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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 Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid-1930s. It was one of the first truly modern fighters of the era, including such features as all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, a retractable landing gear, and was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.
The Bf 109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. From the end of 1941 the Bf 109 was supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
Originally conceived as an interceptor, later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to and operated by several states during World War II, and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 was the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 airframes produced from 1936 up to April 1945.
After the success of the Bf 109's demonstration at the meeting of Zürich in 1937, the idea came up to develop an export version of the Bf 109 but with a different engine than the DB 601. The engine chosen was the P&W "Twin Wasp" SC-G of 1200 hp. The Messerschmitt company received a contract from RLM/LC on 13 June 1938 to fit the P&W Twin Wasp on the Bf 109 V21 Werknummer 1770 (D-IFKQ). Even the maiden flight date is not known; it is established that Hermann Wurster flew it at Augsburg on 17 August 1939. In September 1940 it was part of the DVL (Deutsche Versuchtanstalt für Luftfahrt) at Brauschweig-Völkenrode with the Stammkennzeichen code KB+II. Its end is not known, and due to WWII hostilities this initial conversion was not followed further.
Anyway, as the BMW 801 radial engine became available, a Bf 109F, Werknummer 5608, callsign D-ITXP was converted with a BMW 801 A-0. This aircraft became a prototype for the Bf 109X, how the export version was now called. The fuselage had a wider cross-section, and a new canopy with a lowered spine was fitted. The wing tips were akin to that of the Bf 109E.
The prototype was first flown by Flugkapitän Fritz Wendel on 2 September 1940, and the test flights continued despite troubles with the BMW 801A powerplant. Development carried on and from late 1941 on the Bf 109X was presented to German allies as well as some neutral states like Turkey and Sweden.
Japan showed great interest for license production on the Asian continent, and in July 1942 an agreement for production of the Bf 109X at Mansyū (Manshūkoku Hikōki K.K. - Manchurian Aeroplane Manufacturing Company Ltd., a subsidiary of Nakajima) under the re-used Ki-63 designation,a version of the Nakajima Ki-62 that would have been powered by the 1,050hp Mitsubishi Ha-102 radial engine but which was abandoned in late 1941.
Plans and jigs were quickly transferred, but unfortunately the license production of the BMW 801 was not permitted - the aircraft had to be outfitted with a domestic radial engine.
This was both a blessing and a curse - the heavy BMW 801 severely hampered the light aircraft's handling (one of the main criticism of the Japanese pilots who preferred agility to speed and even fire power), but the only available replacement option that could be easily mounted without major re-design of the forward fuselage was the Nakajima Sakae two-row, 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine.
The result was the Ki-63甲 (Kō, 'a'), which was modified to carry a Nakajima Ha35 Model 24 radial, with 1.150 hp (858 kW) output which could be boosted to 1.250 hp (930 kW) with water-methanol injection. Even though the power output was much less than the BMW 801's 1.700 hp, the resulting aircraft was rushed into production.
The Ki-63 had a maximum speed of 565 km/h (351 mph) at 6,000 meters and reached that altitude in 7:01 minutes. It carried two 20mm cannons in the wings as well as a pair of synchronized 12.7mm machine guns above the engine, plus up to 318kg ordnance (a drop tank or a single bomb) under the fuselage.
About 90 Ki-63s were built - 50 were delivered directly to the Manchukuo Imperial Air Force (Chinese: 大満州帝国空軍; pinyin: Dà Mǎnzhōu Dìguó Kōngjūn), where it started replacing the Manchukuo Air Force's main aircraft, the obsolete Nakajima Ki-27b "Nate" light fighter. Money to pay for these fighters was donated”by various Japanese companies based in Manchukuo.
15 Ki-63s were delieverd to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Arm for evaluation and about 20 entered service with the Royal Thai Air Force.
The Ki-63 was never popular in service, though. Its performance was not outstanding, and keeping its Bf 109 ancestry and flaws like the narrow main wheel track, many aircraft were lost in taxiing accidents.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 8.55 m (28 ft 0⅝ in)
Wingspan: 8.60 m (28 ft 2½ in)
Height: 3.30 m (10 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 12.4 m² (133.47 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,640 kg (3,616 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,580 kg (5,688 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 2,880 kg (6,349 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Nakajima Ha-35 Type 24 air-cooled,two-row fourteen cylinder radial engine,
rated at 1.150 hp (858 kW), boosted to 1.250 hp (930 kW) with water-methanol injection
Performance:
Maximum speed: of 565 km/h (351 mph) at 6,000 meters
Cruise speed: 350 km/h (188 kn, 217 mph)
Range: 1,200 km (648 nmi, 746 mi)
Armament:
2× 20 mm Ho-5 cannons in the outer wings, 120 rpg each
2× 12,7 mm (0.50 in) Ho-103 machine guns above the engine, 250 rpg each
318kg ordnance (a drop tank of a single bomb) under the fuselage.
The kit and its assembly:
This whiffy whif was a spontaneous idea, when I wondered what non-Japanese aircraft could plausibly wear Manchukuo markings? A German type was an option, and then I came across the stillborn Messerschmitt Bf 109X with its radial engine – an aircraft of which only a single prototype was ever built and flown.
There are even model kits available of this obscure aircraft. My basis is the Amodel kit, a typical short-run IP kit with good overall detail (interior and landing gear is nice), thick material but many smaller flaws and rather mediocre fit (the fuselage halves seem to belong to two different aircraft, fin & rudder, too!).
In order to turn it into something “more Japanese” I tried to graft a cowling plus engine of a Hasegawa Mitsubishi A6M 'Zero' onto the fuselage (the BMW 801 is VERY bulky on the slender Bf 109 airframe!), which worked well and yields a more aerodynamic look. The propeller was taken OOB from the Bf 109X, but a metal axis added so that it can spin freely.
Otherwise not much was changed – I just added an antenna mast, a head protection in the cockpit, the wing cannons with bulges on the wings’ undersides and scratched exhaust stubs and a carburetor intake.
Painting and markings:
The livery is a mix of styles: the paint scheme is a mix of a scheme for an early IJA Ki-27 fighter, with an all-grey fuselage and lower sides and camouflaged upper wing surfaces in green and brown. AFAIK many Manchukuo Air Force aircraft were simply painted all-grey, but I found that to be too simple, and there were a few Ki-46 that carried green blotches, probably the former Japanese paint scheme with overpainted roundels.
For the wing colors I went for Khaki (Humbrol 26) and Army Green (Humbrol 102), but the greenish-grey basic color for the rest was tricky. You find very contradictive information concerning this IJA tone, and even more confusing representations in source material - best modeler's bet might IMHO be Gunze's #128, but that's not available around here, so I went for a hand-made replacement.
Replacement recommendation is basically Sky "Type S" a.k.a. Humbrol 90, but this tones is IMHO much too bright - it's rather a dull, greenish grey, like a very light FAA Slate Grey. So I mixed an individual tone from Modelmaster 2077 (RLM 63; Hellgrau), 97 (Egg shell; which is more yellow-ish than 90 but very similar) and a bit of Humbrol 224 (Cockpit Green).
All interior surfaces were painted in Humbrol 78, with some dry-brushed 120 on top. The spinner was painted in simple black, while the propeller blades received a typical Japanese red primer finish with Humbrol 160.
After basic painting the kit received a light black ink wash in order to emphasize the kit's engraved panel lines, as well as some dry painting to highlight single panels. An overall dry painting with light grey added some weathering effects, and finally some exhaust and gun soot stains with grinded graphite were added.
Markings come from an Authentic Decals Ki-27 aftermarket decal sheet, just the 2nd Hikotai's emblem on the fin was improvised, based on illustrations.
Staying with the monochrome theme for the week this is the next installment.
Photowise the crop dropped the left third of the image. A lot of editing to remove excess magenta and changing light levels to adjust saturation. Then a conversion to b+w.
Veterinary ambulance in Devon. Good use of an Old ambulance.
I love the front 'blue' repeater lights!
+++ 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 Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft, designed in response to a 1936 requirement from the French Air Force for a fast, modern fighter with a good climbing speed and an armament built around a 20 mm cannon. At the time the most powerful V 12 liquid-cooled engine available in France was the Hispano-Suiza 12Y, which was less powerful, but lighter than contemporary engines such as the Rolls-Royce Merlin and Daimler-Benz DB 601. Other fighters were designed to meet the specifications but none of them entered service, or entered service in small numbers, too late to play a significant role during the Battle of France.
Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the most numerous fighter in the French Air Force, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest German types, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It was slower than the Bf 109E but superior in manoeuvrability. Because of a delayed production cycle, only a small number were available for combat against the Luftwaffe. The D.520 proved to be relatively capable as a dogfighter against the Luftwaffe's inventory, but lacked sufficient numbers to make a difference.
Other countries – aware of the aggressive German neighbor – became interested in the D.520, too. Among them, Czechoslovakia was one of the first customers. The country was about to modernize its air force and make the transition from biplane to modern monoplane fighters, and an indigenous development, the Avia B.35, was lagging behind schedule. The Avia B.35 was designed to meet a 1935 requirement by the Czechoslovakian Air Force for a replacement for their B-534 fighter biplanes. The B.35 was an elegant, low-wing monoplane with an elliptical wing. The fuselage was constructed from welded steel tube, covered in metal ahead of and including the cockpit and fabric aft of the cockpit, while the wing was of entirely wooden construction. Rather anachronistically, the Air Force specified a fixed tailwheel undercarriage for the aircraft, in the hope that this would speed development, as the mechanism for retracting the undercarriage was not yet available.
However, in late 1937 it had become clear that the B.35 would not be ready soon, and the Czechoslovakian air force was in dire need for faster fighters that could cope with the German Bf 109E.
The relations to France led to the provision of the Dewoitine D.520, which was about to enter service and production, and the type was to be produced (including the engines) in license at Tatra.
These plans were to no avail, though: On 29 September 1938, Britain and France ceded control in the Appeasement at the Munich Conference; France ignored the military alliance it had with Czechoslovakia, and during October 1938, Nazi Germany occupied and annexed the Sudetenland border region, effectively crippling Czechoslovak defences.
In order to improve the Czechoslovak air force, twelve early D.520 fighters were directly procured from France and delivered in February 1939 (even though these machines came unarmed and had to be outfitted with weapons locally). Domestic production was expected to start – initially supported through kitted aircraft from France - in late 1939, with the plan to produce 200 aircraft. But this never happened: on 15 March 1939, the remainder ("rump") of Czechoslovakia was invaded and divided into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the puppet Slovak State.
The small band of Czechoslovak D.520 fought valiantly with the 38th Field Flight for a few weeks, but due to the lack of spare parts and the overwhelming number of German fighters, the small fighter force only lasted for a couple of weeks, and by mid-1939 all machines were destroyed or had become unserviceable.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 10.2 m (33 ft 5⅓ in)
Height: 2.57 m (8 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 15.87 m2 (171 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,123 kg (4,680 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,677 kg (5,902 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 2,785 kg (6,140 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 liquid-cooled V12 engine, rated at 690 kW (930 hp)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 560 km/h (302 kn, 347 mph)
Range: 1,250 km (675 nmi, 777 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 14.3 m/s (2,820 ft/min)
Wing loading: 167 kg/m2 (34.2 lb/ft2)
Power/mass: 257 W/kg (0.156 hp/lb)
Armament:
1× 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon with 60 RPG,
mounted between the engine’s cylinder bank and firing through the propeller hub
4× 7.92 mm (0.312 in) vz. 30 (Česká zbrojovka Strakonice) machine guns
with 250–300 RPG in the outer wings
The kit and its assembly:
A quickie and the reaction to a recently posted profile from fellow modeler Wenzel from the Czech Republic in April 2018 at whatifmodelers.com: a Dewoitine D.520 in Czechoslovak pre-WWII colors and markings. Even though the profile’s indicated time frame would be somewhat fishy, I liked the design of this whif. And the fact that I had a surplus Hobby Boss D.520 kit without a concrete plan (yet) in the stash made me spontaneously tackle this small project.
The kit was built OOB, and it is – like many small Hobby Boss kits – a very simple affair with engraved panel lines and a rather rudimentary cockpit. Another weak point is the canopy. While it is perfectly clear, the shape looks a bit odd to me, as if oversized. The fit is not bad, but unfortunately there are location pins/struts molded into the single piece part, and these remain visible even if you build the model OOB.
The only changes I made are some added cockpit interior details, and I cut the canopy into pieces so that it could later be presented in open position for the beauty pics.
Painting and markings:
I stuck with the inspiring profile, as close as possible. It did not come with detailed information about the potential Czech squadron, but after doing some legwork I found out that the profile’s markings (the “H” code and the blue propeller spinner) belong to the Czechoslovak Air Force’s 38th Letka around 1938.
The profile also came with FS tone suggestions, and I stuck to them as good as possible, too. For the Dark Brown (FS 30108) I used Humbrol 10 mixed with some 160. The Dark Green (FS 34097) is Humbrol 105 (Marine Green) and the Tan tone (FS 30266) is RAL 7028 (German WWII Dunkelgelb, from Modelmaster). The latter was used on purpose in order to have a less reddish sand tone on the aircraft.
I also deviated from the benchmark on the undersides, for which FS 36495 had been suggested. I found the tone to be too light for my taste and replaced it with Light Gull Grey (FS 36440, Humbrol 129). The spinner was painted with a mix of Humbrol 15 and 89, trying to match the national markings as good as possible.
As usual, the kit received a light black ink washing and some post-shading in order to emphasize panels.
The cockpit interior was painted in dark grey, while the landing gear and its wells became bluish-grey (according to French aircraft).
The markings were gathered from the scrap box: the Czech roundels come from a recent KP Yak-23 sheet (printed by Propagteam), the tactical letter code was created with white, modern 24” RAF code letters from Xtradecal. My only personal addition is the manufacture code on the fin in front of the roundel, taken from the OOB sheet.
Finally, some soot stains around the gun ports and the exhausts were added with graphite, some more very light dry-brushing with acrylic pale grey was done, and the D.520 received a coat with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
A quick and simple project, but a nice distraction from the recent Cold War builds. I like how well the D.520 blends into its fictional Czech role, due to the same engine that powered several pre-WWII Avia designs. The disruptive scheme suits the aircraft, well, too, and with the Czech roundels the whole thing can even be called colorful!
+++ 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:
After the division of Czechoslovakia by Germany in 1939, Slovakia was left with a small air force composed primarily of Czechoslovak combat aircraft. This force defended Slovakia against Hungary in March 1939, in the Slovak–Hungarian War in March 1939 in which Hungary reoccupied Carpathian Ruthenia and parts of southern Slovakia. In this the SVZ suffered some losses against Royal Hungarian Air Force. Later, the SVZ also took part in the German Invasion of Poland. The SVZ took part in Axis offensives in the Ukraine and Russian Central front sectors of the Eastern Front under the lead of Luftwaffe in the Stalingrad and Caucasus operations. This engagement resulted in great losses of aircraft and personnel, though.
During the World War II, the Slovak Air force was charged with the defense of Slovak airspace, and, after the invasion of Russia, provided air cover for Slovak forces fighting against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. For the rest of the war the SVZ fought US Army Air Forces and Royal Air Force raids against Slovakia.
Among the many more or less outdated German aircraft types inherited from the Luftwaffe during the early stages of WWII was a small number of Hs 123 A-1 dive bombers. The Henschel Hs 123 was a small single-seat biplane dive bomber and close-support attack aircraft. The aircraft was designed to meet the 1933 dive bomber requirements for the reborn Luftwaffe. Both Henschel and rival Fieseler (with the Fi 98) competed for the production contract requirement, which specified a single-seat biplane dive bomber. The first prototype, the Hs 123 V1, was cleared for its maiden flight on 1 April 1935; General Ernst Udet, a World War I ace, flew it on its first public demonstration flight on 8 May 1935. The first three Henschel prototypes, with the first and third powered by 485 kW (650 hp) BMW 132A-3 engines and the second by a 574 kW (770 hp) Wright Cyclone, were tested at Rechlin in August 1936. Only the first prototype had "smooth" cowlings; from that point on, all aircraft had a tightly fitting, characteristic cowling that included 18 fairings covering the engine valves. The Henschel prototypes did away with bracing wires and although they looked slightly outdated with their single faired interplane struts and cantilever main landing gear legs attached to smaller (stub) lower wings, the Hs 123 featured an all-metal construction, clean lines and superior maneuverability. Its biplane wings were of a "sesquiplane" configuration, whereby the lower wings were significantly smaller than the top wings.
The overall performance of the Hs 123 V1 prototype prematurely eliminated any chance for the more conventional Fi 98, which was cancelled after a sole prototype had been constructed. During testing, the Hs 123 proved capable of pulling out of "near-vertical" dives; however, two prototypes subsequently crashed due to structural failures in the wings that occurred when the aircraft were tested in high-speed dives. The fourth prototype incorporated improvements to cure these problems; principally, stronger center-section struts were fitted. After it had been successfully tested, the Hs 123 was ordered into production with a 656 kW (880 hp) BMW 132Dc engine.
The Hs 123 was intended to replace the Heinkel He 50 biplane reconnaissance and dive bomber as well as acting as a "stop-gap" measure until the more modern and capable Junkers Ju 87 became available. As such, production was limited and no upgrades were considered, although an improved version, the Hs 123B, was developed by Henschel in 1938. A proposal to fit the aircraft with a more powerful 716 kW (960 hp) "K"-variant of its BMW 132 engine did not proceed beyond the prototype stage, the Hs 123 V5. The V6 prototype fitted with a similar powerplant and featuring a sliding cockpit hood was intended to serve as the Hs 123C prototype.
About 265 aircraft were produced and production of the Hs 123A ended in Autumn 1938. It was flown by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War and the early to midpoint of World War II. At the outbreak of hostilities, Hs 123s were committed to action in the Polish Campaign. Screaming over the heads of enemy troops, the Hs 123s delivered their bombs with devastating accuracy. A frightening aspect of an Hs 123 attack was the staccato noise of its engine that a pilot could manipulate by changing rpm to create "gunfire-like" bursts. The Hs 123 proved rugged and able to take a lot of damage and still keep on flying. Operating from primitive bases close to the front lines, the type was considered by ground crews to be easy to maintain, quick to re-equip and reliable even under dire field conditions.
The Polish campaign was a success for an aircraft considered obsolete by the Luftwaffe high command. Within a year, the Hs 123 was again in action in the Blitzkrieg attacks through the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Often positioned as the Luftwaffe's most-forward based combat unit, the Hs 123s flew more missions per day than other units, and again proved their worth in the close-support role. With Ju 87s still being used as tactical bombers rather than true ground support aircraft and with no other aircraft capable of this mission in the Luftwaffe arsenal the Hs 123 was destined to continue in service for some time, although numbers were constantly being reduced by attrition.
The Hs 123 was not employed in the subsequent Battle of Britain as the English Channel proved an insuperable obstacle for the short-ranged aircraft, and the sole leftover operator, II.(Schl)/LG 2, went back to Germany to re-equip with the Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter bomber (Jabo) variant. The Bf 109E fighter bomber was not capable of carrying any more bombs than the Hs 123. It did, however, have a greater range and was far more capable of defending itself. On the downside were the notoriously tricky taxiing, ground handling, and takeoff/landing characteristics of the Bf 109, which were exacerbated with a bomb load.
At the beginning of the Balkans Campaign, the 32 examples of the Hs 123 that had been retired after the fall of France were taken back into service and handed over to the Slovak Air Force to replace the heavy losses on the Eastern Front after combat fatigue and desertion had reduced the pilots' effectiveness. Most of Slovakia's obsolete biplanes were replaced with modern German combat aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109, so that the Hs 123s were initially regarded with distrust – but the machines proved their worth in the ensuing battles. The Slovak Hs 123s took part in the Battle of Kursk and supported ground troops, some were outfitted with locally designed ski landing gears which proved to be a very effective alternative to the Hs 123’s spatted standard landing gear which was prone to collect snow and mud and even block. After this deployment at the Russian front, the Slovak Air Force was sent back to defend Slovak home air space, primarily executed with Messerschmitt Bf 109 E and G types, Avia B-534, and some other interceptor types, also helped by Luftwaffe units active in the area.
Being confined to national borders, the Slovak Hs 123s were put in reserve and relegated to training purposes, even though they were occasionally activated to support German ground troops. From late August 1944 the remaining Hs 123s also actively took part in the suppression of the Slovak National Uprising against Germany.
Since Hs 123 production had already stopped in 1940 and all tools had been destroyed, the permanent attritions could not be replaced - due to a lack of serviceable airframes and spare parts the type’s numbers dwindled. When Romania and the Soviet Union entered Slovakia, they organized with some captured aircraft and defectors a local Insurgent Air Force to continue the fight against Axis forces in country, including the last operational Slovak Hs 123s. No aircraft survived the war.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 8.33 m (27 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
Height: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 24.85 m² (267.5 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,500 kg (3,307 lb)
Gross weight: 2,215 kg (4,883 lb)
Powerplant:
1× BMW 132Dc 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine with 660 kW (880 hp),
driving a 2-bladed metal variable-pitch propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 341 km/h (212 mph, 184 kn) at 1,200 m (3,937 ft)
Range: 860 km (530 mi, 460 nmi) with a 100 l drop tank
Combat range: 480 km (300 mi, 260 nmi) with 200 kg (440.9 lb) of bombs
Service ceiling: 9,000 m (30,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 15 m/s (3,000 ft/min)
Armament:
2× 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, 400 rpg
Up to 450 kg (992.1 lb) of bombs under fuselage and wings
The kit and its assembly:
A relatively simple what-if project, and it took a while to figure out something to do with a surplus Airfix Hs 123 A kit in The Stash™ without a proper plan yet. The Hs 123 is an overlooked aircraft, and the fact that all airframes were used during WWII until none was left makes a story in Continental Europe a bit difficult. I also did not want to create a German aircraft – Finland was an early favorite, because I wanted to add a ski landing gear (see below), but since I won’t build anything with a swastika on it this option was a dead end. Then I considered an operator from the Balkans, e. g. Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia or Slovakia – and eventually settled for the latter because of the national markings.
The kit was built almost OOB, and the Airfix Hs 123 is a nice offering. Yes, it’s a simple kit, but its is IMHO a very good representation, despite the many rivets on the hull, a rather bleak interior and some sinkholes (e. g. on the massive outer wings struts). It goes together well, just a little PSR here and there. I just added a dashboard (scratched from styrene sheet) and modified the OOB 50 kg bombs with extended impact fuzes with a flat, round plate at the tip, so that the bomb itself explodes above soft ground or snow for a bigger blast radius.
The only major modification is a transplanted ski landing gear from a PM Model (Finnish) Fokker D.XXI, which had to be reduced in length to fit under the compact Hs 123. A small tail ski/skid was scratched from styrene sheet material.
Thankfully, the Hs 123 only calls for little rigging – just between the central upper wing supports and there is a characteristic “triangle” wiring in the cowling. All these, together with the wire antenna, were created with heated sprue material.
Painting and markings:
Finland had been a favorite because I would have been able to apply a more interesting paint scheme than the standard Luftwaffe RLM 70/71/65 splinter scheme with a low waterline that was typical for the Hs 123 during WWII. However, as a former Luftwaffe aircraft I retained this livery but decided to add a winter camouflage as a suitable thematic supplement to the skis.
The basic colors became Humbrol 65 underneath and 30 and 75 from above – the latter for a stronger contrast to the Dunkelgrün than Humbrol 91 (Schwarzgrün). Thanks to the additional whitewash mottles, which were inspired by a similar livery seen on a contemporary Bulgarian Avia B.534, I did not have to be too exact with the splinter camouflage.
The cockpit and cowling interior were painted with RLM 02 (Humbrol 240), the propeller blades became Schwarzgrün (Humbrol 91, further darkened with some black) and the bombs were painted in a dark grey (Revell 77) while the small 100 l drop tank became bare aluminum (Revell 99).
However, before the white mottles could be added, the kit received its decals so that they could be painted around the markings, just as in real life. The Slovak national markings had to be scratched, and I used standard white simplified German Balkenkreuze over a cross made from blue decal stripes. Later a separate red decal circle was placed on top of that. The only other markings are the red “7” codes, edged in white for better contrast (from a Heller Bf 109 K) and the fuel information triangles on the fuselage from the Hs 123’s OOB sheet. As an ID marking for an Eastern Front Axis aircraft, I retained the wide yellow fuselage stripe from the OOB, sheet, too, and added yellow tips on the upper wings’ undersides.
The whitewash camouflage was then created with white acrylic paint (Revell 05), applied with a soft brush with a rounded tip. Once this had dried, I treated the surfaces with fine wet sandpaper for a weathered/worn look.
Finally, after some soot stains behind the exhausts and around the machine gun nozzles, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and the rigging (see above) was done.
The Hs 123 might not be the sexiest aircraft of WWII, but I like this rugged pug which could not be replaced by its successor, the Ju 87, and served in its close support role until literally no aircraft was left. Putting one on skis worked quite well, and the exotic Slovak markings add a special touch – even though the national markings almost disappear among the disruptive whitewash camouflage! The result looks quite plausible, though, and the old Airfix kit is IMHO really underestimated.
I spent a lot of time doing this conversion just because I didn't know quite what needed to go where. I'm in the middle of the first roll right now, and things are going smoothly so far.
The camera takes 6cm x 10.5cm negatives, so I get 6 per roll right now. I may make a mask later so I can get that to a more manageable 6x9 format if I don't like the results.
Notice all the felt. I removed quite a few components and I'm worried it's gonna leak light like crazy. hopefully I've sealed it up.
+++ 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 "Entwicklung" tank series (= "development"), more commonly known as the E-Series, was a late-World War II attempt by Germany to produce a standardized series of tank designs. There were to be six standard designs in different weight classes, from which several specialized variants were to be developed. This intended to reverse the trend of extremely complex tank designs that had resulted in poor production rates and mechanical unreliability.
The E-series designs were simpler, cheaper to produce and more efficient than their predecessors; however, their design offered only modest improvements in armor and firepower over the designs they were intended to replace, such as the Jagdpanzer 38(t), Panther Ausf.G or Tiger II. However, the resulting high degree of standardization of German armored vehicles would also have made logistics and maintenance easier. Indeed, nearly all of the E-series vehicles — up through and including the E-75 — were intended to use what were essentially the Tiger II's eighty centimeter diameter, steel-rimmed road wheels for their suspension, meant to overlap each other (as on the later production Tiger I-E and Panther designs that also used them), even though in a much simplified fashion.
Focus of initial chassis and combat vehicle development was the E-50/75 Standardpanzer, designed by Adler, both being mostly identical and only differing in armor thickness, overall weight and running gear design to cope with the different weights.
The E-50 Standardpanzer was intended as a medium tank, replacing the Panther and Tiger I battle tanks and the conversions based on these older vehicles. The E-50 hull was to be longer than the Panther, and in fact it was practically identical to the Königstiger (Tiger II) in overall dimensions except for the glacis plate layout. Compared with the earlier designs, however, the amount of drilling and machining involved in producing the Standardpanzer designs was reduced drastically, which would have made them quicker, easier and cheaper to produce, as would the proposed conical spring system, replacing their predecessors' torsion bar system which required a special steel alloy.
The basis development, the E-50 Ausf. A combat tank, was to carry the narrow-mantlet 'Schmalturm' turret (originally designed for the Panther Ausf. F), coupled with a variant of the powerful KwK 43 88 mm L/71 gun, but heavier guns (a new 10,5 cm gun for both the E-50 and E-75 and the 12,8 cm caliber gun for the E-75) in bigger turrets were under development.
In service the vehicle received the inventory ordnance number "SdKfZ. 191" and was officially called "Einheitspanzer 50" (Standard tank), retaining its E-50 abbreviation. The weight of the E-50 vehicle family would fall between 50 and 75 tons. The engine was an improved Maybach HL234 with up to 900 hp output. Maximum speed was supposed to be up to 60 km/h.
The E-75 Standardpanzer (SdKfz. 192), based on the same hull, was intended to be the standard heavy tank and become the replacement of the heavy Tiger II and Jagdtiger tanks. The E-75 would have been built on the same production lines as the E-50 for ease of manufacture, and the two vehicles were to share many components, including the same Maybach HL 234 engine and running gear elements. As its name indicates, the resulting vehicle would have weighed in at over 75 tons, reducing its speed to around 40 km/h. To offset the increased weight, the bogies were spaced differently from on the E-50, with an extra pair added on each side and eight instead of six wheels plus a slightly wider track, giving the E-75 a slightly improved track to ground contact length.
The KwK 45 10,5cm gun had already started in 1943 as an answer to the heavy KV and later the IS series of Soviet combat tanks, and it was ready for service in September 1945, just in time for the deployment of the E-50/75 family of tanks. The KwK 45 was specifically designed to fit into the turret mountings of the 8.8cm KwK 43. This would enable older vehicles to be upgunned with minimum modifications; hence, the fleet could be upgraded in a shorter time and at a lower cost.
The breech used a horizontally sliding breech block for loading the fixed cartridge cases. The gun recoiled only approximately 29 cm (11.5 inch) in most applications, automatically opening the breech and ejecting the empty cartridge case as the gun returns to battery from full recoil. The cannon had a weight of 1.287 kg and was able to achieve a rate of fire of up to eight shots per minute Schuss/Minute, with an effective range of 4.000 m (2.5 mi) ). HE rounds were fired with a muzzle velocity of 1.100 m (3,600 ft ) per second and APDS rounds achieved 1.500 m (4,900 ft) per second. This was sufficient to penetrate 170 mm (6.7 in) of armor at a range of 1.800m (5,900 ft) or 280 mm (11 in) of armor with APDS rounds, respectively.
In the E-50 tank, the KwK 45 was carried by the Ausf. C variant in a voluminous Henschel turret, which was similar in outline to the earlier Königstiger heavy tank, but it was a simplified construction and had varying armor strengths for the E-50 and E-75 tanks. Instead of the initial L52 barrel, which made the KwK 45 compatible with the Schmalturm turret of the initial E-50 variants, the bigger turret of the Ausf. C allowed to add additional counterweights so that a longer caliber 60 barrel without a muzzle brake could be installed, which improved the weapon's range and hitting power further. Otherwise the E-50 Ausf. C was identical to the earlier versions. Thanks to the relatively spacious turret, a total of 64 105mm shells could be carried (typically 50% high explosive and 50% armor-piercing), plus 4.800 rounds for the secondary 7,92 MG 34s on board (32 ammunition belts with 150 round each).
In order to improve the tanks' long-range strike capability, some of the new E-50/75 battle tanks were additionally equipped with launch rails and a visual guidance system for the new Ruhrstahl X-7 anti-tank missile, unofficially nicknamed "Rotkäppchen" (Little Red Riding Hood).
The aircraft-shaped X-7 was the first operational anti-tank guided missile in history. It was created on the basis of a command of the Army Ordnance Office to Dr. Ing. Kramer and its origins dated back as far the beginning of the year 1934, but it had no high priority from official side and there were numerous problems to be eradicated. An appropriate number was built in the factory in Brackwede and handed over to the army for field-testing before the war, but the weapon initially did not receive much interest. The main version was wire-steered, but other trial versions were equipped with the automatic infrared steering system "Steinbock" (Capricorn) or with the electro-optical guidance systems "Pfeifenkopf" (Pipe bowl) and "Pinsel" (Brush) - the latter used vidicon cameras to detect the difference between the target and the background. Various guidance systems were tested, too, both for anti-aircraft and anti-tank use.
As an anti-tank weapon the small, aircraft-shaped missile could easily be transported and deployed on light vehicles, but it was also tested as an auxiliary weapon for tanks, from which it could be fired and steered from the inside with the help of an optical guidance system.
The X-7 was a compact weapon and had a length of 0,95 m (37 1/2 in), a body diameter of 150 mm (6 in), a wing span of 0,60 m (23 1/2 in). Its launch weight was about 9kg (~20 lb). It was powered by a solid fuel twin rocket engine that delivered 676 N of thrust for 3 seconds at the start for a maximum speed of 245 m/s (550 mph; 476 kn; 880 km/h) and sustained 55 N for another 8 seconds, achieving a cruise speed of 100 m/s. The missile carried a 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) hollow charge, triggered with an impact fuze, that could penetrate more than 200 mm (7.9 in) of armor at a 30° angle.
For the use on board of tanks, the X-7 was carried on special launch rigs which could be easily attached to turrets or casemate hulls. Typically, two of the missiles were carried, ready to launch. The optical guidance system was based on the ZG 1229 "Vampir" infrared night vision system - but for the X-7 guidance, the device had been modified into a periscope that was mounted on the roof of the gunner's station, so that the missile could be fired and guided in the safety of the armored turret.
However, initial field tests in early 1946 revealed that the X-7 hardly offered any benefit when compared with the heavy German cannon. The potential benefit of a dive attack on a tank target, which would reduce the relative armor strength of the target or hit the weaker upper armor of such a target, was only theoretical because aiming and guiding the missile even at a direct course was not easy. A ballistic flight path was possible, but under combat conditions unrealistic. Furthermore, the missiles unprotected storage made them highly vulnerable against enemy fire, and many were lost early because the fell off of the launch racks or were simply ripped away when the tank moved through obstacles like trees or ruins. An internal storage of the weapon in a tank was also impossible. Therefore, the X-7 was soon banned from battle tanks and either mounted on light, unarmored vehicles, which could more easily employ "hit-and-run" tactics, or the light missiles were carried by two man teams for ambushes. In mid-1946, trials to fire the X-7 from a Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri helicopter ensued.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, radio operator, driver)
Weight: 54 tonnes (60 short tons)
Length: 7.27 metres (23 ft 8 in) (hull only)
9.36 metres (30 ft 8 in) incl. gun
Width: 3.88 metres (12 ft 9 in)
Height 3.35 metres (11 ft)
Ground clearance: 495 to 510 mm (1 ft 7.5 in to 1 ft 8.1 in)
Suspension: Conical spring
Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)
Armor:
30–120 mm (1.2 – 4.7 in)
Performance:
Speed
- Maximum, road: 44 km/h (27.3 mph)
- Sustained, road: 38 km/h (24 mph)
- Cross country: 15 to 20 km/h (9.3 to 12.4 mph)
Operational range: 160 km (99 miles)
Power/weight: 16,67 PS/tonne (14,75 hp/ton)
Engine:
V-12 Maybach HL 234 gasoline engine with 900 PS (885 hp/650 kW)
Transmission:
ZF AK 7-200 with 7 forward 1 reverse gears
Armament:
1× 10,5 cm KwK 45 L/60 with 64 rounds
2× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 with a total of 5.200 rounds (one mounted co-axially with
the main gun and an optional AA gun on the commander's cupola)
2× X-7 "Rotkäppchen" anti-tank missile launch rails on some vehicles
The kit and its assembly:
Another Heer '46 model, and again one of the many 1:72 Modelcollect kits. Even though I rather have a knack for exotic vehicles I thought that a relatively simple battle tank could not hurt in the collection - but I still had an idea how to add a personal touch and take the basic idea further.
This came when I remembered the small X-7 missile, and wondered if that could not have been used from 1945 onwards - e.g. as an additional stand-off weapon for tanks like the post-war AS.12 in France - the light AMX-13 tank could carry four of these above the gun on its oscillating turret. And that made me wonder if and how the German missile could find its way on a battle tank?
In an initial step I scratched a pair of X-7s from bombs and styrene profile material - they look a little clumsy and they became actually too large for authentic 1:72 scale, but their outlines turned out well. Using them as benchmarks I checked different tank kits and eventually settled for an E-50 with the large Tiger-II-style Henschel turret. This offered a good size and height to mount the two missiles in racks on the turret's flanks - these are scratched from styrene profile material, too. Otherwise the kit remained OOB, I just used the kit's night vision device and some material from the scrap box to create an optical guidance gear, mounted on the turret in front of the gunner's hatch.
The E-50 kit goes together well, just some light PSR is necessary at the turret's base. This version of the kit also came with a surplus Schmalturm sprue and it did not come with vinyl tracks, like some former kits from this series that I have built, but rather with molded single track elements. I am not a fan of these, at least in 1:72 scale, and mounting these small bits was a tedious affair that took a whole day. The low mud guards hampered the process further.
Painting and markings:
The paint scheme is a variation of the classic German "Hinterhalt" camouflage, consisting of Dark Yellow, Olive Green and Red Brown. However, the pattern is a little special, because I wanted to recreate the original concept of the scheme, the ideal “factory finish”. It was intended to apply the green and brown contrast colors on top of the dark yellow in the form of overlapping small, round dots of uniform size, applied with a gauge, that let the light color shine though here and there – plus small contrast speckles added to the dark yellow. A really complex camouflage pattern, but quite effective, because it mimicked well the fractal shadows under a tree, disrupting a vehicle’s silhouette.
In real life, however, only a few tanks had been painted this way around August 1944 in the factories (I have seen Panther, Hetzer, Jagdpanzer IV/L70 and a Sturmtiger, sometimes only partly, finished in this fashion), because the application was tedious and time-consuming. Eventually, the tanks were delivered to the frontline troops in a uniform dark yellow finish, together with the green and brown as thick pastes which were to be applied individually by the crew, depending on the local needs and with whatever was at hand.
I order to mimic the original Hinterhalt scheme’s look I initially gave the model an overall coat with RAL 8001 “Grünbraun” as primer and then added 7028 "Dunkelgelb" (Modelmaster) with a wide, flat brush, creating a cloudy finish. Once dry I used two self-made stamps for the application of the red brown (Humbrol 160) and the green (RAL 6003 from Modelmaster). The stamps were made from fine expanded rubber, die-punched into circles of 3 and 4mm diameter and then glued on top of sticks with superglue. Very simple, but worked like a charm!
Adding all the circles one by one was another tedious task, esp. on uneven underground and around corners. Once this basic painting was done, the kit received an overall wash with a mix of black and red brown acrylic paint. Next came the decal application; the crosses and the “kill marks” for the barrel were taken from the OOB sheet, the red tactical code and the small unit badges were taken from a TL Modellbau aftermarket sheet. Next came a light dry brushing treatment with beige and light grey, highlighting surface details and edges. After painting some details and adding some rust marks came a coat of matt varnish (from the rattle can), the tracks were finally mounted and the lower area of the tank received a treatment with a greyish-brown pigment mix, simulating dust and mud residue.
A relatively simple project, done in four days from which one day was spent with the camouflage and another one with the fiddly tracks. Creating the small X-7 missiles from scratch was tricky, too. Nevertheless, I think the effort was worthwhile, since the addition of the missiles and their racks give the otherwise simple battle tank a special touch and some Heer '46 futurism. After all, it’s a what-if model. The complex camouflage also looks good, and it demonstrates how effective the original concept of the Hinterhalt scheme actually was, had it been applied properly. I might re-apply the concept on a mecha model in the future – probably with different colors, though.
A disused convert. The Lada Pickup.
That'll be the vodka bottle recycle area in the fore ground.
1O7A7731
Another caravan conversion - 1948 built GAA616 Ex Aldershot & District Dennis Lancet III/Strachan - now I believe preserved into its original livery. Here at Stratford-on-Avon rally, 31/5/70.
Requires RED / CYAN 3D Glasses
Most favourite conversion so far, the poster for Akira
I made a heatmap in Photoshop, then used Stereo Photo Maker v.5 to import the depth map and create two stereo composites. Light adjustments where then made.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVSf22VT1t4
My personalized 3D / Anaglyph Kit:
25 January is the feast of the Conversion of St Paul. This mosaic by Boris Anrep is in St Paul's chapel in Westminster Cathedral. In Acts 22:6-16, St Paul recounts his conversion story to the people of Jerusalem:
"As I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.
And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, `Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' And I answered, `Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, `I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.' Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, `What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, `Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' And when I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
And one Anani'as, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, `Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And in that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, `The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' "
In this 2000th anniversary year of St Paul's birth, we thank God for the wonders he worked through Paul and for the preaching of the Gospel which has been handed down to all Christians that they may follow in St Paul's example of love and zeal for Christ.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
In the period immediately after the Second World War the world found itself with hundreds of thousands of surplus aircraft and just as many surplus aviators. Most aircraft would meet the salvage blade and the smelter’s fiery furnace. Most pilots would return to civilian life, the bulk of them never to fly again.
With the plethora of military aircraft languishing in desert lots awaiting a certain fate, some of those disenfranchised aviators and aircraft designers would look to new growing markets for salvation. One of these emerging markets was the new-found requirement for fast and capable business transport aircraft for executives looking to link business interests across the vast distances of the nation. With few purpose-built business aircraft available for executives, medium bombers became the drug of choice for high flying big shots—fast, powerful and, with the right interior appointments, a visual statement of their success and power.
In early variants like the Executive, On Mark simply removed military equipment and replaced them with fairings and civil avionics, sealed the bomb bay doors, soundproofed the cabin, and added additional cabin windows. Later models had special wing spars designed to give more interior room, pressurization and equipment from bigger surplus aircraft such as DC-6 brakes and flat glass cockpit windows. It was an elegant mashing together of equipment, but it was not a true business aircraft.
In the Sixties, Jet Craft Ltd. of Las Vegas, Nevada, went for a different interpretation of the same topic: The company had purchased a number of former Royal Australian Air Force Vampire trainers and RCAF single-seaters, which were to be converted to a new design for a business aircraft called 'Mystery Jet', offering 4-8-seats.
Jet Craft worked with stellar British conversion experts Aviation Traders to do the structural design work. Aviation Traders Limited (ATL) was a war-surplus aircraft and spares trader formed in 1947. In 1949, it began maintaining aircraft used by some of Britain’s contemporary independent airlines on the Berlin Airlift. In the early 1950s, it branched out into aircraft conversions and manufacturing.
Aviation Traders worked on the drawings and the structural mock-ups. A full-scale mock-up of the Mystery Jet languished at Southend airport for a decade, trying to lure owners and operators into buying it. And this actually happened: about twenty former Vampire airframes were converted into Mystery Jet business aircraft, tailored to the customers' needs and desires.
The Mystery Jet was just what it looked like: a former De Havilland Vampire with a new, roomy nose section grafted onto it. The cabin was pressurized, and was available in two different lengths (130 and 160 inches long, with two or three rows of seats and reflected in the aircraft's title) and several window and door options - the most exotic option being the "Landaulet" cabin which featured a panoramic roof/window installation over the rear pair of seats (or, alternatively, a two-seat bench).
The original Goblin engine was retained, CG was retained due to the fact that the new cabin was, despite being considerably longer than the Vampire's nose, the biggest version being more than 8 feet longer. The new front section was much lighter, though, e. g. through the loss of the heavy cannons and their armament, as well as some more military avionics. The loss of fuel capacity through the enlarged cabin was compensated through fixed wing tip tanks, so that range was on par with the former military jet, just top speed and ceiling were slightly inferior.
Anyway, prices were steep and from the United States more modern and economical offerings ruled the market. Maintaining a former military jet was also a costly business, so, consequently, after a slight buzz (more of a hum, actually) in the early Seventies, the Mystery Jet and Jet Craft of Las Vegas, also fuelled by some dubious business practices by the company's owner, disappeared. Even further developments of the original concept, e .g. with a wide body for up to 14 passengers and two engines, would not save the Mystery Jet from failure.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1 pilot plus 5-7 passengers
Length (Mystery Jet 160): 38 ft 5 in (11.73 m)
Wingspan incl. tip tanks: 39 ft 7 1/2 in (12.09 m)
Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
Wing area: 262 ft² (24.34 m²)
Empty weight: 7,283 lb (3,304 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 12,390 lb (5,620 kg)
Powerplant:
1× de Havilland Goblin 3 centrifugal turbojet, rated at 3,350 lbf (14.90 kN)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 516 mph (832 km/h)
Cruising speed: 400 mph (644 km/h)
Range: 1,220 mi (1,960 km)
Service ceiling: 37,700 ft (11,500 m)
Armament:
None
The kit and its assembly:
The first finished work in 2017 is a different kind of whif, one of the few civilian models in my collection. This conversion looks sick, but ,as weird as it may seem, the Business-Jet-From-Vintage-Vampires idea was real. For more information, and the source from where some of the backgound story was gathered, please check:
www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/article...
Anyway, my build is just a personal interpretation of the original concept, not a true model of the Mystery Jet. In fact, this was limited through the donor parts for this kitbash.
The rear end was the smaller problem: Airfix offers a very good Vampire T.11 trainer with excellent detail and fit - the passenger cabin was the bigger challenge. Finding "something" that would fit in shape and especialsl size was not easy - my first choice was a nose section from a vintage 1:100 Antonow An-24 from VEB Plasticart (still much too wide, though), and the best solution came as an accidental find in a local model kit shop where I found a heavily discounted MPM Focke Wulf Fw 189 B-0 trainer.
The reason: the kit was complete, but the bag holding the sprues must have been heated immensely during the packaging process: the main sprues were horrible warped - except for some single parts including the canopies and the sprue with the cabin! Height wind width were perfect, only the boxy shape caused some headaches. But I guess I would not find anything better...
That said, the transplantation mess started. I never built any of the two donor kits before, so I carefully tried to find the best place where to cut the Vampire's nose - I ended up with a staggered solution right in front of the wing root air intakes.
The Fw 189's cabin was bit more tricky, because I had to get rid of the original wing roots and wanted to use as much space as possible, up to the rear bulkhead and together with the rear cabin window. The idea was to blend the Fw 189's roof line into the Vampire's engine section, while keeping the original air intake ducts, so that the overall arrangement would look plausible.
The result became a pretty long nose section - and at that time the tail booms were not fited yet, so I was not certain concerning overall proportions. The cabin's underside had to be improvised, and blending the boxy front end with a flat underside into the tubby, round Vampire fuselage caused some headaches. I also had to re-create the lower flank section with styrene sheet, because I had originally hoped that I could "push" the new cabin between the wing roots - but that space was occupied by the Goblin's inlet ducts.
Inside of the cabin, the original floor, bulkheads and dashboard were used, plus five bucket seats that come with the MPM kit. In order to hide the body work from the inside, side panels from 0.5mm styrene sheet were added in the cabin - with the benefit of additional stability, but also costing some space... Since the machine was built with closed cabin, a pilot was added - actually a bash of a WWII Matchbox pilot and a German officer from an ESCI tank kit. Looks pretty good and "professional". ;-)
Once the cabin was in place, lots of PSR followed and the tail booms could be fitted. To my relief, the longer nose did not look too unbalanced (and actually, design sketches for the original Mystery Jet suggest just this layout!) - but I decided to add wing tip tanks which would beef up wingspan and shift the visual mass slightly forward. They come from an 1:100 Tamiya Il-28, or better the "R" recce variant.
The only other big change concerned the nose wheel. While the OOB wheel and strut were used, the well is now located in front of the wheel and it would retract forwards, giving the nose a more balanced look - and the cabin arrangement made this change more plausible, too.
Another addition were three small porthole windows in the solid parts of the cabin flanks - one of them ending up in the middle of the cabin door on starboard, where a solid part of the canopy roof lent itself for a good place just behind the pilots' seats.
Painting and markings:
I cannot help it, but the thing looks like a design from a vintage Tintin or Yoko Tsuno comic! This was not planned or expected - and actually the paint scheme evolved step by step. I had no plan or clue what to apply - the real Mystery Jet mock-up in silver with blue trim looked sharp, but somehow I did not want blue. So I started with the interior (out of a necessity, as the fuselage had to be closed before any further work progress at some point) and settled for plushy, British colors: Cream (walls and roof) and Claret-Red (carpet and seats).
I tried to find something for the outside that would complement this choice of colors, and eventually settled on Ivory and White (upper and lower fuselage halves, respectively) with some deep red trim, plus pale grey wing surfaces. I even considered some thin golden trim lines, but I think this would have been too much?
The trim was created with decals tripes from generic sheet material, the black anti-glare panel was painted, though. As a color contrast I painted some of the upper canopy panels in translucent, light blue, and this looks very good.
The wings received a lightb treatment with thinned black ink, in order to emphasize the engravings. No post-shading was done, though, for a rather clean look.
Most markings were puzzled together; the registration G-AZRE actually belonged to a Vickers Vanguard (from the 1:144 Airfix kit), the large letters above and under the wings were created with single 45° letters (USAF style). Most stencils come from a Vampire trainer aftermarket sheet from Xtradecal, from the OOB sheet only the "No step" warnings on the wings were used.
Finally, the kit was sealed with a semi-matt coat of varnish, except for the anti-glare panel, which recived a matt coat. The three small windows received artificial panes made from Clearfix, after their rims had been painted black.
A messy project, and you better do not take a close look. But the overall elegance of this creation surprises me - the real Mystery Jet already looked sleek, and this model, despite a more blunt nose, confirms this impression. The colors work together well, too - and the thing has a dedicated retro feel about it. Tintin might be on board, as well as Elton John, both sharing a cigar on the rear seats... ;)
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In October 1951, a heavy tank project was underway to mount an oscillating turret with an automatically loading 120mm Gun on the hull of the 120mm Gun Tank T43. (The T43 would later be serialized as the 120mm Gun Tank M103, America’s last heavy tank.). This was the T57, and the Rheem Manufacturing Company were granted a contract to design and build two pilot turrets and autoloading systems.
During the T57’s development, it became clear that it was feasible to mount a lighter armored version of the T57 turret on the hull of the 90mm Gun Tank T48 (The T48 later became the 90mm Gun Tank M48 Patton). This combination granted the possibility of creating a ‘heavy gun tank’ that was considerably lighter (and therefore more agile and tactically flexible) than any previously designed.
In May 1953, a development project was started to create such a tank. It would be designated the 120mm Gun Tank T77, and another contract was signed with Rheem to create two pilot tanks. The T77 weighed about 50 tons, with armor of the hull being up to 110mm thick. It was originally powered by a 650 hp Continental AVSI-1790-6 V12, air-cooled twin-turbo gasoline engine. This would propel the tank to a speed of 30 mph (48 km/h). The tank was supported on a torsion bar suspension, attached to six road wheels. The drive sprocket was at the rear, while the idler was at the front. The idler wheel was of the compensating type, meaning it was attached to the closest roadwheel by an actuating arm. When the roadwheel reacted to terrain, the idler was pushed out or pulled in, keeping constant track tension. The return of the track was supported by five rollers.
The T77 had a crew of four: The driver’s position was standard for M48 hulls, located centrally in the bow at the front of the hull. Arrangements inside the turret were standard, too: The loader was positioned to the left of the gun, the gunner was on the right with the commander behind him.
The T77’s oscillating turret could be easily mounted to the unmodified 2.1 m (85 inch) turret ring of the M48 hull, and on other tanks, too. It consisted of two actuating parts: a collar that was attached to the turret ring, allowing 360° horizontal traverse, and a pivoting upper part with a long cylindrical ‘nose’ and a low profile flat bustle that held the gun, which could elevate to a maximum of 15 degrees, and depress 8 degrees. It also held the complex loading mechanism and the turret crew.
Both turret halves utilized cast homogeneous steel armor. The sides of the collar were made to be round and bulbous in shape to protect the trunnions that the upper half pivoted on. Armor around the face was 127mm (5 inches) thick, angled at 60 degrees, what meant an effective 10 in (254 mm) equivalent of RHA at the turret front. Maximum armor strength was 137mm (5.3 inches) on the convex sides of the turret, and this dropped to 51 mm (2 inches) on the bustle.
Though it looked like two, there were actually three hatches in the turret’s roof: There was a small hatch on the left for the loader, and the slightly raised cupola for the commander on the right, which featured six periscopes. These two standard hatches were part of a third large, powered hatch, which took up most of the middle of the roof, granting a larger escape route for the crew but also allowed internal turret equipment to be removed easily. It was also a convenient way to replenish the ammunition storage, even though a use under battle conditions was prohibitive. In front of the loader’s hatch was a periscope, housings for a stereoscopic rangefinder were mounted on the sides of the swiveling turret part, and there was another periscope above the gunner’s position, too. Behind the large hatch was the ejection port for spent cartridges, to its right was the armored housing for the ventilator.
The initial Rheem Company turret concept had the gun rigidly mounted to the turret without a recoil system, and the long gun barrel protruded from a narrow nose. The gun featured a quick change barrel but was otherwise basically identical to the 120mm Gun T123E1, the gun being trialed on the T43/M103. However, for the T57/77 turret and the autoloader, it was modified to accept single piece ammunition, unlike the T43/M103, which used separately loading ammo due to the round’s high weight. This new gun was attached to the turret via a conical adapter that surrounded the breech end of the gun. One end screwed directly into the breech, while the front half extended through the ‘nose’ and was secured in place by a large nut. The force created by the firing of the gun and the projectile traveling down the rifled barrel was resisted by rooting the adapter both the breech block and turret ring. As there was no inertia from recoil to automatically open the horizontally sliding breech block, a hydraulic cylinder was introduced. Upon firing the main gun, this hydraulic cylinder was triggered via an electric switch. This new variant of the T123 cannon was designated the 120mm Gun T179. It was fitted with a bore evacuator (fume extractor) and a simple, T-shaped muzzle brake.
A single .30 Caliber (7.62mm) machine gun was mounted coaxially, and another such weapon or a medium 0.5” machine gun could be attached to a mount on the commander’s cupola.
Using standard Armor-Piercing Ballistic Cap Tracer Rounds, the T179 was capable of penetrating 221-millimetre (8.7 in) of 30-degree sloped rolled-homogenous armor at 1,000 yards and 196-millimetre (7.7 in) at 2,000 yards. It could also penetrate 124-millimetre (4.9 in) 60-degree sloped rolled-homogenous armor at 1,000 yards and 114-millimetre (4.5 in) at 2,000 yards.
The T179’s automatic loader was located below the gun and it gave the weapon a projected rate of fire of 30 rounds per minute, even though this was only of theoretical nature because its cylinder magazine only held 8 rounds. After these had been expended, it had to be manually re-loaded by the crew from the inside, and the cannon could not be operated at that time. Ammunition types such as High-Explosive (HE), High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), Armor Piercing (AP), or Armor-Piercing Ballistic-Capped (APBC) could be fired and be selected from the magazine via a control panel by either the gunner or the tank commander, so that it was possible to quickly adapt to a changing tactical situation – as long as the right rounds had been loaded into the magazine beforehand.
The cannon itself was fed by a ramming arm that actuated between positions relative to the breech and magazine, operating in five major steps:
1) The hydraulically operated ramming arm withdrew a round and aligned it with the breach.
2) The rammer then pushed the round into the breach, triggering it to close.
3) Gun was fired.
4) Effect of gun firing trips the electric switch that opens the breech.
5) Rammer picks up a fresh round, at the same time ejecting the spent cartridge through a trap door in the roof of the turret bustle.
Beyond the 8 rounds ready-for fire in the magazine, the main gun had only a very limited ammunition supply due to the large size of the 1-piece rounds: only 21 more 120 mm rounds could be stored in the hull and at the base of the turret.
After thorough trials, the T77 was, powered by a more fuel-efficient Continental AVDS-1790-2 V12, air-cooled twin-turbo diesel engine with 750 bhp (560 kW), accepted as a replacement for the U.S. Army‘s unloved heavy M103 and introduced as the M77. The first M77s were assembled at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant in March 1964. However, the M77 was primarily a support vehicle for standard tank units and reserved for special operations. Therefore, the type’s production numbers remained low: only 173 tanks were eventually built until 1968 and exclusively allocated to U.S. Army units in Western Germany, with a focus on West Berlin and Southern Germany (e.g. in the Fulda Gap), where they were to repel assaults from Eastern Germany and defend vital installations or critical bottlenecks.
Due to its high rate of fire and long range, the M77 was ideally suited for defensive tasks and hit-and-run tactics. But this was, unfortunately, the type’s only selling point: The oscillating turret turned out to be complex, concerning both handling as well as maintenance, and in practice it did not offer the same weapon stability as the M48’s or the later M60’s conventional design, especially when firing during movement. The cramped interior and the many mechanical parts of the bulky autoloader inside of the turret did not make the tank popular among its crews, either. Several accidents occurred during manoeuvers while the loader tried to refill the magazine under combat pressure. A further weakness was the type’s low ammunition stock and the fact that, despite the autoloader, there was still a loader necessary to feed the magazine. The low ammunition stock also heavily limited the tactical value of the tank: typically, the M77 had to leave its position after expending all of its ammunition and move to a second line position, where the huge one-piece rounds could be replenished under safer conditions. But this bound other resources, e. g. support vehicles, and typically the former position had to be given up or supplanted by another vehicle. Operating the M77 effectively turned out to be a logistic nightmare.
During its career, the M77 saw only one major upgrade in the mid-Seventies: The M77A1 was outfitted with a new multi-chamber muzzle brake, muzzle reference and crosswind sensors (the latter was mounted in a small mast on the rear of the turret) and an improved turret stabilization system along with an upgraded turret electrical system. All of these measures were intended to improve the tank’s 1st shot kill probability, esp. at long range. A large AN/VSS-1(V)1 white/IR searchlight was added above the gun barrel, too. All tanks in service were upgraded in this fashion, no new tanks were built. Unlike the M48, neither the M77 nor the Rheem turret or its autoloader system were cleared for export, even though Israel showed interest.
In the early Eighties, there were further plans for another upgrade of the M77 fleet to a potential A2 status. This would have introduced a laser rangefinder (instead of the purely optical device) and a solid state M21 ballistic computer with a digital databus. The M21 would have allowed a pre-programmed selection and fire sequence of different ammunition types from the magazine’s chambers, plus better range and super-elevation correction. However, this did not happen because the M77 had become obsolete through the simple depletion of its exotic 120 mm ammunition from the army’s stocks. Therefore, another plan examined the possibilities of replacing the T179 gun with the 105 mm M68 rifled anti-tank gun, a license-built version of the British L7 gun, which had, despite the smaller caliber, a performance comparable to the bigger 120 mm T179. But since the M48 chassis and its armor concept had become outdated by the time, too, the M77A1 fleet was by 1986 fully replaced by the M60A3, the US Army’s new standard MBT.
Specifications:
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, loader, gunner)
Weight: 51 tons
Length: 6.946 m (22 ft 9.5 in) hull only, 10,66 m (34 ft 11 in) overall w. gun forward
Width: 3.63 m (11 ft 11 in)
Height: 3.08 m (10 ft 1 in)
Suspension: Torsion-bar
Ground clearance: 1 ft 6.2 in (0.46 m)
Fuel capacity: 385 US gal (1,457 l)
Armor:
0.5 – 5.3 in (13 – 137 mm)
Performance:
Speed:
- Maximum, road: 30 mph (48 km/h)
- Sustained, road: 25 mph (40 km/h)
- Cross country: 9.3 to 15.5 mph (15 to 25 km/h)
Climbing capability:
- 40% side slope and 60% max grade
- Vertical obstacle of 36 inches (91 cm)
- 102 inches (2.59 m) trench crossing
Fording depth: Unprepared: 4 ft (1.219 m), prepared: 8 ft (2.438 m)
Operational range: 287 ml (463 km) on road
Power/weight: 16.6 hp (12.4 kW)/tonne
Engine:
1× Continental AVDS-1790-2 V12, air-cooled twin-turbo diesel engine, 750 bhp (560 kW)
Transmission:
General Motors CD-850-3, 2-Fw/1-Rv speed GB
Armament:
1× 120 mm T179 L/60 rifled anti-tank gun with an autoloader and a total of 29 rounds
1× co-axial 7.62 mm M240C machine gun with 3.000 rounds
1× .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2 Browning (600 rounds) or .30 cal (7.62 mm) M73 machine
anti-aircraft machine gun (1.000 rounds) on the commander’s cupola with 600 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This is another fictional creation, but, like many of my whif builds, it is rooted in reality and an extrapolation of what could have been. The oscillating tower with the M103’s 120 mm cannon and an autoloader was actually developed, and there were several tank projects that made use of it. The T77 was the final proposal, but, like the T57 on the M103 basis and other designs from the Rheem Company, the T77’s development was arduously slow, so that the project was finally canceled in 1957 by the US Ordnance Department. Two turrets were actually built, though, but they were scrapped in February 1958, and the T77 only existed on paper or in model form.
The impulse for this build actually came from a 1:72 resin turret for the T57 project from ModelTrans/Silesian Models. I found the concept cool and the turret had a very futuristic look, so that I bought a set with the vague intention to use it for a mecha conversion someday. Then it gathered dust in the stash, until I recently stumbled upon the 1:72 M103 kit from Dragon and considered a T57 build. But this kit is very rare and expensive, at least here in Germany, so I shelved this plan again. However, I started to play with the idea of a U.S. Army vehicle with a Rheem Company turret. Then I found a Revell M60 kit in the stash and considered it for a whiffy build, but eventually rejected the idea because a turret concept from the late Fifties would hardly make its way onto a tank from the late Seventies or later. When I did further research concerning the Rheem turret, I came across the real T77 project on the basis of the M48, and dug out an ESCI M48A5 from the pile (realizing that I had already hoarded three of them…!), so the M77 project was finally born.
Otherwise, the build was a straightforward affair. The T57 turret is a massive resin piece with a separate barrel and very fine surface details. Some of them, delicate lugs, were unfortunately broken off, already OOB but also by me while handling the pieces. They could be easily replaced with brass wire, though, which was also used to add small rails to the collar. The very long and thin barrel was replaced with a white metal aftermarket piece. It’s actually a barrel for a Soviet T-10 with a complex muzzle brake (made from brass), but the size was just fine and looks very good on this fictional tank.
Some details were added to the turret or transplanted from the M48 kit, e. g. the prominent IR searchlight or the machine gun on the commander cupola. Furthermore, I added a textile seal to the gap between the turret sections and to the barrel’s root, made from paper tissue drenched in thinned white glue. The same method was used to create the searchlight cover, too.
Since the turret base had a smaller diameter than the M48’s attachment opening, I had to improvise a suitable adapter with styrene strips. The M48A5 hull itself was taken OOB.
Painting and markings:
I was happy that I could place this model into a later time frame, so that the U.S. Army’s uniform Olive Drab times were already over. In the 1970s, the US Mobility Equipment Research & Design Command (MERDC) developed a system of camouflage patterns for US Army vehicles. These consisted of a set of standardized patterns for each vehicle, to be used with a set of twelve colours. The local terrain conditions and colours decided which of the paints were to be used, and on which parts of a vehicle. Then, if conditions altered, for example by a change in the weather, or by the unit moving into a new area of operations, the scheme could be quickly adjusted to suit them by replacing only one or two colours by different ones.
For example, if a vehicle was painted in the US & European winter scheme, which had a dark green and a medium brown as its predominant colours, and it started to snow, by overpainting either the green or the brown with white, one of the two snow schemes could be created. This gave a high degree of flexibility, though in practice it was hardly ever actually made use of—most vehicles were painted in one scheme and kept that.
I gave the M77 the “Winter Verdant” MERDC scheme, which was frequently used in Germany. It consists of Forest Green (FS 34079), Earth Red (FS 30117), Sand (FS 30277) and Black (FS 37038). The pattern itself was adapted from the standardized M60 MERDC scheme. Colors used were ModelMaster 1701 and 1710, plus Humbrol 238 and Revell 06. The seals on the turret and the searchlight cover were painted in a faded olive drab, the track segments with a mix of iron, dark grey and red brown.
After basic painting with brushes, the kit received a washing with thinned black and red brown acrylic paint. Decals (taken from the ESCI kit) came next, then the model received an overall dry brushing treatment with Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill) and 168 (Hemp). Finally, everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish from the rattle can and the lower hull areas were dusted with mineral pigments, simulating dust and mud.
Another relatively simple conversion, since only the (oscillating) turret was swapped. However, I was skeptical at first because the turret was originally intended for an M103 hull - but mounting it on a smaller M48 chassis worked well, just like in real life!
+++ 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 Westland Whirlwind was a British heavy fighter developed by Westland Aircraft. It was the Royal Air Force's first single-seat, twin-engine, cannon-armed fighter, and a contemporary of the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane.
A problem for designers in the 1930s was that most agile combat aircraft were generally small. These aircraft had limited fuel storage and only enough flying range for defensive operations, and their armament was relatively light, too. A multi-engine fighter appeared to be the best solution to the problem of range, but a fighter large enough to carry an increased fuel load might be too unwieldy to engage successfully in close combat. Germany and the United States pressed ahead with their design programs, resulting in the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
The Westland Whirlwind was one of the British answers to more range and firepower, and the first Whirlwind prototype (L6844) flew on 11 October 1938. Construction had been delayed chiefly due to some new features and also to the late delivery of the original Peregrine engines. The Whirlwind was of all-metal construction, with flush riveting, and featuring magnesium skinning on the rear fuselage. The control surface arrangement was conventional, with large one-piece Fowler flaps inboard and an aileron outboard on each wing, with the rear end of the engine nacelles hinging with the flaps; elevators; and a two-piece rudder, split to permit movement above and below the tail plane. Slats had been fitted on the outer wings at the outset as a stall protection measure, but they were soon locked down, having been implicated in an accident.
Service trials were carried out at Martlesham Heath, where the new type exhibited excellent handling and was very easy to fly at all speeds. It was one of the fastest aircraft in service when it flew in the late 1930s, and was much more heavily armed than any other fighter, toting four 20mm cannons.
However, protracted development problems with its Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines delayed the entire project. The combat radius also turned out to be rather short (only 300 miles), and the landing speed was relatively high, which hampered the type's utility. The major role for the Whirlwinds, however, became low-level attack, flying cross-channel "Rhubarb" sweeps against ground targets and "Roadstead" attacks against shipping.
Time went by and worked against the Whirlwind, though: By 1940, the Supermarine Spitfire was mounting 20 mm cannons as well, so the "cannon-armed" requirement was already met by lighter and simpler aircraft. Furthermore, the role of an escort fighter was becoming less important by this time, as RAF Bomber Command turned to night bomber missions.
The main qualities the RAF was looking for now in a twin-engine fighter were range and carrying capacity, e .g. to allow the large radar apparatus of the time to be carried as a night fighter. Concerning these requirements, the bigger Bristol Beaufighter and the fast De Havilland Mosquito could perform just as well as or even better than the Whirlwind.
Anyway, the Whirlwind's potential had not been fully exploited yet, and it was decided to adapt it to new roles and specialized duties, which would exploit its good low altitude handling. Such an opportunity arose when Allied Forces prepared for Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) in 1942, the British-United States invasion of French North Africa: the somewhat outdated aircraft was retrofitted for a new task as a dedicated tank hunter.
Background was the experience with the Hawker Hurricane Mk. IID, which had become operational at that time. The Mk IIDs were dedicated to ground support, where it was quickly learned that destroying German tanks was difficult; the Hurricanes’ standard 20mm cannons (the same the Whirlwind fighter originally carried) did not have the performance to punch through Gerrnan tanks’ armor, and bombing small tank target successfully was almost impossible.
The solution was to equip aircraft with 2 pounder (40 mm) cannon in a pod under each wing, reducing the other armament to a single Browning in each wing loaded with tracers for aiming purposes.
This equipment was originally tested on a converted Mk IIB in late 1941, and proved to be successful. A new-build Hurricane version of what was known as the Mk IID started in 1942, which, beyond the modified armament, also included additional armor for the pilot, radiator and engine. The aircraft were initially supplied with a pair of Rolls-Royce 'BF' ('Belt-Fed') guns and carried 12 rounds, but this was soon changed to the 40 mm (1.57 in) Vickers S gun with 15 rounds. The weight of the guns and armor protection had a detrimental effect on the aircraft's performance, though, and for the African environment it was feared that the liquid-cooled Merlin engine was too complicated and would hardly cope with the higher ambient temperatures.
A fallback option was needed, and the Whirlwind appeared to be a sound basis – even though the troublesome Peregrine engines were rejected. In a hurry, a Whirlwind Mk. I (P7102) was modified to carry a pair of 40 mm guns, but this time in the lower nose. Compared with the Hurricane’s wing-mounted pods the Whirlwind could carry a slightly bigger load of ammunition (20 RPG). For aiming purposes and against soft targets, a pair of 0.303" (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns with tracer ammunition was mounted above them.
In order to make the aircraft more resilient to the North-African temperatures and against damage, the Whirlwind's touchy Peregrines were replaced by a pair of Bristol Taurus radial engines under relatively narrow cowlings. The engine nacelles had to be widened accordingly, and the Peregrines’ former radiator intakes and installations in the wing roots were removed and simply faired over. Similar to the Hurricane Mk. IID, additional armor plating was added around the cockpit and the engines, raising overall weight.
Flight and weapon tests were conducted in early 1942. While the radial-powered Whirlwind was not as nimble and fast as the original, Peregrine-powered fighter anymore, the aircraft proved to be a stable weapon platform and fully suitable for the ground attack role. Due to its characteristic new nose with the two protruding gun barrels and their separate fairings, the machine was quickly nicknamed “Walrus” and “Buck teeth Whirlwind”.
For operation Torch and as a field test, a total of eleven Whirlwind Mk. Is were converted to Mk. Ic standard. The machines received new serials and were allocated to RAF No. 73 Squadron, which was preparing for deployment to Northern Africa and the Middle East after having been engaged in the Battle of Britain.
The squadron's Whirlwinds and Hurricanes (including some cannon-armed Mk. IIDs, too) were shipped to Takoradi on the Gold Coast onboard HMS Furious, and were then flown in stages across Africa to Egypt.
No. 73 Squadron took part in the series of campaigns in the Western Desert and Tunisia, helping cover the supply routes to Tobruk and taking part in various ground-attack operations.
Both types undertook an anti-tank role in limited numbers during the North African campaign where, provided enemy flak and fighters were absent, they proved accurate and highly effective, not only against armored vehicles but all kinds of motorized transport.
The converted Whirlwinds proved, thanks to their robust engines, to be very reliable and had a better operational status than the Hurricanes. The second engine boosted the pilots' confidence. In direct comparison, the cannon-armed Whirlwind proved to be a better weapon platform than the Hurricane – mainly because the heavy guns were mounted closer to the aircraft’s longitudinal axis. Both aiming and accuracy were better than the Hurricanes’ wing-mounted weapons.
Nevertheless, there were several drawbacks: the Whirlwind’s two engines meant that more service hours had to be spent on them for maintenance, binding ground crew capacities. This was very inconvenient during the highly mobile Northern Africa campaign. Additionally, the Whirlwind's higher fuel consumption and the limited fuel provisions in the Northern African theatre of operations with dispersed and improvised airfields eventually meant that, despite positive results, no further machines were converted. The high landing speed also persisted, so that operations were hazardous.
Eventually the Hurricane Mk IID was adopted for the tank hunter role, with ensuing series production, since it was regarded as the more versatile and also more common type.
The radial-powered Whirlwind Mk. Ic remained operational with No. 73 Squadron until June 1943, when the squadron converted to the Spitfire and moved from Northern Africa to Italy in October. Until then, only six Whirlwinds had remained airworthy.
General characteristics:
Crew: One pilot
Length: 31 ft 7 1/4 in (9,65 m)
Wingspan: 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m)
Height: 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m)
Wing area: 250 ft² (23.2 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 23017-08
Empty weight: 9,400 lb (4,267 kg)
Loaded weight: 12,158 lb (5,520 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 13,120 lb (5,946 kg)
Powerplant:
2× Bristol Taurus II 14-Cylinder sleeve valve radial engines, 1,015 hp (760 kW) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 400 mph (644 km/h) at 15.000 ft (4.570 m)
Stall speed: 95 mph (83 knots, 153 km/h) with flaps down
Range: 800 mi (696 nmi, 1.288 km)
Service ceiling: 33.500 ft (10.970 m)
Armament:
2x belt-fed two pounder (1.57 in/40 mm) Vickers S cannon, 20 RPG each
2x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, 500 RPG (typically armed with tracer rounds)
Option for 2x 250 lbs (115 kg) or 500 lbs (230 kg) bombs under the outer wings
The kit and its assembly
My third whiffed Westland Whirlwind - I must say that this rather obscure aircraft type has some serious potential for mods and fictional uses. The inspiration for this radial-powered variant originally came from a profile drawing of fellow modeler and illustrator FrancLab at flickr.com, who had drawn more than twenty(!) fictional Whirlwinds (check this: www.flickr.com/photos/franclab/16724098644/in/faves-14802...), including one with radial engines and in RAF Tropical Scheme colors.
The kit is, again, the vintage Airfix offering. Modifications center around the engines and the nose section, the rest remained basically OOB.
I already had to learn with my first Whirlwind conversion that mounting bigger engines on this compact aircraft is not easy, and radials, with their bigger diameter and consequentially more voluminous nacelles, would be a challenge from the design perspective.
Figuring out a solution that would be feasible and not make the sleek Whirlwind look like Popeye was not easy. I considered the transplantation of complete engine nacelles from a Matchbox Bristol Beaufighter, but eventually refrained from this idea because everything would be at least one size too big... a mistake I had done before, with very mixed results.
After several trials, I settled on a compromise, because I could not find a satisfactory 'British' solution, at least in my spares vault: the implantation of "foreign" material in the form of cowlings and nacelles from an Airfix Mitsubishi Ki-46.
The transplantation started with the removal of the original Peregrine engine nacelles from the lower wing section and gluing these to the upper half, which remained intact. Then the Ki-46’s lower nacelle half, cut away from the model’s wing in a similar fashion, was grafted onto the Whirlwind’s lower wing, ensuring that the landing gear attachment points would match with the new openings. This stunt worked very well!
As a final step, the upper Ki-46 engine nacelle half was placed on top of the Whirlwind wings’ upper side, and the radial engines were used as a ruler for the overall fit. In the end, the modified nacelles sit perfectly in place, and the original distance between the propellers as well as the landing gear’s track width could be maintained, so that the change is rather subtle.
Propellers and spinners were taken from the Airfix Whirlwind, and in order to mount them into the deep and "hollow" Ki-46 cowlings I inserted a styrene tube as a simple adapter, which would also hold the added metal axis' behind the propellers. The parts fit snuggly together.
Details like the exhaust pipes and the carburetor intakes were scratched from sprue material. The landing gear is OOB, but I had to re-create the covers from sheet material since I could only find a single pair of doors from the Ki-46 kit. On the other side, this had the benefit that the material is much thinner.
The original radiator intake slits were closed with putty and blended into the wing’s leading edge.The respective outlets on the trailing edge were sanded away.
For the guns in the nose I added two long, shallow fairings (actually drop tank halves from an Airfix G.91) and re-located the original oils cooler and gun camera fairings under the wing roots.
The original gun mounts were covered with putty, and new openings for the modified armament drilled into the re-sculpted nose section. The 2-pounders' and machine gun barrels are hollow steel needles of different diameters.
Painting and markings:
Staying somewhat true to FrancLab's profile and the North Africa theatre of operations, the paint scheme was more or less pre-defined. The Tropical scheme is a rather unusual look on this sleek aircraft, but works very well!
The standard RAF camouflage pattern for the Whirlwind was retained, but the European colors replaced with Dark Earth (Humbrol 29) and Middle Stone (ModelMaster 2052, the best representation of the tone I could find so far). The undersides were painted with ModelMaster 2055 (US Navy Blue Grey) as an alternative to RAF Azure and Mediterranean Blue.
Interior surfaces were painted with Cockpit Green (Humbrol 78) and slightly dry-brushed with light grey.
The red spinners are typical Desert Force markings, and I added yellow ID markings to the outer wings’ leading edges (created from generic decal sheet). Not certain how authentic this is for Northern Africa, since the Hurricanes did not carry these markings – but the Spitfires did, as well as the few leftover Whirlwinds over Continental Europe? At least, it’s a colorful detail.
Even though many Hurricanes of 73 Squadron in Northern Africa carried the squadron’s colorful pre-war marking on the flanks instead of a two-letter code, I eventually rejected this option. IMHO it might have been simply too much for this whiffy aircraft?
Roundels and markings were puzzled together from the scrap box, the code letters are single digits from Xtradecal aftermarket sheets. I mixed medium sea grey and dull red letters – a practice frequently seen on Northern Africa aircraft (which also frequently did not carry squadron codes at all) in order to improve readability. The serial was puzzled together, too, using a free serial slot according to ukserials.com.
As another individual touch I added a small nose art motif under the cockpit: a Bugs Bunny cartoon toting a shotgun (actually from a P-51 from the late war Pacific TO), as an interpretation of the “Buck teeth” nickname for the aircraft.
Finally, the model was weathered, esp. on the upper surfaces in order to mimic sun bleaching, and some soot stains were added around the guns and the exhaust outlets. The cooling flaps were emphasized through a treatment with Tamiya “Smoke”, which is perfect for oil stains. Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and finishing touches like the wire antenna and position lights applied.
Another subtle whif, the desert paint scheme is probably distracting enough that, at a casual glance, the radials and the modified nose are not obvious at all. Actually, the Japanese engines look pretty British after some cosmetics, and they are small enough to keep overall proportions in reasonable limits – the sleek Whirlwind quickly turns head-heavy and unbalanced with bigger engines grafted to the airframe! Actually, the converted aircraft looks now, when looked at it head-on, almost like a baby Beaufighter!
traveladventureeverywhere.blogspot.com/2024/06/saint-pete...
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ALBANIA
Albanian Trilogy: A Series of Devious Stratagems
Armando Lulaj
Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Curator: Marco Scotini. Deputy Curator: Andris Brinkmanis. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale
ANDORRA
Inner Landscapes
Roqué, Joan Xandri
Commissioner: Henry Périer. Deputy Commissioner: Joana Baygual, Sebastià Petit, Francesc Rodríguez
Curator: Paolo de Grandis, Josep M. Ubach. Venue: Spiazzi, Castello 3865
ANGOLA
On Ways of Travelling
António Ole, Binelde Hyrcan, Délio Jasse, Francisco Vidal, Nelo Teixeira
Commissioner: Ministry of Culture, Rita Guedes Tavares. Curator: António Ole. Deputy Curator: Antonia Gaeta. Venue: Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello - Palazzo Pisani, San Marco 2810
ARGENTINA
The Uprising of Form
Juan Carlos Diste´fano
Commissioner: Magdalena Faillace. Curator: Mari´a Teresa Constantin. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi
ARMENIA, Republic of
Armenity / Haiyutioun
Haig Aivazian, Lebanon; Nigol Bezjian, Syria/USA; Anna Boghiguian Egypt/Canada; Hera Büyüktasçiyan, Turkey; Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Argentina/Germany; Rene Gabri & Ayreen Anastas, Iran/Palestine/USA; Mekhitar Garabedian, Belgium; Aikaterini Gegisian, Greece; Yervant Gianikian & Angela Ricci Lucchi, Italy; Aram Jibilian, USA; Nina Katchadourian, USA/Finland; Melik Ohanian, France; Mikayel Ohanjanyan, Armenia/Italy; Rosana Palazyan, Brazil; Sarkis, Turkey/France; Hrair Sarkissian, Syria/UK
Commissioner: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia. Deputy Commissioner: Art for the World, Mekhitarist Congregation of San Lazzaro Island, Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Italy, Vartan Karapetian. Curator: Adelina Cüberyan von Fürstenberg. Venue: Monastery and Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni
AUSTRALIA
Fiona Hall: Wrong Way Time
Fiona Hall
Commissioner: Simon Mordant AM. Deputy Commissioner: Charles Green. Curator: Linda Michael. Scientific Committee: Simon Mordant AM, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Max Delany, Rachel Kent, Danie Mellor, Suhanya Raffel, Leigh Robb. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
AUSTRIA
Heimo Zobernig
Commissioner: Yilmaz Dziewior. Curator: Yilmaz Dziewior. Scientific Committee: Friends of the Venice Biennale. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
AZERBAIJAN, Republic of
Beyond the Line
Ashraf Murad, Javad Mirjavadov, Tofik Javadov, Rasim Babayev, Fazil Najafov, Huseyn Hagverdi, Shamil Najafzada
Commissioner: Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Curators: de Pury de Pury, Emin Mammadov. Venue: Palazzo Lezze, Campo S.Stefano, San Marco 2949
Vita Vitale
Edward Burtynsky, Mircea Cantor, Loris Cecchini, Gordon Cheung, Khalil Chishtee, Tony Cragg, Laura Ford, Noemie Goudal, Siobhán Hapaska, Paul Huxley, IDEA laboratory and Leyla Aliyeva, Chris Jordan with Rebecca Clark and Helena S.Eitel, Tania Kovats, Aida Mahmudova, Sayyora Muin, Jacco Olivier, Julian Opie, Julian Perry, Mike Perry, Bas Princen, Stephanie Quayle, Ugo Rondinone, Graham Stevens, Diana Thater, Andy Warhol, Bill Woodrow, Erwin Wurm, Rose Wylie
Commissioner: Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Curators: Artwise: Susie Allen, Laura Culpan, Dea Vanagan. Venue: Ca’ Garzoni, San Marco 3416
BELARUS, Republic of
War Witness Archive
Konstantin Selikhanov
Commissioner: Natallia Sharanhovich. Deputy Commissioners: Alena Vasileuskaya, Kamilia Yanushkevich. Curators: Aleksei Shinkarenko, Olga Rybchinskaya. Scientific Committee: Dmitry Korol, Daria Amelkovich, Julia Kondratyuk, Sergei Jeihala, Sheena Macfarlane, Yuliya Heisik, Hanna Samarskaya, Taras Kaliahin, Aliaksandr Stasevich. Venue: Riva San Biagio, Castello 2145
BELGIUM
Personnes et les autres
Vincent Meessen and Guests, Mathieu K. Abonnenc, Sammy Baloji, James Beckett, Elisabetta Benassi, Patrick Bernier & Olive Martin, Tamar Guimara~es & Kasper Akhøj, Maryam Jafri, Adam Pendleton
Commissioner: Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Wallonia-Brussels International. Curator: Katerina Gregos. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
COSTA RICA
"Costa Rica, Paese di pace, invita a un linguaggio universale d'intesa tra i popoli".
Andrea Prandi, Beatrice Gallori, Beth Parin, Biagio Schembari, Carla Castaldo, Celestina Avanzini, Cesare Berlingeri, Erminio Tansini, Fabio Capitanio, Fausto Beretti, Giovan Battista Pedrazzini, Giovanni Lamberti, Giovanni Tenga, Iana Zanoskar, Jim Prescott, Leonardo Beccegato, Liliana Scocco, Lucia Bolzano, Marcela Vicuna, Marco Bellagamba, Marco Lodola, Maria Gioia dell’Aglio, Mario Bernardinello, Massimo Meucci, Nacha Piattini, Omar Ronda, Renzo Eusebi, Tita Patti, Romina Power, Rubens Fogacci, Silvio di Pietro, Stefano Sichel, Tino Stefanoni, Ufemia Ritz, Ugo Borlenghi, Umberto Mariani, Venere Chillemi, Jacqueline Gallicot Madar, Massimo Onnis, Fedora Spinelli
Commissioner: Ileana Ordonez Chacon. Curator: Gregorio Rossi. Venue: Palazzo Bollani
CROATIA
Studies on Shivering: The Third Degree
Damir Ocko
Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Curator: Marc Bembekoff. Venue: Palazzo Pisani, S. Marina
CUBA
El artista entre la individualidad y el contexto
Lida Abdul, Celia-Yunior, Grethell Rasúa, Giuseppe Stampone, LinYilin, Luis Edgardo Gómez Armenteros, Olga Chernysheva, Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo
Commissioner: Miria Vicini. Curators: Jorge Fernández Torres, Giacomo Zaza. Venue: San Servolo Island
CYPRUS, Republic of
Two Days After Forever
Christodoulos Panayiotou
Commissioner: Louli Michaelidou. Deputy Commissioner: Angela Skordi. Curator: Omar Kholeif. Deputy Curator: Daniella Rose King. Venue: Palazzo Malipiero, Sestiere San Marco 3079
CZECH Republic and SLOVAK Republic
Apotheosis
Jirí David
Commissioner: Adam Budak. Deputy Commissioner: Barbara Holomkova. Curator: Katarina Rusnakova. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
ECUADOR
Gold Water: Apocalyptic Black Mirrors
Maria Veronica Leon Veintemilla in collaboration with Lucia Vallarino Peet
Commissioner: Andrea Gonzàlez Sanchez. Deputy Commissioner: PDG Arte Communications. Curator: Ileana Cornea. Deputy Curator: Maria Veronica Leon Veintemilla. Venue: Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Castello 3701
ESTONIA
NSFW. From the Abyss of History
Jaanus Samma
Commissioner: Maria Arusoo. Curator: Eugenio Viola. Venue: Palazzo Malipiero, campo San Samuele, San Marco 3199
EGYPT
CAN YOU SEE
Ahmed Abdel Fatah, Gamal Elkheshen, Maher Dawoud
Commissioner: Hany Al Ashkar. Curator: Ministry of Culture. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
FINLAND (Pavilion Alvar Aalto)
Hours, Years, Aeons
IC-98
Commissioner: Frame Visual Art Finland, Raija Koli. Curator: Taru Elfving. Deputy Curator: Anna Virtanen. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
FRANCE
revolutions
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot
Commissioner: Institut français, with Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. Curator: Emma Lavigne. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
GEORGIA
Crawling Border
Rusudan Gobejishvili Khizanishvili, Irakli Bluishvili, Dimitri Chikvaidze, Joseph Sabia
Commissioner: Ana Riaboshenko. Curator: Nia Mgaloblishvili. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi
GERMANY
Fabrik
Jasmina Metwaly / Philip Rizk, Olaf Nicolai, Hito Steyerl, Tobias Zielony
Commissioner: ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office. Deputy Commissioner: Elke aus dem Moore, Nina Hülsmeier. Curator: Florian Ebner. Deputy Curator: Tanja Milewsky, Ilina Koralova. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
GREAT BRITAIN
Sarah Lucas
Commissioner: Emma Dexter. Curator: Richard Riley. Deputy Curator: Katrina Schwarz. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
GRENADA *
Present Nearness
Oliver Benoit, Maria McClafferty, Asher Mains, Francesco Bosso and Carmine Ciccarini, Guiseppe Linardi
Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Deputy Commissioner: Susan Mains. Curator: Susan Mains. Deputy Curator: Francesco Elisei. Venue: Opera don Orione Artigianelli, Sala Tiziano, Fondamenta delle Zattere ai Gesuati, Dorsoduro 919
GREECE
Why Look at Animals? AGRIMIKÁ.
Maria Papadimitriou
Commissioner: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs. Curator: Gabi Scardi. Deputy Curator: Alexios Papazacharias. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
BRAZIL
So much that it doesn't fit here
Antonio Manuel, André Komatsu, Berna Reale
Commissioner: Luis Terepins. Curator: Luiz Camillo Osorio. Deputy Curator: Cauê Alves. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
CANADA
Canadassimo
BGL
Commissioner: National Gallery of Canada, Marc Mayer. Deputy Commissioner: National Gallery of Canada, Yves Théoret. Curator: Marie Fraser. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
CHILE
Poéticas de la disidencia | Poetics of dissent: Paz Errázuriz - Lotty Rosenfeld
Paz Errázuriz, Lotty Rosenfeld
Commissioner: Antonio Arèvalo. Deputy Commissioner: Juan Pablo Vergara Undurraga. Curator: Nelly Richard. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Artiglierie
CHINA, People’s Republic of
Other Future
LIU Jiakun, LU Yang, TAN Dun, WEN Hui/Living Dance Studio, WU Wenguang/Caochangdi Work Station
Commissioner: China Arts and Entertainment Group, CAEG. Deputy Commissioners: Zhang Yu, Yan Dong. Curator: Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation. Scientific Committee: Fan Di’an, Zhang Zikang, Zhu Di, Gao Shiming, Zhu Qingsheng, Pu Tong, Shang Hui. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Giardino delle Vergini
GUATEMALA
Sweet Death
Emma Anticoli Borza, Sabrina Bertolelli, Mariadolores Castellanos, Max Leiva, Pier Domenico Magri, Adriana Montalto, Elmar Rojas (Elmar René Rojas Azurdia), Paolo Schmidlin, Mónica Serra, Elsie Wunderlich, Collettivo La Grande Bouffe
Commissioner: Daniele Radini Tedeschi. Curators: Stefania Pieralice, Carlo Marraffa, Elsie Wunderlich. Deputy Curators: Luciano Carini, Simone Pieralice. Venue: Officina delle Zattere, Dorsoduro 947, Fondamenta Nani
HOLY SEE
Commissioner: Em.mo Card. Gianfranco Ravasi, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio della Cultura. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi
HUNGARY
Sustainable Identities
Szilárd Cseke
Commissioner: Monika Balatoni. Deputy Commissioner: István Puskás, Sándor Fodor, Anna Karády. Curator: Kinga German. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
ICELAND
Christoph Büchel
Commissioner: Björg Stefánsdóttir. Curator: Nína Magnúsdóttir. Venue: to be confirmed
INDONESIA, Republic of
Komodo Voyage
Heri Dono
Commissioner: Sapta Nirwandar. Deputy Commissioner: Soedarmadji JH Damais. Curator: Carla Bianpoen, Restu Imansari Kusumaningrum. Scientific Committee: Franco Laera, Asmudjo Jono Irianto, Watie Moerany, Elisabetta di Mambro. Venue: Venue: Arsenale
IRAN
Iranian Highlights
Samira Alikhanzaradeh, Mahmoud Bakhshi Moakhar, Jamshid Bayrami, Mohammed Ehsai
The Great Game
Lida Abdul, Bani Abidi, Adel Abidin, Amin Agheai, Ghodratollah Agheli, Shahriar Ahmadi, Parastou Ahovan, Farhad Ahrarnia, Rashad Alakbarov, Nazgol Ansarinia, Reza Aramesh, Alireza Astaneh, Sonia Balassanian, Mahmoud Bakhshi, Moakhar Wafaa Bilal, Mehdi Farhadian, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Shadi Ghadirian, Babak Golkar, Shilpa Gupta, Ghasem Hajizadeh, Shamsia Hassani, Sahand Hesamiyan, Sitara Ibrahimova, Pouran Jinchi, Amar Kanwar, Babak Kazemi, Ryas Komu, Ahmad Morshedloo, Farhad Moshiri, Mehrdad Mohebali, Huma Mulji, Azad Nanakeli, Jamal Penjweny, Imran Qureshi, Sara Rahbar, Rashid Rana, T.V. Santhosh, Walid Siti, Mohsen Taasha Wahidi, Mitra Tabrizian, Parviz Tanavoli, Newsha Tavakolian, Sadegh Tirafkan, Hema Upadhyay, Saira Wasim
Commissioner: Majid Mollanooruzi. Deputy Commissioners: Marco Meneguzzo, Mazdak Faiznia. Curators: Marco Meneguzzo, Mazdak Faiznia. Venue: Calle San Giovanni 1074/B, Cannaregio
IRAQ
Commissioner: Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq (RUYA). Deputy Commissioner: Nuova Icona - Associazione Culturale per le Arti. Curator: Philippe Van Cauteren. Venue: Ca' Dandolo, San Polo 2879
IRELAND
Adventure: Capital
Sean Lynch
Commissioner: Mike Fitzpatrick. Curator: Woodrow Kernohan. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Artiglierie
ISRAEL
Tsibi Geva | Archeology of the Present
Tsibi Geva
Commissioner: Arad Turgem, Michael Gov. Curator: Hadas Maor. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
ITALY
Ministero dei Beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo - Direzione Generale Arte e Architettura Contemporanee e Periferie Urbane. Commissioner: Federica Galloni. Curator: Vincenzo Trione. Venue: Padiglione Italia, Tese delle Vergini at Arsenale
JAPAN
The Key in the Hand
Chiharu Shiota
Commissioner: The Japan Foundation. Deputy Commissioner: Yukihiro Ohira, Manako Kawata and Haruka Nakajima. Curator: Hitoshi Nakano. Venue : Pavilion at Giardini
KENYA
Creating Identities
Yvonne Apiyo Braendle-Amolo, Qin Feng, Shi Jinsong, Armando Tanzini, Li Zhanyang, Lan Zheng Hui, Li Gang, Double Fly Art Center
Commissioner: Paola Poponi. Curator: Sandro Orlandi Stagl. Deputy Curator: Ding Xuefeng. Venue: San Servolo Island
KOREA, Republic of
The Ways of Folding Space & Flying
MOON Kyungwon & JEON Joonho
Commissioner: Sook-Kyung Lee. Curator: Sook-Kyung Lee. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
KOSOVO, Republic of
Speculating on the blue
Flaka Haliti
Commissioner: Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Curator: Nicolaus Schafhausen. Deputy Curator: Katharina Schendl. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Artiglierie
LATVIA
Armpit
Katrina Neiburga, Andris Eglitis
Commissioner: Solvita Krese (Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art). Deputy Commissioner: Kitija Vasiljeva. Curator: Kaspars Vanags. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale
LITHUANIA
Museum
Dainius Liškevicius
Commissioner: Vytautas Michelkevicius. Deputy Commissioner: Rasa Antanaviciute. Curator: Vytautas Michelkevicius. Venue: Palazzo Zenobio, Fondamenta del Soccorso 2569, Dorsoduro
LUXEMBOURG, Grand Duchy of
Paradiso Lussemburgo
Filip Markiewicz
Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Deputy Commissioner: MUDAM Luxembourg. Curator: Paul Ardenne. Venue: Cà Del Duca, Corte del Duca Sforza, San Marco 3052
MACEDONIA, Former Yugoslavian Republic of
We are all in this alone
Hristina Ivanoska and Yane Calovski
Commissioner: Maja Nedelkoska Brzanova, National Gallery of Macedonia. Deputy Commissioner: Olivija Stoilkova. Curator: Basak Senova. Deputy Curator: Maja Cankulovska Mihajlovska. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Sale d’Armi
MAURITIUS *
From One Citizen You Gather an Idea
Sultana Haukim, Nirmal Hurry, Alix Le Juge, Olga Jürgenson, Helge Leiberg, Krishna Luchoomun, Neermala Luckeenarain, Kavinash Thomoo, Bik Van Der Pol, Laure Prouvost, Vitaly Pushnitsky, Römer + Römer
Commissioner: pARTage. Curators: Alfredo Cramerotti, Olga Jürgenson. Venue: Palazzo Flangini - Canareggio 252
MEXICO
Possesing Nature
Tania Candiani, Luis Felipe Ortega
Commissioner: Tomaso Radaelli. Deputy Commissioner: Magdalena Zavala Bonachea. Curator: Karla Jasso. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi
MONGOLIA *
Other Home
Enkhbold Togmidshiirev, Unen Enkh
Commissioner: Gantuya Badamgarav, MCASA. Curator: Uranchimeg Tsultemin. Scientific Committee: David A Ross, Boldbaatar Chultemin. Venue: European Cultural Centre - Palazzo Mora
MONTENEGRO
,,Ti ricordi Sjecaš li se You Remember "
Aleksandar Duravcevic
Commissioner/Curator: Anastazija Miranovic. Deputy Commissioner: Danica Bogojevic. Venue: Palazzo Malipiero (piano terra), San Marco 3078-3079/A, Ramo Malipiero
MOZAMBIQUE, Republic of *
Theme: Coexistence of Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Mozambique
Mozambique Artists
Commissioner: Joel Matias Libombo. Deputy Commissioner: Gilberto Paulino Cossa. Curator: Comissariado-Geral para a Expo Milano 2015. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale
NETHERLANDS, The
herman de vries - to be all ways to be
herman de vries
Commissioner: Mondriaan Fund. Curators: Colin Huizing, Cees de Boer. Venue: Pavilion ar Giardini
NEW ZEALAND
Secret Power
Simon Denny
Commissioner: Heather Galbraith. Curator: Robert Leonard. Venue: Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Marco Polo Airport
NORDIC PAVILION (NORWAY)
Camille Norment
Commissioner: OCA, Office for Contemporary Art Norway. Curator: Katya García-Antón. Deputy Curator: Antonio Cataldo. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
PERU
Misplaced Ruins
Gilda Mantilla and Raimond Chaves
Commissioner: Armando Andrade de Lucio. Curator: Max Hernández-Calvo. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi
PHILIPPINES
Tie a String Around the World
Manuel Conde, Carlos Francisco, Manny Montelibano, Jose Tence Ruiz
Commissioner: National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Felipe M. de Leon Jr. Curator: Patrick D. Flores. Venue: European Cultural Centre - Palazzo Mora
POLAND
Halka/Haiti. 18°48’05”N 72°23’01”W
C.T. Jasper, Joanna Malinowska
Commissioner: Hanna Wróblewska. Deputy Commissioner: Joanna Wasko. Curator: Magdalena Moskalewicz. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
PORTUGAL
I Will Be Your Mirror / poems and problems
João Louro
Commissioner/Curator: María de Corral. Venue: Palazzo Loredan, campo S. Stefano
ROMANIA
Adrian Ghenie: Darwin’s Room
Adrian Ghenie
Commissioner: Monica Morariu. Deputy Commissioner: Alexandru Damian. Curator: Mihai Pop. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
Inventing the Truth. On Fiction and Reality
Michele Bressan, Carmen Dobre-Hametner, Alex Mirutziu, Lea Rasovszky, Stefan Sava, Larisa Sitar
Commissioner: Monica Morariu. Deputy Commissioner: Alexandru Damian. Curator: Diana Marincu. Deputy Curators: Ephemair Association (Suzana Dan and Silvia Rogozea). Venue: New Gallery of the Romanian Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research in Venice
RUSSIA
The Green Pavilion
Irina Nakhova
Commissioner: Stella Kesaeva. Curator: Margarita Tupitsyn. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
SERBIA
United Dead Nations
Ivan Grubanov
Commissioner: Lidija Merenik. Deputy Commissioner: Ana Bogdanovic. Curator: Lidija Merenik. Deputy Curator: Ana Bogdanovic. Scientific Committee: Jovan Despotovic. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
SAN MARINO
Repubblica di San Marino “ Friendship Project “ China
Xu De Qi, Liu Dawei, Liu Ruo Wang, Ma Yuan, Li Lei, Zhang Hong Mei, Eleonora Mazza, Giuliano Giulianelli, Giancarlo Frisoni, Tony Margiotta, Elisa Monaldi, Valentina Pazzini
Commissioner: Istituti Culturali della Repubblica di San Marino. Curator: Vincenzo Sanfo. Venue: TBC
SEYCHELLES, Republic of *
A Clockwork Sunset
George Camille, Léon Wilma Loïs Radegonde
Commissioner: Seychelles Art Projects Foundation. Curators: Sarah J. McDonald, Victor Schaub Wong. Venue: European Cultural Centre - Palazzo Mora
SINGAPORE
Sea State
Charles Lim Yi Yong
Commissioner: Paul Tan, National Arts Council, Singapore. Curator: Shabbir Hussain Mustafa. Scientific Committee: Eugene Tan, Kathy Lai, Ahmad Bin Mashadi, June Yap, Emi Eu, Susie Lingham, Charles Merewether, Randy Chan. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi
SLOVENIA, Republic of
UTTER / The violent necessity for the embodied presence of hope
JAŠA
Commissioner: Simona Vidmar. Deputy Commissioner: Jure Kirbiš. Curators: Michele Drascek and Aurora Fonda. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Artiglierie
SPAIN
Los Sujetos (The Subjects)
Pepo Salazar, Cabello/Carceller, Francesc Ruiz, + Salvador Dalí
Commissioner: Ministerio Asuntos Exteriores. Gobierno de España. Curator: Marti Manen. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Origini della civiltà
Narine Ali, Ehsan Alar, Felipe Cardeña, Fouad Dahdouh, Aldo Damioli, Svitlana Grebenyuk, Mauro Reggio, Liu Shuishi, Nass ouh Zaghlouleh, Andrea Zucchi, Helidon Xhixha
Commissioner: Christian Maretti. Curator: Duccio Trombadori. Venue: Redentore – Giudecca, San Servolo Island
SWEDEN
Excavation of the Image: Imprint, Shadow, Spectre, Thought
Lina Selander
Commissioner: Ann-Sofi Noring. Curator: Lena Essling. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale
SWITZERLAND
Our Product
Pamela Rosenkranz
Commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Sandi Paucic and Marianne Burki. Deputy-Commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Rachele Giudici Legittimo. Curator: Susanne Pfeffer. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
THAILAND
Earth, Air, Fire & Water
Kamol Tassananchalee
Commissioner: Chai Nakhonchai, Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC), Ministry of Culture. Curator: Richard David Garst. Deputy Curator: Pongdej Chaiyakut. Venue: Paradiso Gallerie, Giardini della Biennale, Castello 1260
TURKEY
Respiro
Sarkis
Commissioner: Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. Curator: Defne Ayas. Deputy Curator: Ozge Ersoy. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi
TUVALU
Crossing the Tide
Vincent J.F. Huang
Commissioner: Taukelina Finikaso. Deputy Commissioner: Temate Melitiana. Curator: Thomas J. Berghuis. Scientific Committee: Andrea Bonifacio. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale
UKRAINE
Hope!
Yevgenia Belorusets, Nikita Kadan, Zhanna Kadyrova, Mykola Ridnyi & SerhiyZhadan, Anna Zvyagintseva, Open Group, Artem Volokitin
Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Curator: Björn Geldhof. Venue: Riva dei Sette Martiri
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates
Abdullah Al Saadi, Abdul Qader Al Rais, Abdulraheem Salim, Abdulrahman Zainal, Ahmed Al Ansari, Ahmed Sharif, Hassan Sharif, Mohamed Yousif, Mohammed Abdullah Bulhiah, Mohammed Al Qassab, Mohammed Kazem, Moosa Al Halyan, Najat Meky, Obaid Suroor, Salem Jawhar
Commissioner: Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation. Curator: Hoor Al Qasimi. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d'Armi
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Joan Jonas: They Come to Us Without a Word
Joan Jonas
Commissioner: Paul C. Ha. Deputy Commissioner: MIT List Visual Arts Center. Curators: Ute Meta Bauer, Paul C. Ha. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
URUGUAY
Global Myopia II (Pencil & Paper)
Marco Maggi
Commissioner: Ricardo Pascale. Curator: Patricia Bentancour. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
VENEZUELA, Bolivarian Republic of
Te doy mi palabra (I give you my word)
Argelia Bravo, Félix Molina (Flix)
Commissioner: Oscar Sotillo Meneses. Deputy Commissioner: Reinaldo Landaeta Díaz. Curator: Oscar Sotillo Meneses. Deputy Curator: Morella Jurado. Scientific Committee: Carlos Pou Ruan. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini
ZIMBABWE, Republic of
Pixels of Ubuntu/Unhu: - Exploring the social and cultural identities of the 21st century.
Chikonzero Chazunguza, Masimba Hwati, Gareth Nyandoro
Commissioner: Doreen Sibanda. Curator: Raphael Chikukwa. Deputy Curator: Tafadzwa Gwetai. Scientific Committee: Saki Mafundikwa, Biggie Samwanda, Fabian Kangai, Reverend Paul Damasane, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Stephen Garan'anga, Dominic Benhura. Venue: Santa Maria della Pieta
ITALO-LATIN AMERICAN INSTITUTE
Voces Indígenas
Commissioner: Sylvia Irrazábal. Curator: Alfons Hug. Deputy Curator: Alberto Saraiva. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale
ARGENTINA
Sofia Medici and Laura Kalauz
PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA
Sonia Falcone and José Laura Yapita
BRAZIL
Adriana Barreto
Paulo Nazareth
CHILE
Rainer Krause
COLOMBIA
León David Cobo,
María Cristina Rincón and Claudia Rodríguez
COSTA RICA
Priscilla Monge
ECUADOR
Fabiano Kueva
EL SALVADOR
Mauricio Kabistan
GUATEMALA
Sandra Monterroso
HAITI
Barbara Prézeau Stephenson
HONDURAS
Leonardo González
PANAMA
Humberto Vélez
NICARAGUA
Raúl Quintanilla
PARAGUAY
Erika Meza
Javier López
PERU
José Huamán Turpo
URUGUAY
Gustavo Tabares
Ellen Slegers
001 Inverso Mundus. AES+F
Magazzino del Sale n. 5, Dorsoduro, 265 (Fondamenta delle Zattere ai Saloni); Palazzo Nani Mocenigo, Dorsoduro, 960
May 9th – October 31st
Organization: VITRARIA Glass + A Museum
Catalonia in Venice: Singularity
Cantieri Navali, Castello, 40 (Calle Quintavalle)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Institut Ramon Llull
venezia2015.llull.cat
Conversion. Recycle Group
Chiesa di Sant’Antonin, Castello (Campo Sant’Antonin)
May 6th - October 31st
Organization: Moscow Museum of Modern Art
Dansaekhwa
Palazzo Contarini-Polignac, Dorsoduro, 874 (Accademia)
May 7th – August 15th
Organization: The Boghossian Foundation
Dispossession
Palazzo Donà Brusa, Campo San Polo, 2177
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: European Capital of Culture Wroclaw 2016
wroclaw2016.pl/biennale/
EM15 presents Doug Fishbone’s Leisure Land Golf
Arsenale Docks, Castello, 40A, 40B, 41C
May 6th - July 26th
Organization: EM15
Eredità e Sperimentazione
Grand Hotel Hungaria & Ausonia, Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta, 28, Lido di Venezia
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Istituto Nazionale di BioArchitettura - Sezione di Padova
Frontiers Reimagined
Palazzo Grimani, Castello, 4858 (Ramo Grimani)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Tagore Foundation International; Polo museale del Veneto
Glasstress 2015 Gotika
Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, San Marco, 2847 (Campo Santo Stefano); Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione, Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli, Dorsoduro, 919 (Zattere); Fondazione Berengo, Campiello della Pescheria, 15, Murano;
May 9th — November 22nd
Organization: The State Hermitage Museum
Graham Fagen: Scotland + Venice 2015
Palazzo Fontana, Cannaregio, 3829 (Strada Nova)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Scotland + Venice
Grisha Bruskin. An Archaeologist’s Collection
Former Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Cannaregio, 4941-4942
May 6th – November 22nd
Organization: Centro Studi sulle Arti della Russia (CSAR), Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
Helen Sear, ... The Rest Is Smoke
Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, Castello, 450 (Fondamenta San Gioacchin)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice
Highway to Hell
Palazzo Michiel, Cannaregio, 4391/A (Strada Nova)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Hubei Museum of Art
Humanistic Nature and Society (Shan-Shui) – An Insight into the Future
Palazzo Faccanon, San Marco, 5016 (Mercerie)
May 7th – August 4th
Organization: Shanghai Himalayas Museum
In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World & South Asia
Dorsoduro, 417 (Zattere)
May 6th - November 15th
Organization: ArsCulture
Italia Docet | Laboratorium- Artists, Participants, Testimonials and Activated Spectators
Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto, San Marco, 2504 (Fondamenta Duodo o Barbarigo)
May 9th – June 30th; September 11st – October 31st
Organization: Italian Art Motherboard Foundation (i-AM Foundation)
www.venicebiennale-italiadocet.org
Jaume Plensa: Together
Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore, Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore
May 6th – November 22nd
Organization: Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore Benedicti Claustra Onlus
Jenny Holzer "War Paintings"
Museo Correr, San Marco, 52 (Piazza San Marco)
May 6th – November 22nd
Organization: The Written Art Foundation; Museo Correr, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia
correr.visitmuve.it
Jump into the Unknown
Palazzo Loredan dell’Ambasciatore, Dorsoduro, 1261-1262
May 9th – June 18th
Organization: Nine Dragon Heads
9dh-venice.com
Learn from Masters
Palazzo Bembo, San Marco, 4793 (Riva del Carbon)
May 9th – November 22nd
Organization: Pan Tianshou Foundation
pantianshou.caa.edu.cn/foundation_en
My East is Your West
Palazzo Benzon, San Marco, 3927
May 6th – October 31st
Organization: The Gujral Foundation
Ornamentalism. The Purvitis Prize
Arsenale Nord, Tesa 99
May 9th – November 22nd
Organization: The Secretariat of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015
www.purvisabalva.lv/en/ornamentalism
Path and Adventure
Arsenale, Castello, 2126/A (Campo della Tana)
May 9th – November 22nd
Organization: The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau; The Macao Museum of Art; The Cultural Affairs Bureau
Patricia Cronin: Shrine for Girls, Venice
Chiesa di San Gallo, San Marco, 1103 (Campo San Gallo)
May 9th – November 22nd
Organization: Brooklyn Rail Curatorial Projects
curatorialprojects.brooklynrail.org
Roberto Sebastian Matta. Sculture
Giardino di Palazzo Soranzo Cappello, Soprintendenza BAP per le Province di Venezia, Belluno, Padova e Treviso, Santa Croce, 770 (Fondamenta Rio Marin)
May 9th – November 22nd
Organization: Fondazione Echaurren Salaris
www.fondazioneechaurrensalaris.it
www.maggioregam.com/56Biennale_Matta
Salon Suisse: S.O.S. Dada - The World Is A Mess
Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro, 810 (Campo Sant'Agnese)
May 9th; June 4th - 6th; September 10th - 12th; October 15th - 17th; November 19th – 21st
Organization: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
Sean Scully: Land Sea
Palazzo Falier, San Marco, 2906
May 9th – November 22nd
Organization: Fondazione Volume!
Sepphoris. Alessandro Valeri
Molino Stucky, interior atrium, Giudecca, 812
May 9th – November 22nd
Organization: Assessorato alla Cultura del Comune di Narni(TR); a Sidereal Space of Art; Satellite Berlin
Tesla Revisited
Palazzo Nani Mocenigo, Dorsoduro, 960
May 9th – October 18th
Organization: VITRARIA Glass + A Museum
The Bridges of Graffiti
Arterminal c/o Terminal San Basilio, Dorsoduro (Fondamenta Zattere al Ponte Lungo)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Associazione Culturale Inossidabile
The Dialogue of Fire. Ceramic and Glass Masters from Barcelona to Venice
Palazzo Tiepolo Passi, San Polo, 2774
May 6th - November 22nd
Organization: Fundaciò Artigas; ArsCulture
The Question of Beings
Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Castello, 3701
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MoCA, Taipei)
The Revenge of the Common Place
Università Ca' Foscari, Ca' Bernardo, Dorsoduro, 3199 (Calle Bernardo)
May 9th – September 30th
Organization: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University Brussels-VUB)
The Silver Lining. Contemporary Art from Liechtenstein and other Microstates
Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro, 810 (Campo Sant'Agnese)
October 24th – November 1st
Organization: Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
The Sound of Creation. Paintings + Music by Beezy Bailey and Brian Eno
Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello, Palazzo Pisani, San Marco, 2810 (Campo Santo Stefano)
May 7th - November 22nd
Organization: ArsCulture
The Union of Fire and Water
Palazzo Barbaro, San Marco, 2840
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: YARAT Contemporary Art Organisation
Thirty Light Years - Theatre of Chinese Art
Palazzo Rossini, San Marco, 4013 (Campo Manin)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: GAC Global Art Center Foundation; The Guangdong Museum of Art
Tsang Kin-Wah: The Infinite Nothing, Hong Kong in Venice
Arsenale, Castello, 2126 (Campo della Tana)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: M+, West Kowloon Cultural District; Hong Kong Arts Development Council
Under the Surface, Newfoundland and Labrador at Venice
Galleria Ca' Rezzonico, Dorsoduro, 2793
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Terra Nova Art Foundation
tnaf.ca
Ursula von Rydingsvard
Giardino della Marinaressa, Castello (Riva dei Sette Martiri)
May 6th - November 22nd
Organization:Yorkshire Sculpture Park
We Must Risk Delight: Twenty Artists from Los Angeles
Magazzino del Sale n. 3, Dorsoduro, 264 (Zattere)
May 7th - November 22nd
Organization: bardoLA
Wu Tien-Chang: Never Say Goodbye
Palazzo delle Prigioni, Castello, 4209 (San Marco)
May 9th - November 22nd
Organization: Taipei Fine Arts Museum of Taiwan
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Sweden required a strong air defense, utilizing the newly developed jet propulsion technology. This led to a pair of proposals being issued by the Saab design team, led by Lars Brising. The first of these, codenamed R101, was a cigar-shaped aircraft, which bore a resemblance to the American Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. The second design, which would later be picked as the winner, was a barrel-shaped design, codenamed R 1001, which proved to be both faster and more agile upon closer study.
The original R 1001 concept had been designed around a mostly straight wing, but after Swedish engineers had obtained German research data on swept-wing designs, the prototype was altered to incorporate a 25° sweep. In order to make the wing as thin as possible, Saab elected to locate the retractable undercarriage in the aircraft's fuselage rather than into the wings.
Extensive wind tunnel testing performed at the Swedish Royal University of Technology and by the National Aeronautical Research Institute had also influenced aspects of the aircraft's aerodynamics, such as stability and trim across the aircraft's speed range. In order to test the design of the swept wing further and avoid any surprises, it was decided to modify a single Saab Safir. It received the designation Saab 201 and a full-scale R 1001 wing for a series of flight tests. The first 'final' sketches of the aircraft, incorporating the new information, was drawn in January 1946.
The originally envisioned powerplant for the new fighter type was the de Havilland Goblin turbojet engine. However, in December 1945, information on the newer and more powerful de Havilland Ghost engine became available. The new engine was deemed to be ideal for Saab's in-development aircraft, as not only did the Ghost engine had provisions for the use of a central circular air intake, the overall diameter of the engine was favorable for the planned fuselage dimensions, too. Thus, following negotiations between de Havilland and Saab, the Ghost engine was selected to power the type instead and built in license as the RM 2.
By February 1946 the main outline of the proposed aircraft had been clearly defined. In Autumn 1946, following the resolution of all major questions of principal and the completion of the project specification, the Swedish Air Force formally ordered the completion of the design and that three prototype aircraft be produced, giving the proposed type the designation J 29.
On 1 September 1948, the first of the Saab 29 prototypes conducted its maiden flight, which lasted for half an hour. Because of the shape of its fuselage, the Saab J 29 quickly received the nickname "Flygande Tunnan" ("The Flying Barrel"), or "Tunnan" ("The Barrel") for short. While the demeaning nickname was not appreciated by Saab, its short form was eventually officially adopted.
A total of four prototypes were built for the aircraft's test program. The first two lacked armament, carrying heavy test equipment instead, while the third prototype was armed with four 20mm automatic guns. Various different aerodynamic arrangements were tested, such as air brakes being installed either upon the fuselage or on the wings aft of the rear spar, along with both combined and conventional aileron/flap arrangements.
The flight test program revealed that the J 29 prototypes were capable of reaching and exceeding the maximum permissible Mach number for which they had been designed, and the flight performance figures gathered were found to be typically in excess of the predicted values.
In 1948 production of the type commenced and in May 1951 the first deliveries of operational production aircraft were received by F 13 Norrköping. The J 29 proved to be very successful and several variants and updates of the Tunnan were produced, including a dedicated reconnaissance variant and a dedicated all-weather fighter with an on-board radar, the J 29D.
The J 29D variant originally started its career as a single prototype to test the Ghost RM 2A afterburner turbojet with 27.5 kN (2,800 kgp/6,175 lbf). The new engine dramatically improved the Tunnan’s performance, esp. concerning the start phase, acceleration and climb, and was eventually adopted for the whole J 29 fighter fleet in an update program, leading to the J 29F variant.
However, at the time of the RM 2A trials, Sweden was more and more in need for a suitable all-weather aerial defense for its vast, neutral airspace in the vicinity of the Soviet Union. Only a single flight of the Swedish Air Force, F1 in Hässlö, operated roundabout thirty radar-equipped fighters, and these were outdated De Havilland Mosquito night fighters (locally designated J 30).
The highly successful J 29 was soon considered as a potential air-intercept radar carrier, offering a much more up-tp-date performance and deterrent potential against would-be intruders. Consequently, Saab started the development of an indigenous all-weather fighter on the basis of the Tunnan (originally coded “J 29R”). The work started with aerodynamic trials of different radome designs and placements on a Tunnan’s nose, e .g. inside of the circular air intake opening or above it. No major drawbacks were identified, and in 1955 the decision was made to convert thirty J 29B daylight fighters for the all weather/night fighter role. These machines officially inherited the designation J 29D.
The J 29D’s compact radar, called the PS-43/T, was designed by CSF (Compagnie Generale de Telegrahpi Sans Fil) in France after the Swedish specification. It had a wavelength of 3 cm with an effect of 100 kW, and it was to have a spiral scan pattern. Range was 15-20 km, only a slight improved against the Mosquitos’ bulky SCR-720B radar set, which only had a range of 12-16km. But the system’s compact size and the ability to be operated by the pilot alone meant a serious step forward. 34 sets were delivered together with blueprints in 1956, and the PS-43 radar system was later modified and adapted to the Saab 32 Lansen, too.
The structural modifications for the radar-equipped Tunnan were carried out in the course of the ensuing J 29F update program, which had started in 1954. Beyond the afterburner engine and dogtooth wing updates for the day fighters, the J 29D also received a re-designed nose section which now featured a thimble radome for the PS-43/T, integrated into the upper air intake lip, reminiscent of the F-86D’s arrangement. The air intake itself kept the original circular diameter, but the opening was slightly wider, raked forward and featured a sharper lip, for an improved airflow under the radome. Overall performance of the J 29 did not suffer, and the conversion took place swiftly thanks to a simple replacement of the nose section in front of the windscreen and the installation of a shielded tracking monitor in the cockpit.
Experiments with a heavier cannon armament (consisting of four, long-barreled 30mm guns in the lower fuselage) for the J 29 in general were conducted in parallel, too. But, despite showing no negative effect on the J 29’s handling or performance, this upgrade was not introduced to any of the J 29 variants in service and so the J 29D kept its original four 20mm cannon as main armament, too. Additional ordnance consisted of optional racks with 75 mm/3 in air-to-air rockets under the inner wings against large aerial targets like bombers. A pair of drop tanks could be carried on the outer pylons, too, and they were frequently carried in order to extend range and loiter time. Other loads, including bombs or unguided air-to-ground missiles, were possible, but never carried except for in practice.
The last converted J 29D was delivered back to the Swedish Air Force in late 1956, just in time to replace the last active J 30 Mosquitos in service, which had been gradually phased out since 1953. In parallel, the radar-equipped J 33 Venom was introduced into service, too, since the small number of J 29Ds had in the meantime turned out to be far from sufficient to effectively cover the Swedish air space against large numbers of ever faster jet bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. The J 29D fulfilled its role and duty well, though, and was just as popular as the daylight fighter versions.
Initially, all J 29D were delivered in bare metal finish, but they were soon adorned with additional markings on fin and wing tips for easier recognition and formation flights. A few all-weather fighters of F1 Flygflottil experimentally received the blue/green camouflage which had been adopted for the S 29C reconnaissance aircraft, but this was found to be ineffective at the typical altitudes the interceptors would operate. As a consequence, the scheme was quickly changed into the much lighter livery of the former J 30 and J 33 fighters, although the bare metal undersides and the formation markings under the wing tips were retained – even though this practice was confined to F 1 and not consequently carried out among all of the fighter squadron's J 29Ds. Some J 29D furthermore carried various forms of black ID bands for quick identification in war games, but unlike the day fighters, these markings were limited to the undersides only.
From 1963 onwards all frontline J 29Fs were equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-seeking air-to-air missiles, designated Rb 24 in Swedish service. This update was also carried out among the J 29D fleet, and the new, guided missiles considerably improved the aircraft’s capabilities.
Anyway, the J 29D’s small number remained a fundamental problem that prevented bigger success or even export sales, and due to the quick technical advances, the J 29D remained only a stopgap solution. The much more capable Saab 32 Lansen had been under development and its dedicated all-weather fighter variant, the J 32B, had already entered service in 1958, replacing the mixed and outdated lot of radar-equipped fighters in Swedish service.
Nevertheless, the J 29D soldiered on, together with the rest of the J 29F and S 29C fleet, until 1970, even though not in front line duties anymore.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 10.80 m (35 ft 4 1/2 in)
Wingspan: 11.0 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 24.15 m² (260.0 ft²)
Empty weight: 4,845 kg (10,680 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,375 kg (18,465 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Svenska Flygmotor RM2B afterburner turbojet, rated at 6,070 lbf (27 kN)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,060 km/h (660 mph)
Range: 1,100 km (685 mi)
Service ceiling: 15,500 m (50,850 ft)
Rate of climb: 32.1 m/s (6,320 ft/min)
Armament:
4x 20mm Hispano Mark V autocannon in the lower front fuselage
Typically, a pair of 400-liter (106 US gallon) or 500-liter (132 US gallon) drop tanks was carried on the outer “wet” pylons
Further air-to-air ordnance initially consisted of 75 mm (3 in) air-to-air rockets, from 1963 onwards the J 29D could also carry up to 4x Rb 24 (AIM-9B Sidewinder) IR-guided air-to-air missiles.
Optionally (but never carried in service), the J 29D could also deploy a wide range of bombs and unguided missiles, including 145 mm (5.8 in) anti-armor rockets, 150 mm (6 in) HE (high-explosive) rockets or 180 mm (7.2 in) HE anti-ship rockets
The kit and its assembly:
Sweden is a prolific whiffing territory, and the Saab 29 offers some interesting options. The all-weather Tunnan was a real Saab project, and things actually got as far as the aforementioned radome shape test stage. But eventually the project was fully dropped, since Saab had been busy with standard J 29 production and conversions, so that this aircraft never materialized, just as the projected side-by-side trainer Sk 29 of the same era.
However, I recently came across a nice Saab 29 book which also covers some projects – including drawings of the radar-equipped Tunnan that never was. My converted model with the thimble radome and the raked air intake is based on these drawings.
The basic kit is the Heller Saab 29, which I deem superior to the Matchbox Tunnan, with its mix of raised and engraved panel lines and overall rather soft detail (despite the surprisingly nice cockpit). Anyway,, the Heller kit has its flaws, too, e. g. a generally weak material thickness, lack of locator pins or other stabilizing aids and some sinkholes here and there.
The kit was built mostly OOB, with as much lead in the gun tray as possible - and it actually stands on its own three feet/wheels! The only major change is the modified nose section. It sounds simple to graft a radome onto the Tunnan's nose, but the rhinoplasty was challenging. The whole front end had to be renewed, based on the profile drawings and sketches at hand.
The thimble radome is actually a recycled drop tank front end from a Hasegawa F6F Hellcat. The raked, lower aitr intake lip comes from a Matchbox Mystère IVA - but it lost its splitter, was reshaped and had the OOB air intake duct glued into place from behind. Once the intake was glued into its place, a wedge opeing was cut into the area in front of the canopy and the drop tank radome adapted to the gap, a step-by-step approach, since I wanted to have the radome slightly protrude into the airtake, but also keep a staright line in front of the windscreen.
Additional details include new pitots on the wing tips and some additional antennae. The heat shield for the afterburner engine is OOB, as well as the streamlined drop tanks and their pylons. I just added an additional pair of pylons (from an Acedamy MiG-23) to the inner wing, holding a pair of AIM-9Bs.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable, yet “different” scheme for the J 29 night fighter was not easy; most J 29 were left in bare metal, some carried dark green upper surfaces and some S 29C wore a paint scheme in olive green and dark blue. I eventually settled for the RAF style paint scheme that had been adopted with the J 30 Mosquito and J 33 Venom night fighters – not spectacular, but different from the Swedish early Sixties norm, and it subtly underlines the J 29D’s role.
The scheme was lent from RAF Venom night fighters (which was used on the Swedish J 33, too), and of the upper surfaces I used RAF tones, too: Humbrol 163 (Dark Green) and 165 (Medium Sea Grey). However, I did not want to use the grey on the lower surfaces, since I found that scheme a bit too uniform and British, so I painted the lower surfaces in NMF, with a waterline at medium height - higher than the camouflaged S 29C’s and lower than the early, camouflaged J 29A fighters (with an experimental all-green upper surface).
The bare metal finish was created with acrylic Aluminum (Revell 99) and Polished and Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol) added on top, highlighting single panels. Around the engine bay and the exhaust, a base with Iron (Revell 91) was laid down, with Steel Metallizer (Modelmaster) on top.
Under the wing tips, green formation markings (again Humbrol 163) were added, as well as black ID stripes (cut from generic decal sheet material). Other, Swedish adornment, like the roundels, codes or squadron markings, was taken from the OOB sheet, a PrintScale sheet for the J 29 and leftover decals from a Heller J 21.
Interior details were painted according to Swedish standard, thankfully there are many good pictures available. The cockpit interior became grey-green (Revell 67 comes very close to the real thing) with light grey dashboard and side consoles. The landing gear wells medium (Revell 57) grey with some dry-brushed Aluminum, while the wheel discs became grey-green, too.
An interesting result, through relatively little effort: the dog nose changes the look of the tubby J 29 a lot, it looks much sleeker and somewhat German now – but somehow also more retro than the original aircraft? The different paint scheme looks unusual, too, despite being relatively down-to-earth. This will certainly not be my last modified J 29, a two-seat trainer would certainly be another cool and reality based Tunnan whif?
+++ 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 APS-4 was a light-weight, pod-mounted airborne search Radar which was suitable for either Airborne Interception (AI) or Air-to-Surface-Vessel (ASV) applications. It was a member of a series of early air-borne radar equipment and was initially designated as AS-H (“Air-to Surface, version H”). This very advanced equipment for its time was first used by the US Navy on board of carrier-borne night fighter aircraft like respective F6F Hellcat and F4U-2 Corsair variants. The Royal Air Force was impressed enough with the system's performance that it was adopted in 1943 for domestic airframes, too, as an alternative to the British AI radars used on board of early Mosquito, Beaufighter and Defiant night fighters.
One very successful carrier of the APS-4, in RAF service known as the AI Mk XV, was the De Havilland Mosquito in its NF Mk.XIX and NF Mk.30 night fighter incarnations. Aware of the performance and effectiveness of the American single engine aircraft, though, the RAF decided to test similar domestic airframes towards the end of WWII as well. The shorter range of a single engine night fighter would, compared with the bigger but also more sluggish two engine types, be compensated by higher speed, agility and rate of climb. These lighter aircraft were intended as a second defense for homeland defense, esp. around large cities or industrial sites.
One of these projects concerned the Supermarine Spitfire, more specifically the new types powered by a Rolly Royce Griffon engine. The Griffon provided a substantial performance increase over the Merlin-powered Spitfire Mk IX, but initially suffered from poor high altitude performance due to having only a single stage supercharged engine. By 1943, Rolls-Royce engineers had developed a new Griffon engine, the 61 series, with a two-stage supercharger, leading to a slightly modified engine, the 65 series, which was eventually mounted in the Spitfire Mk XIV.
With this performance surplus, a night fighter, despite carrying the AI Mk XV equipment plus a second crew member, was still expected to offer a superior performance over German two-engine bombers that intruded British airspace and the heavy night fighters that lurked over the Channel and attacked grouping RAF night bomber formations before they entered Continental airspace.
From this idea, the Spitfire NF.XX was born, as an alternative to a Hawker Typhoon night fighter with a British radar and only a single crew member. In summer 1944 an initial prototype was built, converted from an early series production Mk. XIV airframe. Since the AI Mk XV came with a rather complicated and voluminous display, a second crew member was deemed necessary for effective operations, esp. at night and under poor visibility conditions. The radio operator would check the radar readings and verbally guide the pilot towards the target, who could concentrate on the flying job and keep the eyes on the surroundings.
In order to fit the equipment and the second crew member into the tight Spitfire airframe, and a separate compartment behind the pilot's cockpit and the real bulkhead was added. This second seat received a separate sliding canopy, resulting in a distinctive camel hump silhouette, which earned the Spitfire NF.XX quickly the nickname 'Camelback'. Supermarine had proposed a new service name for this aircraft, 'Nightfire', but it was not officially accepted, since the machine did not differ enough from the basic Spitfire day fighter to justify a completely new designation.
The AI Mk XV equipment and its antenna were carried in a bullet-shaped pod under the port wing, similar to the US Navy night fighters’ arrangement. The radar dish was designed to scan from side to side for AI applications, but it could also be commanded to look up and down by a few degrees. This enabled the aircraft to attack targets from above, and it could also search for surface vessels below, so that the aircraft could also act in ASV or pathfinder duties in a secondary role (much like the Mosquito night fighters, which frequently guided bomber formations to their targets).
In order to mount the pod to the outer wing and compensate for the gain of weight, the standard 0.303" Browning machine guns normally located there were deleted. Instead, the NF.XX was initially armed with two 20 mm Hispano cannon plus a pair of 0.5" machine guns, mounted in a fashion similar to the Spitfire's standard E wing.
The NF.XX was powered, like the Spitfire Mk. XIV, by the two-stage supercharged Griffon 65, producing 2,050 hp (1,528 kW). A five bladed Rotol propeller of 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) in diameter was used, and for the night fighter role the standard single exhaust stubs gave way to a collector fairing on each side, which dampened flames and improved the crew's view in the darkness.
To help balance the heavy Griffon engine, the radio equipment was moved further back in the rear fuselage. Improved VHF radio equipment allowed for the aerial mast to be removed and replaced by a "whip" aerial further aft on the fuselage spine. Because of the longer nose and the increased slipstream of the big five-bladed propeller, a new tail unit, with a taller, broader fin and a rudder of increased area was introduced.
One problem that hampered all early Griffon-powered Spitfire variants also plagued the NF.XX, though: short legs. The NF.XX carried a total of 109.5 gal of fuel, consisting of 84 gal in two main tanks and a 12.5 imp gal fuel tank in each leading edge wing tank. With this internal capacity, the fighter's maximum range was just a little over 460 miles (740 km) since the new Griffon engine consumed much more fuel per hour than the Merlin engine of earlier variants, and the extra drag and weight through the radar equipment did not make things better.
As a simple remedy, a conformal, fixed belly tank between the radiators was devised. This carried an extra 90 gal, of fuel, extending the fighter's range to about 850 miles (1,370 km) – still not much for aerial patrol and extended loiter time for interceptions, but enough for short-notice home defense duties. Alternatively, a more conventional but jettisonable 100 gal. drop tank could be carried, but it produced considerably more drag and affected overall performance so dramatically that it was never used in service.
The first tests of the new aircraft were conducted in January 1945 and three pre-production machines (all converted Mk. XIV airframes) were allocated to night fighter units for field trials and direct comparison with two engine types. Despite its innate aerodynamic and weight penalties the Spitfire NF.XX still attained an impressive top speed of 400 mph (350 kn; 640 km/h) at 29,500 ft (9.000 m), even though in clean condition only. But it was still more than enough to take on much heavier German bombers and night fighters. The second crewman was another winning factor, since the pilot alone would be overloaded in the face of heavily armed enemy aircraft in the European theatre of operations and the local weather conditions.
Further initial experience with the type resulted in several ad hoc modifications: the wing span was increased in order to improve handling and climb performance, using standard wing tip extensions from Spitfire high altitude variants. Furthermore, a deeper rudder was added to the fin because the second cockpit created significant directional instability.
Armament was changed, too - more firepower and a longer range was deemed necessary to attack the German heavy night fighters, which themselves frequently carried defensive armament in the form of heavy machine guns. Consequently, the initial pair of 0.5" machine guns was deleted and replaced by an additional pair of 20 mm Hispano cannon, and all four guns received extended barrels for a higher weapon range.
In this form, the Spitfire NF.XX quickly entered RAF service in March 1945, but, in the meantime, the German night fighter threat had declined, so that only 50 machines were completed and delivered to RAF units in the UK until the end of hostilities.
The operational use of the machines was hampered by localized skin wrinkling on the wings and fuselage at load attachment points, a problem the type shared with the Mk. XIV day fighter. Even though Supermarine advised that the machines had not been seriously weakened, nor were they on the point of failure, the RAF nevertheless issued instructions in early 1945 that all F and FR Mk XIVs were to be retrospectively fitted with clipped wings to counter the threat. The NF.XX kept their elongated wing tips, however, and were simply limited to a top speed of 370 mph (600 km/h) and not allowed to dive anymore.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2 (pilot, radar operator)
Length: 32 ft 8 in (9.96 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 2 in (12.2 m)
Height: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
Wing area: 249.7 sq.ft (23.2 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 2213 (root), NACA 2209.4 (tip)
Empty weight: 8,680 lb (3,937 kg)
Gross weight: 10,700 lb (4,853 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 12,530 lb (5,683 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Griffon 65 supercharged V12, 2,050 hp (1,530 kW) at 8,000 ft (2,438 m),
driving a 5-bladed Jablo-Rotol propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 400 mph (640 km/h; 353 kn) in FS supercharger gear at 29,500 ft.
Combat range: 460 mi (741 km/400 nmi) with internal fuel only
850 mi (1,370 km/757 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,093 mi (1,759 km/950 nmi)
Service ceiling: 43,500 ft (13,259 m)
Rate of climb: 4,300 ft/min (21.8 m/s) in MS supercharger gear at 2,100 ft.
3,100 ft/min (15.8 m/s) in FS supercharger gear at 22,100 ft.
Time to altitude: 8 mins to 22,000 ft (at max weight)
Wing loading: 32.72 lb/sq ft (159.8 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.24
Armament:
4× 20 mm (0.787-in) Hispano Mk II cannon with 120 RPG in the wings
Provision for an auxiliary underfuselage tank, either a fixed conformal 90 gal tank or a
100 gal drop tank.
The kit and its assembly:
Well, Spitfire fans might call it crude to create a whiffy variant that incorporates so many ugly details. But this fever creation came into being through the simple thought: "What would a dedicated Spitfire night fighter with a radar look like?" From this initial creative spark I tried to build this fictional NF.XX variant with available late WWII technology from a Griffon-powered Spitfire.
The basis is the Airfix Spitfire PR.XIX kit, a nice and clean offering, even though the use of this photo recce variant meant some additional work. The radar pod comes wholesale from an F4U night fighter (Fujimi), since the wing installation appeared to me to be the only plausible (and proven) option.
The second cockpit and the "double bubble" canopy come from an RS Models Spitfire Mk.IX UTI trainer, which is/was a domestic conversion made in the Soviet Union. The kit comes with an extra two seater fuselage, so that, despite body donors, almost a complete Spitfire remains (just the cockpit missing, but this can be taken from the Airfix kit).
I also considered the Spitfire TR.IX arrangement, with a stepped bubble canopy, but found that the risen rear cockpit for the instructor would not make sense in a night fighter, so the UTI arrangement with separate canopies on the same level appeared to me to be the most suitable solution for this aircraft and its task.
Surgery was not easy, though: The whole cockpit area was dissected from the RS Models trainer and – together with the internal parts like the bulkheads, dashboards and seats – transplanted into an appropriate gap, cut into the Airfix kit fuselage. The windscreen position on both airframes was used as orientation benchmark.
Basically a simple idea, but, even though you have two Spitfire kits at hand, both models differ slightly from each other in many ways. Material thickness is different, as well as panel lines, which are all there on both models but simply do not fall in line. Internal width and available space is also different, esp. the rear bulkhead was not easy to integrate into the Airfix fuselage. It worked, somehow, but it consequently took some PSR effort and rescribing (at least, both donor kits have engraved details) in order to create this Griffon-powered two-seater.
The extended wings were created through the simple implantation of high altitude wing tips from an AZ Model Spitfire I/II/V/VI kit. They match very well with the Airfix PR.XIX wings, which were simply clipped at the correct position outside of the ailerons. Since the recce Spitfire comes without any weapons I added four brass barrels (Pavla) to the wings, plus respective bulges for the magazines (scratched from sprue) and casing ejector fairings under the wings.
I also changed the vertical rudder. Instead of the separate OOB part from the Spitfire PR.XIX I used a deeper and higher rudder from a late Seafire mark (left over from a Special Hobby kit, IIRC). The part lost its hook and the notch for its deployment mechanism, replaced by a piece of styrene that was PSRed into the rest of the rudder. It’s not an obvious change, but the bigger fin area is a good counterpart to the enlarged wings and the bulkier rear fuselage.
The conformal belly tank was scratched from the upper half of a Matchbox A-10 inner wing. There are aftermarket solutions available, but I simply did not want to spend as much money on a single resin part that no one will clearly see and that’s just as expensive as the whole Airfix basis kit. Some things are just ridiculous.
Painting and markings:
Very simple: classic late war RAF night fighter colors, with Medium Sea Grey and Dark Green (Humbrol 165 and 163, respectively) on the uppers surfaces, plus Night (I used Revell Acrylics 06, Tar Black, which is actually a very dark grey tone) underneath, with a high waterline and a black fin. Looks weird on a Spitfire, but also somewhat cool!? The model received a light black ink wash and some panel post-shading, using a blue-ish hue for the Night undersurfaces.
The interior is classic RAF Cockpit Green (Humbrol 78), the only catchy marking is the red propeller spinner – originally I just wanted to keep the spinner black, too, but found that to be too dull overall.
The markings come from different sources; the codes were created with single Dull Red letters from Xtradecal, roundels and other markings come from various other sheets. The added “G” to the serial number is, BTW, an indication that the aircraft had to be guarded all the time. A nice and appropriate detail for this high tech aircraft of its time. The roundels/fin flashes were taken from another Xtradecal sheet, IIRC they belong to an FAA SB2C Helldiver.
Finally, some wear marks were added with dry-brushed light grey and silver. Exhaust stains were added with dry-brushed dark and light grey, as well as some grinded graphite. A coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) sealed the kit.
I feel a bit guilty of creating the probably ugliest Spitfire possible, with all the add-ons and the weird proportions through the second cockpit and the belly tank. Very massive, at least for this sleek aircraft. The night fighter paint scheme suits the Spitfire surprisingly well, though. Anyway, it’s whifworld, after all, and I tried to go through with the night fighter idea as good and consequential as possible – the fictional NF.XX is just my personal interpretation of the theme.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The J, K and N class was a class of destroyers of the Royal Navy, launched in 1938 in three flotillas or groups and with names beginning with "J", "K" and "N", respectively. Their design was intended as a smaller follow-on from the preceding Tribal class and incorporated one radical new idea that was a departure from all previous Royal Navy destroyer designs: the adoption of a two-boiler room layout. This reduced hull length and allowed for a single funnel, both reducing the profile and increasing the arcs of fire of the light anti-aircraft (AA) weapons. However, this also increased vulnerability, as there were now two adjacent large compartments with the resultant risk of a single well-placed hit flooding both and resulting in a total loss of boiler power. This illustrates somewhat the Admiralty's attitude to the expendable nature of destroyers, but destroyers were lightly armored and fast vessels, anyway, meant to survive by avoiding being hit at all. From this perspective, the odds of a single hit striking just the right spot to disable both boiler rooms simultaneously were considered remote enough to be worth risking in exchange for the benefits given by a two-room layout.
A significant advancement in construction techniques was developed by naval architect Albert Percy Cole. Instead of going for transverse frame sections which were unnecessarily strong, but held together by weak longitudinals, Cole opted for extra strong longitudinals and weaker transverse frames. Another advancement was changes to the bow design, which was modified from that of the preceding Tribal-class design: the clipper bow was replaced by a straight stem with increased sheer. This change was not a success and these ships were very wet forwards. This shortcoming was rectified from the later S class onward by returning to the earlier form.
Despite the vulnerability of the boiler layout, the design was to prove compact, strong and very successful, forming the basis of all Royal Navy destroyer construction from the O class up to the last of the C class of 1943–1945.
The armament was based on that of the Tribals but replaced one twin QF 4.7 in (120 mm) Mark XII (L/45) gun on mounting CP Mk. XIX with an additional bank of torpedo tubes. These mountings were capable of 40° elevation and 340° of training. Curiously, 'X' mounting was positioned such that the blind 20° arc was across the stern, rather than the more logical forward position where fire was obscured by the bridge and masts anyway. This meant that they were unable to fire dead astern. With the tubes now 'pentad', a heavy load of ten Mk. IX torpedoes could be carried. AA armament consisted of a quadruple QF 2 pdr gun Mark VIII on a Mk. VII mounting and a pair of quadruple 0.5 in Vickers machine guns, which were later replaced with more effective 20 mm Oerlikons.
These ships, when completed, had a comparatively heavy close-range AA armament. Fire control arrangements also differed from the Tribals, and the dedicated high-angle (H/A) rangefinder director was not fitted. Instead only a 12 ft (3.7 m) rangefinder was carried behind the nominally dual-purpose Director Control Tower (DCT). In the event, the rangefinder was heavily modified to allow it to control the main armament for AA fire and was known as the "3 man modified rangefinder". These ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock HA Fire Control Computer.
In 1940 and 1941, to improve the anti-aircraft capabilities, the ships had their aft torpedo tubes removed and replaced with a single 4” gun QF Mark V on a HA Mark III mounting. The relatively ineffective multiple 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) machine guns were replaced with single 20 mm Oerlikons, with a further pair added abreast the searchlight platform amidships. The high-speed destroyer mine sweeps were replaced with a rack and two throwers for 45 depth charges, and a Type 286 Radar air warning was added at the masthead alongside Type 285 fire control on the H/A rangefinder-director.
H.M.S. Jubilant was the last J-class destroyer to be ordered in March 1937, and she was the last one to be built, by Harland & Wolff at Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her keel was laid down on 30 May 1937. She was launched on 15 October 1939, and commissioned 13 November 1939.
Initially, Jubilant was allocated to the Home Fleet and arrived at Portsmouth on 11 January 1940 and carried a uniform light grey livery. On 3 February she left for the River Clyde en route to Rosyth, arrived on 7 February and operated with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron on convoy escort duties.
In April and May 1940, she took part in the Norwegian Campaign. On 11 April Jubilant ran aground off Fleinvær while hunting German merchant ships entering the Vestfjord. Her boiler room was flooded, and she was holed forward. Overall damage was limited, though, and she was successfully towed to Skjelfjord where an advanced base had been improvised. Despite air attacks, temporary repairs were made, and she was towed home a month later. She arrived at Greenock in Scotland on 16 May 1940 where additional temporary repairs were carried out, before proceeding on 19 August to the Tyne for permanent repairs and major modifications.
These modifications centered around the experimental outfit of the destroyer with heaver 6 in guns. The idea behind the bigger guns was to give the ship not only higher firepower in direct confrontation, but even more a bigger range for ballistic shots, so that the ship could support major battleships in land target shelling missions. Being lighter than cruisers with the same type of weapon that were typically tasked with this kind of mission and benefiting from less draught, the light destroyer could operate closer to enemy shores, and its higher speed and agility would offer sufficient protection from counter fire. The Admiralty was interested enough in the concept to allow a ship to be converted as a pilot for field tests, and Jubilant was chosen for the conversion.
This resulted in a thoroughly revised main armament, which now experimentally consisted of four single QF Mk. III 6-inch 40 caliber naval guns in fully enclosed turrets, which replaced the J-class’s former three QF 4.7-inch twin gun mounts. The QF Mk. III 6-inch guns were leftover stock material from wrecked WWI cruisers, and they had an effective range of up to 15,000 yards (14,000 m) at 28° elevation versus 12,000 yards (11,000 m) at 24° of the former 4.7 in guns. They were the heaviest type of gun that a British destroyer had carried so far, and the concept was later further explored with the L- and M-class ships, even though these would be outfitted with more modern weapons.
For the new configuration, “A” and “B” turrets were simply replaced, but for the rear-facing “X” and “Y” stations, the rear deck and superstructure had to be modified. The AA ordnance was re-arranged and modernized, too, including the replacement of the rear torpedo launcher unit with a single QF 4-inch Mark V (102 mm) AA gun with a circular splinter protection wall, which was part of the contemporary standard upgrade program for the J- and K-class ships. 20mm Oerlikon guns (in single and twin mounts) replaced the former 0.5 in machine guns, and two depth charge launchers were added amidships.
Other changes comprised a closed bridge for better crew protection and a new coincidence rangefinder, optimized for ballistic gunnery. A Type 279M radar was fitted, too, a naval early-warning radar developed during the war from the Type 79 metric early-warning set. It initially had separate transmitting and receiving antennas that were later combined into single-antenna operation. This set also had a secondary surface-search mode with surface and aerial gunnery capability and used a Precision Ranging Panel, which passed accurate radar ranges directly to the HACS table, an analog computer.
After repairs and trials were completed in August 1941, Jubilant reappeared as 'a new ship from the water line down', carrying a disruptive light Admiralty scheme in greys and blue, and she returned to Scapa Flow on 17 August 1941. On 9 September she left Greenock, escorting the battleship Duke of York to Rosyth. Later that month she was employed in patrolling the Iceland–Faroes passage to intercept enemy surface ships.
On 6 October 1941 Jubilant left Hvalfjord, Iceland, together with the battleships Penelope and King George V, escorting the aircraft carrier Victorious for the successful Operation E. J., an air attack on German shipping between Glom Fjord and the head of West Fjord, Norway. The force returned to Scapa Flow on 10 October 1941.
Jubilant was then assigned to Force K based at Malta and departed Scapa on 12 October 1941, arriving in Malta on 21 October, where she received a distinctive camouflage in then-popular Mountbatten Pink that – in a rather uncommon fashion – retained some remnants of her former livery. On 8 November, she sailed together with two cruisers and other escorting destroyers from Malta to intercept an Italian convoy of six destroyers and seven merchant ships sailing for Libya. During the ensuing Battle of the Duisburg Convoy on 9 November off Cape Spartivento, the British sank one enemy destroyer (Fulmine) and all of the merchant ships.
On 23 November, Force K sailed again to intercept another enemy convoy and sank two more merchant ships west of Crete the next day. On 1 December 1941, Force K sank the Italian merchant vessel Adriatico, the destroyer Alvise da Mosto, and the tanker Iridio Mantovani.
On 19 December, while operating off Tripoli, Jubilant struck a mine but was not seriously damaged, although the cruiser Neptune and the destroyer H.M.S. Kandahar were sunk by mines in the same action. Jubilant was sent into the dockyard for repairs and returned to service at the beginning of January 1942, still wearing her distinctive pink-blue livery. On 5 January, she left Malta with Force K, escorting the Special Service Vessel Glengyle to Alexandria (Operation ME9), returning on 27 January, escorting the supply ship Breconshire. She left Malta, again with Breconshire on 13 February 1942 and an eastbound convoy aided by five other destroyers, Operation MG5, returning to Malta on 15 February, with the destroyers Lance and Legion. On 23 March, she left Malta with Legion for Operation MG1, a further convoy to Malta. Breconshire was hit and taken in tow by Jubilant and was later safely secured to a buoy in Marsaxlokk harbor.
Jubilant was holed both forward and aft by near-misses during air attacks on Malta on 26 March. While in the island, she was docked and repaired at the Malta Dry Docks. Day after day she was attacked by German aircraft and the crew worked to fix a myriad of shrapnel holes, so many that she was nicknamed H.M.S. Colander, and when these had been plugged with long pieces of wood, H.M.S. Urchin. In this guise she sailed for Gibraltar on 8 April and on the next day was repeatedly attacked from the air. She arrived in Gibraltar on 10 April, with further damage from near-misses. The damage was extensive and would have required several months at home after temporary repairs in Gibraltar. Eventually, Jubilant's repairs had been reconsidered, and it was then decided to send her to the United States for a major overhaul. She accordingly left Gibraltar on 10 May 1942, for the Navy Yard at New York via Bermuda, arriving on 19 May. She was under repair until September and arrived in Norfolk, Virginia on 15 September, proceeding, again via Bermuda, to Portsmouth, England, which she reached on 1 October 1942.
Jubilant arrived back at Scapa Flow on 2 December, now carrying a dark disruptive Admiralty scheme consisting of green and grey tones and remained in home waters until the middle of January 1943. Then she left the Clyde on 17 January for Gibraltar, where she arrived on 22 January. She had been allocated to the 12th Cruiser Squadron, in which she operated with the Western Mediterranean Fleet under the flag of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham during the follow-up of Operation Operation Torch, the landings in North Africa. In the new theatre of operation, Jubilant received once more a new camouflage, this time a high contrast scheme consisting of very light grey and black.
On 1 June 1943, Jubilant could finally be deployed on a mission that she had been re-designed for. Together with the destroyers Paladin and Petard she shelled the Italian island of Pantelleria, during which her 6 in QF guns proved to be very effective. The force received enemy gunfire in return and Jubilant was hit once but suffered only little damage. On 8 June 1943, with the cruiser Newfoundland and other ships, she took part in a further heavy bombardment of the island. A demand for its surrender was refused. The same force left Malta on 10 June, to cover the assault (Operation Corkscrew), which resulted in the surrender of the island on 11 June 1943. On 11 and 12 June Jubilant also took part in the attack on Lampedusa, which fell to the British forces on 12 June 1943.
On 10 July 1943, with Aurora and two other destroyers, Jubilant carried out a diversionary bombardment of Catania as part of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. The flotilla then moved to Taormina where the railway station was shelled. On 11 July, Jubilant left Malta with the 12th Cruiser Squadron as part of Force H to provide cover for the northern flank of the assault on Sicily. During the remainder of July and August, she took part in various other naval gunfire support and sweeps during the campaign for Sicily.
On 9 September 1943, Jubilant was part of Force Q for Operation Avalanche, the allied landings at Salerno, Italy, during which she augmented the bombardment force. Jubilant left the Salerno area on 26 September at the beginning of October was transferred to the Levant in view of a possible attack on the island of Kos in the Dodecanese. On 7 October, with the cruiser Sirius and other ships, she sank six enemy landing craft, one ammunition ship and an armed trawler off Stampalia. While the ships were retiring through the Scarpanto Straits south of Rhodes, they were attacked by Ju 87 "Stuka" dive-bombers, but, although damaged by a bomb, Jubilant was able to return to Alexandria at 22 kn (25 mph; 41 km/h) and avoid further hits.
On 19 November 1943 the ship moved to Haifa in connection with possible developments in the Lebanon situation. Towards the end of 1943, she was ordered to Gibraltar for Operation Stonewall, anti-blockade-runner duties, in the Atlantic. On 27 December, the forces in this operation destroyed the German blockade-runner Alsterufer, which was sunk by aircraft co-operating with Royal Navy ships. Jubilant returned to Gibraltar on 30 December and took part in Operation Shingle, the amphibious assault on Anzio, Italy, providing gunfire support as part of Force X with USS Brooklyn on 22 January 1944. She also assisted in the bombardments in the Formia area during the later operations.
On 18 February 1944, Jubilant was leaving Naples to return to the Anzio area when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-410. A torpedo struck her in the engine room and was followed sixteen minutes later by another torpedo that hit in the boiler room, causing her immediate sinking; 97 of the crew, including the captain, went down with the ship and 86 survived.
General characteristics:
Displacement: 1,690 long tons (1,720 t) (standard)
2,330 long tons (2,370 t) (deep load)
Length: 356 ft 6 in (108.7 m) overall
Beam: 35 ft 9 in (10.9 m)
Draught: 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) (deep)
Draft: 17.5 ft (5.3 m)
Complement: 178
Propulsion:
2× Admiralty 3-drum boilers with geared steam turbines, developing 44,000 shp (33,000 kW)
Performance:
Top speed: 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range: 5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Armament:
4× QF 6-inch Mark III (150 mm) 40 caliber guns
1× QF 4-inch Mark V (102 mm) AA gun
1× twin 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft machine cannon
2× single 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft machine cannon
1× quintuple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tube
2× throwers and 1× rack astern with 30 depth charges
The kit and its assembly:
Again, this is a modified H.M.S. Kelly from Matchbox, this time even an original boxing. The main motivation was a livery in/with Mountbatten Pink, though. As a side note, “H.M.S. Jubilant” was not built, but it was the name of the last J-class cruiser. It had been ordered in 1937, but the ship was cancelled in December 1937.
Even though I wanted to keep things simple, I found some spare parts that justified modifications. For instance, I had four turrets from my recent USS Fletcher conversion left and decided to integrate them into the British destroyer, posing as single but bigger caliber guns. For a staggered position of the two rear gun stations, I used the short rear cabin that the Matchbox kit offers as optional part and added a console on the rear deck for the Y turret. The X turret was placed on top of the cabin, just like the original gun mount.
The AA ordnance was modified, too. The 4 in GF gun instead of the rear torpedo mount is OOB and an optional part. The original quad (and pretty clumsy) 4x 0.5” AA machine gun amidships was replaced with a twin gun s from an Aoshima 1:700 ship weapon set. This is originally intended for Japanese ships, but it’s whifworld, after all, and many weapon stations look quite similar to their British counterparts.
For a slightly different silhouette I gave the bridge a roof, cut from 1.5 and 0.5 mm styrene sheet, and re-arranged the directors and searchlight station on top of it. I also added a radar antenna array to the upper mast.
As an extra I added some rigging to the mast, made from heated plastic sprue material – simple, but it improves the model’s look considerably.
Painting and markings:
The more exotic part, at least visually. Mountbatten Pink, also called Plymouth Pink, was a naval camouflage color resembling greyish mauve – it was not a bright pinkish tone, rather a pragmatic mix of light grey (whatever was at hand) with red lead underwater primer, which had a yellow-ish touch, much like brick red. The paint was first used by Lord Mountbatten of the British Royal Navy during World War II, hence its name. After noticing a Union-Castle Line ship with a similar camouflage color disappearing from sight, he applied the color to his own ships, believing the paint would render them difficult to see esp. during dawn and dusk, daytimes when ships were highly vulnerable. However, the pink shade was more popular than effective. While the color was met with anecdotal success, it was judged by experts to be just equivalent to neutral greys at best and would make ships with the color more obvious under certain conditions at worst. However, for some time and esp. in the MTO, the color was very popular and widely applied to all kinds of ships.
Most of the time, RN ships were painted overall with this tone. Later, the application became more refined and the superstructures above deck received a lighter shade than the lower hull, lowering the contrast above the horizon. Sometimes, Mountbatten pink was integrated into Admiralty multi-color schemes. One of these rather rare cases was H.M.S. Anchusa. This was a Flower class corvette, which carried a medium blue grey (rumored to be B20) panel amidships, with the rest being uniform medium pink. As a side note: there’s a 1:350 model of this ship available, and it’s funny to see how different modelers interpret the pink shade, ranging from a pale grey with only a slight pinkish hue to a deep, purplish brick red! However, Anchusa became the conceptual basis for my Jubilant livery. Another inspiration was H.M.S. Kenya, a Crown Colony-class cruiser, which carried a more complex/disruptive scheme in two shades of Mountbatton Pink, using two shades of the pink tone on the hull and superstructures for a shortening effect with lighter areas at bow and stern. This livery had earned the ship around 1942 the nickname "The Pink Lady".
The combination of both inspirations became a four-tone scheme with low contrast, with two shades of pink and two of bluish grey. The pink tones were both mixed with Humbrol 70 and 129, with slightly different ratios for the lighter and darker shades. I generally went for lighter tones, due to the model’s small size and the fact that there apparently was no clear definition of the Mountbatten pink tones. The bluish tones were supposed to be contemporary B5 and B6, guesstimated with Humbrol 128 (which appears quite greenish in the surrounding pink context!) and a mix of Humbrol 47 and 96. The latter turned out to look brighter/less grayish than expected, but I left it that way because the mix blended well with the other colors. The scheme looks quite exotic, but could have worked well due to the little contrast between the different colors and the overall dull impression.
The deck was painted with Revell 47, simulating a painted wooden deck with 507b. Horizontal metal surfaces on the upper decks as well as the tops of the turrets were painted with the same color. Lifeboats and rafts became light grey, as if taken over from a former camouflage and for some contrast to the rest of the ship.
The model was painted in separate elements and slightly weathered with a highly thinned black ink wash and some Sienna Brown water color for rust stains here and there. The many, well-visible portholes along the hull and on the superstructures were added with a thin felt tip pen. A similar pen was used to create the boot topping and the muzzles on the guns and torpedo launchers. Finally, the kit segments were sealed with a coat of acrylic matt varnish before final assembly and rigging.
With the experience from the recent build of the same kit, work on this one was surprisingly easy and quick, and I was happy that I had spare parts at hand to change the look of the ship at least a little. The camouflage looks interesting - one can assume that it was manned by unicorns and that glitter steams in clouds out of the funnel. But in the end I find the pink/blue scheme to be quite effective, esp. in low light and also in front of land background. It's not a confusion approach, even though the blue divider seems to separate the ship into two parts, when seen in front of a proper environment, but as a concealment measure the paint mix works IMHO surprisingly well.
Drawn and converted 2D>3D
Giovanna Casotto is a great designer and author of erotic comics, of which she is also the model. My drawing is taken from a photo of her.
CROSSVIEW
To view 3D pics cross your eyes focusing between at the pictures until both images overlap one another in the middle.
Per vedere le foto in 3D incrociare (strabuzzare) gli occhi fino a che le due immagini si sovrappongono formandone una sola centrale.
Binoculars are taken from the tau hammerhead kit, the converted carbine is a pulse rifle with a shortened barrel (part of the cut out barrel forms the magazine) and an upside down pulse grenade launcher for a sight.
+++ 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 TIE/LN starfighter, or TIE/line starfighter, simply known as the TIE Fighter or T/F, was the standard Imperial starfighter seen in massive numbers throughout most of the Galactic Civil War and onward.
The TIE Fighter was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems and led to several upgraded TIE models such as TIE/sa bomber, TIE/IN interceptor, TIE/D Defender, TIE/D automated starfighter, and many more.
The original TIEs were designed to attack in large numbers, overwhelming the enemy craft. The Imperials used so many that they came to be considered symbols of the Empire and its might. They were also very cheap to produce, reflecting the Imperial philosophy of quantity over quality.
However, a disadvantage of the fighter was its lack of deflector shields. In combat, pilots had to rely on the TIE/LN's maneuverability to avoid damage. The cockpit did incorporate crash webbing, a repulsorlift antigravity field, and a high-g shock seat to help protect the pilot, however these did next to nothing to help protect against enemy blaster fire.
Due to the lack of life-support systems, each TIE pilot had a fully sealed flight suit superior to their Rebel counterparts. The absence of a hyperdrive also rendered the light fighter totally dependent on carrier ships when deployed in enemy systems. TIE/LNs also lacked landing gear, another mass-reducing measure. While the ships were structurally capable of "sitting" on their wings, they were not designed to land or disembark their pilots without special support. On Imperial ships, TIEs were launched from racks in the hangar bays.
The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters and their pilots. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones, leading to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1 and its successor, the TIE Avenger. The following TIE/D Defender as well as the heavy TIE Escort Fighter (or TIE/E) were touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—representing a shift in starfighter design from previous, expendable TIE models towards fast, well armed and protected designs, capable of hyperspace travel and long-term crew teams which gained experience and capabilities over time.
The TIE/E Escort, was a high-performance TIE Series starfighter developed for the Imperial Navy by Sienar Fleet Systems and it was introduced into service shortly before the Battle of Endor. It was a much heavier counterpart to the agile and TIE/D fighter, and more of an attack ship or even a light bomber than a true dogfighter. Its role were independent long range operations, and in order to reduce the work load and boost morale a crew of two was introduced (a pilot and a dedicated weapon systems officer/WSO). The primary duty profile included attack and escort task, but also reconnoiter missions. The TIE/E shared the general layout with the contemporary TIE/D fighter, but the cockpit section as well as the central power unit were much bigger, and the ship was considerably heavier.
The crew enjoyed – compared with previous TIE fighter designs – a spacious and now fully pressurized cockpit, so that no pressurized suits had to be worn anymore. The crew members sat in tandem under a large, clear canopy. The pilot in front had a very good field of view, while the WSO sat behind him, in a higher, staggered position with only a limited field of view. Both work stations had separate entries, though, and places could not be switched in flight: the pilot mounted the cockpit through a hatch on port side, while the WSO entered the rear compartment through a roof hatch.
In a departure from the design of previous TIE models, instead of two parallel wings to either side of the pilot module, the TIE Escort had three quadanium steel solar array wings mounted symmetrically around an aft section, which contained an I-s4d solar ionization reactor to store and convert solar energy collected from the wing panels. The inclusion of a third wing provided additional solar power to increase the ship's range and the ship's energy management system was designed to allow weapons and shields to be charged with minimum loss of power to the propulsion system.
Although it was based on the standard twin ion engine design, the TIE/E’s propulsion system was upgraded to the entirely new, powerful P-sz9.8 triple ion engine. This allowed the TIE/E a maximum acceleration of 4,220 G or 21 MGLT/s and a top speed of 144 MGLT, or 1,680 km/h in an atmosphere — almost 40 percent faster than a former standard TIE Fighter. With tractor beam recharge power (see below) redirected to the engines, the top speed could be increased to 180 MGLT in a dash.
In addition to the main thrusters located in the aft section, the TIE Escort's triple wing design allowed for three arrays of maneuvering jets and it featured an advanced F-s5x flight avionics system to process the pilot's instructions. Production models received a class 2, ND9 hyperdrive motivator, modified from the version developed for the TIE Avenger. The TIE/E also carried a Sienar N-s6 Navcon navigation computer with a ten-jump memory.
Special equipment included a small tractor beam projector, originally developed for the TIE Avenger, which could be easily fitted to the voluminous TIE Escort. Models produced by Ysanne Isard's production facility regularly carried such tractor beams and the technology found other uses, such as towing other damaged starfighters until they could achieve the required velocity to enter hyperspace. The tractor beam had limited range and could only be used for a short time before stopping to recharge, but it added new tactics, too. For instance, the beam allowed the TIE/E crews to temporarily inhibit the mobility of enemy fighters, making it easier to target them with the ship's other weapon systems, or prevent enemies from clear shots.
The TIE Escort’s weapons systems were primarily designed to engage bigger ships and armored or shielded targets, like armed freighters frequently used by the Alliance. Thanks to its complex weapon and sensor suite, it could also engage multiple enemy fighters at once. The sensors also allowed an effective attack of ground targets, so that atmospheric bombing was a potential mission for the TIE/E, too.
.
The TIE Escort Fighter carried a formidable array of weaponry in two modular weapon bays that were mounted alongside the lower cabin. In standard configuration, the TIE/E had two L-s9.3 laser cannons and two NK-3 ion cannons. The laser and ion cannons could be set to fire separately or, if concentrated power was required, to fire-linked in either pairs or as a quartet.
The ship also featured two M-g-2 general-purpose warhead launchers, each of which could be equipped with a standard load of three proton torpedoes or four concussion missiles. Depending on the mission profile, the ship could be fitted with alternative warheads such as proton rockets, proton bombs, or magnetic pulse warheads.
Additionally, external stores could be carried under the fuselage, which included a conformal sensor pallet for reconnaissance missions or a cargo bay with a capacity for 500 kg (1.100 lb).
The ship's defenses were provided by a pair of forward and rear projecting Novaldex deflector shield generators—another advantage over former standard TIE models. The shields were designed to recharge more rapidly than in previous Imperial fighters and were nearly as powerful as those found on capital ships, so that the TIE/E could engage other ships head-on with a very high survivability. The fighters were not equipped with particle shields, though, relying on the reinforced titanium hull to absorb impacts from matter. Its hull and wings were among the strongest of any TIE series Starfighter yet.
The advanced starfighter attracted the attention of several other factions, and the Empire struggled to prevent the spread of the technology. The ship's high cost, together with political factors, kept it from achieving widespread use in the Empire, though, and units were assigned only to the most elite crews.
The TIE/E played a central role in the Empire's campaign against rogue Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, and mixed Defender and Escort units participated in several other battles, including the Battle of Endor. The TIE Escort continued to see limited use by the Imperial Remnant up to at least 44 ABY, and was involved in numerous conflicts, including the Yuuzhan Vong War..
The kit and its assembly:
Another group build contribution, this time to the Science Fiction GB at whatifmodelers.com during summer 2017. Originally, this one started as an attempt to build a vintage MPC TIE Interceptor kit which I had bought and half-heartedly started to build probably 20 years ago. But I did not have the right mojo (probably, The Force was not strong enough…?), so the kit ended up in a dark corner and some parts were donated to other projects.
The sun collectors were still intact, though, and in the meantime I had the idea of reviving the kit’s remains, and convert it into (what I thought was) a fictional TIE Fighter variant with three solar panels. For this plan I got myself another TIE Interceptor kit, and stashed it away, too. Mojo was still missing, though.
Well, then came the SF GB and I took it as an occasion to finally tackle the build. But when I prepared for the build I found out that my intended design (over the years) more or less actually existed in the Star Wars universe: the TIE/D Defender! I could have built it with the parts and hand and some improvisation, but the design similarity bugged me. Well, instead of a poor copy of something that was more or less clearly defined, I rather decided to create something more individual, yet plausible, from the parts at hand.
The model was to stay a TIE design, though, in order to use as much donor material from the MPC kits as possible. Doing some legwork, I settled for a heavy fighter – bigger than the TIE Interceptor and the TIE/D fighter, a two-seater.
Working out the basic concept and layout took some time and evolved gradually. The creative spark for the TIE/E eventually came through a Revell “Obi Wan’s Jedi Starfighter” snap fit kit in my pile – actually a prize from a former GB participation at phoxim.de (Thanks a lot, Wolfgang!), and rather a toy than a true model kit.
The Jedi Fighter was in so far handy as it carries some TIE Fighter design traits, like the pilot capsule and the characteristic spider web windscreen. Anyway, it’s 1:32, much bigger than the TIE Interceptor’s roundabout 1:50 scale – but knowing that I’d never build the Jedi Starfighter OOB I used it as a donor bank, and from this starting point things started to evolve gradually.
Work started with the cockpit section, taken from the Jedi Starfighter kit. The two TIE Interceptor cockpit tubs were then mounted inside, staggered, and the gaps to the walls filled with putty. A pretty messy task, and once the shapes had been carved out some triangular tiles were added to the surfaces – a detail I found depicted in SW screenshots and some TIE Fighter models.
Another issue became the crew – even though I had two MPC TIE Interceptors and, theorectically, two pilot figures, only one of them could be found and the second crewman had to be improvised. I normally do not build 1:48 scale things, but I was lucky (and happy) to find an SF driver figure, left over from a small Dougram hoovercraft kit (from Takara, as a Revell “Robotech” reboxing). This driver is a tad bigger than the 1:50 TIE pilot, but I went with it because I did not want to invest money and time in alternatives. In order to justify the size difference I decided to paint the Dougram driver as a Chiss, based on the expanded SW universe (with blue skin and hair, and glowing red eyes). Not certain if this makes sense during the Battle of Endor timeframe, but it adds some color to the project – and the cockpit would not be visible in much detail since it would be finished fully closed.
Reason behind the closed canopy is basically the poor fit of the clear part. OOB, this is intended as an action toy – but also the canopy’s considerable size in 1:50 would prevent its original opening mechanism.
Additional braces on the rel. large window panels were created with self-adhesive tape and later painted over.
The rear fuselage section and the solar panel pylons were scratched. The reactor behind the cockpit section is actually a plastic adapter for water hoses, found in a local DIY market. It was slightly modified, attached to the cockpit “egg” and both parts blended with putty. The tail opening was closed with a hatch from the OOB TIE Interceptor – an incidental but perfect match in size and style.
The three pylons are also lucky finds: actually, these are SF wargaming/tabletop props and would normally be low walls or barriers, made from resin. For my build, they were more or less halved and trimmed. Tilted by 90°, they are attached to the hull with iron wire stabilizers, and later blended to the hull with putty, too.
Once the cockpit was done, things moved more swiftly. The surface of the hull was decorated with many small bits and pieces, including thin styrene sheet and profiles, steel and iron wire in various strengths, and there are even 1:72 tank tracks hidden somewhere, as well as protective caps from syringes (main guns and under the rear fuselage). It’s amazing how much stuff you can add to such a model – but IMHO it’s vital in order to create some structure and to emulate the (early) Star Wars look.
Painting and markings:
The less spectacular part of the project, even though still a lot of work because of the sheer size of the model’s surface. Since the whole thing is fictional, I tried to stay true to the Imperial designs from Episode IV-VI and gave the TIE/E a simple, all-light grey livery. All basic painting was done with rattle cans.
Work started with a basic coat of grey primer. On top of that, an initial coat of RAL 7036 Platingrau was added, esp. to the lower surfaces and recesses, for a rough shading effect. Then, the actual overall tone, RAL 7047, called “Telegrau 4”, one of Deutsche Telekom’s corporate tones, was added - mostly sprayed from abone and the sides onto the model. Fuselage and panels were painted separately, overall assembly was one of the final steps.
The solar panels were to stand out from the grey rest of the model, and I painted them with Revell Acrylic “Iron Metallic” (91) first, and later applied a rather rich wash with black ink , making sure the color settled well into the many small cells. The effect is pretty good, and the contrast was slightly enhanced through a dry-brushing treatment.
Only a few legible stencils were added all around the hull (most from the scrap box or from mecha sheets), the Galactic Empire Seal were inkjet-printed at home, as well as some tactical markings on the flanks, puzzled together from single digits in "Aurebash", one of the Imperial SW languages/fonts.
For some variety and color highlights, dozens of small, round and colorful markings were die-punched from silver, yellow, orange, red and blue decal sheet and were placed all over the hull - together with the large panels they blur into the the overall appearance, though. The hatches received thin red linings, also made from generic decals strips.
The cockpit interior was a bit challenging, though. Good TIE Fighter cockpit interior pictures are hard to find, but they suggest a dark grey tone. More confusingly, the MPC instructions call for a “Dark Green” cockpit? Well, I did not like the all-grey option, since the spaceship is already monochrome grey on the outside.
As a compromise I eventually used Tamiya XF-65 "Field Grey". The interior recieved a black ink in and dry-brushing treatment, and some instruments ansd screens were created with black decal material and glossy black paint; some neon paint was used for sci-fi-esque conmtraol lamps everywhere - I did not pay too much intention on the interior, since the cockpit would stay closed, and the thick clear material blurs everything inside.
Following this rationale, the crew was also painted in arather minimal fashion - both wear a dark grey uniform, only the Chiss pilot stands aout with his light blue skin and the flourescent red eyes.
After an overall black ink wash the model received a dry brusing treatment with FS 36492 and FS 36495, for a weathered and battle-worn look. After all, the "Vehement" would not survive the Ballte of Endor, but who knows what became of TIE/E "801"'s mixed crew...?
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, and some final cosmetic corrections made.
The display is a DIY creation, too, made from a 6x6" piece of wood, it's edges covered with edgebonder, a steel wire as holder, and finally the display was paited with semi-matt black acrylic paint from the rattle can.
A complex build, and the TIE/E more or less evolved along the way, with only the overall layout in mind. Work took a month, but I think it was worth the effort. This fantasy creation looks pretty plausible and blends well into the vast canonical TIE Fighter family - and I am happy that I finally could finish this mummy project, including the surplus Jedi Starfighter kit which now also find a very good use!
An epic one, and far outside my standard comfort zone. But a wothwhile build!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Alexander Martin Lippisch (November 2, 1894 – February 11, 1976) was a German aeronautical engineer, a pioneer of aerodynamics who made important contributions to the understanding of flying wings, delta wings and the ground effect.
After working intially for the Zeppelin company, Reichsluftfahrtsministerium (RLM, Reich Aviation Ministry) transferred Lippisch and his team in 1939 to work at the Messerschmitt factory, in order to design a high-speed fighter aircraft around the rocket engines then under development by Hellmuth Walter. The team quickly adapted their most recent design, the DFS 194, to rocket power, the first example successfully flying in early 1940. This successfully demonstrated the technology for what would become the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, his most famous design.
In 1943, Lippisch transferred to Vienna’s Aeronautical Research Institute (Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt Wien, LFW), to concentrate on the problems of high-speed flight.That same year, he was awarded a doctoral degree in engineering by the University of Heidelberg. However, his research work did not stop Lippisch from designing further, mostly jet-powered and tailless fighter aircraft, e. g. for Henschel.
In early 1944, the RLM became aware of Allied jet developments and the high altitude B-29 in the Pacific TO, which was expected to appear soon over Europe, too. In response, the RLM instituted the Emergency Fighter Program, which took effect on July 3, 1944, ending production of most bomber and multi-role aircraft in favour of fighters, especially jet fighters. Additionally, they accelerated the development of experimental designs that would guarantee a performance edge over the Allied opponents, and designs that would replace the first generation of the German jet fighters, namely the Messerschmitt Me 262 and Heinkel He 162.
One of these advanced designs was the Ta 183 fighter, built by Focke Wulf and developed by Kurt Tank. The Ta 183 had a short fuselage with the air intake passing under the cockpit and proceeding to the rear where the single engine was located. The wings were swept back at 40° and were mounted in the mid-fuselage position. The pilot sat in a pressurized cockpit with a bubble canopy, which provided excellent vision. The primary armament of the aircraft consisted of four 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons arranged around the air intake. The Ta 183 had a planned speed of about 1,000 km/h (620 mph) at 7,000 m (22,970 ft) and was powered by a 2nd generation jet engine, the Heinkel HeS 011 turbojet with 13 kN (2,700 lbf) of thrust. Several, steadily improved variants of the Ta 183 entered service from mid 1945 onwards, and the type was also the basis for more thorough derivatives - including a high altitude jet fighter proposed by Alexander Lippisch.
The resulting aircraft mated the structural basis of the proven Ta 183 with advanced aerodynamics, namely a tailless design with a much increased wing and fin area, and the machine was also powered by the new BMW 018 jet engine which delivered at this early stage 25kN (5.200 lb) of thrust and was expected to achieve more than 36 kN (7.500 lb) soon, without bigger dimensions than the widely used HeS 011 at the time.
The resulting machine, designated Li 383 in order to honor the developer, sacrificed some of the Ta 183' agility and speed for sheer altitude and climb performance, and the new wings were mostly built from non-strategic material, what increased weight considerably - the Li 383 was 1.5 times as heavy as the nimble Ta 183 fighter, but the new wing was more than twice as large.
Nevertheless, the modifications were effective and the RLM quickly accepted the radical re-design, since no better options were available on short notice. While the Ta 183 fighter was able to reach 14.000m (45,935 ft) in a zoom climb, the Li 383 could easily operate at 16.000m (52.500 ft) and even above that. However, Alexander Lippisch's original design, the Li 383A, had, despite positive wind tunnel tests, turned out to be unstable and prone to spinning. The reason was quickly found to be a lack of latitudal surfaces, and this was quickly fixed with a bigger tail fin and a characteristic gull wing that gave it the inofficial nickname for the serial Li 383B, "Sturmvogel".
When the Allied Forces eventually added the high-flying B-29 bombers to their air raids over Germany in late 1945, the Li 383 B-1 serial production variant was just ready for service. The new machines were quickly delivered to front line units, primarily fighter squadrons that defended vital centers like Berlin, Munich or the Ruhrgebiet. However, even though the Li 383 B-1's performance was sufficient, the type suffered from an inherent weakness against the well-armed Allied bombers: the range of the MK 108 cannon. While this weapon was relatively light and compact, and the four guns delivered an impressive weight of fire, a close attack against massive bomber formations was highly hazardous for the pilots. As a consequence, since bigger guns could not be mounted in the compact Ta 183 airframe, several weapon sets for filed modifications (so-called Rüstsätze) were offered that added a variety of weapons with a longer range and a bigger punch to the Li 383 B-1's arsenal, including unguided and guided air-to-air missiles.
Anyway, the Li 383's overall impact was not significant. Production numbers remained low, and all in all, only a total of 80-100 machines were completed and made operational when the hostilities ended.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 7.78 m (25 ft 5 1/2 in)
Wingspan: 12.67 m (41 ft 6 in)
Height: 3.86 m (12 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 46.8 m² (502.1 ft²)
Empty weight: 4,600 kg (10,141 lb)
Loaded weight: 6,912 kg (15,238 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,100 kg (17,857 lb)
Powerplant:
1× BMW 018A turbojet, 25kN (5.200 lb)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 977 km/h (estimated) (607 mph) at 12,000 meters (39,000 ft)
Service ceiling: 16,000 m (estimated) (52,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 22 m/s (estimated) (4,330 ft/min)
Wing loading: 147.7 kg/m² (20.2 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.34
Armament:
4× 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons around the air intake with 75 RPG
2x underwing hardpoints for two 300l drop tanks or 2x 250 kg (550 lb) bombs;
alternatively, various weapon sets (Rüstsätze) were available, including racks for 8× (R1) or 12× (R3)
R 65 “Föhn” or for 24x R4M unguided missiles (R2), or for 2× Ruhrstahl X-4 Wire Guided AAMs (R4)
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Luft ’46 aircraft was inspired by the question what a further developed Ta 183 could have looked like, and it was also influenced by the many tailless Lippisch designs that never left the drawing board.
From the hardware perspective, the design is more or less the salvage of the most useable parts of the PM Model Horten IX/Go 229 kit – namely the outer wing sections. The PM Model Ta 183 is only marginally “better”, and I had one of these in the stash (Revell re-boxing), too. So, why not combine two dreadful kits into something …new?
Well, that was the plan, and building was rather straightforward. In the cockpit, I added simple side consoles, a dashboard, some oxygen flasks, a different seat and a pilot figure (seatbelts simulated with tape strips) – the kit would be finished with closed canopy.
An exhaust pipe was integrated and the air intake filled with a better compressor fan (from an Airfix D.H. Venom, IIRC, fits perfectly). The inner walls of the landing gear wells (well, they are not existent) were cut away and replaced with leftover jet engine parts, so that there was some structure and depth. The landing gear was taken OOB, though, I just used slightly bigger wheels, since the “new” aircraft would have considerably more mass than the Ta 183.
The highly swept, long Ta 183 tail was cut off and replaced by a surplus Me 262 fin and tail section (Matchbox). Despite the different shape and size, and the resulting side view profile reminds strangely of the Saab 29?
The original Ta 183 wings were not mounted and their attachment points on the fuselage cut/sanded away. Instead, I used the outer wing sections from the Go 229, with clipped wing tips for a different shape.
When I held the wings to the fuselage, the whole thing looked …boring. Something was missing, hard to pinpoint. After consulting some Luft ’46 literature I adapted a trick for better stability: a gull wing shape. This was achieved through simple cuts to the wings’ upper halves. Then the wings were bent down, the gap filled with a styrene strip, and finally PSRed away. Looks very dynamic, and also much better!
Another late addition was the underwing armament. I was about to start painting when I again found that something was missing… The new wings made the aircraft pretty large, so I considered some underwing ordnance. Anyway, I did not want to disrupt the relatively clean lines with ugly bombs or drop tanks, so I installed a pair of racks with six launch tubes for R 65 “Föhn” unguided AAMs into the lower wing surfaces, in a semi-recessed position and with a deflector plate for the rocket exhausts.
Painting and markings:
As a high altitude interceptor and late war design, this one was to receive a simple and relatively light livery, even though I stuck with classic RLM tones. The Li 383 was basically painted all-over RLM 76 (Humbrol 247), onto which RLM 75 (from Modelmaster) was added, in the form of highly thinned enamel paint for a cloudy and improvised effect, applied with a big and soft brush. On top of the wings, a typical two-tone scheme was created, while on the fuselage’s upper sides only some thin mottles were added.
In order to lighten the scheme up and add a unique twist, I added further mottles to the flanks and the fin, but this time with RLM 77. This is a very light grey – originally reserved for tactical markings, but also “abused” in the field for camouflage mods, e. g. on high-flying He 177 bombers. I used Humbrol 195 (RAL 7035), again applied with a brush and highly thinned for a rather cloudy finish.
The air intake section and the intake duct were painted in aluminum, while the engine exhaust section as well as the missile racks and the areas around the gun ports were painted with Revell 99 (Iron Metallic) and Steel Metallizer.
The cockpit interior became dark grey (RLM 66) while the landing gear, the wells and the visible engine parts inside became RLM 02.
The kit was lightly weathered with a thin black ink wash and some dry-brushing.
The markings were puzzled together; due to the light basic tones of the model, the upper crosses became black, with only a very small cross on the flanks due to the lack of space, and for the wings’ undersides I used “old school” full color markings in black and white. The red color for the tactical code was basically chosen because it would be a nice contrast to the bluish-grey overall livery.
Finally the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and some gun soot stains added with grinded graphite, as well as some traces of flaked paint on the wings’ leading edges and around the cockpit.
Well, the attempt to bash two mediocre (at best) kits into something else and hopefully better worked out well – the Li 383 does not look totally out of place, even though it turned out to become a bigger aircraft than expected. However, the aircraft has this certain, futuristic Luft ’46 look – probably thanks to the gull wings, which really change the overall impression from a simple kitbash to a coherent design which-could-have-been. The livery also fits well and looks better than expected. Overall, a positive surprise.
+++ 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 Cessna Model 336 and 337 “Skymaster” were American twin-engine civil utility aircraft built in a unique push-pull configuration. Their engines were mounted in the nose and rear of its pod-style fuselage. Twin booms extended aft of the wings to the vertical stabilizers, with the rear engine between them. The horizontal stabilizer was aft of the pusher propeller, mounted between and connecting the two booms.
The first Skymaster, Model 336, had fixed landing gear and initially flew on February 28, 1961. It went into production in May 1963 with 195 being produced through mid-1964. In February 1965, Cessna introduced the larger Model 337 Super Skymaster with more powerful engines, retractable landing gear, and a dorsal air scoop for the rear engine (the "Super" prefix was subsequently dropped from the name). In 1966, the turbocharged T337 was introduced, and in 1973, the pressurized P337G entered production.
The type was very prolific and Cessna built 2.993 Skymasters of all variants, including 513 military O-2 (nicknamed "Oscar Deuce") versions from 1967 onwards. The latter featured underwing ordnance hard points to hold unguided rockets, gun pods or flares, and served in the forward air control (FAC) role and psychological operations (PSYOPS) by the US military between 1967 and 2010. Production in America ended in 1982, but was continued by Reims in France, with the FTB337 STOL and the military FTMA “Milirole”.
Both civil and military Cessna 336/337 version had long service careers, and some were considerably modified for new operators and uses. Among the most drastic conversions was the Spectrum SA-550, built by Spectrum Aircraft Corporation of Van Nuys, California, in the mid-1980s: Spectrum took the 336/337 airframe and removed the front engine, lengthened the nose to maintain the center of gravity, and replaced the rear piston engine with a pusher turboprop which offered more power than the combined pair of original petrol engines. The Spectrum SA-550 conversion also came together with an optional modernization package that prolonged the airframes’ service life, so that modified machines could well serve on for 20 years or more.
This drastic conversion was executed for both military and civil operators. The best-known military SA-550s were six former USAF O-2A airframes, which had been transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1983 for use as range controllers with VA-122 at NAS Lemoore, California. These aircraft were operationally nicknamed “Pelican”, due to the characteristic new nose shape, and the name unofficially caught on.
However, the SA-550 package was only adopted sporadically by private operators, but it became quite popular among several major police and fire departments. Typical duties for these machines included border/drug patrol, surveillance/observation duties (e.g. traffic, forest fire) and special tasks, including drug interdiction as well for SAR missions and undercover operations like narcotics and serialized criminal investigations. Some SA-550s were accordingly modified and individually outfitted with suitable sensors, including IR/low light cameras, searchlights, and internal auxiliary tanks. None were armed, even though some aircraft featured underwing hardpoints for external extra tanks, flare dispensers for nocturnal operations or smoke charge dispensers for ground target marking to guide water bombers to hidden forest fires.
The type’s versatility, low noise level, high travel speed and good loitering time in the operational area at low speed proved to be vital assets for these public service operators and justified its relatively high maintenance costs. A handful of the modernized Spectrum SA-550 machines were still in active service after the Millennium, primarily in the USA.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1 + 3 passengers (up to 5 passengers possible in special seat configuration)
Length: 32 ft 6½ in (9.94 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft ¾ in (11.62 m)
Height: 9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)
Wing area: 201 sq ft (18.81 m²)
Aspect ratio: 7.18:1
Airfoil: NACA 2412 at root, NACA 2409 at tip
Empty weight: 2,655 lb (1,204 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 4,400 lb (1,996 kg)
Fuel capacity: 92 US gal (77 imp gal; 350 l) normal,
128 US gal (107 imp gal; 480 l) with auxiliary tank
in the cabin instead of two passenger seats
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney PT6A-27 turboprop engine, delivering 550 shp (410 kW) and
driving a four-blade McCauley fully-feathering, constant-speed propeller, 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) diameter
Performance:
Maximum speed: 199 mph (320 km/h, 173 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 144 mph (232 km/h, 125 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) (econ cruise)
Stall speed: 69 mph (111 km/h, 60 kn)
Range: 1421 mi (2.288 km, 1.243 nmi) at 10.000 ft (3.050 m) altitude and economy cruise
Service ceiling: 19,500 ft (5,900 m)
Rate of climb: 1,200 ft/min (6.1 m/s)
Takeoff distance to 50 ft (15m): 1,545 ft (471 m)
Landing distance from 50 ft (15m): 1,650 ft (500 m)
The kit and its assembly:
This build is the combination of ingredients that had already been stashed away for a long time, and the “Red Lights” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com in early 2021 was a good motivator and occasion to finally put everything together.
The basis is an ARII 1:72 Cessna T337 model kit – I had purchased it long ago with the expectation to create a military Skymaster from it, but I was confused by a fixed landing gear which would make it a 336? Well, without a further concrete plan the kit preliminarily landed in The Stash™…
However, the ARII model features the optional observation windows in the doors on the starboard side, in the form of a complete(!) fuselage half, so that it lends itself to a police or firefighter aircraft of some sort. This idea was furthermore fueled by a decal sheet that I had been given from a friend, left over from a 1:72 Italeri JetRanger, with three optional police helicopter markings.
The final creative element was the real-world “Pelican” conversion of six O-2As for the US Navy, as mentioned in the background above: the front engine was replaced with a longer nose and the engine configuration changed to a pusher-only aircraft with a single powerful turboprop engine. This looked so odd that I wanted to modify the ARII Cessna in a similar fashion, too, and all these factors came together in this model.
My Arii Cessna 337 kit is a re-boxing from 2009, but its origins date back to Eidai in 1972 and that’s just what you get: a vintage thing with some flash and sinkholes, raised (but fine) surface details and pretty crude seams with bulges and gaps. Some PSR is direly necessary, esp. the fit of the fuselage halves is cringeworthy. The clear parts were no source of joy, either; especially the windscreen turned out to be thick, very streaky (to a degree that I’d almost call it opaque!) and even not fully molded! The side glazing was also not very clear. I tried to improve the situation through polishing, but if the basis is already poor, there’s little you can do about it. Hrmpf.
However, the kit was built mostly OOB, including the extra O-2 glazing in the lower doors, but with some mods. One is a (barely visible) extra tank in the cabin’s rear, plus a pilot and an observer figure placed into the tight front seats. The extended “Pelican” nose was a lucky find – I was afraid that I had had to sculpt a nose from scratch with 2C putty. But I found a radome from a Hasegawa RA-5C, left over from a model I built in the Eighties and that has since long fallen apart. However, this nose fitted almost perfectly in size and shape, I just “blunted” the tip a little. Additionally, both the hull in front of the dashboard and the Vigilante radome were filled with as many lead beads as possible to keep the nose down.
The kit’s OOB spatted, fixed landing gear was retained – even though it is dubious for a Cessna 337, because this type had a fully retractable landing gear, and the model has the landing gear covers actually molded into the lower fuselage. On the other side, the Cessna 336’s fixed landing gear looks quite different, too! However, this is a what-if model, and a fixed landing gear might have been a measure to reduce maintenance costs?
The propeller was replaced with a resin four-blade aftermarket piece (from CMK, probably the best-fitting thing on this build!) on my standard metal axis/styrene tube adapter arrangement. The propeller belongs to a Shorts Tucano, but I think that it works well on the converted Cessna and its powerful pusher engine, even though in the real world, the SA-550 is AFAIK driven by a three-blade prop. For the different engine I also enlarged the dorsal air intake with a 1.5 mm piece of styrene sheet added on top of the molded original air scoop and added a pair of ventral exhaust stubs (scratched from sprue material).
Another addition is a pair of winglets, made from 0.5 mm styrene sheet – an upgrade which I found on several late Cessna 337s in various versions. They just add to the modernized look of the aircraft. For the intended observation role, a hemispherical fairing under the nose hides a 180° camera, and I added some antennae around the hull.
However, a final word concerning the model kit itself: nothing fits, be warned! While the kit is a simple affair and looks quite good in the box, assembling it turned out to be a nightmare, with flash, sinkholes, a brittle styrene and gaps everywhere. This includes the clear parts, which are pretty thick and blurry. The worst thing is the windscreen, which is not only EXTRA thick and EXTRA blurry, it was also not completely molded, with gaps on both sides. I tried to get it clearer through manual polishing, but the streaky blurs are integral – no hope for improvement unless you completely replace the parts! If I ever build a Cessna 337/O-2 again, I will give the Airfix kit a try, it can only be better…
Painting and markings:
The choice between the operator options from the JetRanger sheet was hard, it included Sweden and Italy, but I eventually settled for the LAPD because the livery looks cool and this police department not only operates helicopters, but also some fixed-wing aircraft.
I adapted the LAPD’s classic black-and-white police helicopter livery (Gloss White and Black, Humbrol 22 and 21, respectively) to the Cessna and extended it to the wings. At this point – already upset because of the poor fit of the hardware – disaster struck in the form of Humbrol’s 22 turning into a pinkish ivory upon curing! In the tin, the paint and its pigments looked pretty white and “clean”, and I assume that it’s the thinner that caused this change. What a crap! It’s probably the third tin with 22 that causes trouble, even though in different peculiarities!
The result was total rubbish, though, and I tried to rub the paint off as good as possible on the small model with its many windows, the fixed, delicate landing gear and the wing support struts. Then I overpainted the areas with Revell 301 (Semi-matt White). While this enamel yielded the intended pure white tone, the paint itself is rather gooey and not easy to work with, so that the overall finish turned out worse than desired. At least the black paint worked properly. The demarcations were created with black decal stripes (TL Modellbau), because the tiny model left little room for complex masking measures – and I did not risk any more painting accidents.
Since the aircraft would be kept shiny and clean, I just did a light black ink washing to emphasize surface details and did a light panel post-shading on the black areas, not for weathering but rather to accent surface structures. No further weathering was done (and necessary).
The markings/decals come – as mentioned above – from an Italeri 1:72 JetRanger, but they were augmented with some additional markings, e. g. grey walkways on the wings and “L-A-P-D” in large black letters under the wings, to distract from the poor finish of the white paint around them…
Finally, the kit was sealed overall with Italeri semi-gloss acrylic varnish, just with a matt anti-glare shield in front of the windscreen, which received thin white trim lines (generic decal stripes).
A challenging build due to the Arii kit’s rather poor basis, the massive rhinoplasty and the crisp paint scheme. However, I like the result – what-if models do not always have to be armed military vehicles, there’s potential in other genres, too. And this mono-engine “Pelican” Skymaster plays its role as a “flying eye” in police service credibly and well. However, this was my first and last Eidai kit…
Packing up the propellant and the new rocket builds for the desert. The pink Crayon piggy bank now sports an aluminum nozzle on the rear… and the minimum diameter 38mm bird will test the latest "mellow" and "pink" propellant from Cesaroni Aerospace Canada, eh! Those will be first flights for the girls.
The 3D-printer has been running every night to churn out fin cans for six young boys who will be launching rockets for the first time. I also have a 4"-diameter fin can there that I need to simulate as it pushes the limits of the Makerbot, and the fins are a bit stubby.
I have a boatload of night and day launches to pull off. The propellant alone includes a N5800, M3000, and a dozen L, K, H, and I motors. Each letter grade is a doubling of total impulse, and the M motor class is the largest that's legal in California. Hello Nevada!
Here's a fun video of the large bird I'll be focusing on...
MiG-SPB "08 Red" and an early production Su-25 in echelon fomation over northern Afghanistan.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In early 1968, the Soviet Ministry of Defense decided to develop a specialized shturmovik armored assault aircraft in order to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The idea of creating a ground-support aircraft came about after analyzing the experience of shturmovaya (ground attack) aviation during World War II, and in local wars during the 1950s and 1960s. The Soviet fighter-bombers in service or under development at this time (Su-7, Su-17, MiG-21 and MiG-23) did not meet the requirements for close air support of the army. They lacked essential armor plating to protect the pilot and vital equipment from ground fire and missile hits, and their high flight speeds made it difficult for the pilot to maintain visual contact with a target. Ordnance load and loiter time were also insufficient.
In March 1969, a competition was announced by the Soviet Air Force that called for designs for a new battlefield close-support aircraft. Participants in the competition were the Design Bureaus of Sukhoi, Yakovlev, Ilyushin and Mikoyan.
Mikoyan OKB proposed two directions: First option were designs which were based upon proven technology of the MiG-21 and -23, with an eye on short development time – e. g. the LSSh and 27Sh concepts. The other approach was a more experimental type, designed from scratch, but this concept focused more radically on survivability and excellent low altitude agility, at the expense of speed and a short development time.
All MiG OKB designs were eventually rejected by the MoD, and effectively only Ilyushin’s Il-42 (later renamed into Il-102) and Sukhoi’s T-8 (the later Su-25) remained in the official competition. But Mikoyan’s second design showed potential and was considered as a basis for an advanced jet trainer. This aircraft was approved to be developed further, but not with high priority and outside of the official shturmovik competition. Anyway, it was a fallback option, should both main contenders fail.
The project received the internal development code ‘Izdeliye 1.43’, but the forthcoming aircraft was better known under its project handle MiG-SPB (Samolet Polya Boya – ‘armored combat aircraft’) or its nickname, ла́сточка (Lastochka = Swallow). Some sources claim that the type was also designated MiG-43, but it never received an official code, despite its front line test service (see below).
The MiG-SPB’s main design objective was superior maneuverability at low speeds and altitude. It offered the pilot excellent view and a high resilience to frontline combat situations. The aircraft’s most prominent trademark was its engine location: in overall layout, the MiG-SPB resembled Sukhoi’s T-8, with straight wings and two jet engines placed in nacelles at the fuselage flanks. But in order to protect the engines from gunfire and shield the hot exhaust gases from view (e .g. from IR seeker heads, esp. from MANPADS), the nacelles were placed above the mid-set wings, with the air intakes at wing leading edge level.
Despite carrying armor around the cockpit and the central fuselage, the aircraft was surprisingly slender and elegant – so slim that the rigid landing gear, which would allow operation from field air strips, retracted into fairings which also housed the internal gun on starboard and avionics on port. As a side benefit of this complex layout, the CoG was kept very centralized, so that agility was further improved. The tail was conventional, even though the vertical stabilizer was rather high and slender.
For its low altitude duties, a large wing area, high wing aspect ratio, and large ailerons were incorporated. The high aspect ratio wing also allowed for short takeoffs and landings, permitting operations from primitive forward airfields near front lines. It was planned that the type would typically fly at a relatively slow speed of 300 knots (350 mph; 560 km/h), loiter for extended periods and operate under 1.000 ft (300 m) ceiling with 1.5 mi (2.4 km) visibility. This would have made it a much better platform for the ground-attack role than contemporary fast fighter-bombers, which often gave difficulty targeting small and slow-moving targets, or finding them again for a second attack.
Originally, the MiG-SPB was powered by two Ivchenko AI-25 turbofan with 14.7 kN (3,300 lbf) each, basically the same engine that drove the Yak-40 regional jet airliner. In early 1981 these were replaced by two much more powerful Klimov RD-33M turbofans: non-afterburning versions of the engines that powered the Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter (under development at MiG OKB at that time) and which were also introduced in the production Su-25.
Armament comprised a fixed gun in the starboard fairing and 3.500kg (7.700 lb.) of external ordnance, carried on eight wing hardpoints plus a centerline pylon under the fuselage.
Originally, a two-barreled Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L 23 mm cannon with 350 rounds was fitted, but that soon gave way to a more powerful 30mm GSh-30-1 cannon which could fire armor-piercing shells at 1.800 rpm. The gun's maximum effective range was 1.200 to 1.800 m (3.900 to 5.900 ft.) and, in combination with the Klen-PS laser rangefinder/targeting system in the aircraft’s nose, it was extremely accurate as well as powerful, capable of destroying a target with as few as three to five rounds.
At least one pre-production aircraft was even fitted with a single-barreled 45mm cannon.
Further avionics included a DISS-7 Doppler navigation radar, coupled with a navigation system that permitted flight in day and night conditions, both in VMC and IMC (even though the aircraft did not feature an all-weather/attack capability), and providing flight data for the weapons-control system and flight instruments. Radios for air-to-ground and air-to-air communications were fitted, as well as a weapons-control system and a full self-defense suite, incorporating infra-red, flare and chaff dispensers capable of launching about 250 flares and dipole chaff. An SRO radar warning receiver that would alert the pilot of incoming attacks on the aircraft, as well as an SPO-15 radar homing & warning system (RHAWS) and an SO-69 identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) transponder were incorporated.
With no official support the MiG-SPB’s development went on slowly, but due to several delays and specification changes in the official shturmovik competition it kept up pace and was more or less ready just in time for direct comparison. The MiG-SPB prototype first flew on 14 February 1978 and began State acceptance trials on 12 October 1979. Since the secondary use as a trainer was still on the agenda, all prototypes and pre-production machines were two-seaters, even though the plane was still primarily intended for the ground attack role and accordingly equipped.
An order for a first batch of twenty pre-production machines was placed in November 1979, and five of these had been completed by the spring of 1980 and were undergoing pre-flight tests when the Soviet MoD decided to try the type under real conditions. Together with an initial batch of Su-25s a total of five MiG-SPBs with support crews and maintenance equipment were sent to Afghanistan.
On 19 July 1981 and with the new RD-33M engines already fitted, these aircraft arrived at Shindand Airbase in western Afghanistan and were assigned to the 201st Independent Shturmovaya Air Squadron, flying together with the first Su-25 unit deployed to that country. Their main task was to conduct air strikes against mountain military positions and structures controlled by the Afghan rebels. The MiG-SPB proved to be easy to handle, esp. under “hot and high” conditions.
Flight characteristics were closely comparable to the Su-25 and the aircraft gained a good reputation among the flight crews. But field maintenance was more complicated and the electronic systems proved not to be as reliable and sturdy as the Su-25’s, though. Another drawback was the lower ordnance load of 3.500kg (the Su-25 could theoretically carry 4.500kg), which suffered further in the thin air of the Afghan summer. Usually, only 1.000 kg were carried, unguided missiles or iron bombs being the most frequent weapons.
The MiG-SPB found its niche, though: the second seat made the MiG-SPB a formidable reconnaissance and observation aircraft. The MiG-SPBs were frequently used as forward air control aircraft which would locate and mark targets, guide other fighter bombers to them and later control/assess the attack success (BDA missions).
In the late months of employment, the rear seat was also taken up by a weapon officer who would steer guided weapons, when several smart bombs and missiles as well as their respective sensor and guidance packages were tried out under field conditions.
Over the course of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, five more MiG-SPB were transferred to Afghanistan in order to keep a minimum of four machines active at all times. The aircraft performed a total of roundabout 2.500 combat sorties, ~250 per aircraft (less than the Su-25, which clocked 340 and more). Between the first deployment in 1981 and the end of the tests in April 1983, one aircraft was lost in combat operations, another one crashed in a landing accident. When NATO became aware of the type in late 1982, the MiG-SPB received the code name ‘Flintstone’.
In the end, the MiG-SPB had no future. After a long development process for the new shturmovik, the Su-25 surpassed its main competitor in the Soviet Air Force competition, the Ilyushin Il-102, as well as the MiG-SPB, and series production of Sukhoi’s type was announced by the Ministry of Defense. Since the trainer option did not show any future potential (meanwhile, the smaller and much less costly L-39 Albatros had been chosen as jet trainer), further development of the MiG-SPB was stopped – even though the experience with the type would later be incorporated into the MiG-AT trainer aircraft.
General characteristics (as flown)
Crew: Two (one pilot, one observer/WO)
Length: 15.19 m (50 ft 5½ in) incl. pitot
Wingspan: 14.79 m (49 ft 1½ in)
Height: 4.26 m (14 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 37.19 m² (400.3 ft²)
Empty weight: 9.890 kg (21.784 lb)
Loaded weight: 14.150 kg (31.186 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 17.200 kg (37.885 lb)
Powerplant:
2 × Klimov RD-33M turbofans, 44.18 kN (9,480 lbf) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 890 km/h (553 mph)
Combat radius: 400 km (250 mi)
Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,553 mi)
Service ceiling: 7,500 m (25,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 58 m/s (11,400 ft/min)
Wing loading: 490 kg/m² (100 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.52
Armament:
1× GSh-30-1 30mm cannon with 300 rounds
9 hardpoints for up to 3.500 kg (7.700 lb) of disposable external ordnance, including rails for 2 × R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid') or other air-to-air missiles for self-defense and a wide variety of general-purpose bombs, cluster bombs, gun pods, rocket pods, laser- or TV-guided bombs, and air-to-surface missiles.
The centerline pylon was usually only used for sensor or reconnaissance pods.
The four inner wing hardpoints were ‘wet’ for 800l drop tanks.
The kit and its assembly:
I think it’s the first time that I convert a helicopter into an aircraft. But ESCI’s fictional Ka-34 ‘Hokum’ (probably only based on satellite pictures from above and vague sketches of the real thing, the Ka-50) is so sleek and aircraft-like – why not give it a try?
My idea behind this purely fictional whif was to build a contender to the Su-25 and its real introduction story, with the long development phase since the late 60ies, the competition with the Il-102 and the Afghanistan trials. Even the submissions of Mikoyan OKB are real (yet rejected…), but my SPB was an additional design outside of the “proven technology” sandbox.
So, the Ka-34 fuselage and the ground attack role were clear and defined further design elements.
Looking for suitable straight wings I came at first across Revell’s 1:100 SnapFit A-10 as a donation kit for the wings, but these turned out to be too small. When I rummaged for alternative parts I finally found an ancient (25 years? Its white polystyrene was thoroughly yellowed…), half-built Airfix A-1 – a horrible kit which now found its final and good use! So, effectively, my MiG-SPB is a kit-bashing of two kits with some extra donations.
The Ka-34’s fuselage was more modified than initially intended: the main rotor mount was faired over and the tail fin cut away, because it looked too small/slender/modern for the massive and straight A-1 wings.
I kept the Ka-34’s original nose, but flattened its top for a better field of view and added a window in the nose for a laser range finder with fixed glazing (much like the Su-25). Some antennae, an OoA sensor and pitots were added, too. Cockpit and landing gear were taken OOB, but I added new seats and pilot figures as well as bigger wheels (from an A-7).
Other external changes include bigger engine nacelles, from a Hobby Boss Me 262. They are mounted backwards, though, and their interior outfitted with new parts from the scrap box. I left them in their helicopter-like high position above the wings, but had to raise their position due to thick A-1 wings.
Ultimately, all tail stabilizers come from the A-1 kit, since they’d fit well in size and shape. The wings were modified in so far that I filled the A-1’s landing gear wells (covers were gone, used 2C putty) and tried to hide the folding wing lines. Weapon hardpoints come from A-7 and F-16 kits, the ordnance of two B-13L and two B-8M rocket pods comes from an ICM Soviet air-to-ground weapon sets – the choice reflects the FAC duty of the type in the hot-and-high Afghanistan environment, so only unguided rockets for target marking and against small, soft targets are carried, plus two R-60 for self-defense.
Painting and markings:
Normally I keep whifs rather subtle, but this time I gave the MiG-SPB a rather weird camouflage scheme. The MiG-SPB’s stylish three-tone clover pattern has actually been applied to Soviet Mi-24 helicopters, and a similar wrap-around scheme (in olive green, though) can be found on some Ukrainian Su-25. I found this scheme very attractive, and since it looks IMHO very Russian the MiG-SPB was a nice occasion to try it out – the colors even matching the dusty/mountainous Afghanistan theatre where the model would have been used, according to its fictional story.
Basic upper colors are Humbrol 168 and ‘clover leafs’ in 84 and 98 (Hemp, Mid-Stone and Chocolate, in these “levels” above each other), later ‘tamed down’ trough dry painting with shades of light beige and grey, for a worn and bleached look.
This pattern is utterly effective in order to break up contours: Even when the thing just sat on the work bench it was hard to tell where its front or rear end would be, or how the fuselage and wing intersection would look like in detail. And it even looks flashy…
Lower side was painted in Humbrol 65 – pretty bright, but such tones are typical for Soviet/Russian aircraft.
Additionally, the whole thing received a light wash with black ink in order to emphasize panel line and details and the leading edges were lightly dry-brushed with silver.
Most markings come from the scrap box, insignia, tactical code and some emblems like the MiG OKB badge come from an Authentic Decals 1:72 MiG-29 aftermarket sheet, most stencils from the vast X-20M missile decal sheet from ICM.
All in all a nice project which was based on a spontaneous idea. But it came out better than expected, concerning both the aircraft itself but also the weird cammo scheme, which will certainly pop up under other circumstances (mecha?)!
Here then is the Contax Zeiss T*85/1.4 Planar, converted with Mr David Lladó's 'Leitax' Contax to M42 conversion kit - www.leitax.com.
Then, a chipped M42-A mount adapter featuring the correct Exif data produced by James Lao was added.
Used in AP mode, the camera automatically adjusted the metering, and I manually adjust the focus and aperture. It was all dead easy to do and now I've got the best of both worlds (for me) - high quality manual focus mechanisms and glass with the full frame, sensor based shake reduction system of the A900.
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 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Some 50 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations a half-century after its maiden flight.
The MiG-21 also served with the Armed Forcess of the German Democratic Republic (Nationale Volksarmee, NVA; Air Force: Luftstreitkräfte, LSK). When Germany’s unification came about, the air forces of both formerly independent states were merged in October 1990 under the West German Bundesluftwaffe. Many aircraft from the GDR’s forces (the LSK/NVA) were tested and evaluated for future use, but only a few types were kept or even introduced to further service. One such example were 28 MiG-29s which were converted to Western standards as MiG-29G and actively flown, but these aircraft were eventually sold to Poland in 2004.
Another Soviet type which saw active use in the Bundesluftwaffe’s arsenal – even though only in very limited numbers – was the MiG-21bis. With the Eurofighter (formerly Jäger 90, now Typhoon) and its development lagging more and more in time, the Luftwaffe was only (and still) left with F-4F fighters in the QRA role.
Even though a modernization program for the German F-4F fleet was launched in the 90ies (KWS = Kampfwertsteigerung), which was to upgrade radar and electronics and introduce the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, the “heritage” of light MiG-21bis fighters with low mileage in 1990 was a welcome addition. Simple, light, cheap to maintain and having a professional pilot pool at hand that would need no training on a hew aircraft type, the decision was made to revamp former GDR aircraft. The alternative would have been to lease an interim type, like the F-16 as Italy did when the F-104S was phased out, and also had no Eurofighter at hand to replace them. But this solution was considered to be too complex and simply have a longer preparation time, including pilot training.
Consequential, the MiG-21bis was to be modernized with NATO-compatible avionics and armament as well as a domestic engine. Operationally, these aircraft were to be added to the Jagdstaffeln in northern Germany as a support for the ageing F-4Fs.
24 airframes with little mileage were chosen from the former NVA’s 14 MiG-21bis izdeliye 75A (Fishbed L) and 32 izdeliye 75B (Fishbed N) aircraft, which had all served with LSK’s JG8 at Marxwalde. Starting in April 1991 the MiG-21bis were transferred to Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA) in Hamburg for modification to MiG-21G (for Germany) standard.
This program included:
·Replacement of the original Tumanskiy R25-300 engine with a slightly more powerful but much more modern, reliable and fuel-economic Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning turbofan
Modified rear fuselage through the much shorter RB-199 engine, including an elongated afterburner nozzle, an additional air intake at the fin root and an additional fuel cell in the rear fuselage
·Replacement of the original Soviet RP-21M radar with an Emerson AN/APQ-159 planar array radar with a range of 20 nmi
·Addition of a passive AN/ALR-23 infrared sensor under the air intake
·Adaptation of the armament to Western/German standards, including the replacement of the internal GSh-23-2 gun with a single BK-27 27mm Mauser cannon, avionics for AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles and conformal chaff/flare dispensers at the base of the fin
·German/English stencils and change of gauges to feet, knots and nautic miles
·Air superiority paint scheme according to current ‘Norm 81’ standard
The MiG-21G was optimized for the short-range interception role. The AN/APQ-159 provided sufficient all-weather capability, even though only two AIM-9 would be carried. Alternatively, in a secondary ground attack role, the MiG-21G could carry up to four BL-755 cluster bombs, iron bombs of up to 1.000 lb calibre or Matra pods with unguided missiles. The under-fuselage and outer wing pylons were wet to carry drop tanks, which were frequently carried due to the low range of the MiG-21, despite the new engine and the added fuel cell in the rear fuselage section.
The first modernized MiG-21 became available in March 1992 and the aircraft were allocated to Jagdgeschwader 71 ‘Richthofen’ at Wittmund and Jagdgeschwader 73 ‘Steinhoff’ at Laage, the latter also operated the MiG-29G during that time. Tactical code numbers were kept from the preliminary registrations under which most of the MiG-21's from NVA/LSK had been taken over but written off. As a consequence, all MiG-21G had codes in in the 24 xx range but in inconsecutive order – an uncommon practice in the Luftwaffe arsenal!
JG71 actively used the MiG-21G in the QRA interception role over the North Sea, while JG73 focused more on dissimilar training for NATO partners with Soviet types - the aircraft were, together with the MiG-29G, frequently transferred to Decimonmannu Air Base on Sardinia for NATO air combat training, wher they were even pitted against Israeli F-15 fighters. All aircraft were piloted by former NVA pilots who already flown the type before, so that no special trainer was necessary and the former NVA’s MiG-21UMs could be sold or scrapped. It was not planned to introduce new German pilots to the MiG-21G, since the aircraft was only seen as a stop-gap solution for the pending Typhoon.
The MiG-21G modernization program was completed in August 1993 and an operational success, even though the program costs exploded, performance was not as good as expected and the aircraft only filled a very specialized gap within German boundaries. With upgraded F-4F KWS gradually being introduced in the mid-90ies, the MiG-21Gs were concentrated at JG71.
A total of three aircraft were lost during service. Finally in 2004, with the much delayed introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon imminent, the decision was taken to retire the MiG-21G as quick as possible. JG 71's aircraft were withdrawn in August 2004, all airframes were scrapped.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 15.0m with pitot (49 ft 2.5 in)
Wingspan: 7.154 m (23 ft 5.66 in)
Height: 4.125 m (13 ft 6.41 in)
Wing area: 23.0 m2 (247.3 ft2)
Empty weight: 5.560 kg (12.246 lb)
Gross weight: 9.350 kg (20.594 lb)
Powerplant
1 × Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning turbofan with 43.8 kN (9.850 lbf) dry thrust and 76.8 kN (17.270 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
Maximum speed: 2.090 km/h (1.300 mph)
Maximum speed: Mach 2.1
Range: (internal fuel only) 1.400 km (870 ml)
Service ceiling: 17.600 m (58.500 ft)
Rate of climb: 225 m/s (44.280 ft/min)
Armament
1x internal 27 mm (1.063 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 150 rounds
A total of max. 2.000 kg (4.405 lbs) of external ordnance on five hardpoints, including up to 4x AIM-9L Sidewinder AAMs (typically only two carried on the inner wing pylons), drop tanks (490l under the outer wings or max. 800l under the fuselage) and unguided bombs or missiles of up to 500kg (1.100 lbs) each.
The kit and its assembly:
Just in case you are in doubt: the German Luftwaffe never operated the MiG-21 actively, and the MiG-21G version is just a (maybe good?) story. The MiG-21s you might see with the Iron Cross were all written off, only used for tests. Officially they have never been with the active forces like the MiG-29, which were only operated at a basic level.
Anyway, the gap between the F-4Fs’ retirement and the much delayed Eurofighter was a true fact, and the timing was right to come up with a “westernized” MiG-21bis, the most modern version which had been operated by the NVA/LSK before Germany’s re-unification.
24 17 is a real registration number: this truly was a NVA/LSK MiG-21bis (a Fishbed N), formerly carrying the tactical code "837 red" (C/n 75051347), but this aircraft was withdrawn on 3rd of October 1990, as almost any other former NVA aircraft, and scrapped in Dresden on 2nd of February 1993.
The kit is a Mastercraft MiG-21, one of the many clones of the vintage Kovozavody Prostejov (a.k.a. KP) kit with some mods, including engraved panel lines. It is a good basis for such a conversion since almost no part fits to another. Especially funny is the nicely depicted KM-1M ejection seat in the building instructions, with a detailed description and painting instructions - but the kit just includes a crude, L-shaped "thing" with a blob as a head rest...
Additions include a new engine exhaust nozzle (a shortened piece from an Italeri F-15), the new gun blister under the fuselage, the IR sensor under the nose, a RHAWS pod on top of the fin and the extra air scoop at its base, the blow-in doors under the wing roots were opened, chaff/flare dispensers added from scratch, a pair of AIM-9Ls with respective launch rails and a different drop tank (from an Academy MiG-23).
A new seat was added, from an Italeri Tornado, as well as a Matchbox pilot figure. Landing flaps and the rear fuselage air brake were opened for a more ‘lively’ look. Changes should only be visible at second glance and in superficial details, but still set this fantasy variant apart from the real thing - much like an IAI Kfir from a Mirage V.
Painting and markings:
This whif rather draws from its livery, even if it is subtle, too. For the MiG-21G I tried to transfer the German F-4F’s so-called ‘Norm 81A’ paint scheme, which is appropriate for the model’s time frame, even though rather late: Norm 90J was next, which was introduced with the F-4F KWS.
Norm 81 is REALLY complex. There are two basic patterns, comprising alone four(!) grey tones for the upper sides, one light grey tone for the sides and then, additionally, a two-tone scheme for the lower sides! Huh!
Since these colors are all RAL tones, I had to approximate them:
Upper sides:
RAL 7009 Grüngrau à Revell 67 (authentic)
RAL 7012 Basaltgrau à Revell 77 (authentic)
RAL 7037 Staubgrau à Humbrol 106
RAL 7039 Quarzgrau à Humbrol 92 (not available anymore, used Revell 47)
Fuselage sides/fin:
RAL 7030 Steingrau à Revell 75 (authentic, but used Humbrol 64)
Lower sides:
RAL 7001 Silbergrau à Humbrol 127(used Humbrol 166)
RAL 7035 Lichtgrau à Humbrol 196 (used Humbrol 147, which is a tad darker)
You get authentic RAL tones (e .g. from Revell), but emulating them is not a true problem since the Norm 81 scheme quickly deteriorated and lightened up in real life, so much that you can hardly tell one color from another. Besides, you rarely see a ‘clean’ German F-4F in Norm 81 livery. Hence, the model received a double wash with very thin black ink and also a treatment with very fine sand paper, which helps blend color edges and creates pretty realistically 'worn' areas and flaws. This was further enhanced through dry-brushing with shades of grey.
Other external color mods are the di-electric panels, e .g. the shock cone in dark grey or the fin cap in medium grey instead of the typical bright green of Russian origin. I mixed Humbrol’s 32 with 168, for an unidentifiable tone which was later dry-brushed with light grey for a worn and ‘plastic-like’ look.
The markings were puzzled together from various sources: national insignia, the tactical codes and the JG71 emblems come from TL Modellbau aftermarket sheets. Stencils and other small markings from a German MiG-21 and other appropriate scrapbox findings. Another nice detail are the formation light strips - it adds some color to the grey-in-grey aircraft. Another 'copied' detail are the four thin white stripes on the radome - an idea I took from German Tornado fighter bombers.
Since Revell enamels do not go well with Humbrol matt varnish (which I prefer), I tried Revell's acryllic matt varnish - and the expeiment was a real success. Good stuff!
So, a small project with little effort – done in just four days from sprues to varnish. Painting the model kit was the most complex task. But even though the MiG-21G looks a bit ‘grey in grey’, the result is pretty plausible, even elegant. Nice whif!
2D-3D conversion to Anaglyph. Red/Cyan filtered 3D glasses required to view. Image from a wallpaper site on the web. The artist name is Ciruelo Cabral. Signed as "Ciruelo".
+++ 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 origins of the mighty Hawker Harpy date back until the late 1940ies, when the British MoD issued a specification for "an interceptor fighter with supersonic performance" under the handle F.23/49. In May 1949 OR.268 was prepared and finally issued in April 1950. It called for a twin-engine single-seat supersonic fighter to operate in Europe and desirably any other part of the world. The initial design requirements were not too demanding: a top speed of at least Mach 1.2 was called for, with climb to 50.000' (15.240m) in no more than 360 seconds. The fighter had to have a rate of climb of at least 1.000'/min (305m/min) and a minimum endurance from take-off to landing of at least 60min. At least two 30mm Aden cannon were to be carried.
At this stage, two companies submitted proposals: English Electric with the P.1, which should become the eventual winning design as the formidable Mach 2-capable BAC Lightning, and Hawker with the P.1082 and P.1086 designs. P.1082 was a sleek, supersonic development of the Hawker Hunter, which was rejected, as it only featured a single, reheated engine and too little future development potential. P.1086 vaguely resembled the later Soviet Su-15 interceptor with two engines side by side in the rear fuselage, fed by lateral air intakes and featured a cropped delta wing, paired with swept tail surfaces. P.1086 was rejected, too, as it fell short in performance in comparison with the P.1, even though the range would have been better.
As the Lightning entered production and service after a long and troublesome development phase until the late 1950ies, technical advances and new threats through supersonic bombers like the Tupolev Tu-22, armed with long range air-to-ground missiles had emerged. While the Lightning was an excellent interceptor with an outstanding rate of climb and a top speed of more than Mach 2.0at height, it had several shortcomings that could never really be rectified: one flaw was its limited payload of two guided AAMs (initially IR-guided Firestreaks, later radar-guided Red Top AAMs), but its biggest shortcoming was the very limited range that left esp. in the northern regions of Great Britain a defense gap.
This led in in 1955 to the requirement for a 'Day-Night High Altitude Fighter Aircraft' under OR.239/F.155, which was to be able to operate against enemy bombers coming in at 60.000' (18.288m) altitude and at Mach 1.3, with service entry as soon as possible and not beyond 1963 (the BAC Lightning was considered to be sufficient until about 1960). A new radar was to be developed for the aircraft, operated by a second crew member.
Almost all British manufacturers submitted designs, including Hawker with several proposals like the P.1103, a large aircraft based on the Hunter with a chin air intake and missile rails on its wing tips. There was also the P.1110, a much revised P.1086 design - basically an enlarged and much refined version of the 1950 concept, but now with an area-ruled fuselage and powered by two Sapphire Sa.7LR engines, rated at 11.000lb (48.9kN) dry thrust and at 15.400lb (68.4kN) with full afterburner and optimized for high altitude duty.
The P.1110 was still a single-seater, though, equipped with the same AI.23B radar as the BAC Lightning, which it was to support, not to replace. The Ferranti AI.23 radar supported autonomous search, automatic target tracking, and ranging for all weapons, while the pilot attack sight provided gyroscopically derived lead angle and backup stadiametric ranging for gun firing. The radar and gunsight were collectively designated the AIRPASS: Airborne Interception Radar and Pilot Attack Sight System.
The P.1110’s selling point was its long range (the combat radius exceeded the Lightning’s maximum range), coupled with a top speed of more than Mach 2 and the ability to carry up to six (normal payload would be four) AAMs, plus two internal cannons. Another factor that made the Hawker aircraft attractive was that it was a simple design, bearing no visible development risk, and that the bigger radome offered the option to install not only a larger antenna, but also offered the possibility to install an overall much more powerful radar system that would be more suitable for the primary long-range interception task of the type.
Even though Fairey’s (based on the famous Delta research aircraft) and Armstrong Whitworth’s designs were officially favored, things went in a totally different direction: in early 1957 the MoD issued its infamous White Paper that basically rang the death knell to all new fighter developments - axing the F.155 program in favor of ground-based missile defense systems – the manned fighter was considered obsolete over night!
Anyway, things would not change that fast in real life, and this gave way for the “last manned fighter” for the RAF: the P.1110. It was clear that it was just a stopgap solution, as the Lightning would, if any interceptor development was cut down, be the only operative interceptor for Great Britain in the near future, leaving the aforementioned weak spots esp. at the northern borders. A foreign potential option for the required aircraft, the mighty CF-105 'Arrow' from Canada, had also been recently cancelled, so the modified P.1110 was seen as the most cost-efficient domestic solution.
Work started fast and at good pace: the first P.1110 prototype (a total of four were to be built, one of them only a static airframe for ground tests) already made its maiden flight in September 1959. As it relied on proven avionics the type became ready for service in early 1961. The new aircraft was christened ‘Harpy F.1’ and it served alongside the BAC Lightning interceptors on long range patrol flights, high altitude interceptions and in QRA service. It partly replaced older Gloster Javelin versions in the all-weather fighter role.
Beyond the primary missile-toting interceptor role the Harpy could also carry an impressive load of up to 10.000 lb (4.540 kg) of other ordnance, including Matra rocket pods and iron or cluster bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber.
The Harpy was a big aircraft and not really suited for dogfight scenarios, but it had - in contrast to the Lightning - a spacious cockpit which made long flights agreeable. Take-off and landing speeds were comparatively high, though, with a take-off speed of 231 mph (370 km/h). While the controls were responsive and precise, the aircraft was unforgiving of pilot error. Indeed, the type's attrition rate was high: 18 aircraft would be lost through accidents.
As only 65 were built, operating the type was costly, and towards the late 1960s already a more economical solution was searched for. The aging Lightning fleet also started to call for a replacement. The pure missile air defense had quickly turned out to be a political error, but in its wake it had caused severe consequences for Britain's aircraft industry, as aircraft development had been cut back. Eventually, as domestic types were lacking, the Spey-engined McDonnell F-4 Phantom II entered RAF service (after having been bought for the Royal Navy in the first place) in 1969.
Both Lightning and Harpy suffered in service under the high work load for the pilot, who had not only to engage a potential enemy at high speed but also had to operate the radar and weapons system at the same time. Another limiting factor for both types' effectiveness was the more and more obsolete Firestreak and Red Top missiles, which only had an effective range of up to 7.5 miles (12 km) and relied on IR homing. Plans to outfit the Lightning with American Falcons, Sparrows or even Sidewinders in 1958 were fruitless (either necessitating an altogether new fire control system or limiting the aircraft's performance), so that the Harpy would not benefit from more capable weapons, too - even though it offered the better development basis with its bigger radome, range and payload.
Only few hardware updates were actually made during the Hawker Harpy’s active service period, including the addition of a removable, fixed in-flight refueling probe, an improved escape system along with additional room for more electronic counter-measures equipment. By 1973 all machines were modified accordingly and re-designated F.1A.
Both Harpy and Lightning were hard to replace, though, as the RAF Phantoms initially also had to fill out an attack and reconnaissance role (a gap which was to be filled with the SEPECAT Jaguar), so both interceptors soldiered on until the early 1980ies. Both were replaced by the Phantoms, the large Harpy made its final flight in May 1982 while the last Lightning was retired in 1988, as the Tornado ADV was under development and would unite what even the couple of Harpy and Lighning never achieved in their service career.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 21.52 m (70 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 9.34 m (30 ft 8 in)
Height: 5.41 m (17 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 42.2 m² (454 ft 3 in)
Empty weight: 10,371 kg (22,864 lb)
Loaded weight: 15,288 kg (33,704 lbf)
Max. take-off weight: 18,879 kg (41,621 lbf)
Powerplant:
2× reheated Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire Sa.7LR engines, rated at 11.000lb (48.9kN) dry thrust and at 15.400lb (68.4kN) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 2.1
Combat radius with 5 min combat: 647 nmi (746 mi, 1,200 km)
Ferry range: 1.403 nmi (1.615 mi, 2.600 km) with 3 external fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 18.100 m (59.383 ft)
Rate of climb: 83 m/s (16.405 ft/min)
Wing loading: 447.4 kg/m² (MAX T-O Weight) (91.63 lb/ft² (MAX T-O Weight))
Thrust/weight: 0.5; 0.91 with afterburner (MAX T-O Weight)
Armament:
2× Aden 30mm (1.18”) cannons under the air intakes with 120 RPG
7× hard points (6 under wing and one centerline hard point) for air-to-air missiles (Firestreak or, from 1965 on, primarily Red Top), fuel on three wet pylons, or bombs, Matra pods with 18 unguided 68mm SNEB rockets, for a total maximum load of 10.000 lb (4.540 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
Hopefully royalists will forgive me for this... but did you ever see an aircraft and get the spontaneous idea what it actually could be or have been? Well, the Chinese J-8II is such a case. In fact, the J-8 was born as a scaled-up MiG-21F with two engines, and it was later modified to carry a nose radome and lateral air intakes. Somehow this large jet fighter had IMHO a British look about it… I couldn't help, it HAD to become an RAF aircraft! Totally anachronistic, but worth the try ;).
Anyway, it is still SO retro that I had to put even the modernized version back in time by about 20 years, when it would have been up to date. Just for reference: imagine that the real J-8II entered service in China when the Harpy was retired after 20 years of service in my fictional background story…
Well, to be honest I have had this one on my idea list for a long time, but as it would ‘just’ be an almost OOB build I always held in back, favoring more complicated works. Anyway, as I had a Trumpeter J-8II kit in store AND appropriate decals I decided to work the Harpy out as the first kit in 2014.
As already mentioned, this is an almost OOB build of the Trumpeter J-8II (NATO code 'Finback B'), with only minor modifications. The kit is very nice: Fit is good, you get recessed panel lines, as many details as you can ask for – just some fit issues with the fuselage halves and slight sink holes at the air intakes. While you need some putty, anyway, the thing goes together very easily.
Personal mods to create the Hawker Harpy include a Matchbox pilot figure for the cockpit, two fins ('Finback A' style) instead of the J-8II's single MiG-23 style folding fin, new drop tanks (from a Matchbox Hawker Hunter, with fins added) and four Red Top missiles (from an Eastern Express Sea Vixen) – all for a convincing RAF look.
Other small mods include e. g. getting rid of some typical Soviet-style antennae (even though I kept the almost iconic anti-flutter weights on the tailplane) and the GSh-23-2 cannon fairing under the fuselage, which was replaced by two single gun fairings for 30mm Aden cannons under the air intakes.
Painting and markings:
Classic RAF colors from the Sixties, with Dark Slate Gray/Dark Sea Gray from above and Light Aircraft Gray below (Humbrol 163, 164 and 166, respectively). The aircraft received a light black ink wash in order to emphasize the kit’s fine engraved panel lines, as well as some dry-painting with lighter shades (including Dark Slate Gray/Dark Sea Gray from Modelmaster – these tones are a tad lighter than the Humbrol counterparts, and Humbrol 196, RAL 7035).
The cockpit interior was painted in dark gray, while the landing gear wells and the other interiors were left in Aluminum. The landing gear was painted in Steel, the wheel discs white and the air brakes in red from the inside.
Decals/markings come from an Xtradecal sheet for RAF Phantom FG.1/FGR.2s, "XL196" is, AFAIK, a ‘free’ (never used) RAF serial number that fits around 1962. Some additional stencils and markings were painted onto the fuselage by brush.
After decal application the kit received an overall coat of semi-gloss Tamiya acrylic varnish.
The Hawker Harpy is/was simple kit travesty, but IMHO the resulting ‘British product’ looks very convincing and late-1950ies style?
+++ 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 "Entwicklung" tank series (= "development"), more commonly known as the E-Series, was a late-World War II attempt by Germany to produce a standardized series of tank designs. There were to be six standard designs in different weight classes, from which several specialized variants were to be developed. This intended to reverse the trend of extremely complex tank designs that had resulted in poor production rates and mechanical unreliability.
The E-series designs were simpler, cheaper to produce and more efficient than their predecessors; however, their design offered only modest improvements in armor and firepower over the designs they were intended to replace, such as the Jagdpanzer 38(t), Panther Ausf.G or Tiger II. However, the resulting high degree of standardization of German armored vehicles would also have made logistics and maintenance easier. Indeed, nearly all of the E-series vehicles — up through and including the E-75 — were intended to use what were essentially the Tiger II's eighty centimeter diameter, steel-rimmed road wheels for their suspension, meant to overlap each other (as on the later production Tiger I-E and Panther designs that also used them), even though in a much simplified fashion.
Focus of initial chassis and combat vehicle development was the E-50/75 Standardpanzer, designed by Adler, both being mostly identical and only differing in armor thickness, overall weight and running gear design to cope with the different weights.
The E-50 Standardpanzer was intended as a medium tank, replacing the Panther and Tiger I battle tanks and the conversions based on these older vehicles. The E-50 hull was to be longer than the Panther, and in fact it was practically identical to the Königstiger (Tiger II) in overall dimensions except for the glacis plate layout. Compared with the earlier designs, however, the amount of drilling and machining involved in producing the Standardpanzer designs was reduced drastically, which would have made them quicker, easier and cheaper to produce, as would the proposed conical spring system, replacing their predecessors' torsion bar system which required a special steel alloy.
The basis development, the E-50 Ausf. A combat tank, was to carry the narrow-mantlet 'Schmalturm' turret (originally designed for the Panther Ausf. F), coupled with a variant of the powerful KwK 43 88 mm L/71 gun, but heavier guns (a new 10,5 cm gun for both the E-50 and E-75 and the 12,8 cm caliber gun for the E-75) in bigger turrets were under development.
In service the vehicle received the inventory ordnance number "SdKfZ. 191" and was officially called "Einheitspanzer 50" (Standard tank), retaining its E-50 abbreviation. The weight of the E-50 vehicle family would fall between 50 and 75 tons. The engine was an improved Maybach HL234 with up to 900 hp output. Maximum speed was supposed to be up to 60 km/h.
The E-75 Standardpanzer (SdKfz. 192), based on the same hull, was intended to be the standard heavy tank and become the replacement of the heavy Tiger II and Jagdtiger tanks. The E-75 would have been built on the same production lines as the E-50 for ease of manufacture, and the two vehicles were to share many components, including the same Maybach HL 234 engine and running gear elements. As its name indicates, the resulting vehicle would have weighed in at over 75 tons, reducing its speed to around 40 km/h. To offset the increased weight, the bogies were spaced differently from on the E-50, with an extra pair added on each side and eight instead of six wheels plus a slightly wider track, giving the E-75 a slightly improved track to ground contact length.
The KwK 45 10,5cm gun had already started in 1943 as an answer to the heavy KV and later the IS series of Soviet combat tanks, and it was ready for service in September 1945, just in time for the deployment of the E-50/75 family of tanks. The KwK 45 was specifically designed to fit into the turret mountings of the 8.8cm KwK 43. This would enable older vehicles to be upgunned with minimum modifications; hence, the fleet could be upgraded in a shorter time and at a lower cost.
The breech used a horizontally sliding breech block for loading the fixed cartridge cases. The gun recoiled only approximately 29 cm (11.5 inch) in most applications, automatically opening the breech and ejecting the empty cartridge case as the gun returns to battery from full recoil. The cannon had a weight of 1.287 kg and was able to achieve a rate of fire of up to eight shots per minute Schuss/Minute, with an effective range of 4.000 m (2.5 mi) ). HE rounds were fired with a muzzle velocity of 1.100 m (3,600 ft ) per second and APDS rounds achieved 1.500 m (4,900 ft) per second. This was sufficient to penetrate 170 mm (6.7 in) of armor at a range of 1.800m (5,900 ft) or 280 mm (11 in) of armor with APDS rounds, respectively.
In the E-50 tank, the KwK 45 was carried by the Ausf. C variant in a voluminous Henschel turret, which was similar in outline to the earlier Königstiger heavy tank, but it was a simplified construction and had varying armor strengths for the E-50 and E-75 tanks. Instead of the initial L52 barrel, which made the KwK 45 compatible with the Schmalturm turret of the initial E-50 variants, the bigger turret of the Ausf. C allowed to add additional counterweights so that a longer caliber 60 barrel without a muzzle brake could be installed, which improved the weapon's range and hitting power further. Otherwise the E-50 Ausf. C was identical to the earlier versions. Thanks to the relatively spacious turret, a total of 64 105mm shells could be carried (typically 50% high explosive and 50% armor-piercing), plus 4.800 rounds for the secondary 7,92 MG 34s on board (32 ammunition belts with 150 round each).
In order to improve the tanks' long-range strike capability, some of the new E-50/75 battle tanks were additionally equipped with launch rails and a visual guidance system for the new Ruhrstahl X-7 anti-tank missile, unofficially nicknamed "Rotkäppchen" (Little Red Riding Hood).
The aircraft-shaped X-7 was the first operational anti-tank guided missile in history. It was created on the basis of a command of the Army Ordnance Office to Dr. Ing. Kramer and its origins dated back as far the beginning of the year 1934, but it had no high priority from official side and there were numerous problems to be eradicated. An appropriate number was built in the factory in Brackwede and handed over to the army for field-testing before the war, but the weapon initially did not receive much interest. The main version was wire-steered, but other trial versions were equipped with the automatic infrared steering system "Steinbock" (Capricorn) or with the electro-optical guidance systems "Pfeifenkopf" (Pipe bowl) and "Pinsel" (Brush) - the latter used vidicon cameras to detect the difference between the target and the background. Various guidance systems were tested, too, both for anti-aircraft and anti-tank use.
As an anti-tank weapon the small, aircraft-shaped missile could easily be transported and deployed on light vehicles, but it was also tested as an auxiliary weapon for tanks, from which it could be fired and steered from the inside with the help of an optical guidance system.
The X-7 was a compact weapon and had a length of 0,95 m (37 1/2 in), a body diameter of 150 mm (6 in), a wing span of 0,60 m (23 1/2 in). Its launch weight was about 9kg (~20 lb). It was powered by a solid fuel twin rocket engine that delivered 676 N of thrust for 3 seconds at the start for a maximum speed of 245 m/s (550 mph; 476 kn; 880 km/h) and sustained 55 N for another 8 seconds, achieving a cruise speed of 100 m/s. The missile carried a 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) hollow charge, triggered with an impact fuze, that could penetrate more than 200 mm (7.9 in) of armor at a 30° angle.
For the use on board of tanks, the X-7 was carried on special launch rigs which could be easily attached to turrets or casemate hulls. Typically, two of the missiles were carried, ready to launch. The optical guidance system was based on the ZG 1229 "Vampir" infrared night vision system - but for the X-7 guidance, the device had been modified into a periscope that was mounted on the roof of the gunner's station, so that the missile could be fired and guided in the safety of the armored turret.
However, initial field tests in early 1946 revealed that the X-7 hardly offered any benefit when compared with the heavy German cannon. The potential benefit of a dive attack on a tank target, which would reduce the relative armor strength of the target or hit the weaker upper armor of such a target, was only theoretical because aiming and guiding the missile even at a direct course was not easy. A ballistic flight path was possible, but under combat conditions unrealistic. Furthermore, the missiles unprotected storage made them highly vulnerable against enemy fire, and many were lost early because the fell off of the launch racks or were simply ripped away when the tank moved through obstacles like trees or ruins. An internal storage of the weapon in a tank was also impossible. Therefore, the X-7 was soon banned from battle tanks and either mounted on light, unarmored vehicles, which could more easily employ "hit-and-run" tactics, or the light missiles were carried by two man teams for ambushes. In mid-1946, trials to fire the X-7 from a Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri helicopter ensued.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, radio operator, driver)
Weight: 54 tonnes (60 short tons)
Length: 7.27 metres (23 ft 8 in) (hull only)
9.36 metres (30 ft 8 in) incl. gun
Width: 3.88 metres (12 ft 9 in)
Height 3.35 metres (11 ft)
Ground clearance: 495 to 510 mm (1 ft 7.5 in to 1 ft 8.1 in)
Suspension: Conical spring
Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)
Armor:
30–120 mm (1.2 – 4.7 in)
Performance:
Speed
- Maximum, road: 44 km/h (27.3 mph)
- Sustained, road: 38 km/h (24 mph)
- Cross country: 15 to 20 km/h (9.3 to 12.4 mph)
Operational range: 160 km (99 miles)
Power/weight: 16,67 PS/tonne (14,75 hp/ton)
Engine:
V-12 Maybach HL 234 gasoline engine with 900 PS (885 hp/650 kW)
Transmission:
ZF AK 7-200 with 7 forward 1 reverse gears
Armament:
1× 10,5 cm KwK 45 L/60 with 64 rounds
2× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 with a total of 5.200 rounds (one mounted co-axially with
the main gun and an optional AA gun on the commander's cupola)
2× X-7 "Rotkäppchen" anti-tank missile launch rails on some vehicles
The kit and its assembly:
Another Heer '46 model, and again one of the many 1:72 Modelcollect kits. Even though I rather have a knack for exotic vehicles I thought that a relatively simple battle tank could not hurt in the collection - but I still had an idea how to add a personal touch and take the basic idea further.
This came when I remembered the small X-7 missile, and wondered if that could not have been used from 1945 onwards - e.g. as an additional stand-off weapon for tanks like the post-war AS.12 in France - the light AMX-13 tank could carry four of these above the gun on its oscillating turret. And that made me wonder if and how the German missile could find its way on a battle tank?
In an initial step I scratched a pair of X-7s from bombs and styrene profile material - they look a little clumsy and they became actually too large for authentic 1:72 scale, but their outlines turned out well. Using them as benchmarks I checked different tank kits and eventually settled for an E-50 with the large Tiger-II-style Henschel turret. This offered a good size and height to mount the two missiles in racks on the turret's flanks - these are scratched from styrene profile material, too. Otherwise the kit remained OOB, I just used the kit's night vision device and some material from the scrap box to create an optical guidance gear, mounted on the turret in front of the gunner's hatch.
The E-50 kit goes together well, just some light PSR is necessary at the turret's base. This version of the kit also came with a surplus Schmalturm sprue and it did not come with vinyl tracks, like some former kits from this series that I have built, but rather with molded single track elements. I am not a fan of these, at least in 1:72 scale, and mounting these small bits was a tedious affair that took a whole day. The low mud guards hampered the process further.
Painting and markings:
The paint scheme is a variation of the classic German "Hinterhalt" camouflage, consisting of Dark Yellow, Olive Green and Red Brown. However, the pattern is a little special, because I wanted to recreate the original concept of the scheme, the ideal “factory finish”. It was intended to apply the green and brown contrast colors on top of the dark yellow in the form of overlapping small, round dots of uniform size, applied with a gauge, that let the light color shine though here and there – plus small contrast speckles added to the dark yellow. A really complex camouflage pattern, but quite effective, because it mimicked well the fractal shadows under a tree, disrupting a vehicle’s silhouette.
In real life, however, only a few tanks had been painted this way around August 1944 in the factories (I have seen Panther, Hetzer, Jagdpanzer IV/L70 and a Sturmtiger, sometimes only partly, finished in this fashion), because the application was tedious and time-consuming. Eventually, the tanks were delivered to the frontline troops in a uniform dark yellow finish, together with the green and brown as thick pastes which were to be applied individually by the crew, depending on the local needs and with whatever was at hand.
I order to mimic the original Hinterhalt scheme’s look I initially gave the model an overall coat with RAL 8001 “Grünbraun” as primer and then added 7028 "Dunkelgelb" (Modelmaster) with a wide, flat brush, creating a cloudy finish. Once dry I used two self-made stamps for the application of the red brown (Humbrol 160) and the green (RAL 6003 from Modelmaster). The stamps were made from fine expanded rubber, die-punched into circles of 3 and 4mm diameter and then glued on top of sticks with superglue. Very simple, but worked like a charm!
Adding all the circles one by one was another tedious task, esp. on uneven underground and around corners. Once this basic painting was done, the kit received an overall wash with a mix of black and red brown acrylic paint. Next came the decal application; the crosses and the “kill marks” for the barrel were taken from the OOB sheet, the red tactical code and the small unit badges were taken from a TL Modellbau aftermarket sheet. Next came a light dry brushing treatment with beige and light grey, highlighting surface details and edges. After painting some details and adding some rust marks came a coat of matt varnish (from the rattle can), the tracks were finally mounted and the lower area of the tank received a treatment with a greyish-brown pigment mix, simulating dust and mud residue.
A relatively simple project, done in four days from which one day was spent with the camouflage and another one with the fiddly tracks. Creating the small X-7 missiles from scratch was tricky, too. Nevertheless, I think the effort was worthwhile, since the addition of the missiles and their racks give the otherwise simple battle tank a special touch and some Heer '46 futurism. After all, it’s a what-if model. The complex camouflage also looks good, and it demonstrates how effective the original concept of the Hinterhalt scheme actually was, had it been applied properly. I might re-apply the concept on a mecha model in the future – probably with different colors, though.
37061 undergoing conversion at Crewe Works on 27th April 1986. She was re-numbered to 37799 on 13th August 1986
+++ 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:
As an island nation, Japan’s highest priorities for research in World War II were its navy and aviation industries. The army was large, but its military equipment could not match rival European counterparts who had stronger ground forces. Japan did not use heavy tanks, and an examination of the most advanced mass-produced Japanese vehicle—the Type 97 Chi-Ha—shows it lighter, smaller and with worse armament than its contemporaries: the Soviet T-34, German Pz.Kpfw IV and US M4 Sherman.
The reason that Japan did not develop heavier tanks was not the result of military incompetence, but rather of logistics: Japan was fighting for control of small Pacific islands. All vehicles and equipment had to be transported by sea, onto island terrain not suitable for using heavy vehicles; where designs were concerned, lighter was better! At the time, China, the only major mainland rival of Japan, did not have good armor or anti-armor capabilities, so the existing Japanese vehicles were deemed acceptable for the task at hand. Additionally, except for battle ships, the Japanese industry did not have much experience with the production of heavier tanks, and the respective tools were also not present.
On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and went to war with the USA. They achieved several early victories, invading the Philippines, multiple islands of Oceania, and part of New Guinea. The Allies were hard-pressed to keep up.
During their domination in the Pacific region, the Japanese created a defensive perimeter using islands as strongholds. The Americans and other allied forces began to hit back. In June 1942, the Japanese lost four aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway, and US forces slugged it out for six months during the Battle of Guadalcanal before emerging victorious in February 1943. Similar to Stalingrad in the East these two battles deprived Japan of the strategic initiative, and their defensive perimeter fell under attack, island by island. The Allied forces were nearing the Japanese Home Islands.
In June 1943, Japan's ambassador visited one of the Wehrmacht's heavy tank detachments. He was very impressed by the huge tiger. Germany and the Kaiserreich made a deal. Allies help each other. Anyone who has a particularly effective new weapon passes information about it to the army of the country that is fighting at least one common enemy. This is exactly what happened in the Third Reich between June 1943 and autumn 1944. The Japanese embassy in Berlin had concluded from press reports about the unsuccessful battles by German troops in Tunisia, which ultimately ended with a surrender, that the Wehrmacht had a new super tank. So, Ambassador General Hiroshi Oshima asked to see this new weapon - after all, the Japanese Empire was fighting against the USA, if not against Stalin's Soviet Union. On June 7, 1943, he personally visited the German front in front of Leningrad with a few adjutants. That was unusual; Actually, such a mission would have been more the task of a military attaché - although Oshima had already been in Berlin from 1934 to 1938. He also spoke perfect German and was friends with Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.
The Wehrmacht had had a stranglehold on the former Russian capital since autumn 1941; conquering them was one of the main goals of Army Group North, especially of 18th Army. This is one of the reasons why the 1st Company of the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion remained in Siewersi, around 70 kilometers south of Leningrad city center. It was one of the detachments with the new Tiger tanks. Commanded by Oberleutnant Klaus Diehls, the 1st company had only one Tiger ready for action after heavy fighting around Schlüsselburg in January 1943, but by the beginning of June they received new vehicles as supplies, so that the unit again had 14 Panzer VIs at its disposal - the was the nominal strength after the regrouping to a pure Tiger company. A day after the arrival of the new vehicles, the Japanese military delegation, accompanied by Colonel General Georg Lindemann, the commander of the 18th Army, Klaus Diehls, the heavy tanks demonstrated their capabilities to the high-ranking guests, and Oshima was even allowed to take the commander's seat of a tiger. The ambassador was deeply impressed by the sheer power of the tank.
Oshima knew that the Japanese tanks could not match the firepower and protection of the models in the European theater of war. In 1943 the most modern model was the Type 1 Chi-He, which with a weight of 17.5 tons, a 47 mm gun and an output of 240 hp was just about the same as a German Panzer III from 1940. However, this was not due to any incompetence on the part of Japanese engineers - their specifications were simply different: Since the empire wanted to expand its sphere of influence far into the Pacific, ship portability was an essential criterion when developing its own armored vehicles.
However, since the Japanese defeat in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the US Marines increasingly used Sherman tanks during the fierce fighting for individual Pacific islands. This medium combat vehicle was clearly superior to the German Panzer III and, depending on the version, roughly equivalent to the Panzer IV; Shooting down Japanese models was no problem at all for its 75mm gun. So, in Japan there was the idea of replicating the most modern German tanks and transporting them to the occupied Pacific islands that had not yet been attacked, in order to stop or at least slow down the advance of the marines.
The time for an indigenous development, so the calculation, could be saved if the Japanese industry simply copied or license-built operational models from Germany. The Japanese delegation was particularly impressed by the firepower of the German “Acht-Achter”, the Tiger's 88 mm gun. With such a weapon it should be possible to stop the Marines' Shermans.
A few weeks later, in July 1943, Oshima and his companions visited the Henschel tank factory in Kassel. Here he had the production of the German super tank explained in detail, experienced a demonstration at the test site near Wilhelmsthal Castle and also viewed a specimen of the new medium-heavy German tank, the Panther. Presumably, the German side rather concealed the weaknesses of the Tiger, which had already become apparent during the first operations in 1942/43: the vertical armor of the hull at the front and the sides was unnecessarily vulnerable. The engine was undersized, the weight too high for many routes and the speed off-road at a maximum of 20 kilometers per hour too low. While the Henschel engineers were developing the successor to the Tiger I, logically called Tiger II, to production maturity in the second half of 1943, the Japanese embassy was negotiating with the Wehrmacht about the delivery of the Tiger I.
In 1943, Germany sent Japan two packages of technical documentation, but Japan also wanted to purchase the tank and import vehicles to Japan by submarine. The cost to produce a Tiger was around 300,000 Reichsmarks in 1943, while the Ministry of Armaments and the Henschel Company requested 645,000 Reichsmarks from the Japanese for a fully loaded tank. The Germans had not simply decided to “cash in” on oversea allies: the cost of technical documentation was also included into the amount; and the tank would be supplied with ammunition, an excellent radio, and optics. Also, Germany was prepared to disassemble and pack the thirty-ton tank for shipment to Japan.
The Allies commanded the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic, so underwater shipping was the only way to get the Tiger to Japan, but few vessels could carry a bulky 30-ton tank hull. The only option were Japanese submarine aircraft carriers that had corresponding characteristics, namely the IJN’s I-400-class submarines. These were the largest submarines of World War II and remained the largest ever built until the construction of nuclear ballistic missile submarines in the 1960s. Measuring more than 120 m (390 ft) long overall, they displaced 5,900 t (6,500 short tons), more than double their typical American contemporaries. The cross-section of its pressure hull had a unique figure-of-eight shape which afforded the necessary strength and stability to handle the weight of a large on-deck aircraft hangar. To allow stowage of three aircraft along the vessel's centerline, the conning tower was offset to port. Located approximately amidships on the top deck was a cylindrical watertight aircraft hangar, 31 m (102 ft) long and 3.5 m (11 ft) in diameter. The outer access door could be opened hydraulically from within or manually from the outside by turning a large hand-wheel connected to a rack and spur gear. The door was made waterproof with a 51-millimetre-thick (2.0 in) rubber gasket.
The I-400 class was designed with the range to travel anywhere in the world and return. A fleet of 18 boats was planned in 1942, and work started on the first in January 1943 at the Kure, Hiroshima arsenal. However, within a year the plan was scaled back to just five ships, and this fleet hardly had any practical value in the aircraft carrier role except for long-range reconnaissance or special strike missions, so that they were frequently used for underwater transport of heavy/bulky items – including the disassembled Tiger I tank!
With this highly limited logistics option, the Tiger tanks had trouble reaching Japan at all. Most optimistic estimates put its arrival in December of 1944. Despite many difficulties, the first tank for Japan was sent to a Bordeaux port in February 1944, and the Japanese paid for the order: officially coming into possession of the Tiger, but not able to use or reverse engineer it. Until summer of 1944, when the Allies landed in Normandy, only a handful of Tiger Is had been sent to Japan through I-400 submarines, re-assembled and put into IJA service, where they were designated Type 99 ‘To-Ra’.
The To-Ra was, even though it looked like the German Tiger I, a unique variant that differed from its ancestor. The hull was the same, with the same level of overall armor, but apparently the “export Tigers” were produced with hardened steel of lower quality than the German tanks, saving material and money. The running gear was simplified, too; it had only twelve wheels instead of the Tiger I’s original arrangement of sixteen interleaved wheels and used the rubber-saving all-metal wheels that were often retrofitted to German tanks during field repairs. The commander cupola on top of the turret was the new, standardized cast model (the same one that was used on the Panzer V Panther, too) that was introduced on late-production Tiger Is; it was easier to produce and offered a better field of view than the Tiger’s early welded “dustbin” model. Another small difference were all-metal drive wheels, another sign of the use of steel with less quality, and the export tanks were not – like late German production Tiger Is – watertight and not capable of deep-fording anymore.
The tanks for Japan mostly retained the original German equipment, including the radio set, optics, engine and the powerful 8.8 cm KwK 36. However, the gun was outfitted with a simpler and slightly longer single-piece L/71 barrel (instead of the original L/56 two-piece barrel), and the machine guns were not fitted upon delievery; they were, upon re-assembly in Japan, replaced with Japanese 7.7mm Type 97 light machine guns. Another, visible domestic modification was the installation of a rigid frame radio antenna on the turret instead of the European whip antenna on the rear hull.
In September 1944, with a worsening control situation in France, the submarine transfers were moved to other ports under German control. However, they ceased altogether in late 1944, due to the worsening war situation, logistics problems, the general dangers of the long naval travel and the increasing lack of fuel to support the deliveries in both Germany and Japan. All in all, probably less than twenty Tiger I tanks reached Japan. All were re-assembled, but only a little more than a dozen became fully operational and ready for combat.
The Type 99 was exclusively allocated to home defense units, where it would have been a powerful asset. They were based on the southern Japanese mainland, waiting for the Allied invasion (operation Olympic), but it never came. Most of the time the Tigers were just used to train crews, or they were enlisted for PR appearances, boosting morale and confusing the enemy with potential massive resistance and firepower.
The To-Ras was, however, due to their sheer bulk and weight, very limited. The Japanese Tigers were relatively immobile and could not be transferred to the continental Japanese colonies, where they were direly needed and where the might have had some impact: When the Soviets invaded Manchuria in August 1945, they found an impressive Japanese tank force, at least on the paper, but a deep ravine separated the IJA and Soviet types. The latter had constantly improved their models in response to German tanks, and were much more advanced in speed, firepower, and protection than the average IJA models, which were light and/or obsolete by any standards of the time. The To-Ra/Tigers would have been a match, even a serious threat at long distance, but they were too few and stuck in homeland defense, so that their overall contribution was negligible. In fact, no Japanese Tiger fired in anger until the end of the war.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 54 tonnes (60 short tons) empty,
57 tonnes (63 short tons) combat weight
Length: 6.32 m (20 ft 8.7 in)
8.85 m (29 ft) overall with gun facing forward
Width: 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in)
Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
Ground clearance: 0.47 m (1 ft 7 in)
Suspension: Torsion bar, interleaved road wheels
Fuel capacity: 540 liters
Armor:
25–120 mm (0.98–4.72 in)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 45.4 km/h (28.2 mph) on roads
20–25 km/h (12–16 mph) cross country
Operational range: 195 km (121 mi) on road
110 km (68 mi) cross country
Power/weight: 13 PS (9.5 kW) / tonne
Engine & transmission:
Maybach HL230 P45 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW),
Maybach Olvar Typ OG 40 12 16 gearbox (8 forward and 4 reverse)
Armament:
1× 1× 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/71 with 92 AP and HE rounds
2× 7.7mm Type 97 light machine guns with a total of 4,800 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This rather romantic what-if model is an interpretation of the real historic desire of Japan to obtain the Tiger I from Germany, and there are actually OOB model kits of this oddity available (e .g. from Border Models in 1:35). However, I am not a big fan of the Tiger I – it looks like a box with tracks and a bulky turret on top, very uninspired. Well, I had a Hasegawa 1:72 Tiger I kit in The Stash™, which I only had bought a while ago because it came with an extra set of road wheels, which had already gone into another conversion problem. The IJA Tiger, aptly called “To-Ra” (which means “Tiger” in Japanese, AFAIK), offered a good story to finally build the leftover kit – even though constructing a plausible background story how this heavy tank might have shown up in Japan called for some serious imagination!
That said, the very simple kit was built almost OOB, using the kit’s late production rubber-saving all-metal wheels and an optional roof top with the late, cast commander cupola. I also used one of the kit’s optional gun mantlets and implanted a longer, single-piece 8.8cm gun barrel from an early-production Jagdpanther (Armorfast), for a slightly different look. For more “Japanism” I scratched a frame antenna from steel wire and sprue material. It's just a small change, but with the antenna the tank looks quite different now, and it has a retro touch?
However, mounting the road wheels turned out to be a bit tricky. The featureless “inner” set of wheels needed its central holes to be considerably widened to fit onto their respective swing arms, and the “outer” wheels lack deep holes on their backs, so that the area that holds them on the swing arm tips(!) is very limited. Everything appears über-tight, all in all a wobbly affair, even though I understand that the Tiger I’s running gear is a complex thing to depict and construct in 1:72. However, I have built the Trumpeter counterpart of this model, and it was much easier to assemble and robust.
Painting and markings:
The more exotic aspect of the model, and I applied a typical IJA paint scheme from earlier war periods – one with the famous yellow contrast stripes, which were probably in real life more subdued than frequently depicted. The four-tone camouflage consists of Humbrol 160 for the “cha-iro” red brown, Humbrol 30 for “midori-iro” (dark green), a mix of Humbrol 155 and 121 for a greenish variant of the light IJA khaki, and Humbrol 81 (Pale Yellow) for the contrast stripes.
The black vinyl tracks were painted with a streaky mix of grey, red brown and some silver.
The markings were applied after an overall washing with dark brown acrylic paint; they were improvised and are purely fictional, even though the white flash icon appeared AFAIK on tanks of the unit the model depicts. The Japanese flags are further romantic geegaw – even though such markings apparently appeared on late-war IJN tanks.
After the decals the model received an overall treatment with dry-brushed dark earth and beige, and some bare metal marks with silver. As final steps, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, assembled, and then lightly dusted with mineral artist pigments around the lower areas.
A rather simple project – something that might make World of Warcraft nerds nervous? The frame antenna was the biggest modeling challenge, the running gear a nuisance. But finding a halfway plausible explanation how even a small number of Tiger I tanks from Germany could appear in Japan at all was a bigger one! However, the result looks surprisingly convincing, and the IJA paint scheme suits the boxy Tiger I well, it looks very natural under the false flag, And I am happy that I eventually found a use for the leftover kit! :-D