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In 1949 RKO-Pathe released “Fraud Fighters,” a film short about the work of the FDA produced with the agency’s close involvement for RKO’s “This is America” series.
For more information about FDA history visit www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/default.htm
+++ 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 Swedish Air Force was created on July 1, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded from four to seven squadrons. When World War II broke out in 1939 further expansion was initiated and this substantial expansion was not finished until the end of the war.
Although Sweden never entered the war, a large air force was considered necessary to ward off the threat of invasion and to resist pressure through military threats from the great powers. By 1945 the Swedish Air Force had over 800 combat-ready aircraft, including 15 fighter divisions.
At the onset of World War II, the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) was equipped with largely obsolete Gloster Gladiator (J 8) biplane fighters. To augment this, Sweden ordered 120 Seversky P-35 (J 9) and 144 P-66 Vanguard (J 10) aircraft from the United States. However, on 18 June 1940, United States declared an embargo against exporting weapons to any nation other than Great Britain. As the result, the Flygvapnet suddenly faced a shortage of modern fighters. Several other foreign alternatives were considered: the Finnish VL Myrsky and Soviet Polikarpov I-16 were unsatisfactory, and while the Mitsubishi A6M Zero was available, delivery from Japan was impractical. The only way out appeared to be a modern, indigenous fighter aircraft.
The origins of the Saab 19 date back before the onset of WWII. Just in time for the American embargo, Saab presented to the Ministry on Sep 4th 1939 a fighter that had been meant to replace the obsolete Gloster Gladiators. The aircraft carried the internal development code ‘L-12’ and had been designed in collaboration with US engineers in Sweden, who were to aid with license production of Northrop 8-A 1s and NA-16-4 Ms.
The L-12 looked very much like the contemporary, Japanese Mitsubishi A6M “Zero”. The aircraft was a very modern all-metal construction with fabric-covered control surfaces. The L-12 was to be powered by a 1.065 hp Bristol Taurus and maximum speed was calculated to be 605 km/h. Its relatively heavy armament consisted of four wing-mounted 13.2mm guns and two synchronized 8 mm MGs on top of the engine, firing through the propeller arc.
The design was quickly approved and the new aircraft was to be introduced to the Flygvapnet as the ‘J 19A’. Production aircraft would be outfitted with a more powerful Bristol Taurus II, giving 1.400 hp with 100-octane fuel and pushing the top speed to 630 km/h. But the war’s outbreak spoiled these plans literally over night: the L-12 had to be stopped, as the intended engine and any import or license production option vanished. This was a severe problem, since production of the first airframes had already started at Trollhättan, in the same underground factory where the B 3 bomber (license-built Ju-86K of German origin with radial engines) was built. About 30 pre-production airframes were finished or under construction, but lacked an appropriate engine!
With only half of a promising aircraft at hand and the dire need for fighters, the Swedish government decided to outfit these initial aircraft with non-license-built Wright R-2600-6 Twin Cyclone radial engines with an output of 1.600 hp (1.194 kW). The fuselage-mounted machine guns were deleted, due to the lack of internal space and in order to save weight, and the modified machines were designated J 19B. This was only a stop-gap solution, though. P&W Twin Wasp engines had also been considered as a potential power plant (resulting in the J 19C), but the US didn't want to sell any engines at that time to Sweden and this variant never materialized.
An initial batch of 24 J 19B aircraft was eventually completed and delivered to F3 at Lidköping in late 1940, while airframe construction was kept up at small pace, but only seven more J 19Bs were completed with R-2600 engines. Uncompleted airframes were left in stock for spares, and further production was halted in mid 1941, since the engine question could not be solved sufficiently.
The J 19B proved to be a controversial aircraft, not only because of its dubious engine. While it was basically a fast and agile aircraft, the heavy R-2600 engine was rather cumbersome and not suited for a fighter. Handling in the air as well as on the ground was demanding, due to the concentration of weight at the aircraft’s front – several J 19Bs tipped over while landing.
As a consequence, the J 19B simply could not live up to its potential and was no real match for modern and more agile fighters like the Bf 109 or the Spitfire – but the Swedish equipment shortages kept the machines in service throughout WWII, even though primarily in a ground attack role and fulfilling other secondary line duties.
Towards the end of WWII, the J 19’s intended role was eventually filled by the indigenous FFVS J 22 fighter – ironically, it could be outfitted with a license-built P&W Twin Wasp. By that time about forty J 19 airframes were more or less complete, just lacking a proper engine. Mounting the now available Twin Wasp to these had seriously been considered, but the aircraft’s performance would not suffice anymore. Consequently, a thorough modification program for the J 19 was started in late 1944, leading to the highly modified post-WWII J 19D with a liquid-cooled Packard engine.
No J 19 ever fired in anger during WWII or was involved in battle, since Sweden remained neutral and stayed out of any conflict with its neighbors at war. Another major problem for the Swedish Air Force during World War II was simply the lack of fuel: Sweden was surrounded by countries at war and could not rely on imported oil. Instead, domestic oil shales were heated to produce the needed petrol, which was rather allocated to the interceptor units, though.
After WWII, the remaining dozen J 19Bs were kept in service and soldiered on until 1948, when all remaining aircraft were scrapped. Additionally, Wright was also paid the overdue license fees for the originally unlicensed engines. The late-war J 19D served on for some time, though, together with the J 26 fighters, until 1950, when both were replaced by de Havilland Vampires and the Swedish Air Force underwent a rapid modernization into the jet age.
Saab J 19B General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 9.06 m (29 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 12.0 m (39 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 22.44 m² (241.5 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,680 kg (3,704 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,410 kg (5,313 lb)
Aspect ratio: 6.4
Powerplant:
1× Wright R-2600-6 Twin Cyclone radial engine, rated at 1.600 hp (1.194 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 590 km/h (366 mph) at 4.550 m (14.930 ft)
Cruise speed: 340 km/h (210 mph)
Landing speed: 140 km/h (90 mph)
Range: 1.337 km (830 mi; 721 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10.000 m (33.000 ft)
Rate of climb: 15.7 m/s (3,100 ft/min)
Armament:
4× 13.2 mm (0.53 in) M/39A (Browning M2) machine guns with 500 RPG in the outer wings
Underwing hardpoints for a total of 500 kg (1.100 lb)
The kit and its assembly
The Saab J 19 never saw the hardware stage, but it was a real life project that was actually killed through the outbreak of WWII and the lack of engines. Anyway, it was/is called the “Swedish Zero” because it resembled the Japanese fighter VERY much – wing shape, fuselage, even the cockpit glazing! Since I had an unused Hobby Boss Zero (a late model) in store, I decided to build a personal J 19 whif, just in case it would have entered service…
Much of the Zero was taken OOB – Hobby Boss kits are of simple construction, but they have thick/massive material which makes conversions rather difficult, so I changed anything that was easy to handle. This includes:
● A new R-2600 engine, from a Matchbox B-25 Mitchell bomber
● New horizontal stabilizers from a Matchbox Brewster Buffalo
● A new propeller with spinner
● Main landing gear was inverted, so that the wheel discs face inwards
● Wheels from a Brewster Buffalo
● New retractable tail wheel, from a P-51 Mustang
● A Matchbox pilot was added to the cockpit, as well as some details
Painting and markings
I did not want to use a typical olive green/light blue Swedish livery on this one, even though it would have been the most suitable option. Furthermore, I would not fall for the popular splinter scheme (Viggen style), which would by far not have been appropriate for the intended early WWII era. What to do…?
I did some legwork and found the Swedish B 3 bombers (Ju 86K), which were actually produced in Trollhättan under license in the late 30ies These wore various camouflage schemes, including German RLM colors, even the pre-WWII Luftwaffe splinter scheme in RLM 61, 62, 63 and 65. That made me curious, since I expected the colors to have a sharp contrast and make the Swedish and squadron markings stand out – but I did not go for the splinter look, I rather based my livery on a late B 3 scheme.
Painting was done with free hand and brushes, using Model Master enamels from the Authentic range, namely 2075 Dunkelbraun, 2076 Grün, 2077 Hellgrau and 2078 Hellblau as basic tones. These semi-gloss enamels are – in contrast to the other WWII RLM tones from the brand – easy to use and create a very fine finish.
Some weathering was done through dry-painting with lighter shades on the panels and leading edges, and a thin black ink wash was applied in order to emphasize the fine recessed panel lines of the Hobby Boss kit. Later some smoke and soot stains were added with dry-brushed matt black.
Only a few decals were applied: the Swedish roundels come from a TL Modellbau aftermarket sheet, the code numbers on nose and tail from a Swedish Fiat CR.42 Falco. The yellow color on the propeller boss was generally associated with a 3rd squadron, and the ‘3’ on the fuselage was lent from an Airfix Saab Draken. Plain and simple.
In the end, a simple whif, and it still looks a lot like a Zero – but so did the J 19! I am not truly happy with the RLM tone cammo, it almost looks like a winter scheme? But after taking pics with a forest background, both scheme and colors seem very appropriate for that environment, blending shapes. And it looks far more interesting than a pure olive green aircraft, doesn’t it?
As a side note: if you ever consider building a Star Trek Klingon ‘Bird of Prey’, consider RLM 62 as you basic color of choice!
I thought that I would try my hand at something different so I give you Chun Li from the Street Fighter video game series.
Chiroptera - just a generic little ship, all in old gray. I think it looks kind of like a bat from certain angles, the vertical fins are like big bat ears or something. Chiroptera is the scientific name for bats.
+++ 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 Gudkov Gu-1 was a Soviet fighter aircraft produced shortly after World War II in small numbers at the start of the jet age, but work on the Gudkov Gu-1 already started in 1944. Towards the end of World War II the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the United States Army Air Forces. The Soviet VVS air arm had the locally designed Petlyakov Pe-8 four-engined heavy bomber in service at the start of the war, but only 93 had been built by the end of the war and the type had become obsolete. By that time the U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses, and the Soviet Air Force lacked this capability.
Joseph Stalin ordered the development of a comparable bomber, and the U.S. twice refused to supply the Soviet Union with B-29s under Lend Lease. However, on four occasions during 1944, individual B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory and one crashed after the crew bailed out. In accordance with the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviets were neutral in the Pacific War and the bombers were therefore interned and kept by the Soviets. Despite Soviet neutrality, America demanded the return of the bombers, but the Soviets refused. Three repairable B-29s were flown to Moscow and delivered to the Tupolev OKB. One B-29 was dismantled, the second was used for flight tests and training, and the third one was left as a standard for cross-reference.
Stalin told Tupolev to clone the Superfortress in as short a time as possible. The reverse-engineering effort involved 900 factories and research institutes, who finished the design work during the first year. 105,000 drawings were made, and the American technology had to be adapted to local material and manufacturing standards – and ended in a thorough re-design of the B-29 “under the hood”. By the end of the second year, the Soviet industry was to produce 20 copies of the aircraft ready for State acceptance trials.
While work on what would become the Tupolev Tu-4 was on the way, the need for a long range escort fighter arose, too. Soviet officials were keen on the P-51 Mustang, but, again, the USA denied deliveries, so that an indigenous solution had to be developed. With the rising tension of international relationships, this became eventually the preferred solution, too.
While the design bureau Lavochkin had already started with work on the La-9 fighter (which entered service after WWII) and the jet age was about to begin, the task of designing a long range escort fighter for the Tu-4 was relegated to Mikhail I. Gudkov who had been designing early WWII fighters like the LaGG-1 and -3 together with Lavochkin. Internally, the new fighter received the project handle "DIS" (Dalnij Istrebitel' Soprovozhdenya ="long-range escort fighter").
In order to offer an appropriate range and performance that could engage enemy interceptors in the bombers’ target area it was soon clear that neither a pure jet nor a pure piston-engine fighter was a viable solution – a dilemma the USAAF was trying to solve towards 1945, too. The jet engine alone did not offer sufficient power, and fuel consumption was high, so that the necessary range could never be achieved with an agile fighter. Late war radials had sufficient power and offered good range, but the Soviet designers were certain that the piston engine fighter had no future – especially when fast jet fighters had to be expected over enemy territory.
Another problem arose through the fact that the Soviet Union did not have an indigenous jet engine at hand at all in late 1945. War booty from Germany in the form of Junkers Jumo 004 axial jet engines and blueprints of the more powerful HeS 011 were still under evaluation, and these powerplants alone did neither promise enough range nor power for a long range fighter aircraft. Even for short range fighters their performance was rather limited – even though fighters like the Yak-15 and the MiG-9 were designed around them.
After many layout experiments and calculation, Gudkov eventually came up with a mixed powerplant solution for the DIS project. But unlike the contemporary, relatively light I-250 (also known as MiG-13) interceptor, which added a mechanical compressor with a primitive afterburner (called VRDK) to a Klimov VK-107R inline piston engine, the DIS fighter was equipped with a powerful radial engine and carried a jet booster – similar to the US Navy’s Ryan FR-1 “Fireball”. Unlike the FR-1, though, the DIS kept a conservative tail-sitter layout and was a much bigger aircraft.
The choice for the main powerplant fell on the Shvetsov ASh-82TKF engine, driving a large four blade propeller. This was a boosted version of the same 18 cylinder twin row radial that powered the Tu-4, the ASh-73. The ASh-82TKF for the escort fighter project had a rating of 2,720 hp (2,030 kW) while the Tu-4's ASh-73TK had "only" a temporary 2,400 hp (1,800 kW) output during take-off. The airframe was designed around this massive and powerful engine, and the aircraft’s sheer size was also a result of the large fuel capacity which was necessary to meet the range target of at least 3.000 km (1.860 mi, 1.612 nmi).
The ASh-82TKF alone offered enough power for a decent performance, but in order to take on enemy jet fighters and lighter, more agile propeller-driven fighters, a single RD-20 axial-flow turbojet with 7.8 kN (1,754 lbf) thrust was added in the rear-fuselage. It was to add power for take-off and in combat situations only. Its fixed air intakes were placed on the fuselage flanks, right behind the cockpit, and the jet pipe was placed under the fin and the stabilizers.
Outwardly, Gudkov’s DIS resembled the late American P-47D or the A-1 Skyraider a lot, and the beefy aircraft was comparable in size and weight, too. But the Soviet all-metal aircraft was a completely new construction and featured relatively small and slender laminar flow wings. The wide-track landing gear retracted inwards into the inner wings while the tail wheel retracted fully into a shallow compartment under the jet pipe.
The pilot sat in a spacious cockpit under a frameless bubble canopy with very good all-round visibility and enjoyed amenities for long flights such as increased padding in the seat, armrests, and even a urinal. In addition, a full radio navigation suite was installed for the expected long range duties over long stretches of featureless landscape like the open sea.
Armament consisted of four 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons with 100 RPG in the wings, outside of the propeller arc. The guns were good for a weight of fire of 6kg (13.2 lb)/sec, a very good value. Five wet hardpoints under the fuselage, the wings outside of the landing gear well and under the wing tips could primarily carry auxiliary drop tanks or an external ordnance of up to 1.500 kg (3.300 lb).
Alternatively, iron bombs of up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) caliber could be carried on the centerline pylon, and a pair of 250 kg (550 lb) bombs under the wings, but a fighter bomber role was never seriously considered for the highly specialized and complex aircraft.
The first DIS prototype, still without the jet booster, flew in May 1947. The second prototype, with both engines installed, had its fuel capacity increased by an additional 275 l (73 US gal) in an additional fuel tank behind the cockpit. The aircraft was also fitted with larger tires to accommodate the increased all-up weight, esp. with all five 300 l drop tanks fitted for maximum range and endurance.
Flight testing continued until 1948 and the DIS concept proved to be satisfactory, even though the complicated ASh-82TKF hampered the DIS’ reliability - to the point that fitting the ASh-73TK from the Tu-4 was considered for serial production, even if this would have meant a significant reduction in performance. The RD-20 caused lots of trouble, too. Engine reliability was generally poor, and re-starting the engine in flight did not work satisfactorily – a problem that, despite several changes to the starter and ignition system, could never be fully cured. The jet engine’s placement in the tail, together with the small tail wheel, also caused problems because the pilots had to take care that the tail would not aggressively hit the ground upon landings, because the RD-20 and its attachments were easily damaged.
Nevertheless, the DIS basically fulfilled the requested performance specifications and was, despite many shortcomings, eventually cleared for production in mid 1948. It received the official designation Gudkov Gu-1, honoring the engineer behind the aircraft, even though the aircraft was produced by Lavochkin.
The first machines were delivered to VVS units in early 1949 - just in time for the Tu-4's service introduction after the Russians had toiled endlessly on solving several technical problems. In the meantime, jet fighter development had quickly progressed, even though a purely jet-powered escort fighter for the Tu-4 was still out of question. Since the Gu-1 was capricious, complex and expensive to produce, only a limited number left the factories and emphasis was put on the much simpler and more economical Lavochkin La-11 escort fighter, a lightweight evolution of the proven La-9. Both types were regarded as an interim solution until a pure jet escort fighter would be ready for service.
Operationally the Gu-1s remained closely allocated to the VVS’ bomber squadrons and became an integral part of them. Anyway, since the Tu-4 bomber never faced a serious combat situation, so did the Gu-1, which was to guard it on its missions. For instance, both types were not directly involved in the Korean War, and the Gu-1 was primarily concentrated at the NATO borders to Western Europe, since bomber attacks in this theatre would certainly need the heavy fighter’s protection.
The advent of the MiG-15 - especially the improved MiG-15bis with additional fuel capacities and drop tanks, quickly sounded the death knell for the Gu-1 and any other post-WWII piston-engine fighter in Soviet Service. As Tu-4 production ended in the Soviet Union in 1952, so did the Gu-1’s production after only about 150 aircraft. The Tu-4s and their escort fighters were withdrawn in the 1960s, being replaced by more advanced aircraft including the Tupolev Tu-16 jet bomber (starting in 1954) and the Tupolev Tu-95 turboprop bomber (starting in 1956).
The Gudkov Gu-1, receiving the NATO ASCC code “Flout”, remained a pure fighter. Even though it was not a success, some proposals for updates were made - but never carried out. These included pods with unguided S-5 air-to-air-rockets, to be carried on the wing hardpoints, bigger, non-droppable wing tip tanks for even more range or, alternatively, the addition of two pulsejet boosters on the wing tips.
There even was a highly modified mixed powerplant version on the drawing boards in 1952, the Gu-1M. Its standard radial powerplant for cruise flight was enhanced with a new, non-afterburning Mikulin AM-5 axial flow jet engine with 2.270 kgf/5,000 lbf/23 kN additional thrust in the rear fuselage. With this temporary booster, a top speed of up to 850 km/h was expected. But to no avail - the pure jet fighter promised a far better performance and effectiveness, and the Gu-1 remained the only aircraft to exclusively carry the Gudkov name.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 28 m² (301.388 ft²)
Airfoil:
Empty weight: 4,637 kg (10,337 lb)
Loaded weight: 6.450 kg (14.220 lb)
Maximum take-off weight: 7,938 kg (17,500 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Shvetsov ASh-82TKF 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, rated at 2,720 hp (2,030 kW)
1x RD-20 axial-flow turbojet with 7.8 kN (1,754 lbf) thrust as temporary booster
Performance
Maximum speed: 676 km/h (420 mph) at 29,000 ft (8,839 m) with the radial only,
800 km/h (497 mph/432 kn,) with additional jet booster
Cruise speed: 440 km/h (237 kn, 273 mph)
Combat radius: 820 nmi (945 mi, 1,520 km)
Maximum range: 3.000 km (1.860 mi, 1.612 nmi) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 14,680 m (48,170 ft)
Wing loading: 230.4 kg/m² (47.2 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.28 kW/kg (0.17 hp/lb)
Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 5 min 9 sec;
Climb to 10,000 m (32,800 ft): 17 min 38 sec;
Climb to 13,000 m (42,640 ft): 21 min 03 sec
Armament
4× 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons with 100 RPG in the outer wings
Five hardpoints for an external ordnance of 1.500 kg (3.300 lb)
The kit and its assembly:
This whif is the incarnation of a very effective kitbashing combo that already spawned my fictional Japanese Ki-104 fighter, and it is another submission to the 2018 “Cold War” group build at whatifmodelers.com. This purely fictional Soviet escort fighter makes use of my experiences from the first build of this kind, yet with some differences.
The kit is a bashing of various parts and pieces:
· Fuselage, wing roots, landing gear and propeller from an Academy P-47D
· Wings from an Ark Model Supermarine Attacker (ex Novo)
· Tail fin comes from a Heller F-84G
· The stabilizers were taken from an Airfix Ki-46
· Cowling from a Matchbox F6F, mounted and blended onto the P-47 front
· Jet exhaust is the intake of a Matchbox Me 262 engine pod
My choice fell onto the Academy Thunderbolt because it has engraved panel lines, offers the bubble canopy as well as good fit, detail and solid material. The belly duct had simply been sliced off, and the opening later faired over with styrene sheet and putty, so that the P-47’s deep belly would not disappear.
The F6F cowling was chosen because it looks a lot like the ASh-73TK from the Tu-4. But this came at a price: the P-47 cowling is higher, tighter and has a totally different shape. It took serious body sculpting with putty to blend the parts into each other. Inside of the engine, a styrene tube was added for a metal axis that holds the uncuffed OOB P-47 four blade propeller. The P-47’s OOB cockpit tub was retained, too, just the seat received scratched armrests for a more luxurious look.
The Attacker wings were chosen because of their "modern" laminar profile. The Novo kit itself is horrible and primitive, but acceptable for donations. OOB, the Attacker wings had too little span for the big P-47, so I decided to mount the Thunderbolt's OOB wings and cut them at a suitable point: maybe 0.5", just outside of the large main wheel wells. The intersection with the Attacker wings is almost perfect in depth and width, relatively little putty work was necessary in order to blend the parts into each other. I just had to cut out new landing gear wells from the lower halves of the Attacker wings, and with new attachment points the P-47’s complete OOB landing gear could be used.
With the new wing shape, the tail surfaces had to be changed accordingly. The trapezoid stabilizers come from an Airfix Mitsubishi Ki-46, and their shape is a good match. The P-47 fin had to go, since I wanted something bigger and a different silhouette. The fuselage below was modified with a jet exhaust, too. I actually found a leftover F-84G (Heller) tail, complete with the jet pipe and the benefit that it has plausible attachment points for the stabilizers far above the jet engine in the Gu-1’s tail.
However, the F-84 jet pipe’s diameter turned out to be too large, so I went for a smaller but practical alternative, a Junkers Jumo 004 nacelle from a Me 262 (the ancestor of the Soviet RD-20!). Its intake section was cut off, flipped upside down, the fin was glued on top of it and then the new tail was glued to the P-47 fuselage. Some (more serious) body sculpting was necessary to create a more or less harmonious transition between the parts, but it worked.
The plausible placement of the air intakes and their shape was a bit of a challenge. I wanted them to be obvious, but still keep an aerodynamic look. An initial idea had been to keep the P-47’s deep belly and widen the central oil cooler intake under the nose, but I found the idea wacky and a bit pointless, since such a long air duct would not make much sense since it would waste internal space and the long duct’s additional weight would not offer any benefit?
Another idea were air intakes in the wing roots, but these were also turned down since the landing gear wells would be in the way, and placing the ducts above or below the wings would also make no sense. A single ventral scoop (looking like a P-51 radiator bath) or two smaller, dorsal intakes (XP-81 style) behind the cockpit were other serious candidates – but these were both rejected because I wanted to keep a clean side profile.
I eventually settled for very simple, fixed side intakes, level with the jet exhaust, somewhat inspired by the Lavochkin La-200B heavy fighter prototype. The air scoops are simply parts from an Italeri Saab 39 Gripen centerline drop tank (which has a flat, oval diameter), and their shape is IMHO a perfect match.
Painting and markings:
While the model itself is a wild mix of parts with lots of improvisation involved, I wanted to keep the livery rather simple. The most plausible choice would have been an NMF finish, but I rather wanted some paint – so I used Soviet La-9 and -11 as a benchmark and settled for a simple two-tone livery: uniform light grey upper and light blue lower surfaces.
I used RAF Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165) and Soviet Underside Blue (Humbrol 114) as basic tones, and, after a black ink wash, these were lightened up through dry-brushed post-shading. The yellow spinner and fin tip are based on typical (subtle) squadron markings of the late 40ies era.
The cockpit as well the engine and landing gear interior became blue-grey (Revell 57), similar to the typical La-9/11’s colors. The green wheel discs and the deep blue propeller blades are not 100% in the aircraft's time frame, but I added these details in order to enhance the Soviet touch and some color accents.
Tactical markings were kept simple, too. The "38" and the Red Stars come form a Mastercraft MiG-15, the Guards badge from a Begemoth MiG-25 sheet and most of the stencils were taken from a Yak-38 sheet, also from Begemoth.
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and it received some mild soot stains and chipped paint around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Some oil stains were added around the engine (with Tamiya Smoke), too.
A massive aircraft, and this new use of the P-47/Attacker combo results again in a plausible solution. The added jet engine might appear a bit exotic, but the mixed powerplant concept was en vogue after WWII, but only a few aircraft made it beyond the prototype stage.
While painting the model I also wondered if an all dark blue livery and some USN markings could also have made this creation the Grumman JetCat? With the tall fin, the Gu-1 could also be an F8F Bearcat on steroids? Hmmm...
Certainly one of the best fighters of WW2, it got overwhelmed by numbers, and, similar to what happened to the Japanese, there were toward the end of the Third Reich not enough experienced pilots left to exploit the qualities of the Focke-Wulf.
I knew a man (remember his last name, Hlavaty) who had flown the FW 190, and who was working as a sailplane instructor, ca. 1958. When I asked him about the aircraft, he said he did not like the stink of burned oil etc. that penetrated the cockpit.
This is an alien deep-space figther craft with no atmospheric capability.
Minifig-scale.
Practice-project for upcoming "Starfighter" competition on HispaLUG.
Deep-space alien light star fighter.
Type: Light fighter
Origin: Alien
Atmospheric capability: None
Crew: 1
Armament:
Primary weapon: 2 medium plasma cannons, direct fire
Secondary weapon: 2 small mass-drivers
Speed: High
Range: low
Maneuverability: Extremely high
Shield: Electro-magnetic
Armour: None
+++ 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 Hawker Fury was an evolutionary successor to the successful Hawker Typhoon and Tempest fighters and fighter-bombers. The Fury's design process was initiated in September 1942 by Sydney Camm, one of Hawker's foremost aircraft designers, to meet the Royal Air Force's requirement for a lightweight Tempest Mk.II replacement. The fuselage was broadly similar in form to that of the Tempest, but was a fully monocoque structure, while the cockpit level was higher, affording the pilot better all-round visibility.
The project was formalized in May 1943, which required a high rate of climb of not less than 4,500 ft/min (23 m/s) from ground level to 20,000 feet (6,096 m), good fighting maneuverability and a maximum speed of at least 450 mph (724 km/h) at 22,000 feet (6,705 m). The armament was to be four 20mm Hispano V cannon with a total capacity of 600 rounds, plus the capability of carrying two bombs each up to 1,000 pounds (454 kg).
In April 1943, Hawker had also received Specification N.7/43 from the Admiralty, who sought a navalized version of the developing aircraft. In response, Sidney Camm proposed the consolidation of both service's requirements under Specification F.2/43, with the alterations required for naval operations issued on a supplemental basis. Around 1944, the aircraft project finally received its name; the Royal Air Force's version becoming known as the Fury and the Fleet Air Arm's version as the Sea Fury.
A total of six prototypes were ordered; two were to be powered by Rolls-Royce Griffon engines, two with Centaurus XXIIs, one with a Centaurus XII and a final one as a test structure. Hawker used the internal designations P.1019 and P.1020 respectively for the Griffon and Centaurus versions, while P.1018 was also used for a Fury prototype with a Napier Sabre IV. The first Fury to fly, on 1 September 1944, was NX798 with a Centaurus XII with rigid engine mounts, powering a Rotol four-blade propeller. Second on 27 November 1944 was LA610, which had a Griffon 85 and a Rotol six-blade contra-rotating propeller.
With the end of the Second World War in Europe in sight, the RAF began cancelling many aircraft orders. Thus, the RAF's order for the Fury was cancelled, but development of the type was continued as the Sea Fury. The rationale behind this was the fact that many of the Navy's carrier fighters were either Lend-Lease Chance-Vought Corsair or Grumman Hellcat aircraft and thus to be returned, or, in the case of the Supermarine Seafire, had considerable drawbacks as naval aircraft such as narrow undercarriages. The Admiralty opted to procure the Sea Fury as the successor to these aircraft instead of purchasing the lend-lease aircraft outright.
The first Sea Fury prototype first flew at Langley, Berkshire, on 21 February 1945, powered by a Centaurus XII engine. This prototype had a "stinger"-type tailhook for arrested carrier landings, but lacked folding wings for storage. The second prototype flew on 12 October 1945 and it was powered by a Bristol Centaurus XV that turned a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller and did feature folding wings. A third prototype was powered by a Griffon 85 with a chin radiator and drove a six blade contraprop, similar to LA610 from 1944. Specification N.7/43 was modified to N.22/43, now representing an order for 200 aircraft.
Both engine variants showed virtually identical performance. While the Centaurus-powered Sea Fury had more power and was slightly lighter than the Griffon-powered variant, the latter had better aerodynamics and, thanks to the contra-rotating propeller, better low-speed handling characteristics.
In order to expand production of the new naval fighter as quickly as possible, Sea Fury variants with different engines were produced at different factories: 100 were to be built as F Mk. X, powered by the Centaurus engine, at Boulton-Paul's Wolverhampton factory, and another 100, powered now by a Griffon 130 with a two-stage, three-speed supercharger and fuel injection, were to be built as F Mk. XII at Hawker's Dunsfold factory.
Things did not unfold smoothly, though: the manufacturing agreement with Boulton-Paul was ended in early 1945 and all work on the Centaurus-powered Sea Fury transferred to Hawker Aircraft's facilities at Kingston. As a consequence, production of the F Mk. X was delayed and only the Griffon-powered F Mk. XII made it to frontline units until summer 1945, but, in fact, only a mere 50 aircraft left Dunsfold until the end of hostilities, all of them were immediately transferred to the FAA’s Pacific theatre of operations. The first twelve airframes went on board of the newly built HMS Pioneer, a Colossus class aircraft carrier, which set sails for Australia in May 1945 and then operated along the Northern coast of New-Guinea. In the vicinity of Manus Island the Sea Furies were operated by NAS 1834, replacing Corsair II and IV fighters, and they were the only machines of this type to become involved in aerial combat and CAS missions. In August 1945 the machines were transferred to HMS Indomitable; based on this carrier, they supported the liberation of Hong Kong, arriving after a landing party from HMCS Prince Robert had taken the Japanese surrender. These were among the last combat missions of the war.
The Sea Fury Mk. X came too late for any frontline involvement. In fact, the first machine of this variant eventually first flew on 31 January 1946, and immediately upon completion of the first three airframes, the flight testing program began at Kingston. It was soon discovered that the early Centaurus engine suffered frequent crankshaft failure due to a poorly designed lubrication system, which led to incidents of the engine seizing while in mid-flight. The problem was resolved when Bristol's improved Centaurus 18 engine replaced the earlier engine variant, but this further hampered the program.
From the Griffon-powered Sea Fury F Mk. XII, only 92 aircraft from the initial N.22/43 order batch of 100 were actually produced, and they did not serve long in front line units. One factor was the high-powered Griffon engine, which was prone to failure and its liquid-coolant system was not free from trouble, either. On the other side, the technically less complicated Centaurus-powered Sea Fury F. Mk. X became available in 1947 and it showed more development and also export potential, so that the Mk. XII was retired from Royal Navy units until 1949. Some of the aircraft were stored, though, and eventually handed over or sold to friendly nations.
Altogether, the Sea Fury was produced with some 875 aircraft built (number varies by source)—including prototypes and 61 two-seat T.20 trainers. Sea Furies also served in Korea and they were the last front-line piston-engine aircraft operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 37 ft 3 in (11.37 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 4 ¾ in (11.69 m)
Height: 15 ft 101⁄2 in (4.84 m)
Wing area: 280 ft2 (26.01 m²)
Empty weight: 9,325 lb (4,233 kg)
Loaded weight: 12,510 lb (5,680 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 14,760 lb (6,700 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls Royce Griffon 130 liquid-cooled V-12 engine;
maximum output of 2,420 hp (1,805 kW) at 5,000 ft (1,524 m)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 460 mph (400 knots, 740 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
Range: 700 mi (609 nmi, 1,126 km) with internal fuel;
1,040 mi (904 nmi, 1,674 km) with two 90 gal. drop tanks
Service ceiling: 35,800 ft (10,910 m)
Rate of climb: 4,320 ft/min (21.9 m/s)
Armament:
4× 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk V cannon in the outer wings with 150 RPG
Up to 12× 3 in (76.2 mm) unguided rockets and/or bombs or drop tanks
for an ordnance of 2,000 lb (907 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
Building this kit was a spontaneous decision - but since it would fit well into the RAF Centenary Group Build at whatifmodelers.com, I used to occasion to motivate myself and create this conversion as submission #5 to the GB.
This build was originally triggered by a Sea Fury model, recently built by fellow user knightflyer from whatifmodelers.com: a "normal" Sea Fury in late-war FAA markings. I found the resulting aircraft pretty sexy, but wondered how I could add a personal twist? While doing some research into the Sea Fury's development I stumbled upon the Griffon-powered Fury prototype LA610, a pretty ugly aircraft with a gaping radiator intake and a menacing six blade contraprop. This one, in FAA colors...?
The kit is the PM Model Sea Fury, in this case an Airfix re-boxing, but this does not change anything. The kit is simple, is a bit crude (e.g. the wings trailing edges are rather massive), but it goes together well.
The conversion included a better seat for the cockpit, a dashboard, a split canopy for open display, and some rhinoplasty: the OOB Centaurus and its five blade propeller went into the spares box. Instead, a resin power egg from Red Roo for an Australian Avro Lincoln was installed in the nose. To be honest, the engine is actually a Merlin with a chin radiator, but the piece's overall outline and the radiator just look perfect for something close to the LA610 prototype! Some body sculpting was necessary to create a smooth transition in front of the cockpit, and the OOB exhaust arrangement from the Centaurus was "recycled" as radiator outlets, just very similar to LA610.
The contraprop is a mash-up: The spinner (which fits onto the resin engine very well, only a little trimming was necessary) comes from a Special Hobby model of a late Griffon-powered Spitfire; there are several boxings of this kit for different variants, but the main sprues are virtually identical, so that a lot of spares, including propeller variants like the six blade Rotol propeller, are available. This specific propeller is not functional, though. Both propeller sections are intended to be glued together and onto the kit’s nose, only for static build and presentation. That’s a bit disappointing, so I modified the parts with holes and a styrene axis that fits into another deep hole in the resin engine block, so that both propellers can spin – and they actually do, even though it only works when I blow into the propeller from a certain angle.
The propeller blades were replaced, too, because the original Spitfire parts turned out to be too short, on the massive Sea Fury and the gaping radiator intake maw they looked undersized. So I dug out a Novo Shackleton from the donor bank and used the blades from one of its engines for my conversion.
Another small modification concerns the arrestor hook: with the Special Hobby Spitfire kit at hand and its many optional parts, I added a Seafire hook to the rudder’s base, instead of the later Sea Fury’s separate hook under the rudder, for a slight retro feeling.
The flaps were lowered and the wings’ VERY thick trailing edges trimmed down significantly. The leading edges were slightly modified, too, in an attempt to get rid of their square OOB shape.
The ordnance was slightly modified, too: I added a pair of pylons under the wings with 500 lb bombs instead of the OOB drop tanks (I assume that these large blobs are rather ferry tanks?), the 3in missiles and their launch rails are OOB.
Painting and markings:
No real surprises: standard late WWII FFA colors (Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey/Sky) livery without quick ID markings on the wings and stabilizers. Basic paints were Tamiya XF-54 (Dark Sea Grey, a relatively light interpretation of the tone), Modelmaster 2056 (Dark Slate Grey, lighter than Humbrol's 224) and Tamiya XF-21 (Sky, a rather intense variation of the greenish tone). The cockpit interior was painted in RAF Cockpit Green (Humbrol 78) – it’s a bit of a guess, but AFAIK the interior of British combat aircraft was changed to black after the end of WWII? The landing gear wells were painted in the same tone, using late WWII Fairey Fireflies as benchmark.
The kit received a light blank ink wash, some post-shading treatment and dry-brushing with FS 36231 and Faded Olive Drab from Modelmaster, as well as Humbrol 90 underneath. Some more detail brushing with even lighter tones was added, too.
The decals/markings actually belong to a lend lease F4U during the final weeks of the war; I found the red tactical code quite interesting, even though HMS Pioneer, where the aircraft was based, was only a repair carrier, not an active combat platform for aircraft operations? Well, it’s whifworld, after all…
Another individual detail are the overpainted areas on fuselage, wings and fins, where the aircraft had carried standard RAF roundels upon delivery, and for the Pacific TO, the roundels were changed en route on short notice, maybe with paints from US supplies. Consequently, the overpainted sections were created with slightly different shades of the basic camouflage colors, namely Humbrol 125 (FS 36118, which was frequently used on FAA lend lease aircraft), Tamiya XF- (Olive Drab) and a mix of Humbrol 90 and 95 for the underside. Any white ID bands on the wings were left away, just the spinner’s segments were painted in black and white.
I used, according to the benchmark F4U, blue-and-white FAA roundels with USN-style white bars, but modified them with a very small, white central disc.
This is a 720 part UCS TIE Fighter. Professional instruction for sale at www.techlug.fr or by email at setechnic-at-gmail-dot-com
A long-range prop fighter used by Yamatai's air force. Armed with 6 12.7mm machine guns and with hardpoiints for either rockets or bombs, this plane excels at escorting bombers, fighting enemy planes, and attacking targets on the ground.
Taking a tour of the gear. The green pants and abdomen overlap has a hose hookup to add pressure during high-g turns to avoid blacking out. IR flashlights and flares and survival gear in case of emergency ejection. The life vest inflation and beacon are auto-triggered by contact with salt water.
Helmet shots below....
The 123rd Fighter Squadron is stationed at Portland IAP, Oregon. The 123rd was designated as the 123rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron when it received their first F-15A/B's in 1989-1990. The F-15's received used to fly with the deactivated 318th FIS at McHord AFB, Washington. The 123rd FS report to the 142nd Fighter WIng.
The 142nd Fighter Wing mission is to serve the nation, state and community by providing mission ready units, personnel and equipment for: Domination in the air superiority arena; Federal augmentation in support of national security objectives; Response to state and local contingencies; and n Pro-active involvement in activities that add value to the people and communities.
The unit was established April 18, 1941, and activated in World War II and the Korean War. It is the grandfather to Oregon's other Air Guard units -- 173 FW, 270 ATCS, 116 ACS, 244 CBCS and 272 CBCS. The repertoire of aircraft has included F-51, B-25J, F-86, F-94, F-89, F-102, F-101, F-4C, C-131, C-130A, T-33.
Personnel strength includes 475 full-time employees (112 AGRs, 252 federal technicians, 58 Title 5 civilians, 53 state); 645 drill-status guardmembers; 1009 total authorized; 940 assigned (93.16% includes student flight); Officer: 102 authorized, 92 assigned (90.20%); Enlisted: 907 authorized, 786 assigned (86.66%); Student Flight: 62.
It is rully integrated into "Total Force" -- Air Expeditionary Force #9. The location in the Pacific Northwestern United States is key for air defense of the nation. The Air National Guard Base is co-located with civilian international airport. The base has numerous military and civilian support agreements to benefit state and local government agencies. Hence, Portland Air Base is a BIG operation. It is not a typical ANG facility because it is host to an Air Force Reserve Wing and several other ANG/ARNG units. The actual facility employs and/or supports nearly 3,000 employees. The unique operating environment and permits provides many services to area active duty military families and retirees since the nearest active duty military installation is nearly 200 miles away.
Previously designated as the 123rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron, the squadron was renamed the 123th Fighter Squadron in 1992.
The squadron converted to the F-15A/B aircraft in 1989/90, with most of those planes coming from the 318th FIS at McChord AFB, which was being disbanded.
The Unit has been flying the F-15 Eagle jet fighter since 1989. - The 142 FW has 15 PAI and 3 BAI/AR F-15A and F-15B Eagles.
More info at www.skytrailer.com/123 fs.htm awesome web page!
I have been meaning to getting around to build a fighter jet, but just never seemed to have the patience / know-how to do so. Well, I finally buckled down and built one. It has been a while since I last built an airplane, but I soon regained my familiarity with aircraft building.
The scale I built this in is not a typical scale of craft that I usually build in. However, once I obtained the pilot LEGO figure, I knew I had to build some sort of plane for him . Perhaps the most challenging part of the model to build was the back wheel supports and the air intake assembly (or attaching the front nose cone without having the whole front fall apart) on the cockpit.
This impressive fast jet fighter is built for operation in colder regions of northern America. Uncomplicated technics, open cockpit for fast emergency exit (3 of 5 prototypes crashed - don' t worry, we are working on that!), enough firepower - you won't need more.
Features:
- retractable skids
More photos from the airplane: www.flickr.com/photos/48593436@N06/sets/72157625975706483/
Foo Fighters
Broken Leg Tour 2015
Unipol Arena Bologna, Italy IT
13th november 2015
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