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New Paint Scheme- Rapid Bus (red), Local Bus (yellow). and Express Bus (blue) liveries on display in Gateway (Patsaouras) Plaza.
Miss Udall's Romany caravan.
Built at the turn of the last century by the Dunton family business in Reading and lived in by the devout Christian Miss Udall for over 40 years at Playden, near Rye, Sussex.
Miss Udall was apparently not a Romany and did not travel in the caravan.
Now fully restored to its original colour scheme.
Weald & Downland Open Air Museum.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the 3rd week of December, 2016.
Standing on the new riverside walkway alongside Seapoint Court, we see construction activity sited along the Ravenswell Road, temporarily closed due to on-going works.
Was back in Oct 2016, I'd noticed some work being carried on here on the 'new' walkway, adjacent to Seapoint Court, and had questioned the cost/efficiency of re-work being done at a later stage.
Well, as it turned out, a bit more work than just a new pathway.
They erected a stone-faced wall with railing to close off/separate one of the side-roads that are Seapoint Court, directly behind the sewage plant.
Can't have people walking from the walkway down into the suburban road, eh?
Mind you, I did surmise, back in the Summertime, about this enclave at the end of the new walkway becoming a mecca for certain 'elements'. Maybe representations were made, and influence exercised, at a local level to create this partition.
A6-EYE Airbus A330-243 Ethiad Airways - Special Manchester City Colour Scheme, on stand at Frankfurt Airport on 22nd June 2014
SILK ROAD JOURNEY TO EGYPT HUNT (0L) June 5TH - 27th
HINT: Group gifts are something I can really get behind!
Before I added the scarf, I was told that this dress looked “German.” I suppose that’s only appropriate since the color scheme for all the outfits this week was inspired by German blogger Strawberry Kitten (aka Nadine).
Cardigan, Bloch. Dress, Jovovich Hawk for Target. Scarf, gift from Londyn. Purple tights, We Love Colors. Striped burgundy tights, Merona. Buckle pumps, Two Lips. Studded cuff, Hot Topic. Bag, Naturalizer (thrifted and vintage).
This is actually a ballet wrap sweater, that I purchased for non-dance wear. I’ve never liked the tie placement (it always looked awkward fastened over anything but a leotard), so I cut them off. I like it much better as an open cardigan. Sometimes, you just have to take the scissors to your clothes.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the fourth week of August, 2016.
Adjacent to The People's Park, a large compound is the site of continuing work along this section of the river. Some of the works are nearing completion.
Access is quite restricted here, and involves shipping material in/out via the entrance further upriver, adjacent to The Slang.
A temporary soil shelf has been laid along this wall-side, to allow better access for vehicles moving materials in and out.
Work here along the riverbank, between Glenwood and The Maltings, involves stabilisation measures (digging out a channel, and dropping in large boulders) intended to reinforce this newly constructed/shaped length of bank.
At the side of the Glenwood Road housing is a little strip of land, which previously culverted a stream. They laid new drainage piping last year. And now, they've neatly finished over with a little waterfall feature. Very pleasing aesthetically. I wonder whether there wlil be public access to a pathway on that opposite bank at some stage, running on towards Killarney Glen?
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the first week of August, 2016.
At the temporary access bridge, directly opposite the Rivervale apartment buildings, and adjacent to the bend in the river where the 'Debris trap' is being constructed.
This little montage features the resident Heron.
Quiet focused creature, and oblivious of nearby workers. Quite camera-sky. Takes to the wing every time I hove into view.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the first week of September, 2016.
Constant traffic nowadays with hard material being trucked in and dumped in storage areas along The Slang/Rehills section of the river bank.
Further work is now being undertaken to upgrade the protection of the riverbank edge with the laying down of extra stone material.
Work has finished on the construction of the 'debris trap' in the river bed, opposite the Rivervale Apartments complex. This work was begun a few years ago, and halted with the creation of a pit, and the placement of (what I like to call) the 8 Dargle Dolmen stones (upright pillars) - 4 of which are immediately visible to the eye.
The ‘Debris Trap’ consists of 12 concrete elliptical shaped columns approximately 1.6m (5ft) high spaced 0.5m apart across the river channel -- essential for trapping any trees or other objects which may flow down the river in flood conditions.
To create proper foundations for the columns, the guys had to drive steel piles deep into the bed of the river. Similar to work done elsewhere. Within that waterproof chamber, they set/poured concrete to build the columns.
That pile driving work here involved a sub-contractor using an excavator-mounted vibratory pile driver – possibly a ‘Movax’ model. That’s the combination they used in 2014 with the work opposite La Vallee.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the first week of December 2016.
There are still considerable levels of traffic here with hard material being trucked out of the Slang/Rehills section of the river bank.
I believe the Council have contracted for the removal and transport of soil material from this site to a new (road) construction site down at Calary.
The previous 'mountains' and terraces are slowly but steadily shrinking.
On occasion, we have seen a line of 13 such trucks lined up first thing in the morning, ready to haul soil.
The Upper Dargle Road, while a minor one, is a busy little throughway, and is especially busy with the morning/evening rush hours.
Introducing such a level of heavy-duty trucks on to this road, where they need to drive in and out of the Slang/Rehills compound, only serves to further aggravate the traffic flows. The entrance to the site is close to a blind bend. Not good.
On a regular basis, we have seen (and felt) the effects of the trucks as they thunder by, particularly the unladen ones returning to pick up another load.
There is the 'speed limit' and then there is 'driving in a manner inappropriate to the road conditions'.
The heavy truck traffic also brings debris and soil on to the road.
The contractors struggle to keep the road washed and swept. And the slow progress of their road-sweeping vehicles, in turn, cause delay and frustration for other road users. Not good.
It's not a good experience, right now, for the residents along this stretch of road.
St Matthew, Portman Road, Ipswich
St John the Baptist on the left tips a gourd or shell over Christ who stands waist-deep in the waters of the Jordan.
In the 1960s, Ipswich went mad. Town planners devised a scheme whereby the population would rise towards half a million, and the existing town centre would be encircled and crossed by urban motorways. They didn't get very far before the men in white coats came and took them away, releasing them into the wild somewhere like Croydon or Wolverhampton; but the towering Civic Centre, the brutalist police station and courts buildings were evidence of their ambitions (the Civic Centre has since been demolished), and the four lane Civic Drive cuts across what was the Mount residential area, the little terraces all demolished to make way for the 20th century.
Now, the new Ipswich plan designates this whole area for residential use, and the civil servants have all moved down to the river. This new plan, if it emerges, can only serve St Matthew well, sitting beside Civic Drive as it does, and cut off from the town centre by it.
St Matthew is, perhaps, less well-known than the other working town centre churches. Partly, this is because it is the only one of them which is kept locked, but also because it is such an effort to get to if you are a visitor. Because of this, many people don't realise that it contains a treasure of national importance. It is the early 16th Century font, which is quite unlike any other in Suffolk, and perhaps is unique in England.
Before we come to it, the church building itself is worth examining. This must once have been quite a small church, but is now a big one. Its core is 15th century, including the lower part of the tower. Nothing else is. Its 19th century expansion can be explained by the proximity of the Ipswich Barracks, for this became the Garrison church. This resulted in the huge aisles, as wide as the nave. The chancel was also rebuilt, but retaining its medieval roof.
Until 1970, the church was hemmed in to the east, but the construction of Civic Drive opened up this view, which isn't a particularly good one, particularly from the north east. It comes as a surprise to find the west end on Portman Road quite so pastoral, but the hidden graveyard surrounding the tower is quite beautiful, and would once have been the familiar view. Ancestor hunters will be horrified to learn that the greater part of the graveyard was built over in the 1960s, with the construction of a church school to the south. All those graves are under the playground now. The part of the graveyard to the east fell foul of the road, and those immediately beyond the chancel were turned into a garden, now the preserve of homeless drinkers. A footpath runs along the north side, which will take you through to the main entrance, the west door, under the tower. You step into a broadly Victorian interior, and find the font in the north aisle.
East Anglia is famous for its Seven Sacrament fonts, 13 of which are in Suffolk. These show the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, and are rare survivals; so much Catholic iconography was destroyed by the Protestant reformers of the 16th century, and the Puritans of the 17th century.
Here at St Matthew, we find an even rarer survival of England's Catholic past; a series of images of events associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Before describing it, I have to make the point that this really is one of the dozen most important and significant medieval art survivals in Suffolk, and one of the finest late medieval fonts in England. There is nothing as good as this in the Victorian and Albert Museum, or in the British Museum. I make this point simply because on every occasion that I have visited, the person accompanying me (they don't let you vist the church on your own) did not seem to realise quite how important the font was, and gave the impression that the parish, though they care for it lovingly, also did not realise what a treasure, what a jewel, they had on the premises. "It's quite pretty," said the lady when I visited in September 2016.
Of the eight panels, two bear Tudor roses, but five of them depict events in the story of Mary, mother of Jesus. These five reliefs, and a sixth of the Baptism of Christ, are amazing art objects. They show the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin, The Adoration of the Magi, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the Coronation of the Queen of Heaven, and the Mother of God Enthroned. The guide books all describe these as the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. In fact, this is technically not the case, although certainly the font was intended for use in rosary meditations. After extensive research, the late John Blatchly showed convincingly that this font was paid for by the Rector John Bailey to celebrate the Miracle of the Maid of Ipswich, which occured in the parish in 1516 and was held in renown all over England in the few short years left before the Reformation intervened.
We know that the rosary was a hugely popular devotion in medieval England, and that a persons 'bedes' were their most valued possession. They played a major part in personal devotion, but were also important as a way of participating in the liturgy, and an expression of communal piety. Most pre-Reformation memorials show people holding their rosary beads. However, what we now think of as the Rosary sequence only dates from the 14th century or so, and was only one among many - the so-called Dominican Rosary, which is now the predominant meditation. The rosary was greatly popularised in England by St Thomas of Canterbury in the 12th century, who devised a series of seven joyful mysteries, including the Adoration of the Magi and the Assumption. Most sequences were of five meditations, and we must presume that this is what we find here. In time, the Joyful Mysteries would come to be Mary's earthly experiences, and the Glorious Mysteries her heavenly ones.
Because personal devotion was considered a diversion from congregational worship, and Marian devotion was thought superstitious, the rosary was completely anathematised by the 16th century Protestant reformers, and attempts were made to write it out of history, by destroying images of it. Within forty years of this font being produced, possession of rosary beads was punishable by death in England.
The survival of an image of the Assumption is particularly interesting. We still have much surviving evidence of religious life in England before the Church of England came along, but it does not really reveal to us the relative significance of different devotions, simply because some of the major cults and their images - St Thomas of Canterbury, for instance - were ruthlessly rooted out and destroyed. The Assumption is another case in point. 15th and early 16th century wills and bequests reveal a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin, particularly to the feast of the Assumption, which is celebrated on August 15th.
This is at the height of the harvest, of course, and it is not difficult to see the connection between this feast and the culmination of the farming year, or the importance to farmworkers of a festival at this time. More than 200 Suffolk parish churches were dedicated to the Assumption. When the dedications of Anglican churches were restored in the 19th century, after several centuries of disuse, these generally became 'St Mary', although some have been restored correctly since, notably Ufford. The Church of England, of course, does not recognise the doctrine of the Assumption.
Of equal significance are the other images, of course; extraordinary survivals. And why the Baptism of Christ? In fact, this is the most common 'odd panel out' on the Seven Sacrament fonts, and shows us the significance of 'anointing to serve' in the medieval church. The medieval church didn't see Baptism as a mere naming ceremony, or welcoming ceremony, as so many people seem to do today. It was the sacrament by which people received their commission as Christians.
The north aisle also retains panels from the rood screen, built into a 19th century screen.You might miss these, because chairs are stacked against them. Three of the panels show bishops, and the other two show cheering crowds of seven and nine people respectively. I do not think that these can be in their original configuration. Roy Tricker thought that the crowds were portraits of parishioners, but I have seen elsewhere a suggestion that this may have been the screen to the chantry altar of the guild of Erasmus, which was established here.
There is clear evidence of the location of at least one nave altar, since a squint kicks in from the north aisle. There are two good 17th century wall memorials in the chancel, the best being to Anthony Penning and his wife, depicting their children weeping, some holding skulls to show that they pre-deceased their parents.
Much of the 19th century woodwork is from the workshops of two major 19th century Ipswich carpenters, Henry Ringham and John Corder. Ringham's work can be found in several Suffolk churches, most notably St Mary le Tower and Great Bealings, while Corder was an architect responsible for several restorations, including Swilland. Both have Ipswich roads named after them.
The church has an extensive collection of late 19th and early 20th Century glass, not all of it good, but happily by a wide variety of workshops. The great curiosity is the window in the east end of the south aisle, which depicts Jane Trimmer Gaye, wife of a 19th Century Rector, flanked by female members of her husband's flock with images of birth and death. It was designed by her brother Frank Howard, and made by George Hedgeland. Another oddity is Percy Bacon's Christ flanked by St Edmund and St Felix - for the last hundred years the Saints have stood there with their names transposed.
There is a frankly functional modern screen, with a curious Anglo-catholic style rood, which looks most out of place, for St Matthew today is very much in the evangelical tradition. But the lady who allowed me entry thought it 'nice', so I expect nobody minds.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the first week of May, 2016. 14 months previously we'd watched low-level maintenance work on the opposite banks, and (I) predicted that destabilised sections might be a problem. To address the serious problem of surface runoff/seepage destabilising the bank structure, they excavate and lay out a drainage pipe system, to better channel the water and slow down the erosion of the banks. The section of this bank, directly opposite the apartment complex, was critically exposed after the winter rains. The roots of many trees were exposed, with the bank itself starting to rapidly erode. Specific work involved the removal of soil, back-filling with large boulders, integrated drainage system, and finally re-facing with new soil.One has to wonder at some of the wasted effort - remember the 'carpet strips' painstakingly installed through 'soil stitching' process in Sept 2012. The evidence is there in my previous picture galleries.
Taken as a B&W image, late model First WoE Dart 42965 WX06OMZ is seen in Haymarket in central Bristol on 17 May 2014. This vehicle has worn a few liveries with First rail-link, standard barbie and now the mint livery for service 5, but this was #3 with the Express Yourself livery for relaunched services to Portishead and other North Somerset locations.
It would soon be displaced by new Streetlites.
Slightly too dangerous colour scheme that didn't work meant that i had to change the whole piece when i was nearly done so i kinda ran out of ideas and colours.
This one was the rescued version hense the repeat black n' red from saturday..
shame on me.
full joiner on the site..
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the last full week of September, 2016.
Constant traffic nowadays with hard material being trucked in and dumped in storage areas along The Slang/Rehills section of the river bank.
By now we shouldn't be surprised by anything, having seen so many changes and reversals to work previously carried out and completed during the past 4.5 years.
But we were baffled when they started to dump fresh loads of filtered soil in an area of the bank previously finished and properly landscaped.
On the top of the bank, directly opposite the La Vallee complex, the contractors proceeded to open up, and strip away, a renewed access ramp leading back towards the Riversdale complex.
'Here We Go Again'!
Obviously this would require further investigation.
Sure enough, when we checked out the stretch opposite the Riversdale apartment complex, we saw them working on a section of the opposite bank.
Some 4 years ago this steep part of the bank had been stripped away and a lot of work invested in 'soil stitching', intended to stabilise the integrity of such a steep, but 'exposed' bank. The soil on the hill behind had been prone to slippage, aggravated by shallow rooting trees etc.
It would seem that yet another strip will have to be similarly treated to 'preserve' it's integrity.
Yea, it begs the question:
Why wasn't this fully scoped when the first work was being implemented, and/or was it a factor is causing (what I call) erosion-spread?
Check out the images here, taken in August 2012:
Before having almost no time to get ready and rush out the door, I was told the Indiana RR SD90/43MACs where being held for rush at Rondout, waiting to head south on CP 284. With doubts of catching them swarming my mind, we were lucky enough that CP had one of the worse dispatchers on duty. Flying off I-355, onto and off I-94, and then onto York heading North, we saw a Coca-Cola type of paint scheme sitting at Irving Park Rd. All of our doubts where relieved when the Dynamic Duo was spotted. Now, we play the waiting game. Three trains went by on the CP, and two on the "New-New" Milwaukee Sub. "CP 284 signal indication after the scoot". The five of us waiting at Roosevelt Rd. (Now pretty much not a road) got treated to this pair of locomotives with the color scheme matching the season! Bensenville, IL 12-22-12
The scheme for my block in Sew Out Loud QAL:
www.flickr.com/photos/jednoiglec/6870474303/in/pool-19042...
Kirie from Shape Moth help me with this:) she's amazing!
SD45 6524 is bringing up the rear on the train through Lagrange, and about to pass under its former owners trackage. This is the ex :BN 6538.
While I always thought the KCS gray scheme was decent, there is no question the Belle scheme that replaced it was a massive improvement. Here a worn former TFM AC4400 sits tied down at on the point of a unit steel train at Texas Junction, Louisiana. It's good to get a few final shots of the grays, but this one will be looking much sharper after a visit to the paint booth.
+++ 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 CAC Sabre, sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CA-27, was an Australian variant of the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre fighter aircraft. In 1951, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation obtained a license agreement to build the F-86F Sabre. In a major departure from the North American blueprint, it was decided that the CA-27 would be powered by a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.7, rather than the General Electric J47. In theory, the Avon was capable of more than double the maximum thrust and double the thrust-to-weight ratio of the US engine. This necessitated a re-design of the fuselage, as the Avon was shorter, wider and lighter than the J47.
To accommodate the Avon, over 60 percent of the fuselage was altered and there was a 25 percent increase in the size of the air intake. Another major revision was in replacing the F-86F's six machine guns with two 30mm ADEN cannon, while other changes were also made to the cockpit and to provide an increased fuel capacity.
The prototype aircraft first flew on 3 August 1953. The production aircrafts' first deliveries to the Royal Australian Air Force began in 1954. The first batch of aircraft were powered by the Avon 20 engine and were designated the Sabre Mk 30. Between 1957 and 1958 this batch had the wing slats removed and were re-designated Sabre Mk 31. These Sabres were supplemented by 20 new-built aircraft. The last batch of aircraft were designated Sabre Mk 32 and used the Avon 26 engine, of which 69 were built up to 1961.
Beyond these land-based versions, an indigenous version for carrier operations had been developed and built in small numbers, too, the Sea Sabre Mk 40 and 41. The roots of this aircraft, which was rather a prestigious idea than a sensible project, could be traced back to the immediate post WWII era. A review by the Australian Government's Defence Committee recommended that the post-war forces of the RAN be structured around a Task Force incorporating multiple aircraft carriers. Initial plans were for three carriers, with two active and a third in reserve, although funding cuts led to the purchase of only two carriers in June 1947: Majestic and sister ship HMS Terrible, for the combined cost of AU£2.75 million, plus stores, fuel, and ammunition. As Terrible was the closer of the two ships to completion, she was finished without modification, and was commissioned into the RAN on 16 December 1948 as HMAS Sydney. Work progressed on Majestic at a slower rate, as she was upgraded with the latest technology and equipment. To cover Majestic's absence, the Colossus-class carrier HMS Vengeance was loaned to the RAN from 13 November 1952 until 12 August 1955.
Labour difficulties, late delivery of equipment, additional requirements for Australian operations, and the prioritization of merchant ships over naval construction delayed the completion of Majestic. Incorporation of new systems and enhancements caused the cost of the RAN carrier acquisition program to increase to AU£8.3 million. Construction and fitting out did not finish until October 1955. As the carrier neared completion, a commissioning crew was formed in Australia and first used to return Vengeance to the United Kingdom.
The completed carrier was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Majestic on 26 October 1955, but only two days later, the ship was renamed Melbourne and recommissioned.
In the meantime, the rather political decision had been made to equip Melbourne with an indigenous jet-powered aircraft, replacing the piston-driven Hawker Fury that had been successfully operated from HMAS Sydney and HMAS Vengeance, so that the "new jet age" was even more recognizable. The choice fell on the CAC Sabre, certainly inspired by North American's successful contemporary development of the navalized FJ-2 Fury from the land-based F-86 Sabre. The CAC 27 was already a proven design, and with its more powerful Avon engine it even offered a better suitability for carrier operations than the FJ-2 with its rather weak J47 engine.
Work on this project, which was initially simply designated Sabre Mk 40, started in 1954, just when the first CAC 27's were delivered to operative RAAF units. While the navalized Avon Sabre differed outwardly only little from its land-based brethren, many details were changed and locally developed. Therefore, there was also, beyond the general outlines, little in common with the North American FJ-2 an -3 Fury.
Externally, a completely new wing with a folding mechanism was fitted. It was based on the F-86's so-called "6-3" wing, with a leading edge that was extended 6 inches at the root and 3 inches at the tip. This modification enhanced maneuverability at the expense of a small increase in landing speed due to deletion of the leading edge slats, a detail that was later introduced on the Sabre Mk 31, too. As a side benefit, the new wing leading edges without the slat mechanisms held extra fuel. However, the Mk 40's wing was different as camber was applied to the underside of the leading edge to improve low-speed handling for carrier operations. The wings were provided with four stations outboard of the landing gear wells for up to 1000 lb external loads on the inboard stations and 500 lb on the outboard stations.
Slightly larger stabilizers were fitted and the landing gear was strengthened, including a longer front wheel strut. The latter necessitated an enlarged front wheel well, so that the front leg’s attachment point had to be moved forward. A ventral launch cable hook was added under the wing roots and an external massive arrester hook under the rear fuselage.
Internally, systems were protected against salt and humidity and a Rolls-Royce Avon 211 turbojet was fitted, a downrated variant of the already navalized Avon 208 from the British DH Sea Vixen, but adapted to the different CAC 27 airframe and delivering 8.000 lbf (35.5 kN) thrust – slightly more than the engines of the land-based CAC Sabres, but also without an afterburner.
A single Mk 40 prototype was built from a new CAC 27 airframe taken directly from the production line in early 1955 and made its maiden flight on August 20th of the same year. In order to reflect its naval nature and its ancestry, this new CAC 27 variant was officially christened “Sea Sabre”.
Even though the modified machine handled well, and the new, cambered wing proved to be effective, many minor technical flaws were discovered and delayed the aircraft's development until 1957. These included the wing folding mechanism and the respective fuel plumbing connections, the landing gear, which had to be beefed up even more for hard carrier landings and the airframe’s structural strength for catapult launches, esp. around the ventral launch hook.
In the meantime, work on the land-based CAC 27 progressed in parallel, too, and innovations that led to the Mk 31 and 32 were also incorporated into the naval Mk 40, leading to the Sea Sabre Mk 41, which became the effective production aircraft. These updates included, among others, a detachable (but fixed) refueling probe under the starboard wing, two more pylons for light loads located under the wing roots and the capability to carry and deploy IR-guided AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, what significantly increased the Mk 41's efficiency as day fighter. With all these constant changes it took until April 1958 that the Sabre Mk 41, after a second prototype had been directly built to the new standard, was finally approved and cleared for production. Upon delivery, the RAN Sea Sabres carried a standard NATO paint scheme with Extra Dark Sea Grey upper surfaces and Sky undersides.
In the meantime, the political enthusiasm concerning the Australian carrier fleet had waned, so that only twenty-two aircraft were ordered. The reason behind this decision was that Australia’s carrier fleet and its capacity had become severely reduced: Following the first decommissioning of HMAS Sydney in 1958, Melbourne became the only aircraft carrier in Australian service, and she was unavailable to provide air cover for the RAN for up to four months in every year; this time was required for refits, refueling, personnel leave, and non-carrier duties, such as the transportation of troops or aircraft. Although one of the largest ships to serve in the RAN, Melbourne was one of the smallest carriers to operate in the post-World War II period, so that its contribution to military actions was rather limited. To make matters worse, a decision was made in 1959 to restrict Melbourne's role to helicopter operations only, rendering any carrier-based aircraft in Australian service obsolete. However, this decision was reversed shortly before its planned 1963 implementation, but Australia’s fleet of carrier-borne fixed-wing aircraft would not grow to proportions envisioned 10 years ago.
Nevertheless, on 10 November 1964, an AU£212 million increase in defense spending included the purchase of new aircraft for Melbourne. The RAN planned to acquire 14 Grumman S-2E Tracker anti-submarine aircraft and to modernize Melbourne to operate these. The acquisition of 18 new fighter-bombers was suggested (either Sea Sabre Mk 41s or the American Douglas A-4 Skyhawk), too, but these were dropped from the initial plan. A separate proposal to order 10 A-4G Skyhawks, a variant of the Skyhawk designed specifically for the RAN and optimized for air defense, was approved in 1965, but the new aircraft did not fly from Melbourne until the conclusion of her refit in 1969. This move, however, precluded the production of any new and further Sea Sabre.
At that time, the RAN Sea Sabres received a new livery in US Navy style, with upper surfaces in Light Gull Gray with white undersides. The CAC Sea Sabres remained the main day fighter and attack aircraft for the RAN, after the vintage Sea Furies had been retired in 1962. The other contemporary RAN fighter type in service, the Sea Venom FAW.53 all-weather fighter that had replaced the Furies, already showed its obsolescence.
In 1969, the RAN purchased another ten A-4G Skyhawks, primarily in order to replace the Sea Venoms on the carriers, instead of the proposed seventh and eighth Oberon-class submarines. These were operated together with the Sea Sabres in mixed units on board of Melbourne and from land bases, e.g. from NAS Nowra in New South Wales, where a number of Sea Sabres were also allocated to 724 Squadron for operational training.
Around 1970, Melbourne operated a standard air group of four jet aircraft, six Trackers, and ten Wessex helicopters until 1972, when the Wessexes were replaced with ten Westland Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters and the number of jet fighters doubled. Even though the A-4G’s more and more took over the operational duties on board of Melbourne, the Sea Sabres were still frequently deployed on the carrier, too, until the early Eighties, when both the Skyhawks and the Sea Sabres received once more a new camouflage, this time a wraparound scheme in two shades of grey, reflecting their primary airspace defense mission.
The CAC 27 Mk 41s’ last carrier operations took place in 1981 in the course of Melbourne’s involvements in two major exercises, Sea Hawk and Kangaroo 81, the ship’s final missions at sea. After Melbourne was decommissioned in 1984, the Fleet Air Arm ceased fixed-wing combat aircraft operation. This was the operational end of the Sabre Mk 41, which had reached the end of their airframe lifetime, and the Sea Sabre fleet had, during its career, severely suffered from accidents and losses: upon retirement, only eight of the original twenty-two aircraft still existed in flightworthy condition, so that the aircraft were all scrapped. The younger RAN A-4Gs were eventually sold to New Zealand, where they were kept in service until 2002.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft 1 in (11.3 m)
Height: 14 ft 5 in (4.39 m)
Wing area: 302.3 sq ft (28.1 m²)
Empty weight: 12,000 lb (5,443 kg)
Loaded weight: 16,000 lb (7,256 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 21,210 lb (9,621 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Avon 208A turbojet engine with 8,200 lbf (36.44 kN)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 700 mph (1,100 km/h) (605 knots)
Range: 1,153 mi, (1,000 NM, 1,850 km)
Service ceiling: 52,000 ft (15,850 m)
Rate of climb: 12,000 ft/min at sea level (61 m/s)
Armament:
2× 30 mm ADEN cannons with 150 rounds per gun
5,300 lb (2,400 kg) of payload on six external hardpoints;
Bombs were usually mounted on outer two pylons as the mid pair were wet-plumbed pylons for
2× 200 gallons drop tanks, while the inner pair was usually occupied by a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder
AAMs
A wide variety of bombs could be carried with maximum standard loadout being 2x 1,000 lb bombs
or 2x Matra pods with unguided SURA missiles plus 2 drop tanks for ground attacks, or 2x AIM-9 plus
two drop tanks as day fighter
The kit and its assembly:
This project was initially inspired by a set of decals from an ESCI A-4G which I had bought in a lot – I wondered if I could use it for a submission to the “In the navy” group build at whatifmodelers.com in early 2020. I considered an FJ-3M in Australian colors on this basis and had stashed away a Sword kit of that aircraft for this purpose. However, I had already built an FJ variant for the GB (a kitbashed mix of an F-86D and an FJ-4B in USMC colors), and was reluctant to add another Fury.
This spontaneously changed after (thanks to Corona virus quarantine…) I cleaned up one of my kit hoards and found a conversion set for a 1:72 CAC 27 from JAYS Model Kits which I had bought eons ago without a concrete plan. That was the eventual trigger to spin the RAN Fury idea further – why not a navalized version of the Avon Sabre for HMAS Melbourne?
The result is either another kitbash or a highly modified FJ-3M from Sword. The JAYS Model Kits set comes with a THICK sprue that carries two fuselage halves and an air intake, and it also offers a vacu canopy as a thin fallback option because the set is actually intended to be used together with a Hobby Craft F-86F.
While the parts, molded in a somewhat waxy and brittle styrene, look crude on the massive sprue, the fuselage halves come with very fine recessed engravings. And once you have cleaned the parts (NOTHING for people faint at heart, a mini drill with a saw blade is highly recommended), their fit is surprisingly good. The air intake was so exact that no putty was needed to blend it with the rest of the fuselage.
The rest came from the Sword kit and integrating the parts into the CAC 27 fuselage went more smoothly than expected. For instance, the FJ-3M comes with a nice cockpit tub that also holds a full air intake duct. Thanks to the slightly wider fuselage of the CAC 27, it could be mounted into the new fuselage halves without problems and the intake duct almost perfectly matches the intake frame from the conversion set. The tailpipe could be easily integrated without any mods, too. The fins had to be glued directly to the fuselage – but this is the way how the Sword kit is actually constructed! Even the FJ-3M’s wings match the different fuselage perfectly. The only modifications I had to make is a slight enlargement of the ventral wing opening at the front and at the read in order to take the deeper wing element from the Sword kit, but that was an easy task. Once in place, the parts blend almost perfectly into each other, just minor PSR was necessary to hide the seams!
Other mods include an extended front wheel well for the longer leg from the FJ-3M and a scratched arrester hook installation, made from wire, which is on purpose different from the Y-shaped hook of the Furies.
For the canopy I relied on the vacu piece that came with the JAYS set. Fitting it was not easy, though, it took some PSR to blend the windscreen into the rest of the fuselage. Not perfect, but O.K. for such a solution from a conversion set.
The underwing pylons were taken from the Sword kit, including the early Sidewinders. I just replaced the drop tanks – the OOB tanks are very wide, and even though they might be authentic for the FJ-3, I was skeptical if they fit at all under the wings with the landing gear extended? In order to avoid trouble and for a more modern look, I replaced them outright with more slender tanks, which were to mimic A-4 tanks (USN FJ-4s frequently carried Skyhawk tanks). They actually come from a Revell F-16 kit, with modified fins. The refueling probe comes from the Sword kit.
A last word about the Sword kit: much light, but also much shadow. While I appreciate the fine surface engravings, the recognizably cambered wings, a detailed cockpit with a two-piece resin seat and a pretty landing gear as well as the long air intake, I wonder why the creators totally failed to provide ANY detail of the arrester hook (there is literally nothing, as if this was a land-based Sabre variant!?) or went for doubtful solutions like a front landing gear that consists of five(!) single, tiny parts? Sadism? The resin seat was also broken (despite being packed in a seperate bag), and it did not fit into the cockpit tub at all. Meh!
Painting and markings:
From the start I planned to give the model the late RAN A-4Gs’ unique air superiority paint scheme, which was AFAIK introduced in the late Seventies: a two-tone wraparound scheme consisting of “Light Admiralty Grey” (BS381C 697) and “Aircraft Grey” (BS 381C 693). Quite simple, but finding suitable paints was not an easy task, and I based my choice on pictures of the real aircraft (esp. from "buzz" number 880 at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, you find pics of it with very good light condition) rather than rely on (pretty doubtful if not contradictive) recommendations in various painting instructions from models or decal sets.
I wanted to keep things simple and settled upon Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231) and Light Blue (FS 35414), both enamel colors from Modelmaster, since both are rather dull interpretations of these tones. Esp. the Light Blue comes quite close to Light Admiralty Grey, even though it should be lighter for more contrast to the darker grey tone. But it has that subtle greenish touch of the original BS tone, and I did not want to mix the colors.
The pattern was adapted from the late A-4Gs’ scheme, and the colors were dulled down even more through a light black ink wash. Some post-shading with lighter tones emphasized the contrast between the two colors again. And while it is not an exact representation of the unique RAN air superiority scheme, I think that the overall impression is there.
The cockpit interior was painted in very dark grey, while the landing gear, its wells and the inside of the air intake became white. A red rim was painted around the front opening, and the landing gear covers received a red outline, too. The white drop tanks are a detail I took from real world RAN A-4Gs - in the early days of the air superiority scheme, the tanks were frequently still finished in the old USN style livery, hence the white body but fins and tail section already in the updated colors.
The decals became a fight, though. As mentioned above, the came from an ESCI kit – and, as expected, the were brittle. All decals with a clear carrier film disintegrated while soaking in water, only those with a fully printed carrier film were more or less usable. One roundel broke and had to be repaired, and the checkered fin flash was a very delicate affair that broke several times, even though I tried to save and repair it with paint. But you can unfortunately see the damage.
Most stencils and some replacements (e. g. the “Navy” tag) come from the Sword FJ-3. While these decals are crisply printed, their carrier film is utterly thin, so thin that applying esp. the larger decals turned out to be hazardous and complicated. Another point that did not really convince me about the Sword kit.
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some soot stains were added around the exhaust and the gun ports with graphite.
In the end, this build looks, despite the troubles and the rather exotic ingredients like a relatively simple Sabre with Australian markings, just with a different Navy livery. You neither immediately recognize the FJ-3 behind it, nor the Avon Sabre’s bigger fuselage, unless you take a close and probably educated look. Very subtle, though.
The RAN air superiority scheme from the late Skyhawks suits the Sabre/Fury-thing well – I like the fact that it is a modern fighter scheme, but, thanks to the tones and the colorful other markings, not as dull and boring like many others, e. g. the contemporary USN "Ghost" scheme. Made me wonder about an early RAAF F-18 in this livery - should look very pretty, too?
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the fourth week of September, 2016.
On a rare trip down to the Harbour area, just to check out progress here. Throughout the summer, this is where the heavy-duty engineering works have been taking place.
This is a section of the flood protection scheme that I have pretty much ignored -- it's inconvenient for me to access, and others cover it much better.
Check out 'Turgidson'.
Looking upriver, towards the People's Park, standing on the 'Fran O'Toole Bridge' with the new boardwalk under construction.
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Bray gets a riverside boardwalk as part of the final element of the River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
The boardwalk - similar to the one along the River Liffey in Dublin city centre - will be incorporated into the wall beside the Fran O Toole Bridge.
It will connect Castle Street to the Peoples Park and will be a welcome added amenity for Bray.
The boardwalk forms part of the final large works package for the River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
This part of the scheme runs from the People's Park to the Railway Bridge on the Little Bray side of the river.
The works consist of curved sheet piled walls approaching the railway bridge which will be faced with masonry and the construction of footpaths in this area.
There will also be a stone faced sheet pile wall along the Lower Dargle Road from beside the Fran O'Toole Bridge to the Peoples Park.
The work is very timely as part of the existing inner wall alongside the Lower Dargle Road was severely undermined and collapsed during a storm which occurred just before Christmas.
When the project is completed, Bray will be protected from a one-in-one-hundred year storm, including all the floods of the sort that would have ravaged the town in the 20th century, and a one-in-200 year tidal event.
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These images shows the skeleton of the structure 'hanging' from the upgraded stone-clad wall, adjacent to Upper Dargle Road.
This part of the scheme runs from the People's Park to the Railway Bridge on the Little Bray side of the river.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the third week of August, 2016.
Constant traffic nowadays with hard material being trucked in and dumped in storage areas along The Slang/Rehills section of the river bank.
Further work is now being undertaken to upgrade the protection of the riverbank edge with the laying down of extra stone material.
At the same time, the guys are working (or playing?) on changing the profile of the stepped terrace along the face of the Slang/Rehills section.
Seems like every time they do this, and we believe it is a 'finished' piece of work, they confound us later by ripping it up all over again.
I know there is value in maintaining this area as a smooth accessible strip. But the degree of attention they apply to this is then wasted by the randomness with which they undo all the previous work.
I call it the 'Biggest Sandpit/Playarea' in Wicklow, in Leinster, in Ireland.
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The River Dargle is a valuable salmon and sea-trout fishery.
Wicklow County Council, in planning the Dargle flood relief scheme have taken cognisance of this fact and have worked closely with Inland Fisheries Ireland, from the planning phase of this project, to ensure that the flood relief programme will not have negative consequences for this valuable fishery.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the second week of September, 2016.
On one of my infrequent trips down to the Harbour area, just to check out progress here. Throughout the summer, this is where the heavy-duty engineering works have been taking place.
This is a section of the flood protection scheme that I have pretty much ignored -- it's inconvenient for me to access, and others cover it much better.
Check out 'Turgidson'.
Standing on the new riverside walkway alongside Seapoint Court, we see construction activity sited along the Ravenswell Road, temporarily closed due to on-going works.
That is the site of the old Bray Golf Club -- hotly contested as a (potentially) poorly considered as a site for a shopping centre development complex, and still an area of ground that has to act as a flood plain in the event of tidal surges.
As well as raising a heightened flood protection wall, they've created an access ramp down to the riverside. Further temporary soil shelves have been laid to allow construction machines to work alongside the riverbed. That access is critical to pursue work on the nearby Irish Rail bridge.
The area in the background, site of the old Bray Golf course, is both a works compound and vehicle route for the transportation of material to/from the other sectors along the River Dargle innvolved in construction works.
The Irish Rail Bridge, Bray Harbour:
Phase 1 flood defence works to the Irish Rail bridge commenced in August 2016.
Phase 2 flood defence works will be completed during May to September 2017. This work is being undertaken directly by Irish Rail.
The work includes strengthening the integrity of the bridge by creating buttresses around the base of each pillar.
To do this they have to pile-drive sheets into the river bedrock.
The work is complicated by;
(a) the need not to damage or disturb in any way the actual bridge itself (Irish Rail train and DART carriages pass overhead on an hourly basis), (b) the confined spaces under the bridge, and (c) the twice-daily rising tides from Bray Harbour which spill upriver into the newly expanded basin.
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A four-arch Bray Bridge was constructed in 1666, but this collapsed in 1741 and was replaced by a new bridge within the same year.
The 1741 bridge was replaced in 1856 by a new three-arch bridge designed by Mr Henry Brett.
The bridge was built by David Edge, and it bore his name.
The bridge was renamed on 5th July 2015 in honour of Bray resident Fran O'Toole, who was the lead singer with the Miami showband.
Three members of the showband were killed outside Newry in 1976, including Fran O'Toole.
The Railway Bridge downstream was built in 1853, a year prior to the opening of the railway between Dublin and Bray.
The railway company had to narrow the channel of the river and build a small shipping dock.
Between Bray Bridge and the Railway Bridge there was a wooden footbridge linking Ravenswell Road and the Seapoint Road, this bridge was built at the time of the railway coming to Bray.
It closed in 1870 and was removed shortly afterwards.
"The Little Book of Bray and Enniskerry" by Brian White.
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