The SB2C doing an afternoon fly-by at AirVenture 2008.

Although it swims like a duck, it does not have webbed feet. Each toe has lobes extending out on the sides that provide extra surface area for paddling.

Folk names of this grebe include dabchick, devil-diver, dive-dapper, hell-diver, and water witch.

The Pied-billed Grebe is rarely seen in flight. It prefers to escape predators by diving, and it migrates at night.

 

I found this "Dive-Dapper", (that is what we always called them in Florida.)

along Heron Hide Out Trail, at Circle B Bar Reserve.

Polk County, Florida.

As i stated in my previous Videogame-themed Figbarf, i love to spend some of my free time gaming, and i had a great time making those figures, so i made some more characters! (L-R)

-Helldiver (helldiver/Helldivers 2): i've never played Helldivers, but i've been watching a lot of gameplays lately so i figured why not?

 

-Chosen Undead/Pyromancer (Dark Souls): i absolutely loved Dark Souls and. while i've already made a Dark Souls Figbarf, but i really wanted to make 1 more figure based on my starter ingame build, which was the Pyromancer.

 

-Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid): i originally wanted to make Solid Snake for the Metal Gear character of this Figbarf, but i went with Pyshco Mantis instead with the weird mind control tricks he used in the first MGS.

 

-Edward Kenway (Assassin's Creed: Black Flag): again, i've already made an Edward Kenway figure, but i was originally gonna make the Edward Kenway from the beginning of the game, when he wears Duncan Walpole's robes, and so i did for this Figbarf.

 

-2B (Nier Automata): like Helldivers, i've never played Nier Automata, but i have watched a lot of gameplays.

 

The piston engined, prop-driven Skyraider was a postwar follow-on to World War II dive bombers and torpedo bombers such as the Helldiver and Avenger. It was replaced in the 1960s by the A-4 Skyhawk as the Navy's primary light attack plane. Used over Korea and briefly over North Vietnam, it was adopted as the primary ground support attack for the U.S. Air Force and South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) during the Vietnam War, before being supplanted by the jet powered A-37 Dragonfly in USAF and VNAF and the A-7 Corsair II in USAF service.

Pied billed grebe photographed at sunset on a flooded mudflat

 

wrhstol.com/2ttv7bz

+++ 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 Arsenal (de l'Aéronautique) VB 31 was a French naval fighter aircraft developed shortly after World War II. In January 1947 Arsenal were given a contract to develop a powerful naval fighter for the four French aircraft carriers. Since the modernization of the Aéronavale was pressing, the aircraft had to be developed fast. In order to cut time, the initial concept, the VB 30, was based on the unrealized German Messerschmitt Me 155 project.

 

The Me 155 naval fighter had been a naval development of the Messerschmitt Bf 109G, intended for the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, which never saw the light of day. When it was clear that the Me 155 was a dead end, the basic design was developed further into a high altitude interceptor and the project handed over to Blohm & Voss. The resulting, highly modified Bv 155 saw the prototype stage in the late years of WWII, but was never put into service. Years later, though, the Me 155 should surface again: Evolved by Ingenieur-General Vernisse and M. Badie, the VB 30 did not only use many design features of the original Me 155 design, it also heavily drew on the indigenous VB 10 heavy fighter which had been previously under development since WWII.

 

The VB 30 was more compact than the VB 10, though, even though it had similar proportions. IIt was an all-metal single-seat fighter with a low-wing monoplane, a retractable tailwheel undercarriage and of largely orthodox configuration. The wings had an inverted gull wing shape, in order to shorten the main undercarriage as much as possible, and were foldable. The landing gear retracted inwards, and the tail wheel was retractable, too.

 

The VB 30's layout resembled much the smaller North American Mustang. The aircraft was powered by a powerful Arsenal 24 H engine which was theoretically capable of 3.400hp – itself a development based on the cylinder blocks of the German Junkers IV12 213 engine. A huge radiator bath for the liquid-cooled engine was located under the fuselage, at the wings’ trailing edge.

 

The aircraft was heavily armed, with a newly developed, compact 30mm cannon (which would eventually become the famous DEFA cannon), firing through the propeller axis, plus four HS-404 20mm cannons or six 12.7mm machine guns in the wings, outside of the propeller arc. Various ordnance loads, including bombs of up to 500 kg caliber, drop tanks or unguided missiles, could be carried under the fuselage and outer wings.

 

Unlike the huge, tandem-engined VB 10, the VB 30 was (relatively) more successful, but its career started under misfortunate stars: Just one month after the VB 10 contract was cancelled, the prototype VB 30-01 made its maiden flight on 8th of December 1948. Overall, the aircraft behaved well, but its low speed handling was hampered by the immense torque of the Arsenal 24 H engine and the huge, four-bladed propeller. This problem was eventually countered with an enlarged fin, which earned the type its nickname "Requin" (Shark).

With this and many other detail modifications the aircraft was now called VB 31and cleared for series production, even though it was already apparent that the future of the fighter lay with jet power. A second prototype, the VB 30-02, had been started, but its assembly lagged so much behind that it was eventually finished as the first serial VB 31. Anyway, the development of the VB 31 continued as a safety net for France's nascent jet fighter programs, since it was not clear when pure jets would eventually offer the appropriate performance for carrier use, and when they'd be ready for service.

 

The VB 31’s development saw several drawbacks, including constant problems with the complicated, liquid-cooled engine, the radiator system and the landing gear. Serial production and service introduction of the VB 31 started slowly and was delayed until January 1951 – by which the French Air Force already had to rely on surplus British and American fighters to tide it over until domestically-produced jet fighters appeared. Time was already working against the VB 31.

 

Additionally, with the brooding Indochina War since August 1945, the need for a maritime fighter and fighter-bomber became so dire that the Aéronavale had to order the WWII Vought F4U-7 to fill this specific gap and replace several obsolete types. The XF4U-7 prototype did its test flight on 2 July 1952 with a total of 94 F4U-7s built for the French Navy's Aéronavale (79 in 1952, 15 in 1953), with the last of the batch, the final Corsair built, rolled out on 31 January 1953. With this proven (and cheaper) alternative, only a single batch of 40 VB 31 aircraft (instead of the planned 200!) was eventually built and put into service.

 

The VB 31 just came in time for the First Indochina War between France’s French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Emperor Báo Dai’s Vietnamese National Army against the Viet Minh, Led by Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap. During this conflict, the French used many different pre Cold War aircraft of World War Two, as well as the new types.The VB 31 were distrubuted between Flotille 3F and 12F, where they replayced Curtiss SB2C Helldivers and Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats, respectively. Flotille 12F pilots arrived in Asia on board of the aircraft carrier 'Arromanches' in early 1952, equipped with both VB 31 and F4U-7 fighters. Both types were deployed from the carrier and also served from Haiphong for CAS and escort duties in the Tonkin area.

 

The operational era of the VB 31 did not last long, though. The type was powerful, but complicated. The VB 31 also needed much more maintenance than the sturdy Corsair, which could also take more damage and had a considerable larger range. Hence, already in June 1953, all VB 31 were returned to Europe and based at Hyères, where they replaced obsolete F6F-5 Hellcats and were mainly used for training purposes. In the early sixties, with naval jet fighters finally available, the VB 31 were quickly withdrawn and scrapped, being replaced by Sud-Ouest SO-203 'Aquilon' (license-built D.H. Sea Venom) and Dassault Etendard IVM.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: one, pilot

Length: 11.63 m (38 ft 8 in)

Wingspan: 13.07 m (43 ft 6 in)

Height (peopeller at max. elevation): 4,9 m (16 ft 1 in)

 

Powerplant:

1 × Arsenal 24 H, 2.260 kW (3.000 hp), driving a four-bladed propeller

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 665 km/h (413 mph)

Range: 1.191 km (740 miles)

Service ceiling: 11.125 m (37.100 ft)

Rate of climb: 10.2 m/s (2008 ft/min)

 

Armament:

1× 30 mm cannon with 100 RPG, firing through the propeller axis

4× 20 mm HS-404 cannons with 200 RPG or 6×12,7mm machine guns with 250 RPG in the outer wings

1.500kg (3.300 lbs.) of external ordnance, including bombs of of to 454kg (1.000 lbs) calibre, drop tanks or up to eight unguided missiles under the outer wings.

  

The Kit and its assembly:

I wonder if you recognize the basis for this fantasy airplane? It's actually a modified Bv 155 kit from ART Model/Special Hobby from Russia (Both kits are identical; the ART Model contains an injected clear canopy while the Special Hobby kit offers two vacu canopies, though).

 

Inspiration struck when I read about the huge VB 10, which has, in its profile view, much resemblance to the Bv 155 - and the latter actually has some naval-friendly features, e .g .the raised cockpit, placed pretty far forward at the wings' leading edge, or the massive landing gear. Since France used some German aircraft after WWII (e.g. Fw 190 for the Air Force and Ju 188 for the Navy), why not create a naval fighter from the Me 155/Bv 155 concept? Well, here it is... the Arsenal VB 31.

 

For this fantasy conversion, the Bv 155 kit saw major modifications, e. g.:

● The wing span was reduced - from each wing, 4.2cm/1.65" were taken away

● The wings received a new inverted gull wing shape, the cuts came handy

● Outer wings were clipped by 10mm/0,4" each

● Original wing tips were transplanted and re-sculpted to fit

● The rear fuselage was shortened by about 1.3cm/0.5"

● A carburetor intake was added under the nose (from a Hawker Hurricane)

● New horizontal stabilizers from a Grumman Panther (Matchbox)

● Lower position of the horizontal stabilizers

● New landing gear wells had to be cut out, a simple interior was scratch-built

● The landing gear retracts now inwards, original struts and covers were slightly shortened

● New main wheels from a Douglas Skyknight (Matchbox) were used

● New tail wheel (front wheel of a Revell F-16, I guess)

● Modified tail section with an arrestor hook

● The original, extensive exhaust piping between the engine and the turbo charger had to go

● New exhausts at the nose were added (scratch, HO scale roof tiles)

● New propeller from a Matchbox Hawker Tempest was mated with the original spinner

● Cockpit was taken OOB, but a different seat, a pilot and a radio in the rear were added

● Some panel lines had to be re-engraved, due to putty work and/or logical reasons

● Missile hardpoints under the wings come from an F4U

● Antennae were added, accoring to French F4U-7 pictures

 

There actually was no big plan - I had an idea of what to make from the kit, but modifications came step by step, as the parts fell together and looked or looked not right.

 

The 24 cylinder Arsenal 24 H engine was really under development in France, so it was a neat choice for such a relatively large aircraft. The huge turbocharger bath under the fuselage of the Bv 155 could easily be taken as a radiator bath for the large, liquid-cooled engine, so that no additional adaptations had to be made.

Overall, I wanted to save the elegant lines of the Bv 155. With the reduced wing span the aircraft looks even elegant, IMHO. All in all, and with its slender, inverted gull wings, the VB 31 somehow reminds of the Ju 87 and the later paper Ju 187 development. There's also something IL-2ish to it?

 

A side note concerning the kit itself: it has nice engraved details and some fine resin parts for the cockpit or the radiators. But wall strength is high (up to 2mm!), the material is somewhat soft and waxy, and fit is mediocre, so expect serious putty work. Not a bad kit, but something for the experienced modeler. Things surely were worse here, since my modifications to wings and fuselage called for even more sculpting.

  

Painting and markings:

It took some time to settle on a French naval aircraft, since I already have an all dark-blue whif in my collection (the whiffy F1J Sea Mustang). But I had some appropriate decals at hand, and the time frame as well as the potential user offered a good and plausible story behind the VB 31 in Aéronaval service.

 

Overall, the aircraft was painted in Blue Angels Blue (FS 15050, Testors 1718) and weathered with slightly lighter shades of blue and grey, for a sun-bleached look and in order to emphasize the panel lines. One can argue about this tone: many Aéronavale aircraft look much darker, rather like FS 15042, but I have seen pictures of such bright aircraft - I'd assume that the color standard was not very strict, as long as the aircraft was "dark blue"?

After basic painting the VB 31 looked very bright, so I did some major dry painting with darker/duller shades like Humbrol 67, 77 and 104 to tame things down, and the result is O.K. now.

 

The interior surfaces were painted in Mid Stone and dry-painted with Chromate Yellow (Humbrol 225 and 81). AFAIK, this is the typical interior finish for Aéronavel aircraft of that time, and it is a nice contrast to the dark and uniform outside.

 

Most markings come from an F4U-7 decal sheet, some things like the tail rudder Tricolore had to be improvised (comes from a 30 year old Airfix Bristol Blenheim decal sheet!).

 

Beyond the dry-painted blue and grey hues on the upper surfaces, the model was slightly weathered with exhaust and soot stains and some dry-painted silver on the leading edges. This makes the all-blue aircraft look a bit more lively and is IMHO authentic for Aéronavale fighters of the 50ies, esp. under the harsh climate of South East Asia.

 

Finally, everything was sealed under a semi-matt varnish (Tamiya Acryllics, rattle can), and some additional matt varnish was applied on the upper surfaces, also for a dull and sun-bleached look.

  

The kit was built in a week from sprues to pictures, overall a sleek and elegant aircraft with plausible lines - an hommage to the many elegant and innovative aircraft which were developed in France in WWII and later but which are easily overlooked today!

+++ 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 Arsenal (de l'Aéronautique) VB 31 was a French naval fighter aircraft developed shortly after World War II. In January 1947 Arsenal were given a contract to develop a powerful naval fighter for the four French aircraft carriers. Since the modernization of the Aéronavale was pressing, the aircraft had to be developed fast. In order to cut time, the initial concept, the VB 30, was based on the unrealized German Messerschmitt Me 155 project.

 

The Me 155 naval fighter had been a naval development of the Messerschmitt Bf 109G, intended for the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, which never saw the light of day. When it was clear that the Me 155 was a dead end, the basic design was developed further into a high altitude interceptor and the project handed over to Blohm & Voss. The resulting, highly modified Bv 155 saw the prototype stage in the late years of WWII, but was never put into service. Years later, though, the Me 155 should surface again: Evolved by Ingenieur-General Vernisse and M. Badie, the VB 30 did not only use many design features of the original Me 155 design, it also heavily drew on the indigenous VB 10 heavy fighter which had been previously under development since WWII.

 

The VB 30 was more compact than the VB 10, though, even though it had similar proportions. IIt was an all-metal single-seat fighter with a low-wing monoplane, a retractable tailwheel undercarriage and of largely orthodox configuration. The wings had an inverted gull wing shape, in order to shorten the main undercarriage as much as possible, and were foldable. The landing gear retracted inwards, and the tail wheel was retractable, too.

 

The VB 30's layout resembled much the smaller North American Mustang. The aircraft was powered by a powerful Arsenal 24 H engine which was theoretically capable of 3.400hp – itself a development based on the cylinder blocks of the German Junkers IV12 213 engine. A huge radiator bath for the liquid-cooled engine was located under the fuselage, at the wings’ trailing edge.

 

The aircraft was heavily armed, with a newly developed, compact 30mm cannon (which would eventually become the famous DEFA cannon), firing through the propeller axis, plus four HS-404 20mm cannons or six 12.7mm machine guns in the wings, outside of the propeller arc. Various ordnance loads, including bombs of up to 500 kg caliber, drop tanks or unguided missiles, could be carried under the fuselage and outer wings.

 

Unlike the huge, tandem-engined VB 10, the VB 30 was (relatively) more successful, but its career started under misfortunate stars: Just one month after the VB 10 contract was cancelled, the prototype VB 30-01 made its maiden flight on 8th of December 1948. Overall, the aircraft behaved well, but its low speed handling was hampered by the immense torque of the Arsenal 24 H engine and the huge, four-bladed propeller. This problem was eventually countered with an enlarged fin, which earned the type its nickname "Requin" (Shark).

With this and many other detail modifications the aircraft was now called VB 31and cleared for series production, even though it was already apparent that the future of the fighter lay with jet power. A second prototype, the VB 30-02, had been started, but its assembly lagged so much behind that it was eventually finished as the first serial VB 31. Anyway, the development of the VB 31 continued as a safety net for France's nascent jet fighter programs, since it was not clear when pure jets would eventually offer the appropriate performance for carrier use, and when they'd be ready for service.

 

The VB 31’s development saw several drawbacks, including constant problems with the complicated, liquid-cooled engine, the radiator system and the landing gear. Serial production and service introduction of the VB 31 started slowly and was delayed until January 1951 – by which the French Air Force already had to rely on surplus British and American fighters to tide it over until domestically-produced jet fighters appeared. Time was already working against the VB 31.

 

Additionally, with the brooding Indochina War since August 1945, the need for a maritime fighter and fighter-bomber became so dire that the Aéronavale had to order the WWII Vought F4U-7 to fill this specific gap and replace several obsolete types. The XF4U-7 prototype did its test flight on 2 July 1952 with a total of 94 F4U-7s built for the French Navy's Aéronavale (79 in 1952, 15 in 1953), with the last of the batch, the final Corsair built, rolled out on 31 January 1953. With this proven (and cheaper) alternative, only a single batch of 40 VB 31 aircraft (instead of the planned 200!) was eventually built and put into service.

 

The VB 31 just came in time for the First Indochina War between France’s French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Emperor Báo Dai’s Vietnamese National Army against the Viet Minh, Led by Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap. During this conflict, the French used many different pre Cold War aircraft of World War Two, as well as the new types.The VB 31 were distrubuted between Flotille 3F and 12F, where they replayced Curtiss SB2C Helldivers and Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats, respectively. Flotille 12F pilots arrived in Asia on board of the aircraft carrier 'Arromanches' in early 1952, equipped with both VB 31 and F4U-7 fighters. Both types were deployed from the carrier and also served from Haiphong for CAS and escort duties in the Tonkin area.

 

The operational era of the VB 31 did not last long, though. The type was powerful, but complicated. The VB 31 also needed much more maintenance than the sturdy Corsair, which could also take more damage and had a considerable larger range. Hence, already in June 1953, all VB 31 were returned to Europe and based at Hyères, where they replaced obsolete F6F-5 Hellcats and were mainly used for training purposes. In the early sixties, with naval jet fighters finally available, the VB 31 were quickly withdrawn and scrapped, being replaced by Sud-Ouest SO-203 'Aquilon' (license-built D.H. Sea Venom) and Dassault Etendard IVM.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: one, pilot

Length: 11.63 m (38 ft 8 in)

Wingspan: 13.07 m (43 ft 6 in)

Height (peopeller at max. elevation): 4,9 m (16 ft 1 in)

 

Powerplant:

1 × Arsenal 24 H, 2.260 kW (3.000 hp), driving a four-bladed propeller

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 665 km/h (413 mph)

Range: 1.191 km (740 miles)

Service ceiling: 11.125 m (37.100 ft)

Rate of climb: 10.2 m/s (2008 ft/min)

 

Armament:

1× 30 mm cannon with 100 RPG, firing through the propeller axis

4× 20 mm HS-404 cannons with 200 RPG or 6×12,7mm machine guns with 250 RPG in the outer wings

1.500kg (3.300 lbs.) of external ordnance, including bombs of of to 454kg (1.000 lbs) calibre, drop tanks or up to eight unguided missiles under the outer wings.

  

The Kit and its assembly:

I wonder if you recognize the basis for this fantasy airplane? It's actually a modified Bv 155 kit from ART Model/Special Hobby from Russia (Both kits are identical; the ART Model contains an injected clear canopy while the Special Hobby kit offers two vacu canopies, though).

 

Inspiration struck when I read about the huge VB 10, which has, in its profile view, much resemblance to the Bv 155 - and the latter actually has some naval-friendly features, e .g .the raised cockpit, placed pretty far forward at the wings' leading edge, or the massive landing gear. Since France used some German aircraft after WWII (e.g. Fw 190 for the Air Force and Ju 188 for the Navy), why not create a naval fighter from the Me 155/Bv 155 concept? Well, here it is... the Arsenal VB 31.

 

For this fantasy conversion, the Bv 155 kit saw major modifications, e. g.:

● The wing span was reduced - from each wing, 4.2cm/1.65" were taken away

● The wings received a new inverted gull wing shape, the cuts came handy

● Outer wings were clipped by 10mm/0,4" each

● Original wing tips were transplanted and re-sculpted to fit

● The rear fuselage was shortened by about 1.3cm/0.5"

● A carburetor intake was added under the nose (from a Hawker Hurricane)

● New horizontal stabilizers from a Grumman Panther (Matchbox)

● Lower position of the horizontal stabilizers

● New landing gear wells had to be cut out, a simple interior was scratch-built

● The landing gear retracts now inwards, original struts and covers were slightly shortened

● New main wheels from a Douglas Skyknight (Matchbox) were used

● New tail wheel (front wheel of a Revell F-16, I guess)

● Modified tail section with an arrestor hook

● The original, extensive exhaust piping between the engine and the turbo charger had to go

● New exhausts at the nose were added (scratch, HO scale roof tiles)

● New propeller from a Matchbox Hawker Tempest was mated with the original spinner

● Cockpit was taken OOB, but a different seat, a pilot and a radio in the rear were added

● Some panel lines had to be re-engraved, due to putty work and/or logical reasons

● Missile hardpoints under the wings come from an F4U

● Antennae were added, accoring to French F4U-7 pictures

 

There actually was no big plan - I had an idea of what to make from the kit, but modifications came step by step, as the parts fell together and looked or looked not right.

 

The 24 cylinder Arsenal 24 H engine was really under development in France, so it was a neat choice for such a relatively large aircraft. The huge turbocharger bath under the fuselage of the Bv 155 could easily be taken as a radiator bath for the large, liquid-cooled engine, so that no additional adaptations had to be made.

Overall, I wanted to save the elegant lines of the Bv 155. With the reduced wing span the aircraft looks even elegant, IMHO. All in all, and with its slender, inverted gull wings, the VB 31 somehow reminds of the Ju 87 and the later paper Ju 187 development. There's also something IL-2ish to it?

 

A side note concerning the kit itself: it has nice engraved details and some fine resin parts for the cockpit or the radiators. But wall strength is high (up to 2mm!), the material is somewhat soft and waxy, and fit is mediocre, so expect serious putty work. Not a bad kit, but something for the experienced modeler. Things surely were worse here, since my modifications to wings and fuselage called for even more sculpting.

  

Painting and markings:

It took some time to settle on a French naval aircraft, since I already have an all dark-blue whif in my collection (the whiffy F1J Sea Mustang). But I had some appropriate decals at hand, and the time frame as well as the potential user offered a good and plausible story behind the VB 31 in Aéronaval service.

 

Overall, the aircraft was painted in Blue Angels Blue (FS 15050, Testors 1718) and weathered with slightly lighter shades of blue and grey, for a sun-bleached look and in order to emphasize the panel lines. One can argue about this tone: many Aéronavale aircraft look much darker, rather like FS 15042, but I have seen pictures of such bright aircraft - I'd assume that the color standard was not very strict, as long as the aircraft was "dark blue"?

After basic painting the VB 31 looked very bright, so I did some major dry painting with darker/duller shades like Humbrol 67, 77 and 104 to tame things down, and the result is O.K. now.

 

The interior surfaces were painted in Mid Stone and dry-painted with Chromate Yellow (Humbrol 225 and 81). AFAIK, this is the typical interior finish for Aéronavel aircraft of that time, and it is a nice contrast to the dark and uniform outside.

 

Most markings come from an F4U-7 decal sheet, some things like the tail rudder Tricolore had to be improvised (comes from a 30 year old Airfix Bristol Blenheim decal sheet!).

 

Beyond the dry-painted blue and grey hues on the upper surfaces, the model was slightly weathered with exhaust and soot stains and some dry-painted silver on the leading edges. This makes the all-blue aircraft look a bit more lively and is IMHO authentic for Aéronavale fighters of the 50ies, esp. under the harsh climate of South East Asia.

 

Finally, everything was sealed under a semi-matt varnish (Tamiya Acryllics, rattle can), and some additional matt varnish was applied on the upper surfaces, also for a dull and sun-bleached look.

  

The kit was built in a week from sprues to pictures, overall a sleek and elegant aircraft with plausible lines - an hommage to the many elegant and innovative aircraft which were developed in France in WWII and later but which are easily overlooked today!

Ready for war - well, nearly!

The outset of World War II saw a progression of American aircraft carrier design leading to larger and more heavily armored battle carriers. CVB-41, the lead ship of the Midway class, was ordered on August 7, 1942. She was the first fleet carrier to have the distinction of being named after a WWII battle. The carrier battle of Midway Island in June 1942 turned the tide of World War II and proved conclusively the potential of naval aviation. CVB-41 was the third American ship and the second aircraft carrier to bear the name of Midway. The name of the first USS Midway, a fleet auxiliary, was changed to the USS Panay in April, 1943. The second ship bearing the name was a jeep carrier USS Midway, CVE-63, which was changed to the USS Saint Lo in September 1944.

 

The product of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, she was the lead ship of three 45,000-ton Midway class CVBs, followed by USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, CVB-42 and USS Coral Sea, CVB-43. Two additional ships were canceled. Midway's keel was laid on October 27, 1943. The Midway class hull arrangement was modeled on the canceled Montana class battleships and was a new, much larger design intended to correct certain problems in the Essex class design. They had armored flight decks, requiring a much larger hull and lower freeboard, to reduce top weight. They also carried a very heavy AA battery of 5/54 weapons. The armor requirement was originally meant to counter 8" cruiser gunfire, but by the time the ships were laid down the focus had shifted to defending against aircraft attack.

 

Launched on March 20, 1945, she was sponsored by Mrs. Bradford William Ripley, Jr. Commissioned on September 10, 1945, with Captain Joseph F. Bolger in command, Midway was the largest warship in the world for the first decade of her service. Every aspect of her construction included the most modern design innovations possible. Twelve Babcock and Wilcox boilers powered four Westinghouse geared turbines which developed 212,000 horsepower for a maximum speed of 33 knots. Midway was designed with two catapults, fourteen arresting cables, and six barriers. Her design aircraft compliment was 137. In their early years, the Midway class carriers were the only ships capable of operating nuclear strike aircraft.

 

Midway was first underway on October 12, 1945 and performed her first arrested landing of an F4U-4 Corsair. Her Caribbean shakedown cruise lived up to all expectations, the only negative being a pronounced proclivity to drench the flight deck and the bow 40mm quad mount with green water in moderately heavy seas. Seriously overweight, Midway tended to plunge through, rather than ride over, heavy seas. The result of wartime demands that had continually added more tonnage, Midway quickly earned a reputation as a "wet" ship with her forward flight deck, gun galleries and hangar spaces frequently awash. In her final years, crewmembers described this plunging as "Rock & Roll."

  

In late February 1946 Midway became flagship for Carrier Division 1, operating in the Atlantic where she commenced flight training exercises in earnest. A few months late she embarked on her first major operational assignment, which included Operation FROSTBITE, conducted from March 1 to 28, 1946. Operating in the Labrador Sea and Davis Strait, MIDWAY, three destroyers and a fleet oiler conducted a cold weather evaluation of aircraft, personnel and ships. Embarked onboard Midway was a Coast Guard helicopter and crew, which signified the first use of a helicopter for plane guard duty. Helicopter air-sea rescue techniques were refined and the infamous "poopy suit" was evaluated. Midway conducted flight and refueling operations during these tests despite heavy weather damage to elevator hangar doors and having two to four inches of snow on the flight deck at various times.

 

Early in 1947, operating off the East Coast with her recently redesignated battle group, CVBG-1, Midway operated F4U-4B Corsairs and SB2-C-5 Helldivers. She conducted three training cruises in the Caribbean before sailing from her homeport at Norfolk, Virginia, on another experimental mission. On that landmark cruise, she was accompanied by scientific observers as her crew fired a captured German V-2 rocket from the flight deck on September 6, 1947. The purpose of Operation SANDY was to see if a large rocket could be launched from the deck of an aircraft carrier with little to no modifications. The actual ship launch test was only conducted once. There were prior tests carried out at White Sands on a simulated aircraft carrier deck to see what effects the rocket would have if it were to explode on the deck. This test marked the first time such a weapon was fired from a ship at sea or a moving platform. It decisively demonstrated the potential of large rocket fire from surface ships.

 

On October 29, 1947, Midway departed on her first deployment to the Mediterranean. Her air wing group was CVBG-1, made up of two fighter squadrons, which flew F4U-B Corsairs and AD-1 Skyraiders. Port calls during this cruise included Gibraltar, Algeria (Bone), Malta (Marsaxlokk Harbor), Italy (Genoa, Naples, and Taranto), Sicily (Augusta), and France (Gulf D'Hyeres). On February 18, 1948, a Midway launch capsized off Hyeres, France, killing eight. The deployment concluded in Norfolk, Virginia in March of 1948. A return trip to the Mediterranean was made from January to March 1949. This time, two Marine fighter squadrons were aboard. This cruise was hallmarked when a P2V-3 Neptune launched from Midway off the coast of Norfolk, flew to the Panama Canal, then over Corpus Christi, Texas and on to San Diego, California. This 4,800 mile non-stop flight was completed in 25 hours and 40 minutes. This operation was part of the Navy's determination to develop a carrier-based nuclear strike capability. The Navy modified twelve Lockheed P2V Neptunes to carry the 9000-lb Mk VIII atomic bomb. All three Midway carriers participated in extensive tests that saw this 70,000-lb long-range patrol bomber clear the deck with JATO-assisted rolling takeoffs. Unable to be launched by the ship's hydraulic catapults because of the aircraft's weight, the P2V's wingspan barely cleared the ship's island during its takeoff run. A "make do" aircraft modification too heavy to land on the carriers, the P2Vs turned in impressive performances flying mock "A-bomb" runs. Soon replaced by the more suitable folding-wing AJ-1 Savage, the Navy nevertheless proved that its carriers had nuclear delivery capability.

 

Midway departed Norfolk in October 1949 once again bound for cold weather operations. She operated in the Arctic Circle, gaining membership in "The Royal Order of the Blue Nose," and returned to Norfolk on December 22, 1949.

 

Midway deployed to the Mediterranean for a third time in January 1950 with Air Group Four. Port calls included Istanbul, Cyprus, Malta, Cannes, Oran and Lisbon. She returned to Norfolk in May of that year. On June 26, a Naval airship piloted by Lt. John Fahey, landed and then took off from the Midway during a demonstration for the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet who were aboard Midway. With less than two months to turn around, Midway redeployed in July, exchanging Air Group Four for Air Group Seven. She arrived in Gibraltar with an upgraded fighter capability consisting of F9F-2 Panthers and F8F-1B Bearcats. On October 17th LTJG H. Urban, a pilot from VC-4 became Midway's first Centurion. He made his 100th Midway trap (his 207th career carrier landing) while flying an AD-3N. On this cruise, Midway served as the flagship of COMCARDIV Six and returned to Norfolk in November.

 

The first two years of Midway class carrier operations revealed several shortcomings which were progressively addressed with refits and modifications to maintain the ships' first-line assault carrier status. Their flight decks were reinforced to accept the landing weight of the new 45,000-lb twin-engined, jet-augmented AJ-1 Savage. At this time the process of reducing wartime armament began when four of their eighteen five-inch/54 DP guns were removed. Also begun was the gradual replacement of 40mm Bofors with twenty new three-inch/50 fast-firing semi-automatic AA guns. The test of rigorous steaming soon revealed several other deficiencies which could not be ignored. Skippers complained that the Midway's bridge area was too cramped. This was corrected during construction by extending the island structure on the Coral Sea, and retrofitting enlarged areas to the Midway and Franklin D. Roosevelt during overhaul. These changes also afforded better placement of the gun directors. Later, the three ships would be fitted with "hurricane" bows that enclosed the forward flight deck and hull.

  

From November 1950 until April 1951, Midway was in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for reinforcement of the flight deck to accommodate heavier aircraft. After conducting brief carrier qualifications off the Carolina coast, she steamed south for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After completing refresher training Midway returned to Norfolk in July.

 

In January 1952, Midway made her fifth Mediterranean cruise with Air Group Six embarked. During this cruise, Midway participated in Operation GRAND SLAM, a multi-national English, French, Italian and U.S. exercise. Upon completion of this exercise, she operated in the eastern Mediterranean before returning to Norfolk in May 1952. From 26 to 29 May 1952, the feasibility of the angled deck concept was demonstrated in tests conducted on a simulated angled deck aboard Midway by Naval Air Test Center pilots and Atlantic Fleet pilots in both jet and prop aircraft. In August 1952, Midway departed Norfolk for NATO exercises in the North Sea. This was a combined exercise with USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, USS Wasp, and USS Wisconsin. On October 1, upon her return to Norfolk, Midway was redesignated as attack carrier CVA-41.

 

Again with less than two months preparation, Midway departed on her sixth Mediterranean cruise in December of 1952. The basic composition of the air group remained unchanged. Participating in NATO Operation RENDEZVOUS from March 15 - 24, Midway was the flag ship of Carrier Division Four and made port calls at Gibraltar, France (Golfe Juan and Marseilles), Italy (Taranto, Naples, Genoa, and LaSpezia), Algeria (Algiers and Oran), Sicily (Augusta), Greece (Rhodes and Salonika), Golfe Juan, and Spain (Barcelona & Palma). Returning to Norfolk in May 1953, Midway entered a five-month regular overhaul.

 

In January 1954, Midway deployed to the Mediterranean for the seventh time. Just before entering port in Athens for a state visit, Midway collided with a replenishment ship, USS Great Sitkin, AE-17. Occurring in the Aegean Sea about 1700 on a Sunday, the ships were conducting side-by-side transfer of materials in rough seas. Swells were reported to be about 15 feet between the ships. Upon casting off the last securing lines, the Great Sitkin began a sharp starboard turn. This caused her port stern area to sideswipe the Midway's aft starboard side, just above the waterline, crushing one of the starboard weather deck 5" gun mounts. There was no fire and damage control made temporary repairs while underway. Also during this cruise, a major fire on the flight deck occurred when an F2H bounced over the barrier and went into the pack. Casualties were four pilots and approximately four crew. This cruise was extended an additional month due to their relief, USS Bennington having a catastrophic port catapult machinery explosion, which killed about 100 of the crew. The Bennington had to return to CONUS for repairs before finally departing for the Mediterranean. Midway returned to Norfolk in August of 1954.

   

In December 1954, with Air Group One aboard, Midway departed Norfolk on a world cruise, which culminated in her transfer to the Pacific Fleet. Joining the Seventh Fleet off Taiwan in February 1955, she became the flagship of COMCARDIV Three, operating off the Philippine Islands and Japan. Shortly after her arrival in the area, Midway participated in the evacuation of 24,000 military and civilian personnel of the Republic of China from the Tachen Islands, off the China coast. She remained in the area patrolling the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea until June. For this operation, Midway was awarded the China Service Medal. Midway left Yokosuka, Japan and returned to NAS Alameda, California in July 1955. She entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington and was decommissioned for the first time in October 1955.

 

While the gradual removal of armament helped to curtail the burden of excessive weight, the advent of the angled carrier deck not only added additional tons of displacement, but became a serious factor in stability. Built as axial, or straight-deck carriers, the problem of cycling and spotting aircraft for either launching or recovery operations remained a detriment to combat efficiency since only one function could be performed at a time. The angled flight deck, pioneered by the British, changed all that.

   

After being decommissioned, Midway underwent a modernization project to give her the capability to operate high performance jet aircraft. She was fitted with two steam catapults on the bow and a shorter steam catapult in the new angle deck. The purpose of the third catapult was to allow ready deck launches while keeping the landing area clear for recoveries in an "alert" situation. Additional improvements included the installation of a hurricane (enclosed) bow, moving elevator number three to the starboard deck edge aft of the island, enlarging the number one elevator to accommodate longer aircraft, new arresting gear, jet blast deflectors, and the largest aviation crane ever installed on an aircraft carrier. On recommissioning in September 1957, Midway's load displacement had grown from 55,000 to 62,000 tons.

 

Midway was soon underway in December heading south for shakedown and refresher training. In August 1958, she was underway on her first deployment as an angle deck carrier. With Midway's increased combat capabilities, CVG-2 was composed of two supersonic fighter squadrons and three attack squadrons. On 8 December 1958, the first firing of a Sparrow III air-to-air missile by a squadron deployed outside the U.S. was conducted by VF-64, based aboard Midway. During this cruise, she operated off Taiwan in support of the Quemoy-Matsu crisis as the flagship of COMCARDIV Five. She returned to Alameda in March of 1959.

 

In August 1959, after a one-month turn around period, Midway redeployed to the Far East. During this cruise, she recorded 8,000 landings, including her 80,000th arrested landing. On November 09, 1959, during a port visit to Subic Bay in the Philippines, a fire broke out in the pump room aboard the carrier. While the reason was never clear, official sources named arson. Her eleventh deployment ended with arrival at Alameda in March 1960.

 

Following a five-month overhaul, Midway underwent refresher training, operating from Long Beach, California. During this training, the McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II and the North American A3J-1 Vigilante were aboard for their carrier qualifications prior to entering actual service. Upon completion of her refresher training, Midway was underway in February 1961. With Air Group Two aboard, she operated off the coast of Vietnam during the Laotian crisis, eventually returning to Alameda in September 1961.

   

In April 1962, Midway departed for another Far East tour. During this deployment, her aircraft tested the air defense systems of Japan, Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The 100,000th arrested landing was made during this cruise which ended upon arrival at Alameda in October 1962.

 

After a regular overhaul extending until April 1963, Midway continued its role as a research and development platform. On 13 June 1963, Lt. Cmdr. Randall K. Billins and Lt. Cmdr. Robert S. Chew Jr., of Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, piloting an F-4A Phantom II and an F-8D Crusader respectively, made the first fully automatic carrier landings with production equipment on board Midway off the California coast. The landings, made "hands off" with both flight controls and throttles operated automatically by signals from the ship, highlighted almost 16 years of research and development.

 

Midway made her fourteenth and sixth straight WESTPAC deployment in November 1963. Her most significant improvement was increased jet fighter capacity with the addition of Mach 2.2 F-4B Phantom IIs. She returned to Alameda in May 1964 to replace the number three elevator which had been destroyed and lost during extremely heavy seas. This incident happened while Midway was taking on supplies, using the elevator as the transfer point. A wave hit the elevator, lifting it and cocking it in the runners. The wave partially went over the elevator, nearly washing off the sailors who were moving supplies. A second wave hit the elevator, causing it to drop out the bottom of the runners, lifted it higher, and then dropped it, snapping the cables. The elevator fell behind the ship and eventually sunk.

   

On February 27, 1965, an aircraft from the Midway was inadvertently shot down by a USS Preble (DLG-15) missile when it over flew a missile range during southern California maneuvers for the SILVER LANCE exercise. The pilot was killed. March 1965 marked a milestone in Midway's life as she left Alameda for her first combat cruise. From mid-April, while operating as part of Task Force 77 in the Tonkin Gulf, Midway's aircraft flew 11,900 combat missions over Vietnam. On 17 June 1965, while escorting a strike on the barracks at Gen Phu, North Vietnam, Cmdr. L. C. Page and Lt. J. E. Batson, flying F-4B Phantoms of VF-21, deployed aboard Midway, intercepted four MiG-17s. Cmdr. Page shot down one, scoring the first U.S. victory over MiGs in Vietnam. In the same engagement, Lt. Batson shot down a second MiG with an AIM-7 Sparrow missile. An unconfirmed report shows that debris from the destroyed aircraft was ingested by that MiG's wingman, possibly giving Lt. Batson a double kill. On 20 June, four A-1H Skyraiders from VA-25 were on a mission to locate downed pilots. The Skyraiders were carrying survival canisters and rocket canisters on the wing racks. A support ship detected two enemy aircraft coming from the north and warned the Skyraiders. The Skyraiders immediately dropped all ordnance, including fuel tanks, and went down to treetop level. Finding a small mountain, they started circling it, using it for cover. Two MiG-17s came down and made a pass at the lead Skyraider. The two Skyraiders behind the lead aircraft rolled up and fired at the MiGs with their 20mm cannons. Missing the first MiG, they hit the second with their guns, shooting it down. The pilots were Lt. C. B. Johnson and Ltjg. C. W. Hartman III and each were awarded a half credit for the kill. The nine-month combat cruise ended in November when Midway returned to Alameda. For their performance on this cruise, Midway and her air wing, Attack Carrier Air Wing Two, received the Navy Unit Commendation Medal and, in addition, Midway received the Battle Efficiency "E," marking her as the outstanding carrier in the Pacific Fleet.

 

February 1966 saw Midway decommissioned once again in order to undergo the most extensive and complex modernization ever seen on a naval vessel. This upgrade would take four years to complete, but yielded a much more capable ship and made Midway operationally equivalent to the newest conventionally powered carriers. The flight deck was increased in surface area from 2.82 acres to 4.02 acres. The addition of three new deck-edge elevators could now lift 130,000 pounds compared with 74,000 pounds of her sister ships, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Coral Sea. Two powerful new catapults on the bow, three new arresting gear engines, and one barricade were installed and rearranged to accommodate a change of 13 degrees to the angle deck. The smaller waist catapult was removed since it was ineffective in launching the now heavier aircraft. Modern electronic systems were installed, a central chilled water air conditioning system replaced hundreds of individual units, and Midway became the first ship to have the aviation fueling system completely converted from aviation gas to JP-5. Delays, caused partially by the simultaneous construction of USS Horne and modernization of USS Chicago, and unscheduled repairs to the fire damaged USS Oriskany, drove the initial modernization estimate from 87 million dollars to 202 million dollars.

 

1970 was a year of preparation for Midway . Now capable of operating the most modern fleet aircraft, Midway was expected to deliver at least another 15 years of service life. After recommissioning on January 31 and underway in March, Builders Trials, Refresher Training and a Post Shakedown yard period helped bring the ship and crew to a peak of readiness. This was reflected in outstanding performances by the ship in early 1971 during the Interim Refresher Training, a fleet exercise, several Carrier Qualification periods and an Operational Readiness Inspection.

 

On April 16, 1971, Midway began her sixteenth deployment 13,000 tons heavier than her original full load displacement. Arriving off the coast of South Vietnam with Air Wing Five embarked and a crew of 4,500, she relieved USS Hancock, CVA-19 on May 18. This was the beginning of single carrier operations, which lasted until the end of the month. During this time, the ship launched over 6,000 missions in support of allied operations in the Republic of Vietnam. Departing Yankee Station on June 5, she completed her final line period on October 31. Midway returned to Alameda on November 6th, after spending 146 consecutive days at sea. For this deployment, Midway was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

 

Due to a sudden North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam, Midway left on April 10, 1972, for a third Vietnam deployment, seven weeks prior to her scheduled deployment date. On this deployment, Air Wing Five aircraft played an important role in the effort of U.S. forces to stop the flow of men and supplies into South Vietnam from the North. On May 11, aircraft from Midway along with those from USS Coral Sea, CVA-43, USS Kitty Hawk, CVA-63, and USS Constellation, CVA-64 continued laying minefields in ports of significance to the North Vietnamese: Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Vinh, Hon Gai, Quang Khe, and Cam Pha, as well as other approaches to Haiphong. Ships that were in port in Haiphong had been advised that the mining would take place and that the mines would be armed 72 hours later. On August 7, an HC-7 Det 110 helicopter, flying from Midway, and aided by other planes from the carrier and USS Saratoga, CVA-60, conducted a search and rescue mission for a downed aviator in North Vietnam. The pilot of an A-7 aircraft from Saratoga had been downed by a surface-to-air missile about 20 miles inland, northwest of Vinh, on 6 August. The HC-7 helo flew over mountainous terrain to rescue the pilot. The rescue helicopter used its search light to assist in locating the downed aviator and, despite receiving heavy ground fire, was successful in retrieving him and returning to an LPD off the coast. This was the deepest penetration of a rescue helicopter into North Vietnam since 1968. HC-7 Det 110 continued its rescue missions and by the end of 1972 had successfully accomplished 48 rescues, 35 of which were under combat conditions. In October, an aircraft crash landed on Midway's deck. This aircraft ran into a group of parked aircraft and destroyed eight of them, killed 5 crewmen and injured 23 others. On January 12, 1973, an aircrew flying from Midway was credited with downing the last MiG of the war. Upon the signing of the cease-fire on January 15, Midway returned home. The Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to Midway and Carrier Air Wing Five for exceptional heroism for the period April 30, 1972 to February 09, 1973. This award was a rare presentation during the Vietnam War. During this time Midway was on her third Vietnam combat cruise and spent 208 line days on Yankee Station. CVW-5 had five air combat victories including the last downing of a MiG during the Vietnam hostilities. CVW-5 suffered 15 combat and five operational losses in this period.

   

On September 11, 1973, Midway left Alameda on one of her most important voyages to date. Arriving in Yokosuka, Japan on October 5, 1973, Midway and Carrier Air Wing Five marked the first forward-deployment of a complete carrier task group in a Japanese port as the result of an accord arrived at on August 31, 1972 between the United States and Japan. Known as the Navy's Overseas Family Residency Program, Midway's crew and their families were now permanently home ported in Japan. In addition to the morale factor of dependents housed along with the crew in a foreign port, the move had strategic significance because it facilitated continuous positioning of three carriers in the Far East at a time when the economic situation demanded the reduction of carriers in the fleet. It also effectively reduced the deployment cycles of her sister Pacific Fleet carriers.

 

In April 1975, Midway returned to the waters of Vietnam. On April 20, all fixed-wing aircraft of CVW-5 were flown off to NAS Cubi Point and ten USAF 40th Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Squadron H-53's were embarked. Midway, along with USS Coral Sea, CVA-43, USS Hancock, CVA-19, USS Enterprise, CVAN-65 and USS Okinawa, LPH-3, responded to the North Vietnamese overrunning two-thirds of South Vietnam. On April 29, Operation FREQUENT WIND was carried out by U.S. Seventh Fleet forces. As South Vietnam fell, the H-53's from Midway flew in excess of 40 sorties, shuttling 3,073 U.S. personnel and Vietnamese refugees out of Saigon in two days, bringing them onto the ship. Midway's HC-1 Det 2 Sea Kings then transported the evacuees to other ships. One South Vietnamese pilot flew a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog observation plane with his wife and five children out to Midway. He passed a note asking permission to land. The angle deck was cleared and the pilot made a good approach and landed with room to spare. The crew of Midway met him with cheers. For her role in the operation, Midway was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and the Humanitarian Service Medal.

 

Immediately following Operation FREQUENT WIND, Midway steamed south into the Gulf of Siam to Thailand and brought aboard over 100 American built aircraft preventing them from falling into communist hands. When they were aboard, the ship steamed at high speed to Guam, where the planes were offloaded by crane in record time. After the offload in Guam and a brief stop in Subic Bay, Midway entered the Indian Ocean and operated there from October until the end of November. On November 25, 1975, during post "MIDLINK" exercises, a fatal accident occurred. While attempting to land on the Midway, an aircraft struck the ramp, bolted, impacted the barricade, and struck another aircraft. Flying debris injured two crewmembers. Midway returned to Yokosuka in time to celebrate the 1975 Christmas holiday.

 

In June 1976, Midway participated in Exercise TEAM SPIRIT, an exercise in intense electronic warfare and bombing missions over South Korea. In August 1976, a Navy task force headed by Midway made a show of force off the coast of Korea in response to an unprovoked attack on two U.S. Army officers who were killed by North Korean guards on August 18. Midway's response was in support of a U.S. demonstration of military concern vis-à-vis North Korea.

 

1977 saw Midway participating in MIDLINK '77, a two-day exercise hosted by the Iranian Navy, and included representatives of Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

 

February 1978 saw Midway joining in with the JMSDF (Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force) for the largest combined exercise to that date. On May 31, 1978, while docked in Yokosuka, Japan, a fire which originated in the exhaust ventilation system, quickly spread through the 3A boiler uptakes on the second deck, and terminated in the main uptake space. The cause of the fire was later thought to be from welding in a vent system containing a fine oil mist which ignited and spread. TEAM SPIRIT '79, exercised in the East China Sea and Sea of Japan, was highlighted by numerous encounters with Russian aircraft.

 

Midway relieved USS Constellation, CV-64 as the Indian Ocean contingency carrier on April 16, 1979. Midway and her escort ships continued a significant American naval presence in the oil-producing region of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. On August 09, while berthed in Yokosuka, Japan, a fire, caused by a broken acetylene line, broke out killing one worker and injuring 17 sailors. Also in August, the Vice President of the United States boarded Midway in Hong Kong for a courtesy visit. On November 18, she arrived in the northern part of the Arabian Sea in connection with the continuing hostage crisis in Iran. Militant followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini, who had come to power following the overthrow of the Shah, seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4 and held 63 U.S. citizens hostage. Midway was joined on November 21 by USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63, and both carriers, along with their escort ships, were joined by USS Nimitz, CVN-68 and her escorts on January 22, 1980. Midway was relieved by USS Coral Sea, CV-43 on February 5, 1980.

 

Following a period in Yokosuka, Midway was again on duty on May 30, 1980, this time relieving USS Coral Sea on standby south of the Cheju-Do Islands in the Sea of Japan following the potential of civil unrest in the Republic of Korea. On July 29, Midway collided with the Panamanian merchant ship Cactus while transiting the passage between Palawan Island of the Philippines and the coast of Northern Borneo 450 nautical miles southwest of Subic Bay enroute to Singapore. While Midway sustained no serious damage, two sailors working in the liquid oxygen plant were killed, three were injured, and three F-4 Phantom aircraft parked on the flight deck were damaged. On August 17, Midway relieved USS Constellation, CV-64 to begin another Indian Ocean deployment and to complement the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, CVN-69 task group still on contingency duty in the Arabian Sea. Midway spent a total of 118 days in the Indian Ocean during 1980.

 

On March 16, 1981, an A-6 Intruder from VA-115 aboard Midway sighted a downed civilian helicopter in the South China Sea. Midway immediately dispatched helicopters from HC-1 Det 2 to the scene. All 17 people aboard the downed helicopter were rescued and brought aboard the carrier. The chartered civilian helicopter was also plucked out of the water and lifted to Midway's flight deck. In September 1981, the Chief of Naval Operations kicked off a tour of Far East Naval Units when he visited Midway while in port Yokosuka.

 

In December, 1983, Midway deployed to the North Arabian Sea and set a record of 111 continuous days of operations.

 

From 1976 until 1983, Midway made six Indian Ocean cruises accounting for 338 days. She made 28 port calls in Subic Bay for 167 days, nine port calls in Hong Kong for 40 days, seven port calls in Pusan, Korea for 32 days, seven port calls in Sasebo, Japan for 28 days, three port calls in Perth, Australia for 16 days, three port calls in Mombassa, Kenya for 14 days, three port calls in Singapore for 11 days, one port call in Karachi, Pakistan for three days, and one port call in Bandar Abbas, Iran for two days. Perhaps it was the exotic nature of Midway's liberty ports that contributed to the "Midway Magic".

 

After several years of dependable overseas service, on December 2, 1984, Midway and her crew were awarded their second Meritorious Unit Commendation, for service rendered from July 27, 1982, until May 1, 1984.

 

On March 23, 1986, Midway collided with a Korean fishing boat in the Yellow Sea. The boat was hit with elevator number one, damaging it but leaving the carrier unscathed. (I have received a report that the boat was North Korean instead of South Korean, as many histories tell it. The basis behind this is that Midway could not send the crew home to the North and were reluctant to give them to the South, which was their enemy.) On March 25, the final fleet carrier launchings of an A-7 Corsair II and an F-4S Phantom II took place off Midway during flight operations in the East China Sea. The Corsairs and Phantoms were being replaced by the new F/A-18 Hornets. On March 31, Midway moored to Dry Dock 6 at Yokosuka Naval Base to begin the "most ambitious work package in its 40-year history." EISRA-86 (Extended Incremental Selected Repair Availability) condensed the workload of a major stateside carrier overhaul from the usual 12-14 months, into an eight-month modernization. This included the addition of the catapult flush deck nose gear launch system, the additions of MK7 MOD1 jet blast deflectors, restack and rereeve of arresting gear engines, installation of larger rudders, the addition of new fire main system valves and pumps, new air traffic consoles, a new viable anti-submarine warfare capability, the construction of intermediate maintenance avionics shops to support the F/A-18 aircraft, and the removal of over 47 tons of unusable cable. Blisters were also built and mounted to the sides of Midway. With this monumental task being completed three days ahead of schedule, the first Air Wing Five F/A-18 Hornet trapped aboard Midway on November 28, 1986.

   

On January 9, 1987, Midway was reactivated with Battle Group ALFA and departed Yokosuka. On May 22, while enroute to Eastern Australia, Midway trapped a VMA-331 AV-8 Harrier operating off USS Belleau Wood, LHA-3. These Harrier operations were the first in Midway's history. On this cruise, Midway was the first U.S. Navy carrier to visit Sydney, Australia since 1972. Over 7,000 visitors toured the ship during the 10 day port call. On July 10, the launch of a VFA-195 Hornet marked the 76,000th catapult shot from the port catapult since Midway's recommissioning in 1970. On November 14, the EA-3B "Whale" made its last run from the deck of Midway. The Whale was replaced by a C-2 Greyhound from VRC-50, which embarked aboard Midway on November 9 for an Indian Ocean deployment. During 1987 and 1988, the ship deployed to the Indian Ocean as part of Operation ERNEST WILL, earning the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

   

At the time of her refit in 1986, hull bulges had to be added to create additional buoyancy to compensate for the increased tonnage. However these ungainly appendages seriously effected Midway's stability. During sea trials in 1986, excessive rolls in moderate seas took green water over her flight deck, thereby hampering flight operations. A 1988 Senate committee, outraged by the inept modifications carried out in the shipyard, voted to retire Midway early as a cost-saving measure. However, after considerable Navy lobbying the committee was overruled, with $138 million voted to remedy her stability dilemma.

  

On March 13, 1989, Midway participated in Exercise TEAM SPIRIT in the waters off South Korea for the second consecutive year. From June 7-8, Midway was put on standby after the massacre in Tiananmen Square for possible evacuation of American citizens from the People's Republic of China.

 

Midway's dependability for rapid response was reaffirmed on August 16, 1989 as she celebrated her 44th year of service by deploying again to the Indian Ocean. On August 28, Midway participated in Exercise THALAY, a three day exercise with Royal Thai Navy ships. On September 9, Midway logged its 200,000th catapult shot since being recommissioned in 1972. On September 30, an F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from the Midway mistakenly dropped a 500-pound bomb on the deck of the USS Reeves, CG-24, during training exercises in the Indian Ocean 32 miles south of Diego Garcia, creating a five-foot hole in the bow, sparking a small fire, and injuring five sailors. On November 10, Midway became the first Navy carrier to pull pier side in Fremantle, Australia. While returning from this cruise, Midway participated in Operation CLASSIC RESOLVE, supporting the Philippine government of President Corazon Aquino against a coup attempt. The operation, run in conjunction with the Air Force and assisted by the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) lasted from December 2 to December 9. For this action, she earned another Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

 

1989 and 1990 saw extensive sea time, including deployments to the Northern Arabian Sea and trips to Australia, Diego Garcia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore.

 

From 1973 to 1991, Midway's history is hallmarked by Indian Ocean cruises and port calls at some of the most exotic Far East ports. Being America's first forward deployed ship, Midway remained on the "knife's edge" of readiness and maintained a highly visible presence in the region in support of U.S. policy. Midway no longer went in for overhauls, rather her upkeep was managed through periods of EISRA (Extended Incremental Ship's Restricted Availability). These brief periods allowed Midway to be serviced, but also available at any time. In the post-Vietnam era prior to 1990, Midway earned four Battle Efficiency Ribbons, the Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, the Humanitarian Service Medal and two Meritorious Unit Commendations.

 

Midway's last two years in commissioned service would prove to be perhaps her most historic. In 1990, while celebrating 45 years of service, Midway received official announcement on her decommissioning. An announcement in February confirmed that she was scheduled to decommission in 1991. Even with this announcement, Midway continued to maintain her seagoing reputation by being underway more than most other aircraft carriers. With her unique combination of modernized strength and years of experience, she strived to maintain peace and stability in the Western Pacific.

 

Disaster struck the Midway on June 20, 1990. While conducting routine flight operations approximately 125 nautical miles northeast of Japan, the ship was badly damaged by two onboard explosions. These explosions led to a fire that raged more than ten hours. In addition to damage to the ship's hull, three crew members died and eight others were seriously injured in the line of duty. All 11 crewmen belonged to an elite fire-fighting team known as the Flying Squad. When Midway entered Yokosuka Harbor the next day, 12 Japanese media helicopters flew in circles and hovered about 150 feet above the flight deck. Three bus loads of reporters were waiting on the pier. About 30 minutes after Midway cast its first line, more than 100 international print and electronic journalists charged over the brow to cover the event. The news media made a major issue out of the incident, as it happened amid other military accidents. It was thought that the accident would lead to the ship's immediate retirement due to her age.

 

Despite the announced decommissioning and the fire, Midway's role as a potent member of the U.S. Naval forces was again reaffirmed when she departed Yokosuka, Japan on October 2, 1990 in support of Operation DESERT SHIELD. On November 2, 1990, MIDWAY arrived on station in the North Arabian Sea, relieving USS Independence, CV-62. For the DESERT SHIELD portion of the campaign, Midway was the only carrier in the Persian Gulf. She was the first carrier to operate extensively and for prolonged periods within the mined waters of the Gulf itself. On November 15, she participated in Operation IMMINENT THUNDER, an eight-day combined amphibious landing exercise in northeastern Saudi Arabia, which involved about 1,000 U.S. Marines, 16 warships, and more than 1,100 aircraft. Midway also made the first Persian Gulf port call for an aircraft carrier when she visited Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for Christmas of 1990. Midway was also the flagship of the Persian Gulf Battle Force Commander, Rear Admiral Daniel P. March (Commander Task Force 154). Admiral March was the operational commander for all coalition naval forces within the Persian Gulf.

   

Meanwhile, the United Nations set an ultimatum deadline of January 15,1991 for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. After steaming for two and a half months in the North Arabian Sea, Operation DESERT STORM, the fight to liberate Kuwait, began on January 17, 1991. Aircraft from Midway flew the initial air strikes of Operation DESERT STORM. An A-6E Intruder from the "Nighthawks" of VA-185 flying from Midway became the first carrier-based aircraft "over the beach" during that first strike. During the conflict, Midway's aircraft flew 3,339 combat sorties, an average of 121 per day during the war. Midway aircraft dropped 4,057,520 pounds of ordnance on targets in Iraq and occupied Kuwait.

   

The jet aircraft aboard Midway were not alone in taking the fight to the Iraqis. HS-12 conducted two Combat Rescues, rescued and captured a total of 25 Iraqi sailors, destroyed nine mines, and captured the first piece of Kuwaiti soil - a small island (the only property captured or liberated by the Navy). HS-12 also recovered the body of an Iraqi Naval Officer who had apparently been killed by his crew. At the end of the war, HS-12 chased down an escaping speed boat and forced it ashore on another island. The four captured occupants turned out to be members of the Iraqi Secret Police.

 

After 43 days of combat, Kuwait had been liberated with a resounding defeat of Iraqi forces. Operation DESERT STORM ended at midnight on February 27, 1991. Midway was the only one of the four carriers operating in the Persian Gulf to lose no aircraft or personnel. Midway departed the Persian Gulf on March 10 and returned to Yokosuka, Japan. For her actions during Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM, Midway again received the Battle Efficiency Award and the Navy Unit Commendation.

  

Midway's versatility was again demonstrated in June of 1991 with her participation in Operation FIERY VIGIL. On June 16, Midway was given one day's notice to sortie from her berth in Yokosuka, Japan and steam at high speed for Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines to assist with the evacuation of military personnel and their families following the volcanic eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.

   

Prior to departing, Midway crewmen worked through the night loading enough food and supplies to provide for 5,000 people for two weeks. Items included 1,100 cots, pet food, and baby diapers and bottles. Within 24 hours of receiving notice of the emergency, Midway was underway with the helicopters of HS-12 as the sole representative of Air Wing Five embarked.

   

Midway made her best speed toward Subic Bay, slowing briefly near Okinawa to embark six helicopters from HMH-772 and a contingent of Marines. The ship arrived at Subic Bay June 21 and brought aboard 1,823 evacuees, almost all of them Air Force personnel leaving Clark Air Base. Additionally, Midway brought aboard 23 cats, 68 dogs, and one lizard, pets of the evacuees. Midway's guests were greeted with a clean bed, a hot shower, and a steak dinner, their first hot meal in more than a week.

   

In a trip which included a high-speed night transit of the Van Diemen Passage, Midway took the evacuees to the island of Cebu in the Philippines. On arrival, HS-12 and HMH-772 flew them to Mactan International Airport. There, the evacuees boarded Air Force transport planes for flights that would eventually take them to the United States.

   

In August 1991, Midway departed Yokosuka, Japan for the last time, steaming towards her first United States port call in almost 18 years. She had been the first carrier to be "forward deployed" in a foreign country, sailing for 17 years out of Yokosuka, Japan. Arriving in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Midway turned over the duty as the "Tip of the Sword" to USS Independence, CV-62. Independence would be replacing Midway as the forward deployed carrier in Yokosuka, Japan. This turnover included swapping CVW-5 for CVW-14, the first air wing change for Midway in 20 years. After leaving Hawaii, Midway made a brief visit to Seattle, Washington, where more than 50,000 people visited the ship during a three-day open house.

   

On September 14, 1991, Midway arrived at her final homeport, Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. Her crew then began the tremendous task of preparing the ship for decommissioning and preservation as part of the Ready Reserve Fleet.

   

As part of her decommissioning preparation, the Navy sent out a Board of Inspection and Survey team to assess the ship's material condition and evaluate her capabilities. To perform this inspection, the ship got underway for one last time on September 24, 1991. On this day, the ship successfully completed a rigorous series of tests, including full-power sea trials. Midway trapped and launched her last aircraft that day, with the honor falling to Commander, Carrier Air Wing Fourteen, Captain Patrick Moneymaker, flying an F/A-18 Hornet. At the completion of the day's events, Midway headed for home at 32 knots. Despite her age and imminent decommissioning, the inspection team found Midway fully operational and fit for continued service, a testimonial to the men who maintained the ship throughout her many years. At the end of her career, Midway's last embarked flag officer, Rear Admiral Joseph W. Prueher noted, Midway had "sprinted across the finish line."

   

Midway was decommissioned for the last time at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego, California on April 11, 1992. She was stricken from the Navy List on March 17, 1997 and was stored at the Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington.

   

On September 30, 2003, a long awaited event happened... after eleven years, Midway was finally underway again! Although only under tow by the Foss Maritime Company's tugs Lauren Foss and Lindsey Foss, she was heading back out to sea for another voyage. With the Lindsey Foss only assisting during the harbor transit, the Lauren Foss continued towing Midway on her journey to Oakland, California.

   

October 07, 2003 saw Midway arriving at the Charles P. Howard Terminal in Oakland, California. Restoration work was performed before Midway was again taken under tow on December 31. The Foss Maritime Company's Corbin Foss towed Midway down the coast of California, arriving in San Diego Bay on January 05, 2004. Midway was temporarily berthed at NAS North Island to load restored aircraft and also add ballast and equipment in preparation for her move across the bay to Navy Pier.

   

Midway's final journey occurred on January 10, 2004. Several hundred guests were aboard as she was towed across San Diego Bay to her new home at Navy Pier. With much celebration and ceremony, Midway was berthed at Navy Pier, where she officially opened as the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum on June 07, 2004. Once again, Midway's popularity showed as 3,058 visitors went aboard on opening day.

  

Conceived and built during the desperate days of World War II, the carriers of the Midway class carried a crew of 4,500 and up to 70 aircraft. The 1,000 foot-long Midway was once the largest carrier afloat, growing from 45,000 tons in 1945 to 74,000 tons in 1991. However, she had a displacement about two-thirds that of contemporary nuclear-powered flattops. When operating at sea the ship was refueled every three days, burning approximately 100,000 gallons of oil a day. When first built, the Midway's bow was open to the sea, and was enclosed in 1957 as part of a major overhaul.

 

The ability to adapt to new technologies, systems, platforms, and operational needs is nowhere better exemplified than in the design and 50-year operational history of the USS Midway. Designed during World War II, in 1945 this "flattop" initially operated piston-driven propeller aircraft, yet returned from her last deployment in 1991 with the Navy's most modern, multipurpose strike-fighters. Her original axial-deck design was modified to an angled-deck layout, her original hydraulic catapults were replaced with more powerful steam catapults, and the most basic electronics replaced by advanced sensors and communications equipment.

 

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier CV-41 Museum-San Diego Ca.

Pictures from the 2017 Wings Over Houston Air Show.

ww2color.com

One expensive plastic model. A collector's item. I figured it was much cheaper just to take a picture of it.

Some background:

With more and more experience through military mecha in Japan during the late Nineties, Schaft Enterprise’s Europe branch started the development of civil Labors for public use. These models included the Type-8FF firefighting Labor, which was originally created for the Japanese market but eventually only sold and operated in the European market, and the Type-10P, a dedicated police duty Labor and a direct competitor to Shinohara Industry’s highly successful AV-98 Ingram.

 

The Type-10P was based on a completely new chassis and introduced many composite material elements that lightened its structure and even gave it a light armor protection against small caliber rounds. It was designed to be effective in situations like dealing with stolen labor units or rogue labors, but also for more mundane duties like riot control and escorts. Its intimidating size certainly helped psychologically. However, the Type-10P was not designed to take on military labors in close combat, even though it could be outfitted with manual weapon that would offer considerable firepower at distance. Typical police service weapons included a shield and a stun stick (with an optional taser function) as well as a handheld revolver gun, but other equipment was available, too. Precise manipulator fingers (with three fingers and one thumb on each hand) allowed delicate handling.

 

The pilot sat in a fully enclosed, climatized cabin in the Labor’s breast section, with an excellent field of view and protected from water and gas. In order to ensure proper surveillance under harsh conditions in any weather and at day and night, the Type-10P received a complex sensor suite, including a telescopic camera boom, a close-range Lidar and a directional microphone. Communication with other units was ensured by both radio and laser communication systems.

 

Further special equipment could be attached to the Type-10P’s back. These easily interchangeable “backpacks” included an extra battery for extended operation, a fuel-powered external generator with one or two powerful searchlights, a pack with loudspeakers, a large, retractable LED matrix display, and two packs with pressurized canisters that were connected with a handheld spray gun each, either carrying CO2 as a fire extinguisher or OC spray for riot control. Even an inflatable lifeboat was available, as well as special weapons like an EMP pulse rifle, which necessitated an external auxiliary battery pack, and a rearward-facing “brown note” infranoise generator.

 

Officially baptised “Michael”, after the German police’s Christian patron saint, the Type-10P was in 2000 adopted by special units of the German Bundespolizei and by some major police departments on federal state level. Typical German Labor units would operate two or three of these vehicles, primarily as support units for standard units when called upon in an emergency and also to counter Labor crimes and accidents. Their psychological value in riot control duties was highly appreciated, and the Type 10Ps were also frequently sent to official political events for PR purposes.

The Type-10P was also promoted abroad, esp. in Japan, but it was rejected there due to its size and the strong (and established) competition from Shinohara Industry, namely the MPL-97S “Python” and the AV-98 “Ingram”. However, eight Type-10Ps were sold to the Austrian Bundespolizei and an undisclosed small number was bought by a private security service company in Northern America.

  

Technical Data:

Code name: Type-10P "Michael"

Unit type: police labor

Manufacturer: SEE (Schaft Enterprises Europe)

Operator: German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) and several major German federal state

police departments (Berlin, Northrhine-Westphalia, Bavaria), Austria, USA

Number built: 33

Accommodation: pilot only, in heat- and ABC-insulated cockpit in front torso

 

Dimensions:

Overall height 9.42 meters

Overall width 5.95 meters

Minimum revolving radius: 6.0 meters

 

Weight:

Standard 6.55 metric tons

Full 8.1 metric tons

 

Armor materials:

Light composite armor, effective against fire and small caliber rounds of up to 12.7 mm

 

Powerplant:

unknown

 

Maximum weight lifting capacity:

2.50 metric tons

 

Equipment and design features:

Visual and acoustic sensors, range unknown, with suitable recording and data transfer equipment

Retractable visor cover

Highly articulated manipulator hands

Searchlights

Flashlights and four claxons/loudspeakers on the shoulders

 

Armaments:

No internal weapons installed;

The Type-10P can operate a wide range of handheld equipment like an extendable baton,

anti-terror shields, and weapons like a 42 mm revolver handgun, a taser or a 90 mm pellet shotgun.

Two hardpoints on the lower arms to attach equipment/weapons, plus a single hardpoint on the

back with the option to carry a wide range of equipment packages.

  

The kit and its assembly:

Traditions can be nice to keep up, and this build is actually a kind of serial project: in 2015, a group build under the motto "De-/Militarize it" ran at whatifmodellers.com, and I submitted a thorough conversion of a 1:60 "SEE Type-7 Brocken" Labor it from Bandai – a pure military Labor turned into a firefighting mecha.

 

Now, in early 2021, the “Blue Lights” group build ran, and Patlabor – an anime near-SF universe circling around robot-assisted police work – lent itself for another mecha submission. I had an AV-X0 prototype as well as two Ingram kits in store, but I wanted “something different” and also not a Japanese police Labor, since I had just built a fictional Daihatsu Move police car of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. So, the choice fell on the “Phantom” kit as basis, what called for considerable modifications. The “Phantom” is actually an unmanned robot, but I found its stature quite intimidating and more plausible for a non-Japanese police Labor than e. g. a re-badged AV-X0.

 

At an early stage I already settled for a German police Labor, and took inspiration in some heavier vehicles that are operated by special units of the Bundespolizei, e.g. armored cars or water throwers. This also defined the Labor’s paint scheme (see below). However, the new police Labor’s design was far from certain, it gradually evolved while building the separate OOB elements. Thankfully, this 3rd generation mecha kit allows such a gradual progress, and step by step the details that had to be changed or scratched became clearer.

 

This primarily included:

A completely new head section; the Phantom has a kind of fixed "hood" with a relatively small and fixed "face unit" in its front. This would be changed into a free-standing head unit, like the standard Labors. I was lucky to find a leftover head unit from a “Helldiver”, an airborne military Labor from the same model universe – its pilot helmet added a tough look to my build, and I added some sensor booms from an Ingram, too. Some PSR went into the head’s re-design, too, and, in the end, it adds to the “riot control” look of my build.

The completely new head necessitated the complete removal of the original “hood” of the “Phantom” and its fixed, small head, and this gap had to be filled/framed with a scratched collar and a new attachment point for the new head. Later, the OOB “neck” element was integrated into the opening, and scratched hydraulic pistons filled void space.

 

In the same wake, a cockpit fairing was added to the chest, since this would become a manned vehicle, not a robot. This, as well as the collar, were sculpted with 2C putty.

In order to change the Labor’s hull shape a little more, I added a pair of headlights to the flanks of the breast – these are 1:24 car parts, left over from my recent Daihatsu Move build. The parts were fitted into holes, received a shiny backing with chrome foil (hard to tell through the protective grates, though) and were blended into the hull via PSR.

The pack with retractable boosters in the back as well as the extentable upper body (with the visible innards and the spinning blades hidden there) were omitted. Instead, I implanted a donor piece to the back (a back pack from an 1:144 Yha-Giga mecha from Megaro Zamac), which looks very mechanical (a heat exchanger, maybe?) and natural.

Furthermore, the openings for the “Phantom”’s original optical sensors in the chest were faired over.

 

New hands were deemed necessary; the OOB hands are much too slender and claw-like, and I was able to use the hands from an 1:24 PA-36HD (from Dorvack).

 

While raiding the donor banks I also came across suitable new shoulder guards, from an 1:144 “Serpent Custom” (Gundam). They replaced the OOB parts, they are taller and more edgy, which is against the “Phantom”’s rather organic design – but they were too good to be rejected, with consoles that would later carry flashlights (scratched) and louvres that could easily hide (and protect) sirens inside.

 

However, in order to integrate the new shoulder parts better into an overall look, I decided to modify the knee and elbow guards into a more squarish shape – with the help of styrene sheet and some (more) PSR. This stunt worked surprisingly well.

 

During this modification I also added hardpoints to the lower arms for equipment. I did not want a gun but rather fancied a riot shield and a baton. The right hand was modified to carry a stun baton, sourced from an Ingram kit, and the transparent shield was scratched from a mouth wash bottle.

 

Lots of work, but it was necessary to move the build away from its “Phantom” basis.

  

Painting and markings:

Basically very simple: all-blue. The current ID color of German police vehicles is RAL 5017 (Verkehrsblau/Traffic Blue), and before 2006 it was RAL 6029 (Pfefferminzgrün/Peppermint Green), both combined on standard vehicles with white - normally, these are leased white or, more recently, silver vehicles with foil. For the Labor's time frame around 2000, the classic green would have been appropriate, but I eventually voted for the later blue because it looks IMHO less militaristic.

Further design background: German special police vehicles like water throwers or armored cars rather carry a uniform livery, contrasted with very dark grey around the lower areas, and that's what I adopted for the Michael I police Labor, too, using the “Phantom”’s original livery as benchmark.

 

In Gunze Sangyo’s Mr. Hobby H15 (Bright Blue) I found a pretty good guesstimate for the characteristic German police blue, and it was contrasted with Revell 06 (Tar Black; RAL 9021). The backpack became medium grey, a similar tone to the silicone covers (which were left unpainted, just treated with a washing with thinned dark grey acrylic artist paint), and this medium grey was also used for some detail contrasts around the hull. This looks rather dry, but it reflects the sobriety of German police items, and the uniform blue is also a good contrast to the Japanese police Labors in white and black in my collection, and the others, too. A few highlights in white and cream are the only distractions.

 

Even though I did not want to weather the model, I did some dry-brushing/post shading (Humbrol 25, Revell 09, 77 and 75 in some areas) to emphasize the shapes/edges and to make the large areas, esp. on the legs, less uniform.

 

The markings come from two aftermarket sheets for German police cars: one is a 1:43 scale sheet from IDC Decals, the other a 1:87 scale sheet from TL Modellbau. The provided not only suitably-sized “Polizei” letterings and emblems, the IDC set also came with the characteristic dotted trim lines (reflective material in real life) that decorate many typical German police cars and which help to visually structure the Labor’s lines – even though their application to the bulbous surface of the model was not easy, and I rather used them sparsely.

 

After some more detail painting (e. g. some fake black panel lines, created with a fine felt tip pen) the model’s sections were sealed with a mix of matt and some semi-gloss acrylic varnish on the blue areas for a sheen finish, while the dark grey areas were painted with pure matt varnish.

  

The build of the “Michael I” police Labor was quite a challenge – mostly because it was not easy to get away from the model’s “Phantom” basis. But with the completely new head/shoulder section and the slight mods on arms and legs it looks quite unrelated – but still intimidating. The all-blue livery is not spectacular, but true to German standards, and it works surprisingly well and convincingly.

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

The Fiat Macchi C.170 Brezza ("Gust of wind") was a single-seat biplane fighter which served primarily in Italy's Regia Aeronautica before and in the early stages of World War II. The aircraft was produced by the Varese firm, and entered service, in smaller numbers, with the air forces of Italy, Austria and Hungary.

 

In spite of the biplane configuration, the C.170 was a modern, 'sleek-looking' design based around a strong steel and alloy frame incorporating a NACA cowling housing the radial engine, with fairings for the fixed main landing gear. The C.170's upper wing was slightly larger than its lower wing, carried only by six struts and a few bracing wires. Only the upper wing featured ailerons while the lower wing carried large flaps. Although it looked slightly outdated, the aircraft proved exceptionally agile thanks to its very low wing loading and a powerful, responsive engine.

 

Power was provided by a 650 kW (870 hp) Fiat A.74 14 cylinder radial engine, which also drove the contemporary Fiat CR.32 fighter. With the "direttiva" (Air Ministry Specific) of 1932, Italian industrial leaders had been instructed to concentrate solely on radial engines for fighters, due to their better reliability. The A.74 was actually a re-design of the American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SC-4 Twin Wasp made by engineers Tranquillo Zerbi and Antonio Fessia, and in the C.170 it was geared to drive a metal three-blade Fiat-Hamilton Standard 3D.41-1 propeller of 2.9 m (9.5 ft) diameter. This allowed an impressive top speed of 441 km/h (272 mph) at 6.500 m (20.000 ft), and 342 km/h (213 mph) at ground level.

 

The first C.170 prototype flew on 24 December 1934 in Lonate Pozzolo, Varese, with Macchi Chief Test Pilot Giuseppe Burei at the controls. It was followed by the second prototype early the next year, which flew with an armored headrest and fairing in place (the C.170 lacked any further armor!) and other minor changes that were incorporated for serial production.

Despite Macchi’s proposal for a closed cockpit canopy the cockpit remained open – Italian pilots were rather conservative. Additional protection was introduced through armored side panels, though, which would protect the pilot’s shoulders. Radio equipment was also not included, as in many other Italian fighter aircraft.

 

During evaluation in early 1935 the C.170 was tested against the Fiat CR.42 and the Caproni Ca.165 biplane fighters, and was judged to be on par with the CR.42, although the Ca.165 was a more modern design which boasted a higher speed at the cost of maneuverability. An initial order of 99 C.170 for Italy's Regia Aeronautica was placed to Macchi factory in summer 1935, followed by foreign interest and order options from Austria, Belgium and Spain.

 

Anyway, what looked like a prosperous design was soon rendered obsolete: Following the end of Italy's campaigns in East Africa, a program was started to completely re-equip the Regia Aeronautica with a new interceptor aircraft of modern design. The 10 February 1936 specifications called for an aircraft powered by a single radial engine, with a top speed of 500 km/h, climb rate at 6,000 meters of 5 minutes, with a flight endurance of two hours, and armed with a single (later increased to two) 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun. That was more or less the premature end for the C.170, as Macchi and other manufacturers quickly turned to more modern monoplane designs.

 

Therefore, orders and production of the Macchi Brezza remained limited. Beyond the original 99 aircraft for the Regia Aeronautica only 24 further C.170s were delivered. These aircraft went in spring 1936 to Austria to equip Jagdgeschwader II at Wiener Neustadt. Immediately after their delivery the Brezza fighters were retro-fitted with radio equipment, recognizable through the antenna installation on the headrest fairing. The potential orders from Belgium and Spain were soon cancelled, due to political tensions.

 

As a side note, the Austrian C.170s fighters were the first aircraft to sport the new national emblem, which had been the result of a competition and won by flight engineer Rosner from the Graz-Thalerhof base. The white, equilateral triangle with the point facing downwards in a red disc was a completely new design and had (other than the flag or coats of arms) no prior basis.

 

The C.170s' career in Austrian service was short, though: in March 1938 the Austrian units were absorbed into the Luftwaffe, and after a brief period the aircraft were handed over to Hungary where they were used for training purposes.

 

Although an obsolete design, it proved to be robust, durable and effective especially in severe conditions. In spring 1943, surviving C.170s were rounded up from training schools and delivered to night ground attack units operating on the Eastern Front. The C.170 was used to conduct night harassment sorties on the Eastern Front until September 1944, when the units were disbanded, due to a lack of serviceable airframes and spare parts.

  

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)

Wingspan: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)

Height: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)

Wing area: 323 ft² (30.0 m²)

Empty weight: 3,217 lb (1,462 kg)

Loaded weight: 4,594 lb (2,088 kg)

 

Powerplant

1× Fiat A.74 R.C.38 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 650 kW (870 hp) at 2,520 rpm for take-off

 

Performance

Maximum speed: 441 km/h (238 kn, 274 mph) at 20,000 ft

Cruise speed: 338 km/h (187 kn, 210 mph)

Range: 780 km (420 nmi, 485 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,210 m (33,500 ft)

Rate of climb: 11.8 m/s (2,340 ft/min)

Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 4.75 min

Wing loading: 69,6 kg/m² (15,3 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 311 W/kg (0.19 hp/lb)

 

Armament

2× 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda-SAFAT synchronized machine guns above the engine, 370 rpg

Some aircraft were field-modified to carry up to 8× 15 kg (33 lb) or 2× 50 or 100 kg (110/220 lb) bombs under the wings

  

The kit and its assembly

Inspiration for this little, whiffy biplane came when I posted a pic of an Austrian Ju 86 bomber as a reply/ suggestion to a fellow modeler's (NARSES2) search at whatifmodelers.com for “something” to make from a Gloster Gladiator.

When I looked at the paint scheme a second time I remembered that I still had some Austrian roundels in stock, as well some very old biplane spare parts... hmmm.

 

Biplanes are tricky to build, even OOB, and kitbashing this kind of whif would not make things easier. Anyway, I love such challenges, and the potential outcome would surely look nice, if not exotic, so I decided to tackle the project.

 

Basically, the following donation ingredients went into it:

● Fuselage, engine, cockpit/pilot and tail from a Revell Macchi C.200 "Saetta"

● Upper wing from a Matchbox Gloster "Gladiator"

● Lower wings from a Matchbox SBC "Helldiver"

● Wheels from a Matchbox Hs 126 (shortened)

 

Pretty straightforward, but even though it would be a small aircraft model, it would come with two big challenges: mounting the lower wings and shaping the resulting, gaping belly, and the custom-made struts and wirings for the upper wing.

 

Work started with the Macchi C.200’s fuselage, which was built OOB - just without the wing, which is a single part, different pilot (the included one is a pygmy!) and with a free spinning metal axis for the propeller.

 

The wing installation started with the lower wings. I glued the Helldiver wings onto the C.200 fuselage, so that the wings' trailing edge would match the C.200's wing root ends. From that, a floor plate was fitted under the fuselage and any excessive material removed, the gaps filled with lumps of 2C putty. That moved the lower wing's roots backwards, creating space at the lower forward fuselage for the new landing gear.

 

The latter was taken from a vintage Matchbox Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft - probably 25, if 30 years old... Size was O.K., but the struts had to shortened by about 5mm, as thge HS 126 is a much bigger/longer aircraft than the C.200. A cut was made just above the wheel spats, material taken out, and the separate parts were glued back together again.

 

With the lower wings in place I started building strut supports for the upper wing from styrene strips - tricky and needs patience, but effective. I started with the outer supports, carving something SBC-style from styrene. These were glued into place, slightly canted outwards, and their length/height adapted to the upper wing’s position.

When this was settled, the upper Gladiator wing was glued into place. After a thorough drying period the short fuselage supports in front of the cockpit – again, styrene strips – were inserted into the gap. This allowed an individual lengthening, and was easier than expected, with a stable result.

After having the upper wing glued in place I added some wiring, made from heated and pulled-out styrene sprues. This not only enhances the kit's look, it also (just like in real life) improves rigidity of the model. Also a tedious task, but IMHO worth the effort. I tried thin wire, nylon strings and sewing yarn for this job, but finally the styrene solution is what worked best for me.

The exhaust installation had also to be modified: the new Hs 126 struts with spats would have been where the original C.200’s hot exhaust gases would have gone, so I added new exhaust pipes that would go between the new legs.

Other small added details included, among others, a pitot on a wing strut, a visor in front of the cockpit, a radio antenna, a ladder made from wire.

  

Painting and markings:

I would not call the Austrian 3+1-tone pre-WWII-scheme spectacular, but the colors are unique. My scheme is based on an Austrian Ju 86 bomber from 1938, so it fits into the intended time frame.

 

The colors were puzzled together from various sources and are subjective guesstimates:

● A pale, yellow-ish beige (Humbrol 74, ‘Linen’, out of production)

● A rather brownish green (Testors 1711, ‘Olive Drab’, FS 34087)

● A dark green with a yellow-ish hue (Humbrol 116, ‘US Dark Green’ FS 34079)

● Light blue for the undersides (Humbrol 65, ‘Aircraft Blue’, RLM 65)

 

In order to add some details I painted the area behind the engine cowling in aluminum. The respective part under the fuselage, where the exhaust gases would pass, was painted in Steel – both Testors Metallizers.

The interior surfaces were painted in a neutral Grey – but with the engine and the pilot in place you cannot see anything of that at all.

Markings are minimal: the Austrian roundels come from a TL Decals aftermarket sheet, the flag on the rudder was laid out with red paint (a mix of Humbrol 19 and 60), the white bar is a decal. The tactical code is fictional, puzzled together from single digits in various sizes (also from TL Modellbau sheets). The original documents how purely black fuselage codes, but I found these hard to read. So I chose digits with a white rim (actually, these belong to modern German Luftwaffe tactical codes in 1:32), which improve contrast a little.

The kit received a thin black ink wash and some shading/dry-painting with lighter basic tones (Humbrol 103, 155, Model Master 2138,‘Israeli Armor Sand Grey’, and Humbrol 122). After decal application, another turn with overall Hemp and Light Grey was done in order to fade contrast and to emphasize the surface structure. The wires were also painted, but only with thinned black ink and a VERY soft brush.

 

Finally, everything was sealed under a spray coat of matt acrylic varnish.

Voilà, and done in just about a week!

After seeing Ralph's F4 Wildcat I knew I had to try something similar as I've not built a single seat WWII fighter thus far.

Since catching "Battle 360" on the History channel over the summer, I fell in love with the SBD's, Helldivers and TBF Avengers.

For a mark one prototype I'm fairly pleased but certainly open to suggestions

Sun 'n Fun 2014 - Lakeland

The Helldiver had two crew-members: a pilot and a bombardier/gunner. The latter sat in a separate cockpit in the aft fuselage and operated two .30 inch machine guns in a somewhat odd arrangement. The upper fuselage section between the tail and the canopy could fold down, freeing the guns, as you can see in a photograph of the real aircraft. I didn't even try to make that work on my model.

Some more new pictures from a relatively old model, due to public interest.

 

This is a kit conversion of Bandai's ARL-99B "Helldiver" kit. I found the idea of a military Labor in JGSDF use pretty conclusive, so I cooked up this close relative as a pure ground use Labor. So, the "Raijin" has become a light and highly mobile army support Labor for the Japanese Army during the Millennium era, its use would be observation/scouting, support for light/mobile ground troops and tasks which would call for high mobility and secrecy, e .g. as an enemy Labor/tank sniper...

 

The basic Helldiver frame was kept, but the conversion includes a different head and cockpit arrangement, as well as "normal" legs - the air brakes from the ARL-99B have been "closed", the holes PSRed away. I also added hand-held armament: a single-action anti-labor rifle for sniping purposes (a converted piece from a 1:144 Gundam RX-79) and a kind of machine pistol (from the same donor kit), kept in a hip holster, but detachable.

 

The 3-color camouflage scheme was inspired by JASDF fighter paint schemes - the SEA-style scheme used on RF-4E Phantom II's and F-1 fighters. I just got the colors VERY wrong - at the time I built this model, I just had a few print pictures of such aircraft, and I ended up with Humbrol 66, 98 and 121 as basic colors, the brown and green ended up much too dark. This looks a bit wacky, esp. for Japan, but when the model is placed into typical Japanese mountaineous landscape or into a forest setting, it fits surprisingly well!

 

The diorama was built on a 8x8" base and includes some rocks (made from plaster and water-based paint), a small pond in the front and a tree that is to remind of a mountain pine. I based the sloped ground on pictures from Japanese mountain sites.

'HELLDIVERS - COSPLAY BY ALAN' - 'CHESTERFIELD COMIC-CON' - 'UNLEASHED EVENTS' - 23rd FEB 2025 - NIKON D5600 With NIKKOR 18-105

Maui.

 

WWII Helldiver Dive Bomber Crash Report from the US Navy:

www.bbscuba.com/images/bbscubahelldiverfinal.pdf

ww2color.com

Lakeland Linder 12/04/2013 KLAL/LAL

Photograph of U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Hitchcock, sitting in a U.S. dive bomber airplane aboard the Navy aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), holding an aerial camera for reconnaissance photographs in 1944 during World War II. Photograph taken or collected by Navy photographer Guy O. Cox of Wilson, N.C., while he was serving aboard the Bunker Hill in the Pacific Theater during the war (1944).

 

From Guy O. Cox Papers, WWII 165, World War II Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.

SoulRider.222 / Eric Rider © 2012

 

VF-14 Tophatters AJ201

 

Fighter Squadron 14 (FITRON 14)

VF-14 ‘Tophatters’

 

F-14A Tomcat (VF-14 / CVW-3) USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67)

 

Grumman F-14A Tomcat (1974-2001)

 

Established as Pacific Fleet Air Detachment on September 1, 1919

redesignated Torped & Bombing Squadron VT-5 on September 7, 1920

 

redesignated Patrol Squadron VP-4-1 on September 7, 1921

redesignated Fighting Squadron VF-4 on September 23, 1921

redesignated VF-1 on July 1, 1922

redesignated VF-1B High Hatters on July 1, 1927

redesignated Bombing Squadron VB-2B on July 1, 1934

redesignated VB-3 on July 1, 1937

redesignated VB-4 on July 1, 1939

redesignated Scouting Squadron VS-41 on March 15, 1941

 

(renamed Tophatters in 1942)

redesignated VB-41 on March 1, 1943

redesignated VB-4 on August 4, 1943

redesignated Attack Squadron VA-1A on November 15, 1946

redesignated VA-14 on August 2, 1948

redesignated VF-14 on December 15, 1949

redesignated VFA-14 on December 1, 2001

   

Nickname: High Hatters (1927-42) / Tophatters (1942-2001)

 

Early years

 

The Tophatters began carrier operations on board the Navy's first aircraft carrier Langley in 1926. The squadron, then designated Fighter Plane Squadron One, set the record for carrier landings in a single day. Flying the TS-1, they logged 127 traps by the end of flight operations.

 

In 1929 the squadron was assigned to Saratoga, where it began as a fighter squadron and transitioned to a bomber squadron. Throughout the 1930s, the Tophatters flew the FB-5, F2B, F4B, F11C Goshawk, SBC Helldiver and the SB2U-1 Vindicator. In 1939, while flying the Vindicator, the Tophatters were transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and Ranger.

  

1940s

 

The Tophatters proved to be formidable foes during World War II. While on Ranger, the squadron provided air support for the invasion of North Africa in November 1942. During the four days of 8 November – November 11, the pilots destroyed 16 enemy aircraft. Flying the SBD Dauntless dive bomber, the squadron participated in the first American naval air strike against German forces in Norway's inner channel.

 

In November 1944, the squadron transferred to the Pacific Fleet, and participated in the Leyte Campaign while attached to Bunker Hill. After transferring to Essex, the squadron bombed fortifications on Formosa in January 1945, supported the assault on Iwo Jima in February, participated in the first naval carrier strike on Tokyo, and completed Pacific combat operations with strikes on Okinawa in early March 1945.

 

After the war's end VB-4 made four cruises aboard USS Tarawa (CV-40), including a world cruise between 28 September 1948 and 21 February 1949, after which the squadron was based on the U.S. East Coast. On 15 November 1946 VB-4 became Attack Squadron 1A (VA-1A), and in August 1948 the squadron was again redesignated Attack Squadron 14 (VA-14) and transitioned from the SB2C-5 to the Vought F4U-4 Corsair. In December 1949 VA-14 was redesignated Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14).

  

1950s

 

In 1951 and 1952 VF-14 made two deployments to the Mediterranean Sea aboard the modernized USS Wasp (CV-18), still flying the F4U. In 1954 VF-14 took on the role of all-weather interceptor when they transitioned to the Douglas F3D-2 Skyknight, but only made a three-months deployment aboard USS Intrepid (CVA-11) in late 1954. As the F3D proved unsuitable for carrier operations, the squadron transitioned to the McDonnell F3H-2N Demon in 1955. VF-14 made two deployments aboard USS Forrestal (CVA-59) in 1957. The squadron was then re-equipped with F3H-2s. VF-14 and its parent CVG-1 were then re-assigned to the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) and made eight deployments to the Mediterranean Sea up to 1969.

  

1960s

 

In May 1963, the Tophatters transitioned to the McDonnell F-4B Phantom II and on 23 January 1964 they became the first Phantom squadron to operate on board the FDR. In June 1966, after moving to NAS Oceana, the Tophatters deployed to the South China Sea to conduct air strikes and support missions against military targets in North Vietnam. During this combat deployment, the squadron flew 1,688 hours on 967 combat sorties and delivered 651,624 pounds of ordnance, in addition to flying its traditional combat air patrol and fighter escort missions. The squadron distinguished itself in Olongapo and stories are still told among jeepney drivers attesting to the group's prowess in downing Mojos and San Magoo. When the FDR entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a modernization, CVW-1 and VF-14 were re-assigned to the USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67) in 1969 and stayed with the JFK for nine deployments until 1982.

  

1970s

 

In January 1974, after four highly successful Mediterranean deployments, the squadron transitioned to the Navy's newest fighter, the Grumman F-14A Tomcat at NAS Miramar and was teamed with VF-32 as the first two Tomcat squadrons to arrive at NAS Oceana. In June 1975 the Tophatters became the first Atlantic squadron to deploy with the F-14A alongside VF-32 aboard John F. Kennedy. In October 1978, the Tophatter aircrew set an all-time F-14 flight hour record when they flew 977 hours in one month while deployed in the Mediterranean.

 

In 1976, VF-14 launched the 100th AIM-54 Phoenix missiles against a simulated cruise missile at a range of 32 miles (51 km), killing it at a range of 65 miles (105 km) from John F. Kennedy. During the same cruise, VF-14 intercepted a Soviet Tu-95 on 21 July. VF-14 escorted the bomber for around 45 minutes, during which the Soviet bomber made two passes over the Kennedy.

  

1980s

  

In August 1980, the Tophatters deployed to the Mediterranean Sea on the Kennedy. During this deployment, VF-14 won the Silver Anchor Award and the Battle "E" Award for combat readiness, for the second year in a row. The achievements that contributed to the awards included 3 missile firing exercises with a 100% kill ratio, first East Coast TCS installations and 26.500 accident free flying hours over the space of 8 years.

 

In June 1982 VF-14 was re-assigned to Carrier Air Wing 6 aboard the USS Independence (CV-62), and in July was named the "Best Fighter Squadron" for superb performance in the Fleet Fighter Air Combat Readiness Program (FFARP).

 

October and early November 1983 found the Tophatters logging more combat time in support of Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. After playing an integral part in the liberation of Grenada from Cuban insurgents, VF-14 proceeded east to the Mediterranean to participate in contingency operations off the coast of Lebanon. In early December 1983, the Tophatters were again called upon to provide combat air support for the elements of the multi-national forces in Beirut.

 

On 1 April 1985, the Tophatters returned to the Kennedy, where they spent the rest of the year on a turnaround-training schedule, which included eleven detachments to various parts of the United States and Canada. Although again aboard the JFK, VF-14 was now assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3.

 

On 18 April 1986, the Tophatters departed for the Mediterranean once again and were extended on deployment due to the Lebanese hostage crisis. Upon their return to the United States, the Tophatters were again proclaimed the "Best Fighter Squadron" by winning the 1987 FFARP award.

 

In 1989, VF-14 was presented with the "Grand Slam" award in recognition of their perfect missile firing record. The squadron entered 1990 conducting workups for deployment and making portcalls in Portland, Mayport, New York City and Boston. During exercises off Puerto Rico, the Tophatters operated against French Super Etendard and F-8 Crusaders from the French Aircraft Carrier Foch (R 99).

  

1990s

 

On 10 August 1990, eight days after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the John F. Kennedy was ordered to emergency deploy to the Red Sea aboard the Kennedy to take part in Operation Desert Shield. During the months leading up to the war, the Tophatters played an integral role in enforcing the Iraqi embargo flying Combat Air Patrol and standing alert duty continuously. On the morning of 17 January 1991, the Tophatters once again flew into combat when they joined United Nations forces in the air assault on Iraq. VF-14 and VF-32 flew Combat Air Patrol and Fighter Escort missions for CVW-3 strike and support aircraft throughout Desert Storm operating in Western and Central Iraq initially and then conducting long range barrier CAP missions in eastern Iraq near the Iranian border with other Tomcat squadrons from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf that lasted an unprecedented 7–8 hours. After combat operations ended, the Kennedy remained briefly in the Red Sea stopping off the coast of Egypt for a portcall before returning to NAS Oceana after eight months at sea.

 

In December 1991, VF-14 became one of the first squadrons to begin training for the Tomcat's new air-to-ground mission. After low altitude flight training and several strike-related schools, the Tophatters put their new skills to the test during Air Wing work-ups in Fallon, Nevada.

 

In October 1992, the Tophatters again headed east for a Mediterranean deployment. Once past the Rock of Gibraltar, VF-14 began flying air superiority and reconnaissance missions in the Adriatic Sea in support of UN policies in the former Yugoslavia. During this deployment, the Tophatters also participated in several highly successful exercises with Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, while continuing to support operations off the coast of the former Yugoslavia and Operation Provide Comfort in Iraq.

 

In 1995, the Tophatters were the test bed for the Tomcat air-to-ground rockets program. The Tophatters, which like to call themselves the "Oldest and the Boldest," were awarded the Fighter Fling Banner Blaster award for their superior performance in the air-to-air gunnery arena.

 

In late 1995, the squadron was detached from CVW-3 when the Navy began reducing the number of Tomcat squadrons to carrier air wings from two to one and retaining the TARPS capable squadrons. As a non-TARPS squadron, VF-14 was originally slated for disestablishment and temporarily assigned to Fighter Wing One at NAS Oceana. The following year saw much uncertainty for many Tomcat squadrons, but a grassroots campaign to continue the lineage of the Navy's oldest squadron was successful in saving the Tophatters from extinction and the squadron was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 8, which was losing VF-84, with sister squadron VF-41.

 

In January 1996, the Tophatters once again rejoined the John F. Kennedy. In March, the squadron deployed on the John C. Stennis. June took the Tophatters on a 40-day cruise aboard the Kennedy to Ireland and England. Next, VF-14 visited the Mediterranean and other areas.

 

During March 1998, VF-14 changed its home to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the Theodore Roosevelt. In 1999, the Tophatters were involved in NATO's Operation Allied Force and in Operation Southern Watch.

  

2000s

 

In April 2001, VF-14 embarked on their final F-14 cruise on board USS Enterprise (CVN-65), supporting Operation Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom. As the carrier headed for home and on its way to South Africa they were given order to head to the North Persian Gulf after the September 11 attacks. The USS Enterprise/CVW-8 had been elected to be the night carrier during OEF and thus didn't see action until 8 October, VF-14 attacked a radar warning installation near Kabul during CVW-8's initial strike, which had been envisioned to have a section of F/A-18s, a section of F-14s from VF-14 and an EA-6B from VAQ-141, but due to insufficient fuel available for the Hornets, only the F-14s and the EA-6B pressed on. After their return to the US in November, VF-14 had dropped 173,324 lbs of ordnance (174 laser-guided bombs), VF-14 also buddy-lased 28 AGM-65 and 23 laser-guided bombs.

 

After their last F-14 cruise VF-14 and VF-41 relocated to NAS Lemoore and began the transition to the F/A-18 Super Hornet switching to CVW-11 and USS Nimitz (CVN-68).

+++ 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.

Moose River Plains, Adirondack Mountains, NY

PictionID:44465293 - Title:Curtiss O2C-1 Helldiver - Catalog:16_005750 - Filename:16_005750.TIF - - - - - - Image from the Ray Wagner Collection. Ray Wagner was Archivist at the San Diego Air and Space Museum for several years and is an author of several books on aviation --- ---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum

Pied-billed grebe moving into the shaded area of the pond

+++ 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 1932, the United States Navy contracted the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to produce a modern, two-seat fighter design for use on its growing family of aircraft carriers. Curtiss responded by putting forth their Model 73 - a two-seat monoplane design featuring a single set of parasol wings fitted high atop the fuselage, and the US Navy designated the prototype as XF12C-1.

The Model 73 was powered by a single Wright R-1510-92 Whirlwind 14 series radial piston engine and sported a modern retractable undercarriage. The Curtiss product achieved first flight in 1933 though, by the end of the year, the US Navy had revamped their requirement and categorized the XF12C-1 prototype as the "XS4C-1 scout plane". Once again, this time in early 1934, the US Navy reorganized their needs and labeled the XS4C-1 as the "XSBC-1 dual-role scout-bomber". Curtiss fitted a Wright R-1820 Cyclone series radial piston engine to the design and testing of the prototype ensued.

 

Among the evaluations was a dive bombing test in September of 1934 that resulted in a failure of the parasol monoplane wing assembly. Testing had shown that the parasol wing assembly was generally unfit for the stresses of what the new aircraft would be called upon to achieve. As a result, the US Navy ordered a new prototype to fall in line with stricter requirements.

Curtiss once again delivered an answer, this time the Model 77, to which the US Navy affixed the designation of XSBC-2. This machine was powered by a new engine,a Wright R-1510-12 Whirlwind 14 series radial. First flight of the XSBC-2 was recorded on December 9th, 1935. In March of 1936, a Pratt & Whitney R-1535-82 Twin Wasp Junior radial piston engine was fitted to the airframe, resulting in the revised company designation of "Model 77A" and the respective US Navy designation "XSBC-3".

 

Design of the SBC Helldiver was a mix of two eras of aviation: On the one hand, the design was characterized by its staggered, uneven span biplane wing arrangement with thick outboard struts, cabling and skeletal inboard struts holding the wings in place. On the other hand, the fuselage was a streamlined, all-metal construction, contouring finely to a tapered end to which a rounded vertical tail fin was affixed. The undercarriage, while retractable, still sported its visible wheels tucked in alongside each forward fuselage side. Like other aircraft of this period, the SBC took on a noticeable "nose-up" stance when at rest, being fitted with a small, semi-retractable tail wheel at the empennage base and an arrester hook for carrier operations. The crew of two sat in tandem under a single, long canopy with heavy framing with generally poor forward views of the oncoming action. The cockpit was set at amidships, well aft of both wing assemblies.

 

Being powered by an air-cooled radial engine, driving a three-bladed propeller, the SBC Helldiver could afford top speeds of 234 miles per hour with a base 175 mile per hour cruise speed. Service ceiling was limited to 24,000 feet while range was out to 405 miles.

Armament was rather modest and included a pair of 0.30 caliber machine guns (one forward fixed for the pilot and the other on a trainable mount in the rear cockpit) with an optional 500 lb (227 kg) bombload along the fuselage centerline. The latter was held by a swing arm that would keep the bomb out of the propeller disc during dive attacks and was augmented by additional shackles under the lower wings for single light bombs.

 

The United States Navy, content with the latest Curtiss-Wright offering, contracted the company in 1936 to deliver some 83 SBC-3 "Helldiver" production-quality aircraft. Initial deliveries occurred in July 1937 to Squadron VS-5 of the carrier USS Yorktown. By all reports, the SBC proved to have a rather pleasant airframe to control. But the constantly changing world of technology in the late 1930s solidified the SBC as an out-of-date design, forcing the scout bomber to undertake second-line duties in the training of upcoming airmen out of Florida. When the Japanese Empire unleashed their surprise attack on the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7th, 1941 - thusly thrusting America into full-fledged world war - the SBC was more or less accepted as an obsolete design.

 

Curtiss worked on improving the base SBC-3 series design and set one airframe aside for such work. The resulting tests yielded the new Model 77B to which the US Navy appended the designation of SBC-4.

To go along with several improvements, like self-sealing tanks and a bigger bomb load of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) and additional underwing hardpoints, was a more powerful Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 series radial piston engine of 850 horsepower.

The US Navy signed a production contract for 174 examples of this mount in January 1938 with the first deliveries beginning in March of 1939, followed by formal service entry. By this time, Europe was already completely engulfed in a war that would soon spread beyond its borders, and foreign orders, e. g. from France, ensued.

 

Regardless, the outdated biplane dive-bomber soldiered on with both US Navy and Marine Corps branches aboard such active carriers as the USS Hornet. But, overall, the SBC Helldiver would only lead a short active life with the US Navy, being soon replaced by much-improved types.

 

Until its retirement, the SBC still found use in supportive roles. Furthermore, the SBC was, on a limited scale, employed for reconnaissance, patrol and pathfinder tasks in composite squadrons (together with F4F Wildcat fighters and TBM Avenger torpedo bombers) on board of small escort carriers in the Atlantic theatre of operations, where its compact size and good handling were appreciated.

 

To ensure something of a legacy, the SBC Helldiver was in fact the last biplane aircraft to be purchased by the United States Navy. The longest Curtiss SBCs to survive were 12 aircraft at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, which were stricken off-charge on 31st October 1944.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: two; pilot and observer gunner

Length: 28 ft 1⅝ in (8.57 m)

Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)

Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.17 m)

Wing area: 317 ft² (29.4 m²)

Empty weight: 4,552 lb (2,065 kg)

Loaded weight: 7,080 lb (3,211 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 7,632 lb (3,462 kg)

 

Powerplant:

1× Wright R-1820-34 radial engine, rated at 850 hp (634 kW)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 234 mph (203 knots, 377 km/h) at 15,200 ft (4,600 m)

Cruise speed: 175 mph (152 knots, 282 km/h)

Range with internal fuel: 405 mi (352 nmi, 652 km)

Service ceiling: 24,000 ft (7,320 m)

Rate of climb: 1,630 ft/min (8.28 m/s)

 

Armament:

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing M1919 Browning machine gun

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun firing rearward on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit

1× underfuselage hardpoint for a bomb of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg)

or a 45-U.S.-gallon (170-liter) fuel tank

2× underwing hardpoints for 100 lb (45 kg) bombs or flares

  

The kit and its assembly:

The Curtiss SBC is a kind of ugly duckling and certainly not an aircraft that left any serious impression in history. Nevertheless, its odd mix of modern and vintage design features makes it an interesting subject, and I wanted to build one for a long time. The extended timeframe for the “Old Kit Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com was a welcome motivation to finally dig out a Heller SBC kit (moulds date back from 1979, Matchbox countered with another SBC only one year later) from the stash and build it.

 

The kit did not see any whiffy mod, was built basically OOB, but received some detail changes and additions. These include a machine gun dummy in the observer’s station, a scratched bomb displacement swing as well as underwing hardpoints, some superficial cockpit and landing gear opening details, as well as lowered flaps and the wiring between the wings – thankfully, only little work of the latter was necessary on the relatively modern biplane design, even though may of the wing wirings are double, so that the work was still challenging. As per usual, I reverted to heated sprues, glued to the kit before painting. The crew (Hobby Master soft vinyl figures) was only added for the beauty pics – in order to make this possible the long greenhouse canopy was cut into four pieces and the sliding parts left unglued to the fuselage.

 

Otherwise, the kit itself is an easy build with good detail (raised panel lines, though), just the plastic is a bit thin and wobbly, making a good fit not easy. This was not made easier by the fact that the part with the struts for the upper wings had been squashed and bent through other sprues in the box. Getting them back into shape and place for a proper fit was not easy, but with patience and some trial-and-error I was able to save the situation.

  

Painting and markings:

AFAIK, the SBCs in US Navy service were initially either left in bare metal (with some colorful pre-war squadron markings and the characteristic yellow wings), and, later, some machines operated in the Pacific TO received the early USN Blue Grey/Light Gull Grey livery, and, alternatively, some were painted all-over light-grey (FS 36440?).

I could not find any proof concerning SBCs being operated on carriers in the Atlantic TO, in fact it seems that the SBC was only carried on board of a single carrier, USS Lexington (CV-2). But I deemed the compact aircraft to be pretty suited for smaller escort ships - similar to the Grumman F4F Wildcat, which soldiered on, too, for a long time despite being a pre-war design.

 

This idea was the basis for my what-if model, and resulted in a machine painted accordingly in the “Atlantic ASW Scheme” with Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231) on the upper surfaces and off-white undersides, with a high waterline. Rather simple and unspectacular, but it suits the SBC well and is rarely seen on USN model kits, most tend to end up in Pacific TO colors.

 

For painting I used Humbrol 106 (RAF Ocean Grey) and 147 (FS 36495) – both are darker than the authentic tones, but the latter were used for shading (Humbrol 140 and 34, respectively). Reason behind this is that I deemed esp. pure white to be too bright as basic color, leaving no room for post-shading on panels and details. Effectively, it’s a kind of overall pre-shading procedure.

 

The cockpit became US Interior Green (Humbrol 226), while the visible interior of the landing gear and the cowling became zinc chromate yellow (Humbrol 81), a nice, colorful detail.

 

The kit was lightly weathered with black ink, too, and received only minimal markings in the form of “Stars & Bars” and a tactical code – another typical feature of machines operated in the Atlantic. As a little (yet authentic) design twist I applied American roundels with a red border, which were mandatory only for a short period in mid-1943 – for the built, fictional SBC they would fit well, and AFAIK this insignia variant lingered on for some time, so that even in late 1943 these must still have been a frequent sight.

 

After simulating some soot and oil stains as well as flaked paint on the fuselage and leading edges, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

  

Again, a relatively simple but subtle whif version of a rather unpopular and forgotten aircraft – but I must say that the Atlantic scheme suits the anachronistic SBC well. With the other colorful details (green cockpit, yellow engine parts, red roundel edges) I was able to make the simple kit look more interesting than expected.

Flying at the 2018 Charleston Joint Air Base Airshow

TO CELEBRATE THE 40th Anniversary of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the museum is hosting the Hamilton Air Show this June 16 and 17 at 7825 Airport Rd. E. in Hamilton/Mount Hope , an air show…like no other!

 

There won't be another air show like this in Ontario, Canada for another 20 years!!

 

IF, ever!

 

—————————————————————————————————

  

Here's the spectacular, star-studded line-up:

 

* HAMILTON SPORT PARACHUTE CLUB - Beech 18

 

* CANADIAN WARPLANE HERITAGE MUSEUM Mass Formation - Lancaster, Firefly & B-25, DC-3 & PBY, Beech 18 & Lysanders, Stearman, Chipmunk, Cornell, Tiger Moth, Fort & Finch

 

* GREAT WAR FLYING MUSEUM - World War I dogfight - Fokker DR.1, Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter, Royal Aircraft Factory SE5A

 

* VINTAGE WINGS of CANADA - Goodyear FG-1D Corsair, Supermarine Spitfire MK. XVI, Hawker Hurricane Mk. IV, Canadair CL-13 Sabre "Golden Hawks" (Hawk One), Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk, North American P-51D Mustang and the Westland Lysander MK. IIIA

 

* HARVARDS - Mass Formation & Aerobatic Team Demonstration

 

* CP-140 AURORA - demo performance

 

* FOCKE-WOLFE 190 (WWII German fighter) - Never before seen at a Canadian air show!

 

* NORTH AMERICAN P-51 Mustang

 

* GM FM-2 WILDCAT (US Navy)

 

* DOUGLAS AD-4 SKYRAIDER (Korean War, and Vietnam) (US Navy)

 

* MATT YOUNKIN - Beech 18 Aerobatics

 

* CF-18 HORNET DEMO

 

* PETE MCCLEOD - Red Bull Aerobatics

 

* The SNOWBIRDS

 

* WORLD WAR II BOMBERS - B-29, B-17, B-25, Lancaster, Curtis-Wright Helldiver, B-24 Liberator (cancelled, crash landing a week ago), Grumman TBM Avenger (US Navy)

 

* FAIRCHILD REPUBLIC A-10 THUNDERBOLT IIs (2 -static)

 

Nope, the Province of ONTARIO will not see an air show like this…maybe…never again!

 

Come out, and join the Canadian Warplane Museum's 40th Anniversary Celebration!

 

What am I excited about?

 

Well all the participating a/c of course, but I've never seen a B-29 Superfortress before, or a Focke-Wolfe 190.

 

B-29s were the high-altitude pressurized bombers employed to drop the war-stopping A-Bombs on Japan. Could Lancs have carried the hefty A-Bomb? Yes. But NOT at the 32,000' feet height, the B-29 could fly at!

 

The Focke-Wolfe 190 was a formidable foe for the legendary Spitfire and new, better Spitfires had to be developed…to counter-act this deadly German fighter.

 

Oh, and I can't get enough of the Hawk One Sabre in Golden Hawks colours! And the Lysanders, and the Lancaster, and the B-17, and the A-10 tank-destroyers, and the…

 

SEE: www.hamiltonairshow.com/performing-and-display-aircraft.aspx

 

(B-29 photo courtesy of (? Unknown), © CWH 2012…compiled graphic)

 

26-May-2012

KFRG - Republic Airport

Farmingdale, NY

The second VF-84, initially known as the Vagabonds, was established on July 1, 1955, at NAS Oceana flying the FJ-3 Fury. After deactivation of VF-61 in 1959, VF-84's commanding officer, formerly with VF-61, requested to change his squadron's name and insignia to that of the Jolly Rogers. His request was approved on April 1, 1960.

 

The squadron then was reassigned to Carrier Air Wing Seven and made a single deployment on the USS Randolph (CVA-15) in 1958/59. The squadron transitioned to the F8U-2 Crusader in 1959.

 

VF-84 deployed aboard Independence during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs incident, the squadron made several Mediterranean cruises on board the Independence. The squadron flew the F-8C Crusaders for several years prior to being introduced to the F-4B during 1964.

 

In 1964 VF-84 transitioned to the F-4 Phantom II and flew the F-4B, F-4J and the F-4N until they transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat in early 1976. In 1965 the squadron deployed for 7 months on board Independence in the Gulf of Tonkin and flew 1507 combat sorties, logging 2200 flight hours over both North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

The Fiat Macchi C.170 Brezza ("Gust of wind") was a single-seat biplane fighter which served primarily in Italy's Regia Aeronautica before and in the early stages of World War II. The aircraft was produced by the Varese firm, and entered service, in smaller numbers, with the air forces of Italy, Austria and Hungary.

 

In spite of the biplane configuration, the C.170 was a modern, 'sleek-looking' design based around a strong steel and alloy frame incorporating a NACA cowling housing the radial engine, with fairings for the fixed main landing gear. The C.170's upper wing was slightly larger than its lower wing, carried only by six struts and a few bracing wires. Only the upper wing featured ailerons while the lower wing carried large flaps. Although it looked slightly outdated, the aircraft proved exceptionally agile thanks to its very low wing loading and a powerful, responsive engine.

 

Power was provided by a 650 kW (870 hp) Fiat A.74 14 cylinder radial engine, which also drove the contemporary Fiat CR.32 fighter. With the "direttiva" (Air Ministry Specific) of 1932, Italian industrial leaders had been instructed to concentrate solely on radial engines for fighters, due to their better reliability. The A.74 was actually a re-design of the American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SC-4 Twin Wasp made by engineers Tranquillo Zerbi and Antonio Fessia, and in the C.170 it was geared to drive a metal three-blade Fiat-Hamilton Standard 3D.41-1 propeller of 2.9 m (9.5 ft) diameter. This allowed an impressive top speed of 441 km/h (272 mph) at 6.500 m (20.000 ft), and 342 km/h (213 mph) at ground level.

 

The first C.170 prototype flew on 24 December 1934 in Lonate Pozzolo, Varese, with Macchi Chief Test Pilot Giuseppe Burei at the controls. It was followed by the second prototype early the next year, which flew with an armored headrest and fairing in place (the C.170 lacked any further armor!) and other minor changes that were incorporated for serial production.

Despite Macchi’s proposal for a closed cockpit canopy the cockpit remained open – Italian pilots were rather conservative. Additional protection was introduced through armored side panels, though, which would protect the pilot’s shoulders. Radio equipment was also not included, as in many other Italian fighter aircraft.

 

During evaluation in early 1935 the C.170 was tested against the Fiat CR.42 and the Caproni Ca.165 biplane fighters, and was judged to be on par with the CR.42, although the Ca.165 was a more modern design which boasted a higher speed at the cost of maneuverability. An initial order of 99 C.170 for Italy's Regia Aeronautica was placed to Macchi factory in summer 1935, followed by foreign interest and order options from Austria, Belgium and Spain.

 

Anyway, what looked like a prosperous design was soon rendered obsolete: Following the end of Italy's campaigns in East Africa, a program was started to completely re-equip the Regia Aeronautica with a new interceptor aircraft of modern design. The 10 February 1936 specifications called for an aircraft powered by a single radial engine, with a top speed of 500 km/h, climb rate at 6,000 meters of 5 minutes, with a flight endurance of two hours, and armed with a single (later increased to two) 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun. That was more or less the premature end for the C.170, as Macchi and other manufacturers quickly turned to more modern monoplane designs.

 

Therefore, orders and production of the Macchi Brezza remained limited. Beyond the original 99 aircraft for the Regia Aeronautica only 24 further C.170s were delivered. These aircraft went in spring 1936 to Austria to equip Jagdgeschwader II at Wiener Neustadt. Immediately after their delivery the Brezza fighters were retro-fitted with radio equipment, recognizable through the antenna installation on the headrest fairing. The potential orders from Belgium and Spain were soon cancelled, due to political tensions.

 

As a side note, the Austrian C.170s fighters were the first aircraft to sport the new national emblem, which had been the result of a competition and won by flight engineer Rosner from the Graz-Thalerhof base. The white, equilateral triangle with the point facing downwards in a red disc was a completely new design and had (other than the flag or coats of arms) no prior basis.

 

The C.170s' career in Austrian service was short, though: in March 1938 the Austrian units were absorbed into the Luftwaffe, and after a brief period the aircraft were handed over to Hungary where they were used for training purposes.

 

Although an obsolete design, it proved to be robust, durable and effective especially in severe conditions. In spring 1943, surviving C.170s were rounded up from training schools and delivered to night ground attack units operating on the Eastern Front. The C.170 was used to conduct night harassment sorties on the Eastern Front until September 1944, when the units were disbanded, due to a lack of serviceable airframes and spare parts.

  

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)

Wingspan: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)

Height: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)

Wing area: 323 ft² (30.0 m²)

Empty weight: 3,217 lb (1,462 kg)

Loaded weight: 4,594 lb (2,088 kg)

 

Powerplant

1× Fiat A.74 R.C.38 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 650 kW (870 hp) at 2,520 rpm for take-off

 

Performance

Maximum speed: 441 km/h (238 kn, 274 mph) at 20,000 ft

Cruise speed: 338 km/h (187 kn, 210 mph)

Range: 780 km (420 nmi, 485 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,210 m (33,500 ft)

Rate of climb: 11.8 m/s (2,340 ft/min)

Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 4.75 min

Wing loading: 69,6 kg/m² (15,3 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 311 W/kg (0.19 hp/lb)

 

Armament

2× 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda-SAFAT synchronized machine guns above the engine, 370 rpg

Some aircraft were field-modified to carry up to 8× 15 kg (33 lb) or 2× 50 or 100 kg (110/220 lb) bombs under the wings

  

The kit and its assembly

Inspiration for this little, whiffy biplane came when I posted a pic of an Austrian Ju 86 bomber as a reply/ suggestion to a fellow modeler's (NARSES2) search at whatifmodelers.com for “something” to make from a Gloster Gladiator.

When I looked at the paint scheme a second time I remembered that I still had some Austrian roundels in stock, as well some very old biplane spare parts... hmmm.

 

Biplanes are tricky to build, even OOB, and kitbashing this kind of whif would not make things easier. Anyway, I love such challenges, and the potential outcome would surely look nice, if not exotic, so I decided to tackle the project.

 

Basically, the following donation ingredients went into it:

● Fuselage, engine, cockpit/pilot and tail from a Revell Macchi C.200 "Saetta"

● Upper wing from a Matchbox Gloster "Gladiator"

● Lower wings from a Matchbox SBC "Helldiver"

● Wheels from a Matchbox Hs 126 (shortened)

 

Pretty straightforward, but even though it would be a small aircraft model, it would come with two big challenges: mounting the lower wings and shaping the resulting, gaping belly, and the custom-made struts and wirings for the upper wing.

 

Work started with the Macchi C.200’s fuselage, which was built OOB - just without the wing, which is a single part, different pilot (the included one is a pygmy!) and with a free spinning metal axis for the propeller.

 

The wing installation started with the lower wings. I glued the Helldiver wings onto the C.200 fuselage, so that the wings' trailing edge would match the C.200's wing root ends. From that, a floor plate was fitted under the fuselage and any excessive material removed, the gaps filled with lumps of 2C putty. That moved the lower wing's roots backwards, creating space at the lower forward fuselage for the new landing gear.

 

The latter was taken from a vintage Matchbox Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft - probably 25, if 30 years old... Size was O.K., but the struts had to shortened by about 5mm, as thge HS 126 is a much bigger/longer aircraft than the C.200. A cut was made just above the wheel spats, material taken out, and the separate parts were glued back together again.

 

With the lower wings in place I started building strut supports for the upper wing from styrene strips - tricky and needs patience, but effective. I started with the outer supports, carving something SBC-style from styrene. These were glued into place, slightly canted outwards, and their length/height adapted to the upper wing’s position.

When this was settled, the upper Gladiator wing was glued into place. After a thorough drying period the short fuselage supports in front of the cockpit – again, styrene strips – were inserted into the gap. This allowed an individual lengthening, and was easier than expected, with a stable result.

After having the upper wing glued in place I added some wiring, made from heated and pulled-out styrene sprues. This not only enhances the kit's look, it also (just like in real life) improves rigidity of the model. Also a tedious task, but IMHO worth the effort. I tried thin wire, nylon strings and sewing yarn for this job, but finally the styrene solution is what worked best for me.

The exhaust installation had also to be modified: the new Hs 126 struts with spats would have been where the original C.200’s hot exhaust gases would have gone, so I added new exhaust pipes that would go between the new legs.

Other small added details included, among others, a pitot on a wing strut, a visor in front of the cockpit, a radio antenna, a ladder made from wire.

  

Painting and markings:

I would not call the Austrian 3+1-tone pre-WWII-scheme spectacular, but the colors are unique. My scheme is based on an Austrian Ju 86 bomber from 1938, so it fits into the intended time frame.

 

The colors were puzzled together from various sources and are subjective guesstimates:

● A pale, yellow-ish beige (Humbrol 74, ‘Linen’, out of production)

● A rather brownish green (Testors 1711, ‘Olive Drab’, FS 34087)

● A dark green with a yellow-ish hue (Humbrol 116, ‘US Dark Green’ FS 34079)

● Light blue for the undersides (Humbrol 65, ‘Aircraft Blue’, RLM 65)

 

In order to add some details I painted the area behind the engine cowling in aluminum. The respective part under the fuselage, where the exhaust gases would pass, was painted in Steel – both Testors Metallizers.

The interior surfaces were painted in a neutral Grey – but with the engine and the pilot in place you cannot see anything of that at all.

Markings are minimal: the Austrian roundels come from a TL Decals aftermarket sheet, the flag on the rudder was laid out with red paint (a mix of Humbrol 19 and 60), the white bar is a decal. The tactical code is fictional, puzzled together from single digits in various sizes (also from TL Modellbau sheets). The original documents how purely black fuselage codes, but I found these hard to read. So I chose digits with a white rim (actually, these belong to modern German Luftwaffe tactical codes in 1:32), which improve contrast a little.

The kit received a thin black ink wash and some shading/dry-painting with lighter basic tones (Humbrol 103, 155, Model Master 2138,‘Israeli Armor Sand Grey’, and Humbrol 122). After decal application, another turn with overall Hemp and Light Grey was done in order to fade contrast and to emphasize the surface structure. The wires were also painted, but only with thinned black ink and a VERY soft brush.

 

Finally, everything was sealed under a spray coat of matt acrylic varnish.

Voilà, and done in just about a week!

Some more new pictures from a relatively old model, due to public interest.

 

This is a kit conversion of Bandai's ARL-99B "Helldiver" kit. I found the idea of a military Labor in JGSDF use pretty conclusive, so I cooked up this close relative as a pure ground use Labor. So, the "Raijin" has become a light and highly mobile army support Labor for the Japanese Army during the Millennium era, its use would be observation/scouting, support for light/mobile ground troops and tasks which would call for high mobility and secrecy, e .g. as an enemy Labor/tank sniper...

 

The basic Helldiver frame was kept, but the conversion includes a different head and cockpit arrangement, as well as "normal" legs - the air brakes from the ARL-99B have been "closed", the holes PSRed away. I also added hand-held armament: a single-action anti-labor rifle for sniping purposes (a converted piece from a 1:144 Gundam RX-79) and a kind of machine pistol (from the same donor kit), kept in a hip holster, but detachable.

 

The 3-color camouflage scheme was inspired by JASDF fighter paint schemes - the SEA-style scheme used on RF-4E Phantom II's and F-1 fighters. I just got the colors VERY wrong - at the time I built this model, I just had a few print pictures of such aircraft, and I ended up with Humbrol 66, 98 and 121 as basic colors, the brown and green ended up much too dark. This looks a bit wacky, esp. for Japan, but when the model is placed into typical Japanese mountaineous landscape or into a forest setting, it fits surprisingly well!

 

The diorama was built on a 8x8" base and includes some rocks (made from plaster and water-based paint), a small pond in the front and a tree that is to remind of a mountain pine. I based the sloped ground on pictures from Japanese mountain sites.

AMERICAN AIRPOWER HERITAGE FLY MUSEUM

(1944) Curtiss Wright SB2C5 Helldiver

 

PNE and PHL - May 26-29, 2015

This SBD-4 Dauntless, BuNo. 10575 is on display at Chicago's Midway Airport, which is named after the World War II Battle of Midway.

 

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas during World War II. The SBD was the United States Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver. The aircraft was also operated by the United States Army as the A-24 Banshee.

 

Although relatively slow and outmoded when it began its combat career, it was rugged and dependable and sank more Japanese shipping than any other aircraft during World War II.

 

The SBD's most important contribution to the American war effort probably came during the Battle of Midway in early June 1942, when SBD dive bomber attacks sank or fatally damaged all four of the Japanese aircraft carriers, three of them in the space of just six minutes (Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, and later in the day Hiryū) as well as heavily damaging two Japanese cruisers (including Mikuma).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntless

The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver flies overhead in a low speed pass

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver at the 2016 Wings Over Houston Airshow held at Ellington Field October 22-23.