seventies: RAL 7013 (Braungrau). This is a very ugly tone, though, "greenish, fresh mud" describes it well: a dull, brownish olive drab, but definitively not a green (like the omnipresent NATO tone Gelboliv RAL 6014, which was used by the German Bundeswehr until the standardized NATO three-tone camouflage was introduced around 1984). I organized a rattle can of this special color, since the tank model would receive a simple, uniform livery.

Due to the kit's , err, unique running gear construction, painting became a little complicated. I had to paint the hull and the (still) separate wheel parts in advance, so that the pre-painted elements could be assembled around the tracks (see above). The tracks themselves were painted with a cloudy mix of iron metallic, black and leather brown (Revell 99, 8 and 84). The turret was painted separately.

After the kit’s major sections had been assembled they received a light wash with a mix of highly thinned black with some red brown added, and the washing was immediately dabbed off of the surfaces so that most of the pigments ended up in recesses and around details, while the rest received an blurry, light dirt filter.

Once dry, I applied the decals. The tiny Austrian roundels come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet (never expected to find any use for them!), the tactical code comes from another tank kit sheet. In order to add some more highlights I also added some small, white markings on the fenders.

Then I gave the model an overall dry-brushing treatment with olive drab, medium grey and finally some ochre, just emphasizing details and edges.

Since the uniform livery appeared a bit dull to me, I decided to add a few camouflage nets to the hull, which also hide some weak points of the Zvezda kit, e.g. the missing rails along the hull. The nets were created from gauze bandages: small pieces (~1”x1”) of the material were dipped into a mix of white glue and olive drab acrylic paint and then carefully placed on hull, turret and barrel. Once dry, they were also dry-brushed.

As final steps, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (rattle can again) and I dusted the lower areas with a greyish-brown pigment mix, simulating dust and some mud crusts.

What started as a weird idea turned into a very conclusive what-if project – in fact, the T-34 with the French FL-12/44 turret does not look bad at all, and the Austrian colors and markings make this piece of fiction IMHO very convincing. Adding the camouflage nets was also a good move. They hide some of the details (e.g. the omitted bow machine gun station), but they liven up the rather clean and bleak exterior of the tank. I am positively surprised how good the T-34/105Ö looks!

Procure-30 by Agenzia Info Salesiana ANS

1:72 Saab 35 FP “Dragão (Draken)”; aircraft "5725" of the Esquadra 201 "Falcões", Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP/Portuguese Air Force); BA5 Monte Real, 1988 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

With the end of the conflict in Africa in early 1974, the Portuguese Armed Forces went through a reorganization and shifted their focus back from counter-insurgency to honoring Portugal's commitments to NATO and preparing for a possible conflict in Europe against the Warsaw Pact. The Portuguese Air Force's F-86F Sabre and G.91 fighters were considered to be outdated in both the air defense and ground attack roles to face Soviet forces in the European operations theater. Furthermore, only a few Sabre fighters were actually in service due to problems with the engines and lack of spare parts.

After the revolution Portugal faced financial problems and the new government didn't see the modernization of the armed forces as a priority. As such the Air Force counted on the support from the United States through the military assistance programs and the offsets and compensations for the use of the Lajes Air Base. In June 1974 the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Manuel Diogo Neto, informed the US Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Lisbon of the interest in acquiring one F-5E Tiger II squadron and one F-4E Phantom II squadron, as well as T-38A Talon and T-41, to replace the T-33 Shooting Star and the DHC-1 Chipmunk, respectively.

The United States’ NATO delegation was worried about Portugal's capability in contributing to NATO operations and felt that the intention to purchase either the F-4E Phantom II or the F-5E Tiger II to replace the F-86F Sabre was inappropriate, given that the USA felt that the A-7D Corsair II or the A-4N Skyhawk provided a better platform for the Portuguese role in an eventual conflict with the Warsaw Pact, which was to mainly protect the Atlantic Ocean resupply routes from the United States to Europe.

By 1976 the Northrop F-5E Tiger II had become the sole preferred aircraft by the military command, which believed that this aircraft could be supplied by The Pentagon at a lower cost through the Military Assistance Program (MAP) and the Foreign Military Sales (FMS). To this end, Portugal leased Northrop T-38A Talon jet trainers, as part of the "Peace Talon" program, to establish and provide supersonic-capable lead-in fighter training and to eventually provide operational conversion.

Later in March 1976, a camouflage scheme for the F-5 was published in the Diário da República, stirring public awareness and political pressure. Nonetheless, at the time the FAP had already started analyzing the acquisition of the A-7 Corsair II as an alternative to the F-5, per the suggestion of the United States. This led to the acquisition of 30 A-7A Corsair II for 49 million dollars. But even with the A-7 taking precedence, the FAP continued interest in acquiring the F-5 for the air defense role and as a proper replacement for the outdated F-86F Sabre.
As such, a delegation was sent to Norway in July 1979 to evaluate F-5A/B aircraft of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. This offer was turned down, since the offered 11 F-5As turned out to require considerable repairs due to cracks found in the airframe. Furthermore, the FAP was particularly interested in twin-seat F-5 fighters, but the RNoAF did not plan on retiring any of its F-5B aircraft at that time. In November 1984, the United States offered four F-5As with spare engines to Portugal, but this offer was also declined, since the aircraft had already logged over 3,000 flight hours and needed thorough repair, too. In the same year, the RNoAF made a new offer of 15 to 20 F-5A/Bs, but this time the FAP declined, once more due to the airframes’ age and poor condition.

Unable to purchase any F-5 in decent condition, the FAP studied in the meantime the procurement of other second-hand fighters like the French Mirage IIIs or the SAAB 35 Draken. Negotiations with France, even though the preferred partner and with the intention to procure Mirage V fighter bombers, too, went nowhere. Eventually, a deal with Sweden could be settled in 1985 and the Saab 35 was chosen as the FAP’s new air superiority fighter.

The Draken had been developed during the 1940s and 1950s to replace Sweden's first generation of jet-powered fighter aircraft, the Saab J 29 Tunnan and, later, the fighter variant (J 32 B) of the Saab 32 Lansen. Fully developed in Sweden, the Draken was introduced into service with the Swedish Air Force in 1960 under the designation J 35 (the prefix J standing for “Jakt”, meaning “pursuit”). Early models were intended purely to perform air defense missions and the type was considered to be a capable dogfighter for the Cold War era. Later models were technically very advanced and the J 35 underwent a constant development that led to a long line of variants with several upgrades.

By the 1980s, the Swedish Air Force’s Drakens had largely been replaced by the more advanced Saab 37 Viggen fighter, while the introduction of the more capable Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter was expected in service within a decade, although delayed. Many J 35s of earlier versions, primarily the D type as well as some early J 35 F, were therefore mothballed and/or offered for sale. Takers were Finland and Austria, some Draken also sold to private operators in the United States. A dedicated export version for Denmark, rather a strike aircraft than an interceptor, was built, too.

The FAP was interested in the J 35 F, since these aircraft were the most modern Draken variant at the time and the relatively young airframes promised a long service life. An initial batch of eight aircraft – six single seaters plus a pair of two-seat trainers – was leased by Portugal and delivered in 1986. These were effectively refurbished former Swedish Saab J 35 F interceptors and Sk 35 C trainers. Internally at Saab, the Draken versions for Portugal were designated Saab J or Sk 35 XP (“X” for export and “P” for Portugal), but this designation was not adopted officially.
For Portugal, the machines were stripped off of specialized Swedish equipment and instead outfitted with NATO-compatible avionics and other updates like the Hawé mods I & II on the P/S-01/011 radar sets to improve its resistance to ECM. In contrast to the Swedish Saab J 35 F, the avionics that were necessary to deploy the Rb 27 and Rb 28 missiles (Hughes AIM-4 Falcon with radar and IR guidance) were removed and the second gun reinstalled. The J 35 F’s IR sensor under the nose was retained and a Sherloc radar warning system of French origin, as well as chaff/flare dispensers, were added, too.

In Portuguese service, the machines were called Saab 35 FP and TP and dubbed “Dragõe”. The fighters’ main armament were, beyond the internal 30 mm cannons, AIM-9 Sidewinders. Typically, a pair of these missiles was carried under the wings, together with a pair of 500 l drop tanks under the fuselage, since the Draken had no in-flight refueling capability and just a range of 1.120 km (696 mi) in clean configuration and with internal fuel only. The machines retained a secondary strike capability, though, with iron bombs of up to 1.000 lb caliber, napalm tanks and unguided missiles in pods. The trainers were unarmed but could carry an optional single 500 l drop tank on a ventral hardpoint.

The leased aircraft batch arrived in bare metal finish, but, due to the country’s proximity to the open sea, they quickly received an overall coat with a grey anti-corrosive lacquer. They were allocated to Esquadra 201 "Falcões" at Monte Real air base, where they replaced the last operational F-86F’s. They were officially allocated to an interceptor role, but effectively they were primarily used for conversion training, together with the T-38’s which had been based at Monte Real since 1977, too.

With enough trained Draken crews at hand, a second batch of former Swedish Draken (this time twelve single seaters plus two more trainers) was bought and delivered in 1987, the machines from the initial leasing batch were eventually bought, too. This small fleet was split between Esquadra 201 and 103 (the latter at Beja air base), so that the FAP could now field two fully operational interceptor squadrons. Upon arrival, the new machines received a tactical camouflage with toned-down national and the J 35s from the initial batch were re-painted accordingly.

The ongoing process of the modernization of the Portuguese Air Force also included the launching of the SICCAP/PoACCS (Portugal Air Command and Control System) project, which was a pioneer in adopting the new architecture and concept of the NATO ACCS, being intended to replace Portugal’s old SDA air defense system. As part of these project, the air surveillance and detection units were re-equipped, including the reception of new radars and the air control center at Monsanto was enhanced. The Saab 35 FPs became an integral part of this system, so that interceptors could be guided from the ground towards potential targets.

This scenario did not last long, though: The end of the Cold War caused the Portuguese Air Force to accompany the shift of the focus of the Portuguese Armed Forces from a conventional war in Europe against the Warsaw Pact forces to the international peace enforcement missions. The FAP started to participate in a number of missions by itself or in support of missions led by the Army and the Navy, but the Saab 35s were not involved since they remained, due to their small number, dedicated to Portugal’s air space patrol and defense.

With the arrival of the first F-16 Fighting Falcon in 1994, the Saab 35s, as well as the FAP’s A-7 Corsair IIs, were gradually retired and fully replaced until 1998.

The last Saab 35 in Swedish service was retired in 1999, the last Saab 35 Draken was withdrawn from military use in Austria in 2005 – 50 years after the type first flew. However, several aircraft still fly today in private operators’ service.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 15.35 m (50 ft 4 in)

Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in)

Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)

Wing area: 49.2 m2 (530 ft²)

Airfoil: 5%

Empty weight: 7,865 kg (17,339 lb)

Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 11,914 kg (26,266 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Svenska Flygmotor RM6C (license-built Rolls Royce Avon with Swedish afterburner)

turbojet engine, 56.5 kN (12,700 lbf) thrust dry, 78.4 kN (17,600 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: 2,450 km/h (1,520 mph, 1,320 kn) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Maximum speed: Mach 2

Range: 1.120 km (605 nmi; 696 mi); clean, internal fuel only

Ferry range: 2,750 km (1,480 nmi; 1,710 mi) with four external 500 l drop tanks

Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 199 m/s (39,200 ft/min)

Wing loading: 231.6 kg/m² (47.4 lb/ft²)

Thrust/weight: 0.7

Takeoff roll: 800 m (2,625 ft)

Armament:

2× 30 mm AKAN M/55 ADEN cannon with 100 rounds per gun

4× hardpoints with a capacity of 2,900 kg (6,393 lb); typical interceptor ordnance:

2× 500 l ventral drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 Sidewinder under the wings

The kit and its assembly:

This what-if model came as a spontaneous idea when I browsed through the WWW for inspiration. I stumbled upon the history of the Portuguese Air Force and the fact that it did not operate any dedicated interceptor for 15 years – this task was taken over by the PAF’s A-7s(!) until the F-16 arrived in the Nineties This gap offered a lot of whiffing potential, and I had actually considered to build a whiffy FAP Mirage III for some time, since I knew that this was, together with the F-5, the favored type. However, there was also serious consideration of the Saab 35 as potential fighter alternative, too!

I found this idea so weird/exotic that I decided to build a Draken in FAP colors. The kit is the Hasegawa model, in a Revell re-boxing. I also considered the vintage Revell Saab 35 (a mold from 1957!), but after I saw the kit in a current re-boxing from Polish company Akkura, I took the chance of a reasonably priced Hasegawa kit instead. While the Akkura kit is crisply molded, it would take a lot of work to create a satisfactory “modern” Draken from it. I also had a Heller kit in store (my personal favorite), but I did not want to “sacrifice” it for this project.

The Hasegawa/Revell kit was basically built OOB. The kit is a simple, straightforward affair, with fine recessed engravings and good fit, but it’s IMHO far from extraordinary. It also has its flaws: the dashboard is totally blank, any instruments have to be created by yourself or taken from the decal sheet. There are ejection marks on the wheels and the landing gear covers, and the fit quality of some areas (e .g. the seam between the fuselage and the afterburner section) calls for PSR. The two-piece canopy is thin, very clear and fits well, the landing gear is sufficiently detailed – including the interior of the main landing gear wells.

For the FAP version I did not change much; I just replaced the seat (which OOB looks fine, I just wanted “something else”), added a radar warning antenna to the fin’s tip and chaff dispensers around the tail section, all carved from styrene profiles.

Unfortunately, the Revell re-boxing just comes with a pair of launch rails and underwing pylons, but no AA weapons at all. That’s acceptable for the anniversary machine that you can build from the kit, but leaves the other option, a grey, Swedish J35 H, without any ordnance.

The drop tanks on my build are OOB, together with their ventral hardpoints, and I added a pair of decent AIM-9J Sidewinders from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapon set for a suitable interceptor ordnance. The launch rails were recycled from the kit: they are actually missile rails with attachment points to mount them under the air intakes. The rails were separated and then attached to the OOB underwing pylons, this worked very well.

Painting and markings:

The livery was not an easy choice. Initially I favored a uniform pale grey livery with blue squadron markings, inspired by the late F-86s of FAP 51 squadron, but found this, despite being a plausible look for an interceptor, to look quite boring. For the same reason I rejected an Austria-style “Hill II” scheme or a light-grey USN-inspired “Compass Ghost” livery. The Hellenic “Ghost” wraparound scheme was another potential option, but I recently used something similar on another whif build (the Catalonian L-159 ALCA), and it would not have a typically Portuguese Cold War look.

Keeping in style with the FAP’s livery fashion during the Eighties, I rather settled upon a USAF SEA scheme, which was carried by many PAF aircraft during the Eighties, e .g. the A-7P, the G.91, and their replacement from 1993 onwards, the Alpha Jet. Instead of a wraparound version for ground attack aircraft, I rather gave the Draken light grey undersides.

The camouflage pattern itself was improvised, since I did not want to copy an existing delta wing aircraft (e.g. the USAF’s F-102 or F-106 SEA pattern, or the Belgian Mirage Vs). The basic colors are Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green; the authentic tone is FS 34079, but this lacks IMHO contrast to the lighter green), 117 (FS 34102) and 118 (FS 30219) from above, and Humbrol 28 (FS 36622) underneath.

A large ventral section was, typical for the J 35, left in bare metal, since leaking fuel and oil would frequently eat away any paint there. The section was painted with Steel Metallizer (ModelMaster) and later treated with Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol).

Internal details like the cockpit and the landing gear were painted with the help of Swedish and Austrian Saab 35 reference pictures. The cockpit tub was painted in a dark, bluish green (Humbrol 76) with grey-green (Revell 67) side walls. A piece of paper tissue covers the cockpit’s back wall, since the kit leaves a visible and rather ugly seam there, which is only partly hidden behind the seat.

The landing gear and its respective wells were painted with Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope), parts of the struts were painted in a bright turquoise (a mix of Humbrol 89 and 80; looks quite weird, but I like such details!). The front wheel received a dark green mudguard (Humbrol 30), the same color was also partially used on the extended emergency current generator. Missiles and launch rails were painted in gloss white (Humbrol 22).

As per usual, the model received a light black ink wash and some post-shading in order to emphasize the panels and dramatize the surface. Some extra weathering was done around the gun ports and the jet nozzle with graphite.

For markings I used the contemporary A-7Ps as benchmark: they were minimal, there were even no squadron markings or other decorations, and I think they even lacked roundels on their wings!

I gave the Draken slightly more markings: The small FAP roundels come from a PrintScale A/T-37 sheet, the fin flashes are from a TL Modellbai sheet and the tactical codes belong to a Japanese T-4 trainer. Most stencils were taken from the Revell OOB sheet, which also includes decals for the reddish sealer around the cockpit windows.

I didn’t want to leave the Draken without any squadron marking, though, so I gave it a blue band on top of the fin, as a reminiscence of the FAP 51 squadron’s markings, the former final F-86 operator which became 201 squadron in the early Eighties. These were simply done with layered white and blue decal stripes.

Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri), except for the black radome, which received a sheen varnish coat.

A relatively simple whif project, since the model was mostly built OOB with just minor cosmetic changes. However, despite its exotic operator, the USAF South East Asia scheme suits the Draken well, the whole thing looks disturbingly convincing!?

It’s also a kind of tribute build for “Sport16ing”, apparently a great fan of my what-if builds who frequently re-posts pictures and background stories (with kind permission to do so!) at deviantart.com.

Sustainable Development Impact Meetings by World Economic Forum

1

Accelerating Industry Decarbonization

Matt Rogers, Chief Executive Officer, Mission Possible Partnership, USA; Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, Centre for Nature and Climate, World Economic Forum

Copyright: World Economic Forum/Jeffery Jones

Sustainable Development Impact Meetings, New York, USA 19 - 23 September

St Mary the Virgin, Smeeth, Kent by Jelltex

1

April through the July is peak orchid season, and when the spikes are in flower, there is precious little time for other obsessions, like churches.

I had been on the chalk downs, looking for some rare orchid or another, and I saw the sign post leading the way to Smeeth.

As is the way, the road was not straight or straightforward, and some crossroads had no posts which to follow. But I did arrive, find a place to park and enter.

As I edit the shots I will update the description more, but what I see now is the collection of arches, hegioscopes and holes linking the north chapel and chancel.

------------------------------------------

SMEETH

LIES the next parish to Mersham eastward, being antiently written, and now usually called Smede, a name signifying an open smooth plain, and king Offa in 791, gave the pasture for fifty hogs binnam Smede, i. e. within Smede, to the church of Canterbury. It is but a small parish, being not more than a mile across each way; it lies mostly on the hill, where the country has but a rough and lonely appearance, there being but little traffic through it.

The village of Smeeth is situated, with the church close to it, on the brow of the hill, having a fine view from it over the valley southward; and there is another hamlet of houses called Ridgeway, at no great distance from it; towards Mersham-lees, there is a long narrow common, called Smeeth, alias Hatch heath. Near the foot of the hill southward is Scottshall, which stands some way down the hill. It is a very large mansion; the front of it eastward is modern, of brick; but the north front, built in the reign of king Henry VIII. is very grand, and has a fine effect. It is situated very pleasantly, having a good prospect from it; the grounds are well watered, by springs which rise between it and the church, on the side of the hill. About a mile westward from it, in the bottom, is Evegate; at a small distance from which is a farm called Stocks, which was for many generations the property of the Losties, originally of Westwell, where they resided in Henry the VIIIth.'s reign, and continued there till they removed hither, at least as early as King Charles the IId.'s reign, bearing for their arms, Sable, a chevron engrailed, between three trefoils slipt, argent. After which they continued owners of this estate till the Rev. John Loftie, of Canterbury, sold it lately to Mr. John Dunk, who lives in it. The head of the river Stour, which rises at Postling, flows along the southern side of this parish, where there is a mill on it, called Evegate-mill, and so on to Mersham towards Ashford. Archbishop Stratford procured the grant of a market and fair at Smeeth, in the 11th year of king Edward III. The market has never been used, but the fairs are still held on May 12, and Sept, 29, for toys and pedlary ware. The former of them was held likewise for the sale of live stock within remembrance. There are two boroughs in it.

The manor of Aldingtonclaims paramount over this parish, subordinate to which is THE MANOR OF EVEGATE, as it is now usually called, but in antient records written Thevegate, which lies at the bottom of the hill, about half a mile southward of the church. At the time of taking the general survey of Domesday, anno 1080, this manor was accounted to lie within the hundred of Longbridge, and was then part of the possessions of Hugh de Montfort, under the general title of whose lands it is entered in it as follows:

In Langebrige hundred, Hugo himself holds in demesne one yoke and an half in Tanegate. Gods. held it of king Edward. There is now one villein, with one carucate, and there are eight acres of meadow. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth twenty shillings, and afterwards ten shillings, now twenty shillings.

On the voluntary exile of Robert de Montfort, grandson of Hugo above-mentioned, in Henry I.'s reign, this manor, among the rest of his estates, came into the hands of the crown; after which it appears to have come into the possession of the family of Passele, or Pashley, as they were afterwards called, their arms, being A lion rampant, crowned, are carved on the roof of the cloysters at Canterbury; (fn. 1) one of whom, Edw. de Passele, held it in the 20th year of Edward III. by knight's service of the archbishop, as of his manor of Aldington. His descendant John Pashley, esq. died possessed of this manor in the 31st year of Henry VI. leaving a sole daughter and heir Elizabeth, who entitled her husband Reginald Pimpe, esq. of Nettlested, to it, and he likewise lest an only daughter and heir Anne, married to Sir John Scott, of Scotts hall, who in her right became possessed of it, and died about the middle of the reign of king Henry VIII. and in his descendants this manor continued down to Francis Talbot Scott, esq. whose trustees, about the year 1784, conveyed it, with Scotts hall and his other estates in this and the neighbouring parishes, to Sir John Honywood, bart. of Evington, the present possessor of it.

THE MANOR OF HALL, in this parish, with the mansion of it, from its having been for so many descents the inheritance and residence of the eminent and knightly family of Scott, has for a great length of time obtained the name of Scotts-hall. Indeed there are no earlier owners of it mentioned in any of our antient records. The original name of this family, whose possessions afterwards extended widely over this county, appears by papers in the possession of the family to have been Baliol. (fn. 2) William Baliol, younger brother of Alexander de Baliol, and brother of John Baliol, king of Scotland, frequently wrote his name William de Baliol le Scot; and it is further probable, after the contest between king Edward I. and his brother John, for the sovereignty of that kingdom, which ended in the latter's overthrow, that William Baliol above mentioned, to avoid the future anger of that prince, so highly incensed against his family, altered his name, and retained that of Scot only. And Philipott adds, that the antient arms of Baliol college, in Oxford, founded by John Baliol his grandfather, was a catherine wheel, now part of the paternal coat of this family, which is three such wheels; and although the present arms of that college are now wholly different, yet there seems some foundation for this assertion; for on the most antient part of the college now remaining, are two shields carved in stone, having a catherine wheel in each; and I am informed, the mark of the college on their plate and furniture, which has been of long time used, is likewise a catherine wheel.

The family of Scot, now spelt Scott, was originally seated in the adjoining parish of Braborne, the church of which has continued the place of their burials to the present time, their arms then being Argent, three catherine wheels, sable, within a bordure engrailed, gules. The first of them that we have any account of, as seated there, was Sir William Scott, knight marshal of England, who died in 1350, and was there buried, and they seem to have continued there till Henry VI.'s reign, when Sir Wm. Scott, removing to Scottshall, kept his shrievalty at it in the 7th year of king Henry VI. anno 1429; and his descendants, knights, for the next six successive generations, and men of eminent character, employed in stations of high trust and honor by the respective princes in whose reigns they lived, many of them sheriffs, and knights in parliament for this county, continued afterwards to reside at this seat with great reputation; of these, Sir William Scott, K. B. was warden of the five ports, and lieutenant of Dover castle in the reigns of king Henry VII. and VIII. He new built the mansion of Scotts-hall, the north front of which now remains, and has the appearance of much grandeur, according to the stile of building of that time. Sir Reginald, or Raynold Scott, captain of the castle of Calais in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. procured his lands to be disgavelledby the act then passed. Of his sons, Charles was of Eggarton, under which a full account has been given of him, and Raynold was author of the Discovery of Witchcraft. (fn. 3)

Sir Thomas Scott, the eldest son, in the memorable year of the Spanish armada, anno 1588, was appointed commander in chief of the Kentish forces, to oppose that formidable invasion. The day after he had received the council's letters, so much was he beloved by the country, that he was enabled to collect and send to Dover four thousand armed men. He was much noted for his great and liberal housekeeping, which he continued for thirty-eight years at Scottshall, feeding in his house not less than one hundred persons, besides other extraordinary resort of people, notwithstanding which, he increased his lands, buildings, and furniture. From his wife management of Romney Marsh he might be called the preserver of it, and from his contrivance at Dover pier, the founder of that haven. No man's death could be more lamented, or memory more beloved, insomuch that the inhabitants of the neighbouring town of Ashford solicited to pay the charges of his funeral, if they might have his remains deposited in their church. He died in 1594, and was buried with his ancestors in Braborne church, having had by his first wife seventeen children, of whom Thomas succeeded him at Scotts-hall, but died s. p. Sir John Scott, of Nettlested, the second son, died s. p. of whom a full account may be seen under Nettlested. Edward, the third son, became heir to his brother Thomas at Scotts-hall, and Robert the youngest son, was of Mersham, whose issue by his first wife settled at Liminge, where a full account may be scen of them. From Edward Scott, of Scott's hall, descended Geo. Scott, esq. likewise of Scotts-hall, who was twice married; by his first he had Edward, his successor here; by his second he had seven sons and seven daughters; of whom William is now of Canterbury, esq. unmarried, born in 1713; Arthur was a commissioner of the navy, and married Mary, daughter of Charles Compton, esq. and died s. p. and Cholmley was a colonel in the army. Of the daughters, Cecilia died unmarried at Canterbury in 1785, and Caroline married Thomas Best, esq. of Chilston, but died s. p. The eldest son Edward Scott, esq. succeeded him here, and resided at Scotts-hall, where he died in 1765, having married Margaret, daughter of John Sutherland, esq. by whom he had twelve children, of whom Francis Talbot Scott, esq. the eldest, was of London, barrister-at-law, and died in 1789, having married his first-cousin Cecilia, daughter of his halfuncle George Scott, esq. and widow of Brice Fletcher, esq. of Bombay, in the East-Indies, by whom he had two sons, George and Francis-Peach; Edward Scott, esq. one of the equerries to the prince of Wales; Thomas, late vicar of Lenham and rector of Denton; William, an officer in the navy; and Tuston Charles; Cecilia; Katherine; Caroline, married in 1784, to George Best, esq. now of Chilston, younger son of James Best, esq. of Chatham, and Charlotte. (fn. 4) At length, after this mansion had continued for so great a length of time in this family, it descended down to Edward Scott, esq. (the eldest son of George as before-mentioned) who was the last of this family who resided at it. He died here possessed of it in 1765, and succeeded in the inheritance of this manor and seat by his eldest son Francis Talbot Scott, esq. whose trustees, about the year 1784, conveyed it, with the rest of his estates in this parish and neighbourhood, to Sir John Honywood, bart. the present possessor of them.

Charities.

WILLIAM FORDRED, by will in 1550, gave to this parish, among others, a proportion of the rents of 25 acres of land, in St. Mary's parish, in Romney Marsn; which portion to this parish is of the annual produce of 4l. 12s. 4¾d. to be distributed annually to the poor, and is vested in certain trustees. This land is let for 35l. per annum, and is divided among the parishes of Smeeth, Aldington, Limne, Horton, Sellindge, Stanford, and Braborne.

RICHARD HART, by deed in 1619, gave to the poor of this parish for ever, five acres of land at Newchurch, in Romney Marsh, now of the annual produce of 7l. which is vested in trustees.

TIMOTHY BEDINGFIELD, by will in 1691, gave towards the education and maintenance of poor children of this parish, Lyminge, and Dimchurch, and to pay 10s. yearly to two poor women of each of these parishes, a house and land lying in the parisnes of St. Mary, Romney Marsh, Lyminge, and Woodchurch, now of the annual produce of 54l. 10s. which is vested in trustees.

The poor constantly relieved are about twenty-five, casually fifty-five.

SMEETH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diecese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.

¶The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a small building, consisting of two isles and two chancels, having a low steeple shingled at the west end. The north chancel belongs to Scotts-hall. In the north wall is a tomb, with an antient ornamented arch over it, and in the window above these arms, Sable, a lion rampant, double tailed, or. Against the north wall is a monument, having two figures in a standing posture, and an inscription for Priscilla Scott, daughter of Sir Thomas Honywood, and wife of Robert Scott, esq. of Mersham, obt. 1648, and for Mary Scott, daughter of John Moyle, esq. of Buckwell, wife of Robert Scott, esq. obt. 1652, being formerly the wife of Richard Godfrey, esq. of Wye, by whom she had twenty-two children, being the first who made Mary Honywood, of Charing, a great-grandmother in the fifth generation, who lived to see 366 of her issue living. In the south isle is a memorial for Thomas Loftie, obt. 1678. Over the great arch at the east end of this isle, exceedingly high, are two monuments for the family of Loftie. The above arch is a very fine one, of Saxon architecture, with zig-zag ornaments round it. In the north isle is a memorial for Margaret, wife of Richard Gokin, of Canterbury, obt. 1719. In the church-yard is a tomb over John and Elizabeth Dunk. He died in 1779.

This church is exempted from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon. It has always been esteemed a chapel to the church of Aldington, the rector of which parish is presented to the church of Aldington with the chapel of Smeeth annexed. It is included in the valuation of Aldingtion in the king's books. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and eighty.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol8/pp2-9

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TR 03 NE SMEETH CHURCH ROAD (east side) 4/109 Church of St. Mary 27.11.57 GV I Parish church. C11 and extended C13, restored with rebuilt west tower and vestry 1881 Ragstone with plain tiled roof; timbered porch. Chancel with north chapel and south vestry, nave with north aisle, west tower and south porch. Single stage tower, the lower stage at least genuine C11, with C19 details (shafted and zig-zag moulded doorway, coupled belfry orates and parapet on corbel table). Nave with restored 2 light square headed window with ogee tracery and C19 3 light Decorated style window, north aisle with 3 uneven sized 2 light Y- tracery windows, and cusped lancet to west. Chancel with east wall largely rebuilt, with C19 triple lancet East window, the head of C11 round headed window over, and C15 south window, with short projecting C19 south vestry. North chapel with C19 3 light East window, with plaque below recording Peter Holloway, d.1644, servant to Sir Edward Scott. Simple north door and cusped 2 light window in quatrefoil. South porch weather boarded, with cusped bargeboard and double wicket gate, the interior with crown post roof on cambered tie beams and south doorway with shafts with scalloped capitals, roll mould and incised circle and nailhead mouldings, with scratch dials and fine plank and stud door, with bifurcated straps and hinges and C-straps, all of same antiquity. Interior: tall narrow door to west tower, with fragment of chevron moulding in restored surround. Identical south door. Three bay north arcade c.1200, with simple chamfered arches on abaci with nook shafts. Roof of 3 tall octagonal crown posts and chancel arch with roll moulded and chevron moulded orders on moulded abaci supported by voluted nook shafts. North aisle with blocked rood passage and simple chamfered arch to north chapel and roof of 4 octagonal crown posts. Chancel with plain arch to north chapel with fragment of carved decoration, C19 roll moulded door to south vestry, plastered ceiling. Wide squint to north aisle. The head of the C11 round headed East window composition is visible North chapel with hacked off rood stair and doorways, square headed north door and roof of 2 crown posts on chamfered tie beams. Fittings: chancel with some encaustic tiling, C20 wainscotting and C19 altar rail. The nave with C17 strapwork panelling, the pattern for that on the sanctuary. Octagonal font on squat round pier; C15. Poppy head bench and in north chapel, with panelled bench. Pulpit, with surrounding panelling, dated 1615, but inserted c.1890 and said to be from the demolished Scotts Hall. Pulpit on columnar stem, with bolection moulded base with ribband decoration and fluted and reeded panels, with anthemion frieze to arcaded upper panels with strapwork, modillion and egg and tongue cornices. Back panels with reeded arcading with guilloche pilasters. Tester, cross-beamed with fluted valance, knop pendants and jewel- shaped soffit decoration. Glass: C16 continental roundel in chapel east window; the Passeley Arms in north chapel, and C14 head. Monuments: C15 cusped tomb recess in north chapel, with depressed arch on colonettes, with pierced quatrefoil frieze and embattled top. Priscilla and Mary Scott, d.1648 and 1652, erected 1654. Wall monument in black and white marble, with scrolled pediment on pilaster, with inscription plaques in enriched brackets with draped skulls. The Central arcaded panel with 2 frontal figures leaning disconsolately on central prayer desk. Loftie memorial, over the chancel arch, to Paul Loftie, d.1703 and family; plaque of grey marble, a simple aedicule with Arms over and enriched apron with cherub's head below. On nave west wall are 2 C17 wooden plaques, again taken from Scott's Hall, both with double scalloped arches, with pendants and Arms over. The left hand panel with date 1461, - the Bedingfield Arms and initials E.B., the right hand panel with date 1429, the Scott Arms and initial W.S. Former chapel of Aldington, St. Martin. (See B.O.E. Kent II, 464-5; see also Church Guide).

Listing NGR: TR0722539614

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1071165

Coconut procurement by Claudia Loughran

Isla Mamey

TOG II* by Iain

2 5

Weighing 80 tons the TOG II* is the heaviest tank in the Museum. It is one of those impracticable freaks that the military procurement process occasionally produces.

In September 1939 some British military officers and engineers thought that the new war would evolve in the same way as WWI. The war would be static, with the opposing armies occupying two lines of trenches running from the North Sea coast to the Swiss border, separated by a “no man’s land” swept by artillery and machine-gun fire.

Sir Albert Stern, Secretary of the Landships Committee during WWI, believed that the sort of tanks being produced in 1939 would not be able to cope with these conditions. In company with other engineers involved in tank design in 1916, including Sir Eustace Tennyson D’Eyncourt (Former Director of Naval Construction), Sir Ernest Swinton and Walter Wilson, Stern was asked by the War Office to design a heavy tank using WWI principles. The group was called officially called ‘The Special Vehicle Development Committee of the Ministry of Supply’; unofficially it was known as the TOG committee (TOG: The Old Gang).

The first design resembled an enlarged WWI tank with a Matilda II turret on top and a French 75mm gun mounted in the front plate of the hull. Fosters of Lincoln built a single prototype and trials started in October 1940. It was powered by a Paxman-Ricardo diesel engine and had an electric final drive. The electric drive burnt out and was replaced by a hydraulic drive; this also failed and the vehicle was scrapped.

In the meantime the committee was designing a larger vehicle of great size, the TOG II. Its most original feature was the diesel electric transmission where the V12 diesel engine drove two electric generators, which powered two electric motors, which drove the tracks. There was no gearbox or mechanical transmission. (Ferdinand Porsche installed a similar system in one of his unsuccessful prototypes built for the German Army.) The tracks, after passing around the front mounted idler dropped down below floor level to create more internal space, an idea thought to be unique to this tank.

Fosters completed the single TOG II prototype in March 1941. It was so heavy that it was only possible to weigh half the vehicle at a time. The design specified machine-gun sponsons on each side where the side doors are, like a British WWI tank. These were quickly abandoned. The tank was fitted with four different gun turrets between 1941 and 1944, ending up with the type of turret designed by Stoddart and Pitt for the A30 Challenger Heavy Cruiser Tank. This mounted a 17-pdr gun, making the tank a TOG II*. The TOG II’s great length (10m) made it very difficult to steer and combined with its weight and low power:weight ratio (7.5hp/ton) made the tank cumbersome and unwieldy.

In reality ‘The Old Gang’s’ ideas were wrong; tanks needed to be smaller, agile and more mobile. The TOG II was finally abandoned in 1944, although the A22 Churchill had been adopted as Britain’s standard heavy infantry tank long before.

Seen in the rear hall of the Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset, England.

Procurement Excellence Awards 2024 by BOUSSIAS Events

10

Mumbai materials procurement by alexander_stein_taech

11

Sustainable Development Impact Meetings by World Economic Forum

1

Accelerating Climate Action through Philanthropic-Public-Private-Collaboration

Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, Centre for Nature and Climate, World Economic Forum; Ray Dalio, Founder, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates, USA; Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, European Commission; Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

Copyright: World Economic Forum/Jeffery Jones

Sustainable Development Impact Meetings, New York, USA 19 - 23 September

12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament benefitting the Eureka Camp Society-Apex Secondary School-presented by SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society-Apex Secondary School photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery (533) by SOMBILON STUDIOS

2

12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament

presented by

SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates

Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School

Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy

photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery

www.EurekaCamp.ca

www.SNCLavalin.com

www.WestWoodPlateauGolf.com

www.RonSombilonGallery.com

.

1:72 Douglas A-4G ‘Skyhawk’, aircraft ‘J-303’ of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) 332 Squadron, Valkenburg Naval Air Base (Katwijk/Leiden, Netherlands), 1981 (What-if/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81) was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Formerly the British ship HMS Venerable, she was sold to the Netherlands in 1948 as a light attack carrier and operated Fairey Firefly strike fighters and Hawker Sea Fury fighters, which were in 1958 replaced by Hawker Sea Hawk jet aircraft. In 1960, she was involved in the decolonization conflict in Western New Guinea with Indonesia. After a major refit in 1964, following the settlement of issues threatening its former colonial territories and changes in the mission for the Royal Netherlands Navy within NATO, the role was changed to anti-submarine warfare carrier and primarily ASW aircraft and helicopters were carried. At that time, the last Dutch Sea Hawks were phased out and the Koninlijke Marine ’s FJ-4B fighter bombers were relegated to land bases and soon handed back to the USA and re-integrated into USMC units. As an alternative multi-role aircraft that could both deliver strikes against ground as well as sea targets and provide aerial defense for the carrier or escort its slow and vulnerable ASW aircraft, the American Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was procured.

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet-powered Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D under the U.S. Navy's pre-1962 designation system. The Skyhawk was a relatively light aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds (11,100 kg), had a top speed of 670 miles per hour (1,080 km/h) and very good handling, making it a serious threat in an aerial dogfight. The aircraft's five hardpoints supported a variety of missiles, bombs, and other munitions.
The A4D (re-named into A-4 under the USA’s unified designation system) was capable of carrying a bomb load equivalent to that of a World War II–era Boeing B-17 bomber and could even deliver nuclear weapons using a low-altitude bombing system and a "loft" delivery technique. The A-4 was originally powered by the Wright J65 turbojet engine, but from the A-4E onwards, the more fuel efficient and powerful Pratt & Whitney J52 engine was used. The Skyhawk proved to be a relatively common United States Navy aircraft export of the postwar era. Due to its small size, it could be operated from the older, smaller World War II-era aircraft carriers still used by many smaller navies during the 1960s. These older ships were often unable to accommodate newer Navy fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II and F-8 Crusader, which were faster and more capable than the A-4, but significantly larger and heavier than older naval fighters.

At the same time as the Netherlands, Australia was looking for a new carrier-borne jet aircraft, too, and in negotiations with Douglas for newly built A-4s for the RAN's carrier HMAS Melbourne, a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier. These aircraft had a very similar duty profile to those the Royal Netherlands Navy was looking for, and in order to save development costs and speed up the procurement process, the Royal Netherlands Navy simply adopted the Australian specifications which became the unique A-4G variant, the Skyhawk’s first dedicated export version.

The A-4G was directly developed with minor variations from the current, most modern Skyhawk variant, the USN's A-4F. In particular, the A-4G was not fitted with the late Skyhawk variants' characteristic avionics "hump", had a simple ranging radar for air-to-air combat and was modified to carry four underwing Sidewinder AIM-9B missiles (instead of just two), increasing their Fleet Defense capability. Additionally, the A-4Gs for the Royal Netherlands Navy received the avionics package to deploy radio-controlled AGM-12 Bullpup missiles, which the Kon. Marine had been using together with the FJ-4Bs for some years, and Skyhawks’ capability to provide buddy-to-buddy refueling services with a special pod made them a vital asset for carrier operations, too.

A total of twenty A-4G Skyhawks were purchased by the Royal Australian Navy in two batches for operation from HMAS Melbourne, and the Koninlijke Marine ordered twelve. These aircraft were part of the first A-4G production batch and arrived in 1967, together with four TA-4J trainers, for a total fleet of sixteen aircraft. The machines were delivered in the contemporary US Navy high-visibility scheme in Light Gull Grey and White, but they were soon re-painted in a less conspicuous scheme of Extra Dark Sea Grey on the upper surfaces and Sky underneath, conforming to NATO standards of the time. After initial conversion training from land bases the re-formed MLD 861 Squadron (a carrier-based unit that had operated Fairey during the Fifties) embarked upon HNLMS Karel Doorman in February 1968 with a standard contingent of six carrier-based aircraft. The rest was stationed at Valkenburg Naval Air Base for maintenance and training and frequently rotated to the carrier.

However, the Dutch Skyhawks' career at sea was very short – it lasted in fact only a couple of months! A boiler room fire on 26 April 1968 removed HNLMS Karel Doorman from Dutch service. To repair the fire damage, new boilers were transplanted from the incomplete HMS Leviathan. But this did not save the ship, and in 1969 it was decided that the costs for repairing the damage in relation to the relatively short time Karel Doorman was still to serve in the fleet proved to be her undoing and she was sold to the Argentine Navy, renamed Veinticinco de Mayo, where she would later play a role in the 1982 Falkland Islands Conflict.
Additionally, the fatal fire accident coincided with the arrival of land-based long range maritime patrol aircraft for the Royal Netherlands Navy that were to take over the ASW role Karel Doorman had been tasked to perform ever since the start of the 1960s. These were one squadron of Breguet Atlantique sea-reconnaissance aircraft and one of P-2 Neptunes, while the international NATO anti-submarine commitment was taken over by a squadron of Westland Wasp helicopters operated from six Van Speijk-class anti-submarine frigates.

This left the Royal Netherlands Navy with a full operational squadron of almost brand-new aircraft that had overnight lost their raison d'être. To avoid sunk costs the government decided to keep the Skyhawks in active service, even though only land-based now and as part of the Netherlands air force's home defense – a plan that had been envisioned for the A-4Gs for the mid-Seventies, anyway.
In 1974, the A-4G's MLD 861 Squadron was disbanded (again) and the aircraft were formally transferred to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, where they received new tactical codes (H-30XX - H- 30YY) and formed the new RNLAF 332 Squadron, primary tasked with aerial support for the Netherlands Marine Corps. To avoid staff and equipment transfer costs to a different location, the Skyhawks stayed at their former home base, Valkenburg Naval Air Base, where they operated alongside the MLD’s new long-range maritime patrol aircraft.

At that time, the machines received a small update during regular overhauls, including the ability to deploy the new TV-guided AGM-65 Maverick missile (which replaced the unreliable and rather ineffective AGM-12) as well as more effective AIM-9J air-to-air missiles, and an AN/APQ-51 radar warning system, recognizable through small cone-shaped radomes under the nose, at the tail and under the wing roots. Being land-based now, some machines received a new NATO-style camouflage in Olive Drab and Dark Grey with Light Grey undersides, even though the Skyhawks’ full carrier capability was retained in case of a NATO deployment on another nation’s carrier.
In 1979, when the RNLAF received its first F-16A/B fighters, all Skyhawks eventually received a more subdued grey three-tone camouflage with toned-down markings which was effective both over the sea and in the sky, similar to the RNLAF’s NF-5A/B day fighters.

However, the arrival of the modern F-16, which was in any aspect superior to the A-4 except for a lack of carrier-capability, meant that the RNLAF Skyhawks’ career did not last much longer. In the early Eighties, all Dutch A-4Gs were replaced with license-built F-16A/B fighter bombers. They were placed in store and eventually sold to Israel in 1985, where they were revamped and re-sold with surplus A-4Es to Indonesia as attrition replacements after high losses during the anti-guerilla warfare in East Timor. They were delivered in 1986 and served in Indonesia until 2003, where the last Skyhawks were finally retired in 2007.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 40 ft 1.5 in (12.230 m)

Wingspan: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)

Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)

Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m²)

Airfoil: root: NACA 0008-1.1-25; tip: NACA 0005-.825-50

Empty weight: 9,853 lb (4,469 kg)

Gross weight: 16,216 lb (7,355 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 24,500 lb (11,113 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Pratt & Whitney J52-P-6A turbojet engine, 8,500 lbf (38 kN) thrust

Performance:

Maximum speed: 585 kn (673 mph, 1,083 km/h) at sea level

Range: 1,008 nmi (1,160 mi, 1,867 km)

Ferry range: 2,194 nmi (2,525 mi, 4,063 km)

g limits: +8/-3

Rate of climb: 5,750 ft/min (29.2 m/s)

Wing loading: 62.4 lb/sq ft (305 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.526

Armament:

2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Colt Mk 12 cannon with 100 RPG

5× hardpoints with a total capacity of 8,500 lb (3,900 kg)

The kit and its assembly:

This what-if project was more or less a stopgap: I had a Hasegawa 1:72 A-4E/F kit in The Stash™, primarily bought for its separate avionics hump that is supposed to be transplanted on a Fujimi A-4C someday to create an A-4L, of which AFAIK no OOB kit exists. However, I played with potential fictional operators, and read about the Australian A-4Gs. When I compared them with the historic timeframe of the Dutch HNLMS Karel Doorman, I recognized very close parallels (see background above) so that a small Skyhawk fleet for a single carrier with a focus on ASW duties would make sense – even though Karel Doorman was soon struck by a fire and ended the story. However, this was a great framework to tell the story of Dutch Skyhawks that never had been, and my model depicts such an aircraft soon after its update and in late RNLAF colors.

The Hasegawa kit is not bad, but IMHO there are better offerings, you can see the mold’s age. It goes together easily, comes with a good pilot figure and offers optional parts for an E or F Skyhawk, plus lots of ordnance, but it comes with raised (yet very fine) panel lines and an odd canopy: the clear part is actually only the canopy’s glass, so that the frame is still molded into the fuselage. As a result, opening the cockpit is a VERY tricky stunt (which I eventually avoided), and the clear piece somehow does not fit well into its intended opening. The mold dates back to 1969, when the A-4E/F was brand new, and this was all acceptable in the Seventies and Eighties. But for today’s standards the Hasegawa kit is a bit outdated and, in many cases, overpriced. Permanent re-boxings and short-run re-issues do not make the old kit any better.

Despite these weaknesses the kit was built OOB, without big modifications or the optional camel hump for the A-4F, with the early straight IFR probe and with parts from the OOB ordnance. This included the ventral drop tank (which comes with an integral pylon) and the underwing pylons; from the outer pair the integral launch rails for the Bullpups were sanded away and replaced with a pair of longer launch rails for AIM-9B Sidewinder AAMs from the scrap box.

As a modern/contemporary detail I scratched a training/dummy AGM-65 Maverick without fins for one of the inner underwing stations, which would later become a colorful eye-catcher on the otherwise quite subdued aircraft. Additionally, some small blade antennae were added around the hull, e. g. on the front wheel well cover for the Bullpup guidance emitter.

Painting and markings:

A Kon. Marine Skyhawk offers a wide range of painting options, but I tweaked the background that I could incorporate a specific and unique Dutch paint scheme – the early Eighties livery of the RNLAF’s NF-5A/Bs. These aircraft initially wore a NATO-style green/grey livery with pale grey undersides, but they were in the late Seventies, with the arrival of the F-16s, repainted with the F-16s’ “Egypt One” colors (FS 36118, 36270 and 36375). However, the Egypt One scheme was not directly adopted, only the former RAF-style camouflage pattern was re-done with the new colors. Therefore, the Skyhawks were “in my world” transferred from the Dutch Navy to the Air Force and received this livery, too, for which I used Humbrol 125, 126 and 127. The pattern was adapted from the sleek NF-5s as good as possible to the stouter A-4 airframe, but it worked out.

However, the result reminds unintentionally a lot of the Australian A-4Gs’ late livery, even though the Aussie Skyhawks carried a different pattern and were painted in different tones. Even more strangely, the colors on the model looked odd in this striped paint scheme: the dark Gunship Gray appeared almost violet, while the Medium Gray had a somewhat turquoise hue? Weird! Thankfully, this disappeared when I did some post-panel-shading after a light black in washing…

The cockpit became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140), even though there’s hardly anything recognizable through the small canopy: the pilot blocks anything. The landing gear and the respective wells became classic bright white (Revell 301), as well as the air intake ducts; the landing gear covers received a thin red outline.

The Sidewinders and their launch rails became white, the drop tank was painted in FS 36375 like the underside. The dummy AGM-65 was painted bright blue with a white tip for the live seeker head.

The decals were gathered from various sources. The RNLAF roundels came from a generic TL Modellbau sheet, the tactical code from a Swiss F-5E. The small fin flash is a personal addition (this was not common practice on RNLAF aircraft), the red unit badge with the seahorse comes from a French naval WWII unit. Most stencils were taken from the OOB sheet but supplemented with single bits from an Airfix Skyhawk sheet, e. g. for the red trim around the air intakes, which was tricky to create. The interior of the fuselage air brakes was painted in bright red, too.

After a Koninlijke Marine FJ-4B Fury some years ago, here’s a worthy and logical successor, even though it would have quickly lost its naval base, HNLMS Karel Doorman. Really bad timing! Even though not much was changed, this simple looking aircraft has IMHO a certain, subtle charm – even though the paint scheme makes the Dutch Skyhawk look more Australian than intended, despite representing an A-4G, too. But time frame and mission profiles would have been too similar to ignore this parallel. Not a spectacular model, but quite convincing.

1:72 Saab Sk 90 S, aircraft "45 Red" (s/n 90320) of the Skaraborgs Flygflottilj (F7), Swedish Air Force; Såtenäs, 1998 (Whif/Hasegawa kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

In July 1967, the first Swedish Air Force student pilots started training on the Saab 105, a Swedish high-wing, twin-engine trainer aircraft developed in the early sixties as a private venture by Saab AB. The Swedish Air Force procured the type for various roles and issued the aircraft with the designation Sk 60.

The Sk 60 entered service in 1967, replacing the aging De Havilland Vampire fleet, and had a long-lasting career. But in the late Eighties, by which point the existing engines of the Swedish Air Force's Sk 60 fleet were considered to be towards the end of their technical and economic lifespan and the airframes started to show their age and wear of constant use, the Swedish Air Force started to think about a successor and/or a modernization program.

Saab suggested to replace the Saab 105’s Turbomeca Aubisque engines with newly-built Williams International FJ44 engines, which were lighter and less costly to operate, but this was only regarded as a stop-gap solution. In parallel, Saab also started work for a dedicated new jet trainer that would prepare pilots for the Saab 39 Gripen – also on the drawing boards at the time – and as a less sophisticated alternative to the promising but stillborn Saab 38.

The Saab 38 (also known as B3LA or A 38/Sk 38) was a single-engine jet trainer and attack aircraft planned by Saab during the 1970s and actually a collaboration between Saab and the Italian aircraft manufacturer Aermacchi (the aircraft resembled the AMX a lot). It was to replace the older Saab 105 jet trainer in the Swedish Air Force, too, but the aircraft never got past the drawing board and was canceled in 1979 in favor of the more advanced Saab JAS 39 Gripen multi-role fighter.
Anyway, this decision left Sweden without a replacement for the Sk 60 as transitional trainer and as a light attack and reconnaissance aircraft.

In 1991, Saab presented its new trainer design, internally called "FSK900", to the Swedish Air Force. The aircraft was a conservative design, with such a configurational resemblance to the Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet that it is hard to believe Saab engineers didn't see the Alpha Jet as a model for what they wanted to do. However, even if that was the case, the FSK900 was by no means a copy of the Alpha Jet, and the two machines can be told apart at a glance. FSK900 had a muscular, rather massive appearance, while the Alpha Jet was more wasp-like and very sleek. The FSK900 was also bigger in length and span and had an empty weight about 10% greater.

The FSK900 was mostly made of aircraft aluminum alloys, with some control surfaces made of carbon-fiber / epoxy composite, plus very selective use of titanium. It had high-mounted swept wings, with a supercritical airfoil section and a leading-edge dogtooth; a conventional swept tail assembly; tricycle landing gear; twin engines, one mounted in a pod along each side of the fuselage; and a tandem-seat cockpit with dual controls.

The wings had a sweep of 27.5°, an anhedral droop of 7°, and featured ailerons for roll control as well as double slotted flaps. The tailplanes were all-moving, and also featured an anhedral of 7°. An airbrake was mounted on each side of the rear fuselage. Flight controls were hydraulic, and hydraulic systems were dual redundant.

The instructor and cadet sat in tandem, both on zero-zero ejection seats, with the instructor's seat in the rear raised 27 centimeters (10.6 inches) to give a good forward view. The cockpit was pressurized and featured a one-piece canopy, hinged open to the right, that provided excellent visibility.

The landing gear assemblies all featured single wheels, with the nose gear retracting forward and the main gear retracting forward and into the fuselage, featuring an antiskid braking system. The twin engines were two Williams International FJ44-4M turbofans without reheat, each rated at 16.89 kN (3,790 lbst). These were the same engines, that Saab had also proposed for Saab’s Sk 60 modernization program, even though a less powerful variant for the lighter aircraft.

The FSK900 could be fitted with two pylons under each wing and under the fuselage centerline, for a total of five hardpoint. The inner wing pylons were wet and could be used to carry 450 liter (119 US gallon) external tanks, a total external payload of 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) could be carried.
External stores included a centerline target winch for the target tug role, an air-sampling pod for detection of fallout or other atmospheric pollutants, jammer or chaff pods for electronic warfare training, a camera/sensor pod and a baggage pod for use in the liaison role. The aircraft also featured a baggage compartment in the center fuselage, which also offered space for other special equipment or future updates.

Potential armament comprised a conformal underfuselage pod with a single 27 mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 120 rounds (the same weapon that eventually went into the Saab Gripen).
Other weapons included various iron and cluster bombs of up to 454 kg (1.000 lb) caliber, unguided missiles of various calibers and the Rb.74 (AIM-9L Sidewinder) AAM. A radar was not mounted, but the FSK900’s nose section offered enough space for a radome.

The Swedish Air Force accepted the Saab design, leading to a contract for two nonflying static-test airframes and four flying prototypes. Detail design was complete by the end of 1993 and prototype construction began in the spring of 1994, leading to first flight of the initial prototype on 29 July 1994. The first production "Sk 90 A", how the basic trainer type was officially dubbed, was delivered to the Swedish Air Force in 1996.

In parallel, a contract was signed for the re-engining of 115 Saab Sk 60 aircraft in 1993; the number of aircraft to be upgraded was subsequently reduced as a result of cuts to the defense budget and the advent of the FSK900, of which 60 were ordered initially.

The Sk 90 was regarded as strong, agile, and pleasant to fly, while being cheap to operate. Sk 90 As flying in the training role typically painted in the unique “Fields & Meadows” splinter camouflage, although decorative paint jobs showed up on occasion and many aircraft received additional dayglow markings.
Some of the few aircraft given to operational squadrons, which used them for keeping up flight hours and as hacks, had apparently been painted in all-grey camouflage to match the combat aircraft they shared the flight line with.

With the Sk 90 S a new variant was soon introduced, replacing the Sk 60 C, two-seat ground attack/reconnaissance version for the Swedish Air Force with an extended camera nose. It featured a similar camera arrangement to the Sk 60 C with a panoramic camera, plus an avionics palet in the baggage compartment for a modular DICAST (Digital Camera And Sensor Tray) pod under the fuselage. Unlike the Sk 60 C, which was converted from existing Sk 60 A trainers, the Sk 90 S was an original design. 20 were delivered until 1997, together with the standard trainers, which were kept on the production lines at slow pace until 1999.

A total of 108 production Sk 90s were built, and the Swedish Air Force has no further requirement for new Sk 90s at present. Upgrades are in planning, including fit of at least some Sk 90s with a modern "glass cockpit" to provide advanced training for the Saab Gripen (which had entered service in June 1992), and a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) for the FJ44-4M turbofans. Integration of the Rb.75 (the AGM-65A/B Maverick in Swedish service) together with a pod-mounted FLIR camera system was also suggested, improving the Sk 90’s attack capability dramatically. These updates were started in 2000. The modified aircraft received the designation Sk 90 B and Sk 90 SB, respectively, and until 2006 the whole fleet was updated.

Tests were also made with reinforced underwing pylons that would allow the carriage of the RBS-15 anti-ship missile. Even though the Sk 90 did not carry a radar, the missile-armed trainers were considered as a linked multiplicators for Saab 39s with the appropriate avionics, so that salvoes of multiple missiles could be launched in order to overload ship defences and improve hit probability. While the latter assumption was proved as correct during field trials with two modified Sk 90s, the missiles’ extra drag and the consequent loss in agility, speed and range made the concept unpractical, since the armed Sk 90 could not keep up with the Saab 39, limit reaction time and would offer an easy target.

Another plan was the Sk 90 C, a two-seater with enhanced attack capabilities. Its most distict feature was a simplified PS-05/A pulse-Doppler X band multi-mode radar, developed by Ericsson and GEC-Marconi for the JAS 39 Gripen.
The system was based on the Blue Vixen radar for the Sea Harrier that also served as the basis for the Eurofighter's CAPTOR radar, and it would allow a highly improved air-to-air and air-to-ground capability, also in better concunction with the Saab Gripen as lead aircraft. Two technology demonstrators were converted from Sk 90 A trainers, but the project was shelved - due to budget restrictions and simply through the fact that the JAS 39 Gripen offered anything the Swedish Air Force had called for in just one, single weapon system, so that the Sk 90 remained in its advanced trainer and tactical recce role. The technology package was offered to foreign customers, though.

Despite its qualities and development potential, the Sk 90 did not attain much foreign interest. It suffered from bad timing and from the focus on domestic demands. It came effectively 10 years too late to be serious export success, and the Sk 90 was very similar to the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet (even though it was cheaper to operate) - at a time when the German Luftwaffe started to prematurely phaze out its attack variant and flooded the market with cheap second hand aircraft in excellent condition. Besides, the Saab Sk 90 had, with the BAe Hawk, another proven competitor with a long operational track record all over the world.

Modest foreign sales could be secured, though: Austria procured 36 Sk 90 Ö in 2002 (basically comparable with the updated Sk 90 B), replacing its Saab 105 fleet and keeping up its close connection with Saab since the Seventies. Malaysia showed interest, too, as well as Singapore, Myanmar, Finland, Poland and Hungary.

The latest interest came from the Republic of Scotland in late 2017 – after the country’s separation from the United Kingdom and building an independent air force with a supplier from a neutral country.
The Republic of Scotland’s Air Corps (RoScAC) started negotiations with Saab and the Swedish government over either eight newly built or refurbished, older Sk 90 As that were updated to C standard with the PS-05/A radar.

Scotland additionally showed interest in a small fleet of 1st generation Saab 39 interceptors that would replace the RAF fighters based on Scottish ground.

General characteristics:

Crew: two pilots in tandem

Length incl. pitot: 13.0 m (42 ft 8 in) for the A trainer, 13.68 m (44 ft 10 in) for the S variant

Wingspan: 9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)

Height: 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)

Empty weight: 3,790 kg (8,360 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 7,500 kg (16,530 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Williams International FJ44-4M turbofans without reheat, rated at 16.89 kN (3,790 lbst) each

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,038 km/h (645 mph)

Range: 1,670 km (900 nm)

Armament:

No internal gun; five hardpoints for 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) of payload and a variety of ordnance

The kit and its assembly:

A simple kit travesty! This is basically the 1:72 Kawasaki T-4 from Hasegawa, with little modifications.

Originally, I wondered what an overdue Saab 105 replacement could or would look like? The interesting Saab 38 never saw the light, as mentioned above, there was also an A-10-style light attack aircraft (maybe to be built as a kitbashing some day...) and I assume that neutral Sweden would rather develop its own aircraft than procure a foreign product.

Consideration of the BAe Hawk, Alpha Jet and the L-39 Albatros as inspirations for this project, I eventually came across the modern but rather overlooked Japanese Kawasaki T-4 trainer – and found that it had a certain Swedish look about it? Hmm... And coupled with a very characteristic paint scheme, like “Fields & Meadows”, maybe…?

I wanted to keep things simple, though, so the T-4 was mostly built OOB. A pleasant experience. The kit is relatively simple and fit is very good, with only minimal PSR necessary.

The only changes are the underwings hardpoints, which come from a Heller SEPECAT Jaguar, the pair of drop tanks (from an Academy F-5E, IIRC), a scratched recce pod for the ventral hardpoint and a modified bow section. This camera nose is a transplant from a Marivox Saab 105, assuming that the new trainer would be employed in similar roles as the Sk 60. The respective Swedish kit comes with a lot of optional parts, including the extended Sk 60 C’s camera nose - and it fits very well onto the T-4's rounded nose.

Painting and markings:

Well, when building a kit is not a true challenge, maybe the paint job is? The T-4 in a "Fields & Meadows" livery was the initial inspiration for this build, so I tried to stick with the concept as far as possible, even though I'd assume that Swedish aircraft in the kit's time frame would rather be grey with subdued markings. But there's hardly anything as Swedish and spectacular as "Fields & Meadows", and this scheme would also be perfect for the tactical recce role of this build.

The pattern was loosely inspired by the Saab Viggens’ scheme (I found pictures of Sk 60 in Fields & Meadows, but could not puzzle together a complete view) as benchmark.

Painting was done with a fine brush (size 2), free-handedly. Even the waterline was created without masking tape - a clean, bigger brush (size 6) was enough to create the sharp edge. This sounds bizarre and maybe suggest a masochistic touch, but it actually worked better than expected - and I was in the lucky situation that I did not have to slavishly copy and recreate the splinter pattern on a real-world model. ;-)

Finding proper tones for the famous and very characteristic Swedish paint scheme was not easy, though. Pictures of real aircraft vary largely, light conditions and weathering make a proper identification difficult, to say the least. Since I wanted a simple solution (a lot of corrections during the painting process was expected), I settled upon the following enamel tones:

• Modelmaster 2060, RAF Dark Green

• Humbrol 150, Forest Green FS 34127

• Humbrol 72, Khaki Drill, for the earth tone

• A 1:1 mix of Humbrol 33 (Flat Black) + Modelmaster 2094 (RAL 7021) for a very dark grey

• Humbrol 247 (RLM 76) for the undersides

Painting was done from black (starting here because it was the only mixed tone), then the earth tone, light green and finally the dark green - a slow (2 full days) but rather uncomplicated process. But I think that the effort paid out, and helps selling the fictional Sk 90 idea.

The cockpit was painted in neutral grey, while the landing gear and the air intakes became white. A very Swedish touch are the bright green headrests - seen on Saab 37.

The markings were kept simple, puzzled together from various sources. Tactical codes come from a Heller Saab 37 Viggen sheet, while the roundels come from an RBD Models sheet (great stuff!) from Sweden - they actually belong to a Saab 32, but since the roundel sizes are normed the transplant onto the smaller aircraft here was easy and even plausible.

Some stencils were taken from the T-4 OOB sheet or gathered together from the scrap box, e .g. the "FARA" warnings.

The silver trim at the flaps and the fin rudder were made with generic 0.5mm decal stripes in silver. Similar strips in black were used to create the de-icers on the wings' leading edges.

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

Not tough to build, but still a challenge to paint. But the result is spectacular, and the T-4 under foreign flag looks disturbingly plausible. How could Sweden hide this aircraft from the public for so long...?

And it's certainly not the last T-4 I will build. A Scottish aircraft, as mentioned in the background, is a hot candidate - but the aircraft has a lot of OOB whiffing potential...

procured grattitude by Tyson Robichaud

14 6

replicating some tri-x 400 using Alien Skin Exposure 3 for a film shoot with the Mrs.

1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M ‘Teer’; aircraft ‘N 318’ of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers); AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982 (What-if/kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some Background:

During the 1950s, Hindustan Aircraft Limited (HAL) had developed and produced several types of trainer aircraft, such as the HAL HT-2. However, elements within the firm were eager to expand into the then-new realm of supersonic fighter aircraft. Around the same time, the Indian government was in the process of formulating a new Air Staff Requirement for a Mach 2-capable combat aircraft to equip the Indian Air Force (IAF). However, as HAL lacked the necessary experience in both developing and manufacturing frontline combat fighters, it was clear that external guidance would be invaluable; this assistance was embodied by Kurt Tank.

In 1956, HAL formally began design work on the supersonic fighter project. The Indian government, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, authorized the development of the aircraft, stating that it would aid in the development of a modern aircraft industry in India. The first phase of the project sought to develop an airframe suitable for travelling at supersonic speeds, and able to effectively perform combat missions as a fighter aircraft, while the second phase sought to domestically design and produce an engine capable of propelling the aircraft. Early on, there was an explicit adherence to satisfying the IAF's requirements for a capable fighter bomber; attributes such as a twin-engine configuration and a speed of Mach 1.4 to 1.5 were quickly emphasized, and this led to the HF-24 Marut.

On 24 June 1961, the first prototype Marut conducted its maiden flight. It was powered by the same Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 703 turbojets that had powered the Folland Gnat, also being manufactured by HAL at that time. On 1 April 1967, the first production Marut was delivered to the IAF. While originally intended only as an interim measure during testing, HAL decided to power production Maruts with a pair of unreheated Orpheus 703s, meaning the aircraft could not attain supersonic speed. Although originally conceived to operate around Mach 2 the Marut in fact was barely capable of reaching Mach 1 due to the lack of suitably powerful engines.

The IAF were reluctant to procure a fighter aircraft only marginally superior to its existing fleet of British-built Hawker Hunters. However, in 1961, the Indian Government decided to procure the Marut, nevertheless, but only 147 aircraft, including 18 two-seat trainers, were completed out of a planned 214. Just after the decision to build the lukewarm Marut, the development of a more advanced aircraft with the desired supersonic performance was initiated.

This enterprise started star-crossed, though: after the Indian Government conducted its first nuclear tests at Pokhran, international pressure prevented the import of better engines of Western origin, or at times, even spares for the Orpheus engines, so that the Marut never realized its full potential due to insufficient power, and it was relatively obsolescent by the time it reached production.
Due to these restrictions India looked for other sources for supersonic aircraft and eventually settled upon the MiG-21 F-13 from the Soviet Union, which entered service in 1964. While fast and agile, the Fishbed was only a short-range daylight interceptor. It lacked proper range for escort missions and air space patrols, and it had no radar that enabled it to conduct all-weather interceptions. To fill this operational gap, the new indigenous HF-26 project was launched around the same time.

For the nascent Indian aircraft industry, HF-26 had a demanding requirements specification: the aircraft was to achieve Mach 2 top speed at high altitude and carry a radar with a guided missile armament that allowed interceptions in any weather, day and night. The powerplant question was left open, but it was clear from the start that a Soviet engine would be needed, since an indigenous development of a suitable powerplant would take much too long and block vital resources, and western alternatives were out of reach. The mission profile and the performance requirements quickly defined the planned aircraft’s layout: To fit a radar, the air intakes with movable ramps to feed the engines were placed on the fuselage flanks. To make sure the aircraft would fulfill its high-performance demands, it was right from the outset powered by two engines, and it was decided to give it delta wings, a popular design among high-speed aircraft of the time – exemplified by the highly successful Dassault Mirage III (which was to be delivered to Pakistan in 1967). With two engines, the HF-26 would be a heavier aircraft than the Mirage III, though, and it was planned to operate the aircraft from semi-prepared airfields, so that it would receive a robust landing gear with low-pressure tires and a brake parachute.

In 1962 India was able to negotiate the delivery of Tumansky RD-9 turbojet engines from the Soviet Union, even though no afterburner was part of the deal – this had to be indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). However, this meant that the afterburner could be tailored to the HF-26, and this task would provide HAL with valuable engineering experience, too.
Now knowing the powerplant, HAL created a single-seater airframe around it, a rather robust design that superficially reminded of the French Mirage III, but there were fundamental differences. The HF-26 had boxy air intakes with movable ramps to control the airflow to the two engines and a relatively wide fuselage to hold them and most of the fuel in tanks between the air ducts behind the cockpit. The aircraft had a single swept fin and a rather small mid-positioned delta-wing with a 60° sweep. The pilot sat under a tight canopy that offered - similar to the Mirage III - only limited all-round vision.
The HF-26's conical nose radome covered an antenna for a ‘Garud’ interception radar – which was in fact a downgraded Soviet ‘Oryol' (Eagle; NATO reporting name 'Skip Spin') system that guided the HF-26’s main armament, a pair of semi-active radar homing (SARH) ‚Saanp’ missiles.

The Saanp missile was developed specifically for the HF-26 in India but used many components of Soviet origin, too, so that they were compatible with the radar. In performance, the Saanp was comparable with the French Matra R.530 air-to-air missile, even though the aerodynamic layout was reversed, with steering fins at the front end, right behind the SARH seaker head - overall the missile reminded of an enlarged AIM-4 Falcon. The missile weighed 180 kg and had a length of 3.5 m. Power came from a two-stage solid rocket that offered a maximum thrust of 80 kN for 2.7 s during the launch phase plus 6.5 s cruise. Maximum speed was Mach 2.7 and operational range was 1.5 to 20 km (0.9 to 12.5 miles). Two of these missiles could be carried on the main wing hardpoints in front of the landing gear wells. Alternatively, infrared-guided R-3 (AA-2 ‘Atoll’) short-range AAMs could be carried by the HF-26, too, and typically two of these were carried on the outer underwing hardpoints, which were plumbed to accept drop tanks (typically supersonic PTB-490s that were carried by the IAF's MiG-21s, too) . Initially, no internal gun was envisioned, as the HF-26 was supposed to be a pure high-speed/high-altitude interceptor that would not engage in dogfights. Two more hardpoints under the fuselage were plumbed, too, for a total of six external stations.

Due to its wing planform, the HF-26 was soon aptly called “Teer” (= Arrow), and with Soviet help the first prototype was rolled out in early 1964 and presented to the public. The first flight, however, would take place almost a year later in January 1965, due to many technical problems, and these were soon complemented by aerodynamic problems. The original delta-winged HF-26 had poor take-off and landing characteristics, and directional stability was weak, too. While a second prototype was under construction in April 1965 the first aircraft was lost after it had entered a spin from which the pilot could not escape – the aircraft crashed and its pilot was killed during the attempt to eject.

After this loss HAL investigated an enlarged fin and a modified wing design with deeper wingtips with lower sweep, which increased wing area and improved low speed handling, too. Furthermore, the fuselage shape had to be modified, too, to reduce supersonic drag, and a more pronounced area ruling was introduced. The indigenous afterburner for the RD-9 engines was unstable and troublesome, too.
It took until 1968 and three more flying prototypes (plus two static airframes) to refine the Teer for serial production service introduction. In this highly modified form, the aircraft was re-designated HF-26M and the first machines were delivered to IAF No. 3 Squadron in late 1969. However, it would take several months until a fully operational status could be achieved. By that time, it was already clear that the Teer, much like the HF-24 Marut before, could not live up to its expectations and was at the brink of becoming obsolete as it entered service. The RD-9 was not a modern engine anymore, and despite its indigenous afterburner – which turned out not only to be chronically unreliable but also to be very thirsty when engaged – the Teer had a disappointing performance: The fighter only achieved a top speed of Mach 1.6 at full power, and with full external load it hardly broke the wall of sound in level flight. Its main armament, the Saanp AAM, also turned out to be unreliable even under ideal conditions.

However, the HF-26M came just in time to take part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and was, despite its weaknesses, extensively used – even though not necessarily in its intended role. High-flying slow bombers were not fielded during the conflict, and the Teer remained, despite its on-board radar, heavily dependent on ground control interception (GCI) to vector its pilot onto targets coming in at medium and even low altitude. The HF-26M had no capability against low-flying aircraft either, so that pilots had to engage incoming, low-flying enemy aircraft after visual identification – a task the IAF’s nimble MiG-21s were much better suited for. Escorts and air cover missions for fighter-bombers were flown, too, but the HF-26M’s limited range only made it a suitable companion for the equally short-legged Su-7s. The IAF Canberras were frequently deployed on longer range missions, but the HF-26Ms simply could not follow them all the time; for a sufficient range the Teer had to carry four drop tanks, what increased drag and only left the outer pair of underwing hardpoints (which were not plumbed) free for a pair of AA-2 missiles. With the imminent danger of aerial close range combat, though, During the conflict with Pakistan, most HF-26M's were retrofitted with rear-view mirrors in their canopies to improve the pilot's field of view, and a passive IR sensor was added in a small fairing under the nose to improve the aircraft's all-weather capabilities and avoid active radar emissions that would warn potential prey too early.

The lack of an internal gun turned out to be another great weakness of the Teer, and this was only lightly mended through the use of external gun pods. Two of these cigar-shaped pods that resembled the Soviet UPK-23 pod could be carried on the two ventral pylons, and each contained a 23 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L autocannon of Soviet origin with 200 rounds. Technically these pods were very similar to the conformal GP-9 pods carried by the IAF MiG-21FLs. While the gun pods considerably improved the HF-26M’s firepower and versatility, the pods were draggy, blocked valuable hardpoints (from extra fuel) and their recoil tended to damage the pylons as well as the underlying aircraft structure, so that they were only commissioned to be used in an emergency.

However, beyond air-to-air weapons, the HF-26M could also carry ordnance of up to 1.000 kg (2.207 lb) on the ventral and inner wing hardpoints and up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) on the other pair of wing hardpoints, including iron bombs and/or unguided missile pods. However, the limited field of view from the cockpit over the radome as well as the relatively high wing loading did not recommend the aircraft for ground attack missions – even though these frequently happened during the conflict with Pakistan. For these tactical missions, many HF-26Ms lost their original overall natural metal finish and instead received camouflage paint schemes on squadron level, resulting in individual and sometimes even spectacular liveries. Most notable examples were the Teer fighters of No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers), which sported various camouflage adaptations of the unit’s eponym.

Despite its many deficiencies, the HF-26M became heavily involved in the Indo-Pakistan conflict. As the Indian Army tightened its grip in East Pakistan, the Indian Air Force continued with its attacks against Pakistan as the campaign developed into a series of daylight anti-airfield, anti-radar, and close-support attacks by fighter jets, with night attacks against airfields and strategic targets by Canberras and An-12s, while Pakistan responded with similar night attacks with its B-57s and C-130s.
The PAF deployed its F-6s mainly on defensive combat air patrol missions over their own bases, leaving the PAF unable to conduct effective offensive operations. Sporadic raids by the IAF continued against PAF forward air bases in Pakistan until the end of the war, and interdiction and close-support operations were maintained. One of the most successful air raids by India into West Pakistan happened on 8 December 1971, when Indian Hunter aircraft from the Pathankot-based 20 Squadron, attacked the Pakistani base in Murid and destroyed 5 F-86 aircraft on the ground.
The PAF played a more limited role in the operations, even though they were reinforced by Mirages from an unidentified Middle Eastern ally (whose identity remains unknown). The IAF was able to conduct a wide range of missions – troop support; air combat; deep penetration strikes; para-dropping behind enemy lines; feints to draw enemy fighters away from the actual target; bombing and reconnaissance. India flew 1,978 sorties in the East and about 4,000 in Pakistan, while the PAF flew about 30 and 2,840 at the respective fronts. More than 80 percent of IAF sorties were close-support and interdiction and about 45 IAF aircraft were lost, including three HF-26Ms. Pakistan lost 60 to 75 aircraft, not including any F-86s, Mirage IIIs, or the six Jordanian F-104s which failed to return to their donors. The imbalance in air losses was explained by the IAF's considerably higher sortie rate and its emphasis on ground-attack missions. The PAF, which was solely focused on air combat, was reluctant to oppose these massive attacks and rather took refuge at Iranian air bases or in concrete bunkers, refusing to offer fights and respective losses.

After the war, the HF-26M was officially regarded as outdated, and as license production of the improved MiG-21FL (designated HAL Type 77 and nicknamed “Trishul” = Trident) and later of the MiG-21M (HAL Type 88) was organized in India, the aircraft were quickly retired from frontline units. They kept on serving into the Eighties, though, but now restricted to their original interceptor role. Beyond the upgrades from the Indo-Pakistani War, only a few upgrades were made. For instance, the new R-60 AAM was introduced to the HF-26M and around 1978 small (but fixed) canards were retrofitted to the air intakes behind the cockpit that improved the Teer’s poor slow speed control and high landing speed as well as the aircraft’s overall maneuverability.

A radar upgrade, together with the introduction of better air-to-ai missiles with a higher range and look down/shoot down capability was considered but never carried out. Furthermore, the idea of a true HF-26 2nd generation variant, powered by a pair of Tumansky R-11F-300 afterburner jet engines (from the license-built MiG-21FLs), was dropped, too – even though this powerplant eventually promised to fulfill the Teer’s design promise of Mach 2 top speed. A total of only 82 HF-26s (including thirteen two-seat trainers with a lengthened fuselage and reduced fuel capacity, plus eight prototypes) were built. The last aircraft were retired from IAF service in 1988 and replaced with Mirage 2000 fighters procured from France that were armed with the Matra Super 530 AAM.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 14.97 m (49 ft ½ in)

Wingspan: 9.43 m (30 ft 11 in)

Height: 4.03 m (13 ft 2½ in)

Wing area: 30.6 m² (285 sq ft)

Empty weight: 7,000 kg (15,432 lb)

Gross weight: 10,954 kg (24,149 lb) with full internal fuel

Max takeoff weight: 15,700 kg (34,613 lb) with external stores

Powerplant:

2× Tumansky RD-9 afterburning turbojet engines; 29 kN (6,600 lbf) dry thrust each

and 36.78 kN (8,270 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,700 km/h (1,056 mph; 917 kn; Mach 1.6) at 11,000 m (36,000 ft)

1,350 km/h (840 mph, 730 kn; Mach 1.1) at sea level

Combat range: 725 km (450 mi, 391 nmi) with internal fuel only

Ferry range: 1,700 km (1,100 mi, 920 nmi) with four drop tanks

Service ceiling: 18,100 m (59,400 ft)

g limits: +6.5

Time to altitude: 9,145 m (30,003 ft) in 1 minute 30 seconds

Wing loading: 555 kg/m² (114 lb/sq ft)

Armament

6× hardpoints (four underwing and two under the fuselage) for a total of 2.500 kg (5.500 lb);

Typical interceptor payload:

- two IR-guided R-3 or R-60 air-to-air-missiles or

two PTB-490 drop tanks on the outer underwing stations

- two semi-active radar-guided ‚Saanp’ air-to-air missiles or two more R-3 or R-60 AAMs

on inner underwing stations

- two 500 l drop tanks or two gun pods with a 23 mm GSh-23L autocannon and 200 RPG

each under the fuselage

The kit and its assembly:

This whiffy delta-wing fighter was inspired when I recently sliced up a PM Model Su-15 kit for my side-by-side-engine BAC Lightning build. At an early stage of the conversion, I held the Su-15 fuselage with its molded delta wings in my hand and wondered if a shortened tail section (as well as a shorter overall fuselage to keep proportions balanced) could make a delta-wing jet fighter from the Flagon base? Only a hardware experiment could yield an answer, and since the Su-15’s overall outlines look a bit retro I settled at an early stage on India as potential designer and operator, as “the thing the HF-24 Marut never was”.

True to the initial idea, work started on the tail, and I chopped off the fuselage behind the wings’ trailing edge. Some PSR was necessary to blend the separate exhaust section into the fuselage, which had to be reduced in depth through wedges that I cut out under the wings trailing edge, plus some good amount of glue and sheer force the bend the section a bit upwards. The PM Model's jet exhausts were drilled open, and I added afterburner dummies inside - anything would look better than the bleak vertical walls inside after only 2-3 mm! The original fin was omitted, because it was a bit too large for the new, smaller aircraft and its shape reminded a lot of the Suchoj heavy fighter family. It was replaced with a Mirage III/V fin, left over from a (crappy!) Pioneer 2 IAI Nesher kit.

Once the rear section was complete, I had to adjust the front end - and here the kitbashing started. First, I chopped off the cockpit section in front of the molded air intake - the Su-15’s long radome and the cockpit on top of the fuselage did not work anymore. As a remedy I remembered another Su-15 conversion I did a (long) while ago: I created a model of a planned ground attack derivative, the T-58Sh, and, as a part of the extensive body work, I transplanted the slanted nose from an academy MiG-27 between the air intakes – a stunt that was relatively easy and which appreciably lowered the cockpit position. For the HF-26M I did something similar, I just transplanted a cockpit from a Hasegawa/Academy MiG-23 with its ogival radome that size-wise better matched with the rest of the leftover Su-15 airframe.

The MiG-23 cockpit matched perfectly with the Su-15's front end, just the spinal area behind the cockpit had to be raised/re-sculpted to blend the parts smoothly together. For a different look from the Su-15 ancestry I also transplanted the front sections of the MiG-23 air intakes with their shorter ramps. Some mods had to be made to the Su-15 intake stubs, but the MiG-23 intakes were an almost perfect fit in size and shape and easy to integrate into the modified front hill. The result looks very natural!

However, when the fuselage was complete, I found that the nose appeared to be a bit too long, leaving the whole new hull with the wings somewhat off balance. As a remedy I decided at a rather late stage to shorten the nose and took out a 6 mm section in front of the cockpit - a stunt I had not planned, but sometimes you can judge things only after certain work stages. Some serious PSR was necessary to re-adjust the conical nose shape, which now looked more Mirage III-ish than planned!

The cockpit was taken mostly OOB, I just replaced the ejection seat and gave it a trigger handle made from thin wire. With the basic airframe complete it was time for details. The PM Model Su-15s massive and rather crude main landing gear was replaced with something more delicate from the scrap box, even though I retained the main wheels. The front landing gear was taken wholesale from the MiG-23, but had to be shortened for a proper stance.

A display holder adapter was integrated into the belly for the flight scenes, hidden well between the ventral ordnance.

The hardpoints, including missile launch rails, came from the MiG-23; the pylons had to be adjusted to match the Su-15's wing profile shape, the Anab missiles lost their tail sections to create the fictional Indian 'Saanp' AAMs. The R-3s on the outer stations were left over from a MP MiG-21. The ventral pylons belong to Academy MiG-23/27s, one came from the donor kit, the other was found in the spares box. The PTB-490 drop tanks also came from a KP MiG-21 (or one of its many reincarnations, not certain).

Painting and markings:

The paint scheme for this fictional aircraft was largely inspired by a picture of a whiffy and very attractive Saab 37 Viggen (an 1:72 Airfix kit) in IAF colors, apparently a model from a contest. BTW, India actually considered buying the Viggen for its Air Force!

IAF aircraft were and are known for their exotic and sometimes gawdy paint schemes, and with IAF MiG-21 “C 992” there’s even a very popular (yet obscure) aircraft that sported literal tiger stripes. The IAF Viggen model was surely inspired by this real aircraft, and I adopted something similar for my HF-26M.

IAF 1 Squadron was therefore settled, and for the paint scheme I opted for a "stripish" scheme, but not as "tigeresque" as "C 992". I found a suitable benchmark in a recent Libyian MiG-21, which carried a very disruptive two-tone grey scheme. I adapted this pattern to the HA-26M airframe and replaced its colors, similar to the IAF Viggen model, which became a greenish sand tone (a mix of Humbrol 121 with some 159; I later found out that I could have used Humbrol 83 from the beginning, though...) and a very dark olive drab (Humbrol 66, which looks like a dull dark brown in contrast with the sand tone), with bluish grey (Humbrol 247) undersides. With the large delta wings, this turned out to look very good and even effective!

For that special "Indian touch" I gave the aircraft a high-contrast fin in a design that I had seen on a real camouflaged IAF MiG-21bis: an overall dark green base with a broad, red vertical stripe which was also the shield for the fin flash and the aircraft's tactical code (on the original bare metal). The fin was first painted in green (Humbrol 2), the red stripe was created with orange-red decal sheet material. Similar material was also used to create the bare metal field for the tactical code, the yellow bars on the splitter plates and for the thin white canopy sealing.

After basic painting was done the model received an overall black ink washing, post-panel shading and extensive dry-brushing with aluminum and iron for a rather worn look.

The missiles became classic white, while the drop tanks, as a contrast to the camouflaged belly, were left in bare metal.

Decals/markings came primarily from a Begemot MiG-25 kit, the tactical codes on the fin and under the wings originally belong to an RAF post-WWII Spitfire, just the first serial letter was omitted. Stencils are few and they came from various sources. A compromise is the unit badge on the fin: I needed a tiger motif, and the only suitable option I found was the tiger head emblem on a white disc from RAF No. 74 Squadron, from the Matchbox BAC Lightning F.6&F.2A kit. It fits stylistically well, though. ;-)

Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (except for the black radome, which became a bit glossy) and finally assembled.

A spontaneous build, and the last one that I completed in 2022. However, despite a vague design plan the model evolved as it grew. Bashing the primitive PM Model Su-15 with the Academy MiG-23 parts was easier than expected, though, and the resulting fictional aircraft looks sturdy but quite believable - even though it appears to me like the unexpected child of a Mirage III/F-4 Phantom II intercourse, or like a juvenile CF-105 Arrow, just with mid-wings? Nevertheless, the disruptive paint scheme suits the delta wing fighter well, and the green/red fin is a striking contrast - it's a colorful model, but not garish.

1:72 Potez CM.194 "Magister SS"; aircraft “MT-35” of the 1 Wing, 7 Smaldeel, Belgische Luchtmacht/Force Aérienne Belge; Centre de Perfectionnement, Brustem, 1978 (Whif/Kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu

2

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Fouga CM.170 Magister was a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer aircraft, developed and manufactured by aircraft company Fouga. Due to industrial mergers, the aircraft has been variously known as the Fouga CM.170 Magister, Potez (Fouga) CM.170 Magister, Sud Aviation (Fouga) CM.170 Magister and Aérospatiale (Fouga) CM.170 Magister, depending on where and when they were built.

In 1948, development commenced at Fouga on a new primary trainer aircraft design that harnessed newly developed jet propulsion technology. The initial design was evaluated by the French Air Force and, in response to its determination that the aircraft lacked sufficient power for its requirements, was enlarged and adopted a pair of Turbomeca Marboré turbojet engines. First flying on 23 July 1952, the first production order for the type was received on 13 January 1954. Export orders for the Magister were received, which included arrangements to produce the type under license in Germany, Finland, and Israel. In addition, the related CM.175 Zéphyr was a carrier-capable version developed and produced for the French Navy.

While primarily operated as a trainer aircraft, the Magister was also frequently used in combat as a close air support platform by various operators. In the latter capacity, it saw action during the Six-Day War, the Salvadoran Civil War, the Western Sahara War, and the Congo Crisis. In French service, the Magister was eventually replaced by the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, and a navalized variant (the CM.175 “Zéphyr”) was procured and operated from 1959 onwards by the Aéronavale.

Beyond that, the basic 1950 design was considered for several upgrades or specialized variants – including a high altitude trainer or a dedicated single-seat attack aircraft. In 1957 even a supersonic variant was proposed: the CM.174, which featured swept wings and tail surfaces. However, this initial aircraft never made it to the hardware stage because wind tunnel tests revealed serious compressibility issues at speeds beyond Mach 0.65, and that the potential gain in performance through the new wings could not be tapped.

However, this was not the end of the Magister’s potential; in 1957 Fouga presented a model of the CM 194 at the Paris Air Show – a much updated aircraft, powered by a pair of stronger Gabizo engines and capable of supersonic speed, even though only in a dive. French officials and some potential foreign customers (e.g. Israel) were interested enough to convince Fouga to build a demonstrator, even though as a private venture. The first prototype left the Toulouse factory in May 1958, the first type to bear the Potez designation after Fouga had just been purchased by the firm.

The CM.194 differed in some details from the model that had been presented – primarily in order to save development time and costs. The basic fuselage structure from the original CM.170 was retained, but the CM.194 introduced completely new wings and tail surfaces, a modified landing gear, a pointed nose and an elongated spine fairing that helped improve the aircraft’s aerodynamics for the flight in the Mach 1 region. Power came from a pair of Turbomeca Gabizo, but in order to improve the aircraft’s performance and make it suitable for the advanced jet fighter trainer role, the relatively small engines even received afterburners (an arrangement originally developed for the stillborn Breguet Br 1001 “Taon” tactical fighter). With this extra power, the CM.194 was now able to break the sound barrier in level flight and attain a top speed of Mach 1.18, and the type could carry a considerably higher payload than the original CM.170.

Flight tests started in late 1958 and revealed good handling characteristics, even though longitudinal stability near Mach 1 was considered as unsatisfactory, and the air intakes had to be modified because of airflow problems and engine surges at supersonic. It took until mid 1959 until an enlarged butterfly tail with crescent shape, together with an extended spine fairing, eventually solved the stability problem. The engine surge problem was solved through the introduction of movable shock cones in the air intakes, similar to the “souris” (mice) arrangement on Dassault’s Mirage III and IV.
Two more prototypes had been built at that time, being marketed as the “Magister Supersonique”, or “Magister SS” for short, and a demonstration tour around the globe in many countries of Magister operators was conducted from October 1959 until April 1960.
However, the CM.194 did not meet much interest. Even though many air forces, also smaller ones, were about to enter the supersonic age and were looking for advanced trainers, the market had been conquered by politically endorsed alternatives in the meantime, namely the Northrop T-38/F-5B and the MiG-21U, and these contenders were much more capable than the relatively light CM.194.

Nevertheless, the French air force procured 42 CM.194 trainers, the first operational aircraft being delivered in early 1963, and some other countries ordered the type, too, including Austria, Belgium, Lebanon and Morocco. Israel even secured license production rights of the aircraft as the IAI T-270 “Drowr” (Swallow). A total of 132 aircraft were built until 1974, and the last CM.194 was retired by El Salvador in 1995.

General characteristics:

Crew: Two

Length: 10.36 m (34 ft 0 in)

Wingspan: 8.92 m (29 ft 3 in)

Height: 2.45 m (8 ft)

Wing area: 16.4 m² (177 ft²)

Empty weight: 3,100 kg (6,830 lb)

Loaded weight: 5,440 kg (11,990 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 5,500 kg (12,100 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Turbomeca Gabizo axial flow turbojets, with 11.87 kN (2,668 lbf) dry thrust each

and 14.71 kN (3,307 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,194 km/h (742 mph; 645 kn) at 9,000 m (30,000 ft)

Range: 1,150 km (621 nmi, 715 mi)

Service ceiling: 13,100 m (43,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 30 m/s (6,000 ft/min)

Wing loading: 331 kg/m² (67.8 lb/ft²)

Thrust/weight: 0.42

Armament:

Normally no internal gun, but provision for a ventral, conformal gun pod with a single 0.5” (12.7 mm)

machine gun and 180 RPG

4x underwing hardpoints for up to 1.000kg of ordnance, incl. drop tanks, bombs of up to 250kg caliber,

unguided missiles or gun pods

The kit and its assembly:

This little what-if model is actually based on a real world design – the potentially supersonic Fouga CM 194 was actually presented in model form in 1957, but it never made it to the hardware stage. I found this aircraft in a book about French aircraft projects and had this build on my long project list for a while. When a fellow modeler at whatifmodelers.com (Weaver) presented a very nice swept wing Magister (an Airfix CM 170 with G.91 wings and F-86 stabilizers), I took it as a motivation and prepared a build of my own.

My build differs from Weaver’s approach, though, even though the G.91 wings are a very natural option for the slender Magister. In my case, the fuselage was taken from a Heller CM 170, including the cockpit except for the bucket seats, which were replaced by more appropriate ejection seats. I also used G.91 wings for my build, but these came from the Revell kit. And even though I had a pair of F-86 stabilizers at hand (which are a very good addition to the G.91 wings), I did not use them because I found them to be too small for a butterfly tail on a Magister. After all, two aerodynamic surfaces have to do the job of three on a conservative tail, so that the sum of the surfaces’ areas have to be similar. The best alternative I could find in my donor bank was a pair of stabilizers from a Matchbox Harrier; while their shape looks a little odd, their sweep angle is fine and their size works well.

Beyond these obvious changes, some other modifications ensued. The nose tip was changed into a pointed shape, and the area behind the cockpit (the canopy is OOB, just cut into pieces for open display) was raised through the integration of a drop tank half and some serious PSR – inspired by the look of Fouga’s first attempt to make the Magister supersonic, the CM 174. Since the G.91 wings came with different landing gear wells, I decided to change the landing gear itself and use the G.91’s main struts and covers, while the Magister’s OOB main wheels were kept. The front leg was changed in so far that I attached it to the rear end of its well, and I used a slightly bigger wheel (IIRC from an 1:144 B-1B). All in all the aircraft’s stance was raised, it looks much more mature now. And in order to keep its lines clean I did not add any external weapons or even pylons. After all, it’s a flight trainer.

Another modification concerns the engines – for a supersonic aircraft I added small shock cones in the air intakes (scratched from styrene profile) and I changed the exhaust section, so that bigger/stronger engines would be plausible. I implanted a pair of modified lift engines from a Kangnam Yak-38 kit – I thought they’d be small enough, but on the compact Magister they still appear big! Luckily I found the Br 1001 “Taon” and its afterburner Gabizo engines in literature, so that the arrangement on the model can at least be explained through historical facts. ;-)

Painting and markings:

I was tempted to finish the model in Israeli markings, like Weaver’s, but then rather opted for a different route: I wanted to present the CM 194 in very normal operational colors, nothing exotic. After considering several options (Morocco, El Salvador, France) I eventually settled upon Belgium, and I went for the tactical three-tone scheme that was carried by the F-104 or Mirage V fighter bombers.

The pattern was adapted from an Alpha Jet export scheme and the colors were approximated from photo benchmarks. Many sources claim that the colors are the standard US SEA scheme, consisting of FS 34079, 34102 and 30219. However, the Dark Green is simply wrong (it’s a tone called FS 34064, and it’s a very dark olive drab), and the other colors come out much brighter than on typical US aircraft.

Consequently, FS 34102 was replaced by RAL 6003 (later even post-shaded with Humbrol 80, Grass Green!), while the tan tone is a mix of FS 30219 with Humbrol 94 (Desert Yellow). FS 34064 was created with a 1:1 mix of Humbrol 108 and 91 (later post-shaded with 75). The undersides were painted in FS 36495.

The cockpit interior became dark grey (Revell 77), while the landing struts and the wells were painted in aluminum; the covers’ inside received a finish in Chromate Yellow (Humbrol 81).

The dayglow markings on the tips of wings and the butterfly tail were created with decals sheet material, on top of which some paint (Humbrol 209) was added for a slight shading effect.

Generic decals in silver were also used to create the wing leading edges. National markings and warning stencils come from the scrap box.

Finally, the kit received a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

Well, basically a simple conversion stunt, but it’s actually a complete kitbashing with – in my case – some considerable PSR work. However, the result is a very plausible, if not pretty, aircraft. From certain angles, the swept-wing Magister reminds me of the Alpha Jet (esp. the nose section, probably due to the pointed nose?), and the whole thing appears somehow bigger as it actually is. And I like the paint scheme: even though it’s camouflage, the dayglow markings and the bright insignia and stencils create a lively look.